# Idea To Spec

> Converts vague ideas into concrete, testable specifications with acceptance criteria. No implementation begins without a spec.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-developersglobal-ai-agent-skills-idea-to-spec`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [DevelopersGlobal](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/developersglobal)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [DevelopersGlobal](https://github.com/DevelopersGlobal)
- **Source:** https://github.com/DevelopersGlobal/ai-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/idea-to-spec
- **Website:** https://developersglobal.github.io/ai-agent-skills/

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-developersglobal-ai-agent-skills-idea-to-spec
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

## Overview

Vague ideas produce vague implementations. This skill transforms any idea — no matter how fuzzy — into a concrete specification with clear scope, acceptance criteria, and non-goals.

## When to Use

- At the start of any new feature
- When a request is ambiguous
- Before creating tasks or writing any code

## Process

### Step 1: Capture the Core Problem

1. Write: *"Users currently can't [do X], which causes [pain Y]."*
2. Identify: who has this problem? How often? What's the impact?
3. Distinguish problem from solution — don't spec a solution until the problem is understood.

**Verify:** You can state the problem without mentioning any implementation.

### Step 2: Define Success

4. Write 3–7 acceptance criteria in this format:
   ```
   Given [context]
   When [action]
   Then [outcome]
   ```
5. Each criterion must be binary — either it passes or it doesn't.
6. Include negative cases: *"Given X, the system must NOT do Y."*

**Verify:** A QA engineer can test each criterion without asking for clarification.

### Step 3: Define Scope

7. **In scope**: List what is explicitly included.
8. **Out of scope**: List what is explicitly excluded — as important as what's included.
9. **Open questions**: List any decisions that still need resolution before implementation.

**Verify:** The out-of-scope list has at least 2 items.

### Step 4: Define Non-Functional Requirements

10. Performance: response time, throughput, scale targets.
11. Security: auth requirements, data sensitivity.
12. Reliability: uptime SLA, acceptable error rate.

## Verification

- [ ] Problem statement written without mentioning implementation
- [ ] Acceptance criteria in Given/When/Then format
- [ ] Each criterion is binary (pass/fail)
- [ ] Explicit out-of-scope list
- [ ] Open questions listed

## References

- [think-before-coding skill](../think-before-coding/SKILL.md)
- [task-decomposition skill](../task-decomposition/SKILL.md)

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [DevelopersGlobal](https://github.com/DevelopersGlobal)
- **Source:** [DevelopersGlobal/ai-agent-skills](https://github.com/DevelopersGlobal/ai-agent-skills)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://developersglobal.github.io/ai-agent-skills/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-developersglobal-ai-agent-skills-idea-to-spec
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/developersglobal
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.