CLI Reference

OpenSpec provides a CLI for managing specs and changes.

Command Overview

Command	Description
init	Initialize OpenSpec in a project
list	View active changes or specs
show	Display change or spec details
validate	Check spec formatting
archive	Move completed changes to archive
update	Refresh AI instruction files
view	Interactive dashboard
config	Manage global settings

Quick Reference

# Project setup
openspec init                    # Initialize OpenSpec
openspec update                  # Refresh AI instructions

# List items
openspec list                    # Active changes
openspec list --specs            # All specifications

# View details
openspec show my-change          # Change details
openspec show auth --type spec   # Spec details

# Validation
openspec validate my-change      # Validate change
openspec validate --strict       # Strict mode

# Complete workflow
openspec archive my-change       # Archive after deploy
openspec view                    # Interactive dashboard

Global Flags

These flags work with most commands:

Flag	Description
--json	Machine-readable output
--no-interactive	Disable prompts
--help	Show command help
--version	Show version

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	General error
2	Validation failure

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
XDG_CONFIG_HOME	Global config directory
CODEX_HOME	Codex prompts directory

Examples

Initialize with specific tools

openspec init --tools claude,cursor

Validate all changes

openspec validate --strict

Archive without prompts

openspec archive my-change --yes

JSON output for scripts

openspec list --json | jq '.changes[].name'