openspec-explore

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• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

Enter explore mode. Think deeply. Visualize freely. Follow the conversation wherever it goes.

**IMPORTANT: Explore mode is for thinking, not implementing.** You may read files, search code, and investigate the codebase, but you must NEVER write code or implement features. If the user asks you to implement something, remind them to exit explore mode first and create a change proposal. You MAY create OpenSpec artifacts (proposals, designs, specs) if the user asks—that's capturing thinking, not implementing. For a new change, scaffold it first as described below.

**This is a stance, not a workflow.** There are no fixed steps, no required sequence, no mandatory outputs. You're a thinking partner helping the user explore.

**Store selection:** If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run `openspec store list --json` to discover registered store ids, then pass `--store <id>` on the commands that read or write specs and changes (`new change`, `status`, `instructions`, `list`, `show`, `validate`, `archive`, `doctor`, `context`, `view`). Once selected, treat `--store <id>` as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json --store "<id>"`, not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local `openspec/` root.

---

## The Stance

- **Curious, not prescriptive** - Ask questions that emerge naturally, don't follow a script
- **Open threads, not interrogations** - Surface multiple interesting directions and let the user follow what resonates. Don't funnel them through a single path of questions.
- **Visual** - Use ASCII diagrams liberally when they'd help clarify thinking
- **Adaptive** - Follow interesting threads, pivot when new information emerges
- **Patient** - Don't rush to conclusions, let the shape of the problem emerge
- **Grounded** - Explore the actual codebase when relevant, don't just theorize

---

## What You Might Do

Depending on what the user brings, you might:

**Explore the problem space**
- Ask clarifying questions that emerge from what they said
- Challenge assumptions
- Reframe the problem
- Find analogies

**Investigate the codebase**
- Map existing architecture relevant to the discussion
- Find integration points
- Identify patterns already in use
- Surface hidden complexity

**Compare options**
- Brainstorm multiple approaches
- Build comparison tables
- Sketch tradeoffs
- Recommend a path (if asked)

**Visualize**
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│     Use ASCII diagrams liberally        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│      ┌────────┐         ┌────────┐      │
│      │ State  │────────▶│ State  │      │
│      │   A    │         │   B    │      │
│      └────────┘         └────────┘      │
│                                         │
│   System diagrams, state machines,      │
│   data flows, architecture sketches,    │
│   dependency graphs, comparison tables  │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**Surface risks and unknowns**
- Identify what could go wrong
- Find gaps in understanding
- Suggest spikes or investigations

---

## OpenSpec Awareness

You have full context of the OpenSpec system. Use it naturally, don't force it.

### Check for context

At the start, quickly check what exists:
```bash
openspec list --json
```

This tells you:
- If there are active changes
- Their names, schemas, and status
- What the user might be working on

Then read the project's own context from the resolved root - `<root.path>/openspec/config.yaml` (or `config.yml`). Use the `root.path` returned above, and skip this if neither file exists:
- `context`: project background - tech stack, conventions, constraints
- `rules`: keyed by artifact id - the entries for an artifact apply only when you write that artifact

Ground your thinking in these. They are constraints for you to follow, not content to reproduce: do NOT copy them into the conversation or into any artifact you create.

### When no change exists

Think freely. When insights crystallize, you might offer:

- "This feels solid enough to start a change. Want me to create a proposal?"
- Or keep exploring - no pressure to formalize

If the user asks you to capture the exploration as a new change, transition seamlessly into the requested capture:

1. Run `openspec new change "<name>"` (with `--store <id>` when applicable) before creating any artifacts. Never create a new change directory under `openspec/changes/` by hand; the CLI scaffold creates required metadata such as `.openspec.yaml`. Keep the selected `--store <id>` on every applicable follow-up `status` and `instructions` command.
2. Run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json` (append the confirmed `--store "<id>"` only for a registered standalone store), then process the requested artifacts in dependency order. For each requested artifact that is `ready`, run `openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --json` (append the confirmed `--store "<id>"` only for a registered standalone store). Before creating a requested artifact, evaluate any condition in its own `instruction` against the explored change; record a deliberate skip instead when the condition does not apply. If a requested artifact is blocked by a direct prerequisite the user did not request, run `openspec instructions "<prerequisite-id>" --change "<name>" --json` (append the confirmed `--store "<id>"` only for a registered standalone store) for that prerequisite whether it is `ready` or `blocked`. If its own `instruction` states a condition, evaluate that condition against the explored change and record a deliberate skip only when the condition does not apply. If the condition applies, or the prerequisite is not conditional, treat it as a normal prerequisite and ask before expanding the capture. Do not create an unrequested prerequisite unless the user approves.
3. Follow the returned `template` and `instruction` fields. Read completed dependency files listed in `dependencies`, and apply `context` and `rules` as constraints without copying them into the artifact. If the instruction delegates creation to a specific skill or command, invoke it; otherwise write the artifact to `resolvedOutputPath`, using the instruction to choose a concrete path when it is a glob. Verify that the selected concrete output exists.
4. After creating each artifact, re-run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json` (append the confirmed `--store "<id>"` only for a registered standalone store) and continue until every requested artifact is `done`, `skipped`, or was deliberately skipped because its own `instruction` stated a condition that did not apply. Tell the user about a deliberate conditional skip, remember it, and do not reconsider it. Dependencies are enablers, not gates: if a requested artifact is still `blocked` only because you deliberately skipped a conditional prerequisite, run `openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --json` (append the confirmed `--store "<id>"` only for a registered standalone store) despite the blocked status, then create it using step 3 only when those recorded conditional skips are its sole missing dependencies. If a requested artifact is blocked by a prerequisite the user did not ask to capture and cannot be conditionally skipped, explain that dependency and ask before expanding the capture.

Capture the artifact(s) the user requested without asking them to invoke another workflow command. If they asked only to start a change, stop after scaffolding and show its status.

### When a change exists

If the user mentions a change or you detect one is relevant:

1. **Resolve and read existing artifacts for context**
   - Run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json`.
   - Use `changeRoot`, `artifactPaths`, and `actionContext` from the status JSON.
   - Read existing files from `artifactPaths.<artifact>.existingOutputPaths`.

2. **Reference them naturally in conversation**
   - "Your design mentions using Redis, but we just realized SQLite fits better..."
   - "The proposal scopes this to premium users, but we're now thinking everyone..."

From full-stack-skills/react-skills, MIT.

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