Spec
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A spec is a detailed planning artifact generated by an AI agent that exceeds the scope of a simple plan, serving as a comprehensive intermediate document within a structured agentic workflow.
Role in Agentic Workflows
The spec is a component of the Ask-Plan-Audit-Build-Verify Workflow, positioned after initial asking/planning and before building. Its defining characteristic is its scale: it is described as "much larger than a plan," implying it captures not just the sequence of steps but the fuller context, requirements, and design decisions needed to guide subsequent agent actions. 28:08
This artifact is notably agent-generated rather than human-authored — the agent itself builds the spec from the initial prompt or plan. This positions the spec as both a reasoning artifact (forcing the agent to elaborate and structure its understanding before acting) and a communication artifact (providing a verifiable, auditable record of intent prior to execution).
Relationship to Other Workflow Artifacts
Within the Ask-Plan-Audit-Build-Verify framing, the spec sits between lightweight planning and concrete building. Its larger size relative to a plan suggests it may encompass things like:
- Detailed sub-task decomposition
- Dependency and constraint articulation
- Design rationale
This makes it particularly relevant for "messy forever work" — long-running, open-ended tasks where a brief plan would be insufficient to maintain coherent direction across many agent steps. 28:08