ase-spec-activate

SkillDev tools

Activate Specification Know-How: load the SpecBook format contract, the SpecBook schema configuration of the project, and the list of specification (SPEC) artifacts into the context, so the specification can be read, queried, explained, and edited ad-hoc in plain conversation. Use *automatically* whenever the user wants to work with the specification files -- asks what the "spec" or "specification" says, wants to "look up", "query", "check", or "explain" specification content, or wants a small ad-hoc change to it -- and no dedicated specification skill (`ase-spec-edit`, `ase-sync-import`, `ase-sync-reconcile`, `ase-sync-export`) is invoked, as those activate the know-how implicitly.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the ase-spec-activate skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by rse/ase in plugin/skills/ase-spec-activate/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-meta.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-spec.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-tenets.md

Procedure

This skill is plan-less and read-mostly: it never composes or persists a task plan and MUST NOT call ase_task_save(...). It only loads know-how into the context and answers an optional query. It modifies SPEC artifacts only when the query explicitly asks for an ad-hoc change, and it never touches the artifact kinds CODE, DOCS, TASK, INFR, and OTHR.

  1. Initialize:

    Set (with any leading and trailing whitespace stripped). Do not output anything.

  2. Activate Format:

    The SpecBook format contract is already loaded into the context through the included ase-format-spec.md (and its nested ase-format-specbook.md). Internalize it now: the object kinds, the object ids and {{<id/>}} anchors, the [[xxx]] references, the , BECAUSE rationale split, the Complex/Concise/Grouped format variants, and the Created:/Modified: frontmatter block. Do not output anything.

  3. Activate Schema:

    1. Set to the path of the SpecBook SCHEMA Model of the project (resolved as described in ase-format-spec.md) and to standard for the bundled schema or custom for a project-specific one. Do not output anything.

  4. Activate Artifacts:

    Resolve the SPEC artifacts by calling the ase_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ]) tool of the ase MCP server once and reading the returned artifacts array of { kind, files } objects. Set to the project-relative file list and to its length. Do not read the artifacts themselves in this step. Do not output anything.

  5. Report Activation:

    Only output the following :

    SCHEMA: <schema-file/> () SPEC: <ase-spec-basedir/> ( artifacts)

  6. Answer Query:

    Serve ad-hoc under the Activated Behavior below: read the SPEC artifacts of which are related to , resolve their [[xxx]] references across artifacts, and answer the query grounded in the specification content, citing the artifact file and object id of every statement you rely on. If asks for a change, apply it as an ad-hoc modification according to the Activated Behavior. Set to the resulting answer and only output the following :

  7. Finish:

    Finish the skill processing, but first give the closing hints by expanding the following (which, depending on the configured , may each expand into nothing and hence emit no output at all):

Activated Behavior

Once this skill has run, the following rules stay in force for the remainder of the session whenever SPEC artifacts are read, queried, explained, or modified ad-hoc in plain conversation -- i.e. outside of any dedicated specification skill:

  • Resolution: You MUST resolve the SPEC artifacts via the ase_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ]) tool of the ase MCP server and never guess their file paths. Re-resolve them whenever artifacts might have been added or removed.

  • Interpretation: You MUST interpret the specification content strictly according to the SpecBook format contract and the SpecBook SCHEMA Model: object kinds, object ids and {{<id/>}} anchors, properties, [[xxx]] references, and , BECAUSE rationales. Before answering a query, resolve the [[xxx]] references across artifacts, and ground every answer in the specification content by citing artifact file and object id.

  • Modification: Every ad-hoc modification of a SPEC artifact MUST honor the GENERIC TENETS and the SPECIFYING TENETS of the ASE Tenets, and MUST keep the artifact conformant to the format contract and the schema: the Created:/Modified: frontmatter block, the heading levels, the format variants, the schema-allowed object kinds, nestings, and property keys, the object ids and anchors, the rationale split, and the references. Call the ase_timestamp(format: "yyyy-LL-dd HH:mm") tool of the ase MCP server once per change set and use its result to refresh the Modified: line of every changed artifact and for both the Created: and Modified: lines of every generated artifact.

  • Validation: After every ad-hoc modification, call the ase_specbook_lint() tool of the ase MCP server, fix the reported diagnostics in the affected SPEC artifacts for at most three rounds, and report any remaining diagnostics as <file/>:<line/>:<column/>: <message/> lines.

  • Restriction: An ad-hoc modification of the specification MUST stay restricted to the SPEC artifacts -- the artifact kinds CODE, DOCS, TASK, INFR, and OTHR are never touched as part of it. For a substantial or multi-artifact change, point the user to /ase-spec-edit instead of applying it ad-hoc.

  • Tandem: The dedicated specification skills ase-spec-edit, ase-sync-import, ase-sync-reconcile, and ase-sync-export include the format contract themselves and activate the know-how implicitly. Whenever one of them is invoked, its own procedure takes precedence over these rules, and this skill MUST NOT be invoked from within it. Conversely, a run of this skill never replaces such a dedicated skill when the user explicitly asks for it.

Signals

GitHub stars
52
Forks
5
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
ase-spec-activate
Source
github.com/rse/ase