AI-Powered Spec-Driven Development Prompts

A comprehensive collection of prompts designed for GitHub Copilot and other coding agents to facilitate structured, approval-gated software development workflows. This system transforms high-level ideas into formal specifications, technical designs, and implementation plans following industry best practices.

Role

This project adheres to the Linus Torvalds Development Guidelines as defined in design-principle.instructions.md:

Core Principles

• Collaboration First: Absolutely no implementation without explicit user approval
• Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS): Avoid over-engineering and unnecessary complexity
• English for Code: All code, comments, and documentation must be in English for maintainability
• Pragmatic Solutions: Favor obviously correct code over clever tricks
• Maintainability: Long-term convenience over short-term hacks

The development approach emphasizes directness, pragmatism, and "good taste" in code, ensuring every abstraction justifies its existence and complexity is only introduced when it solves real problems.

Kiro Workflow

The system implements a structured, four-phase spec-driven development workflow with mandatory approval gates:

/createSpec

Requirements Generation Phase

Transforms high-level feature ideas into formal, unambiguous requirements documents using industry standards.

Key Features:

• Generates requirements.md in structured .kiro/specs/[feature-name]/ directories
• Uses User Stories format: "As a [role], I want [feature], so that [benefit]"
• Implements EARS (Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax) for acceptance criteria
• Incorporates project context from .kiro/steering/ directory
• Enforces explicit approval gates before proceeding

Workflow:

1. Receive high-level feature request
2. Generate comprehensive first draft with scenarios and edge cases
3. Wait for explicit user approval
4. Iterate based on feedback until approved

/design

Technical Design Phase

Converts approved requirements into comprehensive technical blueprints.

Key Features:

• Creates detailed design.md technical implementation plans
• Synthesizes requirements, project context, and existing codebase analysis
• Includes architectural overview, data flow diagrams, and component definitions
• Specifies API endpoints, database schema changes, and security considerations
• Outlines comprehensive test strategy

Components:

• Architectural Overview: High-level solution integration
• Data Flow Diagrams: Mermaid.js visualizations
• Interface Definitions: TypeScript types and component specs
• API Contracts: Complete endpoint specifications
• Security Analysis: Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Test Strategy: Unit, integration, and E2E test planning

/createTask

Implementation Planning Phase

Decomposes approved technical designs into executable task hierarchies.

Key Features:

• Generates hierarchical tasks.md implementation checklists
• Creates numbered high-level goals with indented sub-tasks
• Ensures logical ordering and dependency management
• Provides full traceability to requirements and acceptance criteria
• No approval required - signals readiness for implementation

Structure:

• High-level tasks: - [ ] 1. Goal description
• Sub-tasks: Indented bullet points with specific actions
• Traceability: - _Requirements: [requirement numbers]_

/executeTask

Implementation Execution Phase

Active development phase with autonomous progression and user control.

Key Features:

• Interactive command-driven workflow (implement, continue, implement 3)
• Mandatory comprehensive context gathering before coding
• Full document verification and comprehension summaries
• Implementation planning with architecture relationship analysis
• Automatic progress tracking and task completion marking

Mandatory Process:

1. Context Gathering: Read all steering, design, and requirements documents
2. Comprehension Verification: Summarize understanding and connections
3. Implementation Planning: Explain approach and file modifications
4. Execution: Code implementation following all specifications
5. Progress Tracking: Update task status and report completion

Tools

Version Control & Code Quality

/commit

Professional Git Commit Assistant

Analyzes changes and creates professional commit messages following best practices.

Features:

• Categorizes file types and evaluates change patterns
• Filters out internal development artifacts
• Determines appropriate commit strategy
• Generates conventional commit messages
• Identifies breaking changes and dependencies

/prReview

Comprehensive Code Review Assistant

Conducts in-depth Pull Request reviews simulating senior developer expertise.

Prerequisites:

• GitHub CLI (gh) must be installed and authenticated
• Install: brew install gh (macOS) or visit https://cli.github.com/
• Authenticate: gh auth login

Capabilities:

• Fetches and analyzes PR metadata using GitHub CLI
• Performs comprehensive change analysis
• Identifies risks, security issues, and architectural concerns
• Provides specific, actionable feedback
• Evaluates testing coverage and documentation quality

Usage

Each prompt is designed to work independently or as part of the complete workflow:

1. Start with /createSpec for new features
2. Progress to /design after requirements approval
3. Use /createTask to plan implementation
4. Execute with /executeTask for development
5. Support with /commit and /prReview** for quality assurance

All prompts enforce the collaboration-first principle, ensuring human oversight at critical decision points while maintaining development velocity through structured automation.

References

• GitHub Awesome Copilot - Curated list of GitHub Copilot resources, prompts, and best practices (Note: This project was developed independently without reference to this repository)