Create Spec
Guide a collaborative discussion to explore a project idea, then synthesize the conversation into a comprehensive specification at .turbo/spec.md.
Step 1: Capture the Vision
Absorb whatever the user has provided — a sentence, a paragraph, a brain dump. Do not interrupt or ask questions yet. Restate the vision back in two or three sentences to confirm understanding.
Then ask 3-5 focused opening questions targeting the biggest unknowns. Skip anything the user already answered. Prioritize from:
- What problem does this solve, and for whom?
- Is this greenfield or does existing code/infrastructure exist?
- Are there strong technology preferences or constraints?
- What does the MVP look like versus the full vision?
- Are there hard deadlines, budget limits, or team size constraints?
Step 2: Deep-Dive Discussion
Explore the project through multi-turn conversation. Cover these categories over the course of the discussion — track coverage internally but do not present them as a rigid checklist. Follow the user's energy and weave topics in naturally.
| Category | What to explore |
|---|---|
| Users and personas | Who uses this? Goals, pain points, technical sophistication |
| Core features | Primary capabilities and user-facing workflows |
| Architecture | Client/server split, monolith vs services, real-time needs, offline support |
| Tech stack | Languages, frameworks, databases, hosting — preferences and constraints |
| Data model | Key entities, relationships, storage strategy |
| Integrations | Third-party APIs, auth providers, external data sources |
| Non-functional requirements | Performance, security, accessibility, i18n, compliance |
| MVP scope | What ships first? What is explicitly deferred? |
| Open questions | Unknowns needing research, prototyping, or external input |
Discussion guidelines
- Ask one or two questions at a time, not a wall of questions
- When the user gives a short answer, probe deeper before moving on
- Offer concrete suggestions and trade-off analysis — be a collaborator, not an interviewer
- If the user says "you decide" or "what do you recommend", make a clear recommendation with reasoning
- When all categories have sufficient depth or the user signals readiness, confirm before moving to drafting
Step 3: Draft the Spec
Synthesize the entire discussion into .turbo/spec.md. Structure the document organically based on what emerged in conversation:
- Include only sections with real substance — no placeholder filler
- Use concrete details from the discussion, not vague generalizations
- Where the user deferred a decision, capture it in an Open Questions section
- Where recommendations were accepted, state them as decisions with brief rationale
- Adapt the structure to the project — a CLI tool spec looks different from a SaaS platform spec
Create the .turbo/ directory if it does not exist. Accept a different output path if the user provides one.
Step 4: Review and Finalize
Present the draft to the user. Offer three paths:
- Approve — spec is final
- Revise — user specifies sections to change; apply edits and re-present
- Discuss more — return to Step 2 for additional exploration, then re-draft
After approval:
The spec is ready at.turbo/spec.md. To break it into implementation prompts, run/create-prompt-plan.
Rules
- Never skip Step 2 — even with extensive initial context, confirm understanding and probe gaps
- The spec is the only output — do not create code, scaffolding, or other project files
- If the project is trivially small (single-file script, simple config), say so and suggest skipping the spec process