Spec MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server designed to streamline development workflows through AI-assisted analysis, planning, and verification.

Features

• Tech Steering: Automated codebase analysis and documentation
• Plan Generation: Comprehensive requirement and design documentation
• Task Breakdown: Detailed task generation with dependencies
• Implementation Verification: Automated code review and compliance checking

Installation

1. Configure your AI client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
2. Add the server to your MCP configuration
3. Start using the tools through your AI interface

Configuration Examples

Visual Studio Code

Add to your VS Code MCP configuration file:

• Regular VS Code: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json
• VS Code Insiders: ~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/User/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "spec": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "spec-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Zed

1. Open Zed > Settings > Open Settings (it will open ~/. config/zed/settings.json)
2. Add a context_servers section to your configuration:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "spec": {
      "source": "custom",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "spec-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI)

For Claude Code CLI, use the following command:

claude mcp add spec-mcp --scope user -- npx -y spec-mcp@latest

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spec": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "spec-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Workflow

The Spec MCP workflow guides you through complex development tasks like framework migrations, feature implementation, or refactoring. Follow these steps:

1. Analyze Codebase (One-time Setup)

Analyze the existing codebase to create steering documents that guide all future operations.

Prompt: Use Spec MCP to analyze the codebase

This creates three steering documents in .spec/steering/:

• product.md - Product overview and business context
• tech.md - Technology stack and development guidelines
• structure.md - Project organization and patterns

Note: You can recreate these documents anytime with force_regenerate=true

2. Search Documentation

Search documentation for relevant information about frameworks, APIs, or migration guides using e.g. Context7 MCP.

Prompt: Search docs with Context7 MCP for [topic/framework/library]

3. Generate Tasks

Ask the Spec MCP server to generate a clear, evidence‑driven task list from your goal.

Example prompt:

• “Generate an implementation task breakdown for: ”

Output:

• .spec/specs/tasks.md (includes overview, requirements with EARS, implementable tasks, dependencies, and tests)

4. Implement Tasks

Execute tasks systematically using the task orchestrator, which handles dependencies and parallelization.

Prompt: Implement tasks from tasks.md using Spec MCP task orchestrator

The orchestrator will:

• Identify ready tasks based on dependencies
• Execute tasks through task-executor
• Verify completion with task-checker
• Report progress and next available tasks

Available Tools

generate-codebase-analysis

Analyzes codebase and generates three foundational analysis documents: product.md, tech.md, and structure.md in .spec/steering/ directory. These documents provide comprehensive analysis of the product features, technology stack, and project structure.

generate-tasks

Spec MCP: Generate tasks.md (Plan & Task Breakdown)

Generate tasks.md (implementation plan & task breakdown) from your request and codebase. Writes .spec/specs/tasks.md with overview, numbered requirements using EARS, implementable tasks (T‑1…), dependencies/phases, and testing guidance. Use for “task breakdown”, “create tasks.md”, “implementation plan”, or “roadmap”. Inputs:

• user_request (required)
• project_path (optional, defaults to .)

task-orchestrator

Analyzes tasks.md to identify dependencies, parallelization opportunities, and coordinate task execution. Returns a structured execution plan for deploying task executors efficiently.

task-executor

Executes a specific task from tasks.md by providing detailed implementation guidance, requirements, acceptance criteria, and code patterns. This tool focuses on implementing one task thoroughly.

task-checker

Checks if a task can be marked as done by verifying all acceptance criteria checkboxes are checked and optionally running build/tests. Returns PASS or FAIL with clear reasons.

License

MIT