ase-spec-activate
SkillDev toolsActivate 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.
No other account needed.
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.
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Initialize:
Set (with any leading and trailing whitespace stripped). Do not output anything.
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Activate Format:
The SpecBook format contract is already loaded into the context through the included
ase-format-spec.md(and its nestedase-format-specbook.md). Internalize it now: the object kinds, the object ids and{{<id/>}}anchors, the[[xxx]]references, the, BECAUSErationale split, the Complex/Concise/Grouped format variants, and theCreated:/Modified:frontmatter block. Do not output anything. -
Activate Schema:
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Set to the path of the SpecBook SCHEMA Model of the project (resolved as described in
ase-format-spec.md) and tostandardfor the bundled schema orcustomfor a project-specific one. Do not output anything.
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Activate Artifacts:
Resolve the
SPECartifacts by calling thease_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ])tool of theaseMCP server once and reading the returnedartifactsarray 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. -
Report Activation:
Only output the following :
SCHEMA:
<schema-file/>() SPEC:<ase-spec-basedir/>( artifacts) -
Answer Query:
Serve ad-hoc under the Activated Behavior below: read the
SPECartifacts 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 : -
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:
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Resolution: You MUST resolve the
SPECartifacts via thease_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ])tool of theaseMCP 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, BECAUSErationales. 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
SPECartifact 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: theCreated:/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 thease_timestamp(format: "yyyy-LL-dd HH:mm")tool of theaseMCP server once per change set and use its result to refresh theModified:line of every changed artifact and for both theCreated:andModified:lines of every generated artifact. -
Validation: After every ad-hoc modification, call the
ase_specbook_lint()tool of theaseMCP server, fix the reporteddiagnosticsin the affectedSPECartifacts 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
SPECartifacts -- the artifact kindsCODE,DOCS,TASK,INFR, andOTHRare never touched as part of it. For a substantial or multi-artifact change, point the user to/ase-spec-editinstead of applying it ad-hoc. -
Tandem: The dedicated specification skills
ase-spec-edit,ase-sync-import,ase-sync-reconcile, andase-sync-exportinclude 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