The missing middle layer between business intent and AI coding agents.
SPECLAN turns loose ideas into layered, traceable specifications — right inside VS Code. Git-native. AI-powered. Built for developers who ship.
id: F-1234title: User Authenticationstatus: approvedparent: G-001 DescriptionImplement OAuth 2.0 authenticationwith SSO support for enterprise...Workflow
SPECLAN gives you a repeatable path from a rough idea to a production-ready specification — with AI doing the heavy lifting.
Start with a business goal or a napkin sketch. SPECLAN creates a structured Goal entity and stores it as a Markdown file in your repo.
Decompose goals into features, nest sub-features to any depth, and attach detailed requirements. AI agents suggest the next level of detail.
Review specs in a WYSIWYG editor, run traceability checks, and move entities through a status lifecycle — from draft to approved.
Hand specs to an AI coding assistant that finally knows what to build. Or export for downstream tools.
Start with a business goal or a napkin sketch. SPECLAN creates a structured Goal entity and stores it as a Markdown file in your repo.
Decompose goals into features, nest sub-features to any depth, and attach detailed requirements. AI agents suggest the next level of detail.
Review specs in a WYSIWYG editor, run traceability checks, and move entities through a status lifecycle — from draft to approved.
Hand specs to an AI coding assistant that finally knows what to build. Or export for downstream tools.
See It in Action
A quick walkthrough of how SPECLAN turns ideas into structured, AI-ready specifications.
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Capabilities
The missing middle layer between what you want built and the AI that builds it.
Structure specs from business goals through features and sub-features to detailed requirements. Every requirement traces back to a reason, every feature to a goal.
Specifications live as Markdown files with YAML frontmatter — right next to your code. Branch, diff, and merge specs the same way you merge code.
AI agents powered by Claude, Google Gemini, or OpenAI generate, refine, and validate specifications on your behalf. Go from a one-liner to a full spec tree in minutes, not days. Three providers. Your choice. Zero lock-in.
Same file, same tool, two experiences: a Markdown text editor for developers and a WYSIWYG editor for everyone else. Plus tree views, status badges, and contextual actions — all inside VS Code.
Trace any requirement back through its feature tree — sub-features, features, and business goals. Bidirectional links let you navigate the full chain. Know exactly why every line of code exists.
Move specs from draft to review to approved to released. Once in development, specs are locked — change requests let you iterate without creating moving targets.
Need to update a spec that’s already in development or released? Create a formal change request. The change is tracked, reviewed, and merged in the next dev cycle.
Expose your specifications to the AI ecosystem through 43 Model Context Protocol tools. Any AI assistant that supports MCP can read, create, and manage your specs natively.
Get Started
Whether you have an existing codebase or a fresh idea, SPECLAN meets you where you are.
Infer specifications from your existing codebase. SPECLAN analyzes what you have built and creates a structured baseline — so you can finally document what exists before deciding what comes next.
Import your requirements doc and get a structured specification tree in minutes. AI agents decompose your document into goals, features, and requirements — ready for review.
Real Developer Workflows
Built by developers, for developers. Here is what happens when your specs finally live where your code lives.
“I handed my SPECLAN spec tree to my AI assistant and it generated the entire module. The spec was the prompt.”
— Solo founder shipping an MVP
“Finally, my specs do not live in a wiki that nobody reads. They are in the repo, versioned, and reviewed in PRs like everything else.”
— Staff engineer at a Series B startup
“I described a feature in one sentence and the AI agent came back with a full requirement tree. I just had to say yes or tweak.”
— Freelance developer between contracts
“When QA asks "where is the spec for this?" I just point them to the repo. Full traceability from goal through features and sub-features to requirement — no detective work.”
— Tech lead tired of playing spec archaeologist
News
Stay informed about product updates, feature releases, and community developments.
SPECLAN v0.9.5 focuses on UI/UX polish: a consistent webview design system, a redesigned welcome screen, two assistants out of the experimental toggle, and bug reports that now go straight to the r/speclan subreddit.
The SPECLAN Claude Code Plugin now converts between BMAD-METHOD and SPECLAN in both directions. Import BMAD PRDs, epics, and architecture docs into SPECLAN's lifecycle — or export your approved specs as BMAD-standard PRDs.
SPECLAN ships the Claude Code Plugin. Manage your entire specification lifecycle from within Claude Code — no window switching, no context breaks.
Blog
Tutorials, best practices, and deep dives into specification-driven AI development.
In most AI-assisted development workflows, the developer writes the prompt and owns the outcome. SPECLAN flips this: the Product Owner writes the spec, the status lifecycle controls who can do what, and the developer (human or AI) implements only what's been approved.
Community
SPECLAN is built in the open. Ask questions, share feedback, and connect with other developers who are rethinking how specifications work.
Ask questions, share your experience, and connect with other SPECLAN users. Whether you are just getting started or pushing the boundaries — the community is here to help.
Found something broken? Post a bug report on the r/speclan subreddit. Include your version, OS, steps to reproduce, and what you expected to happen.
Links open in a new tab. A GitHub or Reddit account is required to post.
Get Started
Go from scattered requirements to a structured, traceable specification in minutes. Install the extension and start shipping better specs.
Install in VS Codeor install via terminal
code --install-extension DigitalDividend.speclan-vscode-extension