Idea: Content Specification

[andrewmarconi]

I've been using spec-kit for a project and have noticed that content-related outputs, such as web page copy, can be inconsistent. Without clear guidance, tools like Claude Code tend to hallucinate and then get stuck in those patterns.

Initially, I considered including project-specific content within the constitution.md or specification, but it didn't feel like the right place, and might actually bloat what gets sent as context when it's not being worked on. So, I've been experimenting with a /.specify/content folder containing logically named markdown files, which I then reference in constitution.md. This approach has been very successful.

For example, I'm currently developing a public website for a non-profit organization. I created /.specify/content/organization.md to store practical information about the organization, such as its mission, vision, phone number, and EIN. I also made a /.specify/content/copydeck.md file for specific text that must be included, distinct from information the model can extract from the organization document.

I’m sharing this in case (1) it may be a useful technique for others, (2) wondering if it might be a good addition to spec-kit, and (3) curious to hear what other techniques people have used to steer results.

[jeremyeder]

How much context engineering should spec-kit itself take on vs put on the user.

[andrewmarconi]

Agreed, @jeremyeder -- the developer should definitely be very involved. However, I'm trying to address controlling some of the hallucinations that are coming out of Claude Code (not sure how bad it is with other clients). Maybe theres a more sane way to keep this under control such as in the constitution.md to always stop and ask the user about specific details rather than make stuff up? Something like the [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] rules for the /plan stage?

Or maybe, to your point, this falls outside of the purview of spec-kit. For me, /.specify/content seemed like a logical place to place contextual information -- whether it's built in to the workflow of spec-kit or not.