name: review-spec description: | Use after implementing tasks or mid-feature to verify code matches design docs and ensure they are in sync. Detects spec deviations, missing implementations, doc inconsistencies, and outdated docs in design and implementation documentation.
Implementation Review
Conventions
Read capy knowledge base conventions at shared-capy-knowledge-protocol.md.
Profile detection. See shared-profile-detection.md for the shared detection procedure. When an active profile populates a review-spec/ phase slot, its index.md content is loaded before per-task verification begins.
Overview
Systematically compare implemented code against a feature's design.md, implementation.md, and tasks.md in /docs/wip/[feature]/. Works both mid-implementation (reviewing completed tasks only) and post-implementation (full feature review).
Findings go in both directions — code that deviates from spec AND spec that is wrong or outdated given the code.
Required Outputs
Before declaring the review complete, verify all outputs are delivered:
- Review report presented to user
- User-confirmed intentional
SPEC_DEV/EXTRA_IMPLfindings indexed askk:arch-decisions(skip if none confirmed) - Next steps confirmation from user
Indexing is owned by this skill — callers (e.g., implement) do NOT duplicate it.
Review Modes
Standard Mode (/kk:review-spec)
Reviews spec conformance in the main conversation context. Single-pass review using the workflow below.
Isolated Mode (/kk:review-spec:isolated)
Delegates detection to an independent spec-reviewer sub-agent that did not write the code, then annotates its findings with type-specific author context. Low-relevance types (MISSING_IMPL, DOC_INCON, OUTDATED_DOC, AMBIGUOUS) get brief annotations; high-relevance types (SPEC_DEV, EXTRA_IMPL) get detailed annotations with spec update suggestions.
- Cost: Higher (sub-agent + annotation)
- Isolation: True — reviewer has zero authorship bias or session context
- Degradation: If sub-agent fails, suggests standard mode fallback
- Best for: When extra rigor is worth the cost (post-implementation, pre-merge)
See review-isolated.md for the isolated workflow.
Finding Types
Each finding is classified by type (what kind of mismatch) and severity (how urgent).
| Type | Code | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missing Implementation | MISSING_IMPL | Spec describes something that was not implemented | Design says "rate limiting on /api/auth" but no rate limiter exists |
| Extra Implementation | EXTRA_IMPL | Code implements something not in the spec | A caching layer was added that design docs don't mention |
| Spec Deviation | SPEC_DEV | Code implements the feature but differently than specified | Design says "bcrypt cost 12" but code uses cost 10 |
| Doc Inconsistency | DOC_INCON | Documentation contradicts itself or is internally inconsistent | design.md says JWT tokens, implementation.md says session cookies |
| Outdated Doc | OUTDATED_DOC | Code is correct but docs haven't been updated to reflect reality | Endpoint was renamed during implementation but docs still reference old name |
| Ambiguous Spec | AMBIGUOUS | Spec is unclear enough that multiple interpretations are valid | "Support pagination" without specifying cursor vs offset |
IaC Profile Semantics
When profile detection identifies an Infrastructure-as-Code profile (e.g., Kubernetes, Terraform), the declarative artifacts ARE the implementation — there is no separate runtime code to trace. Apply these adjusted type-mappings:
- A design-specified resource whose manifest is absent →
MISSING_IMPL(absence in declarative systems is a gap, not a pending item or inconsistency) - A field value in a manifest that disagrees with the design →
SPEC_DEV - A manifest resource the design does not mention →
EXTRA_IMPL
DOC_INCON and OUTDATED_DOC apply unchanged — their semantics are doc-vs-doc or code-vs-doc, which declarative IaC does not alter.
For each active IaC profile that populates a review-spec/ slot, load ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/profiles/<name>/review-spec/index.md for domain-specific verification patterns.
Severity Levels
Same P0–P3 scale as review-code, adapted for spec conformance:
| Level | Name | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | Critical | Missing core functionality, security spec violated, data model mismatch | Must fix before merge |
| P1 | High | Significant behavioral deviation from spec, missing error handling that spec requires | Should fix before merge |
| P2 | Medium | Minor deviation, doc inconsistency, partial implementation of a spec requirement | Fix or create follow-up |
| P3 | Low | Naming mismatch, doc typo, cosmetic deviation from spec | Optional |
Confidence Levels
Each finding gets a confidence score (1–10) with mandatory reasoning explaining what was checked, what evidence supports the finding, and what uncertainty remains.
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 9–10 | Certain — direct, unambiguous contradiction between spec and code |
| 7–8 | Strong — clear evidence but minor room for interpretation |
| 5–6 | Moderate — likely issue but spec is somewhat vague or code has plausible alternative reading |
| 3–4 | Uncertain — possible issue, needs human judgment |
| 1–2 | Speculative — gut feeling, very ambiguous spec or indirect evidence |
Workflow
Mandatory order — spec before code. The flow below is strictly sequential. Do not read implementation code, run grep/serena against the codebase, or form spec-deviation findings until you have loaded the feature's design/implementation docs AND completed profile detection and loaded all resolved review-spec/ profile content. The only early contact with the implementation is a feature-directory listing (filenames only) — enough to drive profile detection, not enough to pattern-match deviations.
See review-process.md for the detailed step-by-step process.
Phases:
- Load feature documents — read
tasks.md,design.md,implementation.md(the spec, not the subject matter) - Capy search: Search
kk:arch-decisionsfor design rationale that may explain intentional spec deviations. Searchkk:review-findingsfor known patterns from prior reviews. - Detect active profiles and load
review-spec/content from matching profiles - Determine review scope (mid-implementation vs post-implementation)
- Per-task verification against spec — only now read implementation code (apply IaC type-mapping when an IaC profile is active)
- Cross-cutting concern check
- Self-check and confidence assessment
- Present findings
- Index confirmed deviations — index user-confirmed intentional
SPEC_DEV/EXTRA_IMPLaskk:arch-decisions
Invocation
Use the /review-spec [feature-name] command, or invoke naturally when a user asks to verify implementation against docs.
For isolated mode with an independent sub-agent:
/kk:review-spec:isolated [feature-name]