/amq-spec — Collaborative Specification Workflow

This skill defines a structured two-agent specification flow.

Use canonical phases in order: Research -> Discuss -> Draft -> Review -> Present -> Execute

Detailed step-by-step protocol lives in references/spec-workflow.md. This file is the concise operational entrypoint.

Parse Input

From the user prompt, extract:

• topic: short kebab-case spec name (e.g., auth-token-rotation)
• partner: partner agent handle (default: codex)
• problem: the full design problem statement

If topic/problem are unclear, ask for clarification.

Pre-flight

1. Verify AMQ is available: which amq
2. Verify the AMQ root is discoverable (.amqrc, AMQ env vars, or the default .agent-mail layout); otherwise run: amq coop init
3. Use thread name: spec/<topic>

First Action: Send problem to partner IMMEDIATELY

The entire point of the spec workflow is parallel research — both agents exploring the problem independently, then comparing notes. Every second you spend researching before sending is a second your partner sits idle waiting for the problem statement. That's why the send comes first, even though your instinct might be to "research first to give better context."

amq send --to <partner> --kind question \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:request \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Spec: <topic>" --body "<problem>"

Send the user's problem description verbatim — your own analysis goes in the research phase, not the kickoff. If you pre-analyze, you bias the partner's independent research, which defeats the purpose of having two perspectives.

Label Convention

Labels are how both agents and the receiver-side protocol table know which phase the conversation is in. Use existing AMQ kinds plus labels to express spec workflow semantics:

Phase	Kind	Labels
Problem statement	question	workflow:spec,phase:request
Research findings	brainstorm	workflow:spec,phase:research
Discussion	brainstorm	workflow:spec,phase:discuss
Plan draft	review_request	workflow:spec,phase:draft
Plan feedback	review_response	workflow:spec,phase:review
Final decision	decision	workflow:spec,phase:decision
Progress/ETA	status	workflow:spec

Quick Command Skeleton

# Initiate spec with problem statement
amq send --to <partner> --kind question \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:request \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Spec: <topic>" --body "<problem>"

# Submit independent research
amq send --to <partner> --kind brainstorm \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:research \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Research: <topic>" --body "<findings>"

# Discuss and align
amq send --to <partner> --kind brainstorm \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:discuss \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Discussion: <topic>" --body "<analysis>"

# Draft plan
amq send --to <partner> --kind review_request \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:draft \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Plan: <topic>" --body "<plan>"

# Review plan
amq send --to <partner> --kind review_response \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:review \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Review: <topic>" --body "<feedback>"

# Optional final decision message
amq send --to <partner> --kind decision \
  --labels workflow:spec,phase:decision \
  --thread spec/<topic> --subject "Final: <topic>" --body "<final plan>"

When You RECEIVE a Spec Message

If you receive a message labeled workflow:spec, your action depends on the phase:

Label	Your action
phase:request	Read the problem statement, do your own independent research first, then submit findings as brainstorm + phase:research
phase:research	Before reading: check if you've already submitted your own research on this thread. If not, do your own research and submit it first. This preserves research independence — reading the partner's findings before forming your own view contaminates your perspective. Once your research is submitted, read the thread and start discussion as brainstorm + phase:discuss.
phase:discuss	Reply with your analysis, continue discussion until aligned
phase:draft	Review the plan and send feedback as review_response + phase:review. Your job here is review, not implementation — the plan needs to survive scrutiny before anyone builds it.
phase:review	Revise plan if needed, or confirm alignment
phase:decision	Stop. A phase:decision message is agent-to-agent alignment, not user approval, so do not implement from a spec decision alone. Only the human authorizes implementation, recorded as a structural gate to the initialized human handle (conventionally user; see the Operator Gates section in /amq-cli). Wait until the initiator confirms the human approved on the gate thread and assigns you work.

Why the partner doesn't implement: The spec workflow is a design process. The initiator owns the relationship with the user and presents the final plan. If the partner implements without approval, the user loses control over what gets built. The agent-to-agent phase:decision message is alignment, not authorization: human approval is a structural gate to the initialized human handle, and partner agents must not implement from a spec decision alone. Implementation starts only after the initiator explicitly tells you the human approved and assigns work.

Protocol Discipline

These rules exist because violations silently break the workflow's value proposition:

• Send before researching — parallel research is the whole point. Pre-researching wastes your partner's time and biases the outcome toward your initial framing.
• Submit your own research before reading partner's — reading first contaminates your independent perspective. Two agents who read the same code and reach the same conclusion is less valuable than two agents who explore independently and then compare notes.
• Don't skip phases — each phase builds on the previous. Collapsing directly to a finished spec skips the discussion where misunderstandings surface.
• Use spec/<topic> threads and the label convention — this is how both agents (and the tooling) know which phase the conversation is in. Without consistent labels, the receiver-side protocol table above breaks.
• Don't enter plan mode during research if it blocks tool usage — you need tools to explore the codebase.
• Present the final plan to the user before executing, and raise a structural gate. The initiator owns the user relationship. After the decision phase, present the plan in chat AND raise a structural human gate using the initialized human handle (conventionally user) on a stable gate/<topic> thread, then wait for explicit approval on that thread. The agent-to-agent phase:decision message is alignment only; partner agents must not implement from it. See the Operator Gates section in /amq-cli for canonical mechanics, seeding, and guardrails.

Reference

For full protocol details, templates, and phase gates, see:

• references/spec-workflow.md