Your Specification Is Your Prompt
The missing middle layer between business intent and AI coding agents.
AI coding agents are only as good as the specs you feed them.
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
From Idea to Spec to Code in Four Steps
SPECLAN gives you a repeatable path from a rough idea to a production-ready specification — with AI doing the heavy lifting.
Capture the Idea
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.
Break It Down
Decompose goals into features, nest sub-features to any depth, and attach detailed requirements. AI agents suggest the next level of detail so you never stare at a blank page.
Validate and Refine
Review specs in a WYSIWYG editor, run traceability checks, and move entities through a status lifecycle — from draft to approved.
Generate and Ship
Export specs for downstream tools or hand them to an AI coding assistant that finally knows what to build.
Capture the Idea
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.
Break It Down
Decompose goals into features, nest sub-features to any depth, and attach detailed requirements. AI agents suggest the next level of detail so you never stare at a blank page.
Validate and Refine
Review specs in a WYSIWYG editor, run traceability checks, and move entities through a status lifecycle — from draft to approved.
Generate and Ship
Export specs for downstream tools or hand them to an AI coding assistant that finally knows what to build.
Capabilities
Why SPECLAN?
The missing middle layer between what you want built and the AI that builds it.
Layered Hierarchy
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.
Git-Native Specs
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-Powered Agents
Claude agents generate, refine, and validate specifications on your behalf. Go from a one-liner to a full spec tree in minutes, not days.
VS Code Integration
Tree views, WYSIWYG editing, status badges, and contextual actions. Everything lives where you already work — no browser tabs required.
Full Traceability
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.
Status Lifecycle
Move specs from draft to review to approved to released. Change requests keep locked specifications safe while still letting you iterate.
Change Requests
Need to update an approved spec? Create a formal change request instead of silently editing. Your audit trail stays intact.
MCP Integration
Expose your specifications to the AI ecosystem through 42+ Model Context Protocol tools. Any AI assistant that supports MCP can read, create, and manage your specs natively.
Get Started
Two Ways In
Whether you have an existing codebase or a fresh idea, SPECLAN meets you where you are.
Already have code?
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.
Starting fresh?
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.
Social Proof
Why Developers Love It
SPECLAN was built by developers, for developers. Here is what it feels like when your specs finally live where your code lives.
“I handed my SPECLAN spec tree to Claude Code and it generated the entire module. The spec was the prompt.”
— Agentic developers who discovered the shortcut
“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.”
— Every developer who has lost a spec in Confluence
“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.”
— Developers who actually shipped on Friday
“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.”
— Engineers tired of playing spec archaeologist
Get Started
Your AI Deserves Better Prompts
Install the SPECLAN extension and go from scattered requirements to a structured, traceable specification in minutes.
Install in VS Codecode --install-extension digital-dividend.speclan