Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Installation

Initialize a New Project

The easiest way to get started is to initialize a new project:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <PROJECT_NAME>

Or initialize in the current directory:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init .
# or use the --here flag
uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init --here

Specify AI Agent

You can proactively specify your AI agent during initialization:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --ai claude
uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --ai gemini
uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --ai copilot

Specify Script Type (Shell vs PowerShell)

All automation scripts now have both Bash (.sh) and PowerShell (.ps1) variants.

Auto behavior:

  • Windows default: ps
  • Other OS default: sh
  • Interactive mode: you'll be prompted unless you pass --script

Force a specific script type:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --script sh
uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --script ps

Ignore Agent Tools Check

If you prefer to get the templates without checking for the right tools:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <project_name> --ai claude --ignore-agent-tools

Verification

After initialization, you should see the following commands available in your AI agent:

  • /specify - Create specifications
  • /plan - Generate implementation plans
  • /tasks - Break down into actionable tasks

The .specify/scripts directory will contain both .sh and .ps1 scripts.

Troubleshooting

Git Credential Manager on Linux

If you're having issues with Git authentication on Linux, you can install Git Credential Manager:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e
echo "Downloading Git Credential Manager v2.6.1..."
wget https://github.com/git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager/releases/download/v2.6.1/gcm-linux_amd64.2.6.1.deb
echo "Installing Git Credential Manager..."
sudo dpkg -i gcm-linux_amd64.2.6.1.deb
echo "Configuring Git to use GCM..."
git config --global credential.helper manager
echo "Cleaning up..."
rm gcm-linux_amd64.2.6.1.deb
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