openspec-continue-change

Continue working on a change by creating the next artifact.

Store selection: If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run openspec store list --json to discover registered store ids, then pass --store <id> on the commands that read or write specs and changes (new change, status, instructions, list, show, validate, archive, doctor, context, schemas, view). Once selected, treat --store <id> as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run openspec status --change "<name>" --json --store "<id>", not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local openspec/ root.

Project check: These steps expect a project that already uses OpenSpec. Before the first step that writes anything (new change, archive, sync specs, or authoring an artifact file), confirm the project has a root: run openspec list --json (with --store <id> when a store is selected, since the store is then the root) and read root. A root object means the project is set up. "root": null means it is not - there is no openspec/ directory here, and a write such as openspec new change would create one as a side effect. The command also exits non-zero, which is that answer rather than a broken CLI, so read the JSON instead of retrying or working around it.

One "root": null is not about setup: when a status error message starts with Declared in or Invalid store declaration in and names this project's openspec/config.yaml (or config.yml), the project does use OpenSpec through a store it declares, which this machine cannot resolve (the store is not registered, or the store: line is malformed). Do not treat it as uninitialized and skip the branches below: stop before writing and show the user that error's message and fix.

Otherwise, with no root, what happens next depends on how this workflow was reached:

• Auto-selected: you chose this workflow yourself, without the user naming OpenSpec, naming this skill, or running its slash command. Stop using OpenSpec and answer the request normally, as you would with no OpenSpec installed. Do not ask them to set anything up and do not mention OpenSpec setup.
• Explicit OpenSpec request: the user named OpenSpec, named this skill, or ran its slash command. Stop before writing and ask how to proceed: set this project up (openspec init), target a store they already have (--store <id>), or continue without OpenSpec for this request. Wait for their answer.

In both branches, never create the root as a side effect: do not run openspec init until the user asks for it, do not hand-create openspec/ files, and do not let a command create it.

Input: Optionally specify a change name. If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

Steps

1. Select the change

   If a name is provided, use it. Otherwise:

   • Infer from conversation context if the user mentioned a change
   • Auto-select if only one active change exists
   • If ambiguous, run openspec list --json to get available changes sorted by most recently modified, and ask the user to select one

   When prompting, present the top 3-4 most recently modified changes as options, showing:

   • Change name
   • Status (e.g., "0/5 tasks", "complete", "no tasks")
   • How recently it was modified (from lastModified field)

   Mark the most recently modified change as "(Recommended)" since it's likely what the user wants to continue.

   Always announce: "Using change: " and how to override (e.g., /openspec-continue-change <other>).

2. Check current status

   openspec status --change "<name>" --json
   

   Parse the JSON to understand current state. The response includes:

   • schemaName: The workflow schema being used (e.g., "spec-driven")
   • artifacts: Array of artifacts with their status ("done", "skipped", "ready", "blocked")
   • isPlanningComplete: Boolean indicating if all planning artifacts are complete. Older CLI versions expose the same value as isComplete.
   • planningHome, changeRoot, artifactPaths, and actionContext: path and scope context. Use these instead of assuming repo-local paths.

3. Act based on status:

   ---

   Before anything else, finish a partly written artifact:

   • An artifact whose output is a glob pattern (e.g. specs/**/*.md) reads done as soon as one matching file exists, so a run interrupted while writing its files leaves it done with some still missing
   • For each such done artifact, first get its instructions and read any completed dependencies needed to determine the expected files. Then compare those files with artifactPaths.<id>.existingOutputPaths. For spec-driven's specs, read the proposal and check for one specs/<capability-path>/spec.md per capability it lists; resolve each expected path against changeRoot before comparing path identity, and verify each one remains inside changeRoot after resolving symlinks, both in its parent directories and in the file itself if it already exists
   • Never write an expected path that fails that check; stop and tell the user. If any are missing, write only the missing files, each at its checked path - when the instruction field delegates creation to a skill or command, invoke it only if it can write each file to its checked path; otherwise stop and tell the user - and STOP - that counts as this invocation's ONE artifact. If you cannot tell whether a file was left out on purpose, ask the user

   ---

   If all planning artifacts are complete (isPlanningComplete: true, or legacy isComplete: true):

   • Congratulate the user
   • Show final status including the schema used
   • Suggest: "Planning is complete! You can now implement this change. Once implementation and any tracked work are complete, archive it."
   • STOP

   ---

   If artifacts are ready to create (status shows artifacts with status: "ready"):

   • Pick the FIRST artifact with status: "ready" from the status output
   • Get its instructions:

     openspec instructions <artifact-id> --change "<name>" --json
     

   • Parse the JSON. The key fields are:
     • context: Project background (constraints for you - do NOT include in output)
     • rules: Artifact-specific rules (constraints for you - do NOT include in output)
     • template: The structure to use for your output file
     • instruction: Schema-specific guidance
     • resolvedOutputPath: Resolved path or pattern to write the artifact
     • dependencies: Completed artifacts to read for context (entries with skipped: true have no files - do not look for them)
     • skipped/warning: present when the change declares skip_specs and this artifact must NOT be created - pick another artifact
   • Create the artifact file:
     • Read any completed dependency files for context - always re-read them from disk, even if you saw them earlier in the conversation (the user may have edited them)
     • Choose the output path before creating anything. If the resolvedOutputPath specified in instructions is a glob pattern, choose a concrete path inside changeRoot using the schema instruction and the change's context, and verify it remains inside changeRoot after resolving symlinks, both in its parent directories and in the file itself if it already exists; if it does not, stop and tell the user. Otherwise the output path is resolvedOutputPath
     • If the instruction field delegates creation to a specific skill or command, invoke it only if it can write the artifact to that output path; otherwise stop and tell the user
     • Otherwise, write it yourself:
       • Use template as the structure - fill in its sections
       • Apply context and rules as constraints when writing - but do NOT copy them into the file
       • Write the file to that output path
     • Either way, verify the artifact file exists at that output path
   • Show what was created and what's now unlocked
   • STOP after creating ONE artifact

   ---

   If no artifacts are ready (all blocked):

   • This shouldn't happen with a valid schema
   • Show status and suggest checking for issues

4. After creating an artifact, show progress

   openspec status --change "<name>"
   

Output

After each invocation, show:

• Which artifact was created
• Schema workflow being used
• Current progress (N/M complete)
• What artifacts are now unlocked
• Prompt: "Want to continue? Just ask me to continue or tell me what to do next."

Artifact Creation Guidelines

The artifact types and their purpose depend on the schema. The instruction field from the instructions output is the authoritative guidance for each artifact - follow it even when the artifact has a familiar name (proposal.md, tasks.md, etc.), since custom schemas may define different content or a different process for the same file names.

If the instruction field directs you to use a specific skill or command to create the artifact, invoke it instead of writing the artifact directly - but only once you have chosen and checked the output path, and only if it can write there.

Guardrails

• Create ONE artifact per invocation
• Always read dependency artifacts before creating a new one - re-read from disk, not from conversation memory (files may have changed since you last saw them)
• Never skip artifacts or create out of order
• If context is unclear, ask the user before creating
• Verify the artifact file exists after writing before marking progress
• Use the schema's artifact sequence, don't assume specific artifact names
• IMPORTANT: context and rules are constraints for YOU, not content for the file
  • Do NOT copy <context>, <rules>, <project_context> blocks into the artifact
  • These guide what you write, but should never appear in the output