Adopt Spec

Start a typed CLAUDE.md.spec.ts from an existing hand-written CLAUDE.md (or AGENTS.md). This is the non-destructive adoption path — you keep your existing instruction file as the starting point and get type safety going forward.

Adoption rules

Adoption is the safe, faithful on-ramp — never an upgrade in disguise. These are non-negotiable:

• Faithful. Preserve every rule, command, key file, and prose section as-is. Invent nothing — the spec must compile back to ~the user's existing file.
• Non-destructive. Never edit the original CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md. Only write the new .spec.ts. Never auto-compile over the file — switching it to spec-managed is a separate, explicit step the user runs with a diff to review.
• Don't escalate enforcement. Keep guidance() as guidance(). Upgrading to enforce() has a cost (config/plugins, possible false positives) and is a separate opt-in step — the strengthen skill. Adoption is not turning on strict / workflow gating.
• Reversible. vigiles eject hands the file back as plain hand-owned markdown anytime — it's never a one-way door. Tell the user this.
• Ask before writing. Present the generated spec and a conversion summary first; write only on the user's yes.
• A lighter touch exists. For no spec at all, inline ` comments are verified by vigiles lint` with the same engine.

Instructions

Step 1: Read the Existing File

Read the target instruction file (default: CLAUDE.md in the repo root). If the user specified a path, use that.

Also check if vigiles is installed: look for vigiles in package.json devDependencies. If not, suggest:

npm install -D vigiles

Step 2: Parse the Structure

Identify these sections in the markdown:

• Commands — lines like ` npm run build — description or - command — description`
• Key files — lines like ` src/foo.ts — description ` listing important files
• Rules — ### headings with **Enforced by:** or **Guidance only** annotations
• Prose sections — everything else (positioning, architecture, principles, etc.)

For each rule, classify it:

• Has **Enforced by:** \linter/rule\`→enforce("linter/rule", "why")`
• Has **Enforced by:** \code-review\`or similar non-linter →guidance("...")`
• Has **Guidance only** → guidance("...")
• Has no annotation → mark as TODO for the user to classify

Step 3: Generate the Spec File

Create CLAUDE.md.spec.ts (or the appropriate name based on the source file) with this structure:

import {
  claude,
  enforce,
  guidance,
  file,
  cmd,
  ref,
  instructions,
} from "vigiles/spec";

export default claude({
  sections: {
    // Prose sections here
  },

  keyFiles: {
    // Key files here
  },

  commands: {
    // Commands here
  },

  rules: {
    // Rules here
  },
});

Important guidelines:

• Use file() refs in sections where file paths appear in backticks — this enables stale reference detection
• Use cmd() refs for any npm run commands mentioned in sections
• Convert **Enforced by:** \code-review\`rules toguidance()` — code review is not a mechanical enforcement
• For rules with no annotation, add a // TODO: classify as enforce() or guidance() comment
• Keep rule IDs as kebab-case versions of the heading text
• Preserve the **Why:** text as the second argument to enforce() or guidance()
• If sections reference other files or skills, use ref() for cross-references

Step 4: Verify the Spec Compiles

Run:

npm run build
npx vigiles compile CLAUDE.md.spec.ts

Compare the compiled output against the original file. Key differences are expected (formatting, section ordering), but all rules, commands, key files, and prose content should be preserved.

Step 5: Present the Result

Show the user:

1. The generated spec file
2. How many rules were converted (enforce vs guidance vs TODO)
3. How many file/cmd refs were added for stale reference detection
4. The command to compile: npx vigiles compile
5. The command to verify: npx vigiles lint

Ask if they want you to write the file. If yes, also suggest adding to .gitignore or updating CI to run vigiles compile and vigiles lint.

Step 6: Optional — Set Up CI

If the user wants CI integration, suggest adding to their GitHub Actions workflow:

- name: Compile specs
  run: npx vigiles compile
- name: Verify references + integrity
  run: npx vigiles lint

Or using the vigiles GitHub Action:

- uses: zernie/vigiles@v1
  with:
    command: lint

Source & license

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

• Author: zernie
• Source: zernie/vigiles
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://vigiles.sh

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