Specification System

The declarative primitive family for OpenRig intent: rig specs, agent specs, workflow specs, startup/context fragments, operating-mode declarations, and the user spec library that stores and reuses them.

Specs are how humans and agents describe repeatable topology and behavior without re-explaining it in chat. They are also shareable artifacts: a user should be able to publish a spec or spec family so another user can instantiate the same rig shape, role structure, or workflow pattern.

Without a dependable spec primitive, OpenRig depends on manual startup prompts and tribal memory. That blocks repeatability, product demos, rig bundles, and autonomous rig construction.

Use this when

• Authoring a RigSpec / AgentSpec / workflow spec
• Designing a startup/context fragment
• Reasoning about spec-library lifecycle (validation, sharing, upgrade semantics)
• Auditing a spec for portability (does it run on another host?)
• Distinguishing spec vs bundle vs extension cleanly

Don't use this when

• The work is one-off and won't be reused. Manual rig assembly is fine for one-shot work.
• The intent is to package a topology + workflow as a shareable artifact. That's rig-bundles-and-shareable-artifacts.
• The intent is to add runtime behavior. That's extension-and-user-workspace.

Failure modes (4)

1. A spec can instantiate a topology but not the workflow or operating mode needed to use it. Topology is necessary but not sufficient — workflow and operating mode must be declared too.
2. A shared spec depends on local paths or hidden startup fragments and fails on another host. Specs must be self-describing for portability.
3. Agents modify specs as one-off files instead of preserving reusable user/library intent. Specs are reusable; treating each instance as one-off destroys the primitive's value.
4. Validation proves YAML shape but not whether the declared topology can actually run. Structural validation is not enough; runtime realization is the real proof.

Proof standard

Proof should:

1. Author a spec
2. Validate it (structural)
3. Install it (into spec library)
4. Instantiate it on a clean OpenRig environment
5. Show both structural validation AND runtime realization

Validation alone is insufficient.

Spec / bundle / extension boundary

Concept	Declares	Example
Spec	Topology / role / workflow shape (declarative intent)	rig.yaml, agent.yaml, workflow.yaml
Bundle	Spec(s) + supporting fragments packaged for shareable instantiation	A Velocity Team bundle
Extension	Runtime behavior added to user workspace	RigX command, custom view

Don't conflate them. The contract should distinguish spec, bundle, and extension cleanly.

Currently shipped surfaces

OpenRig already has:

• RigSpec / AgentSpec authoring (agent.yaml, rig.yaml formats; see openrig-architect skill)
• Workflow specs (markdown/YAML files, daemon read-through cache via workflow_specs table; see workflow-runtime skill)
• Bundle/spec command surface (rig bundle / spec / agent / specs ls/show/preview/add/sync/remove/rename)
• Spec library (filesystem-backed at packages/daemon/specs/ + ~/.openrig/specs/ per cli-reference.md)

Not yet shipped:

• Spec library lifecycle (validation, sharing, upgrade) treated as a first-class primitive
• Cross-host spec sharing
• Marketplace / public registry

See also

• openrig-architect skill — RigSpec / AgentSpec authoring discipline
• workflow-runtime skill — workflow spec authoring + transactional-scribe contract
• rig-bundles-and-shareable-artifacts skill — bundle is the packaged form of specs
• extension-and-user-workspace skill — extensions add runtime behavior; specs declare intent
• openrig/docs/reference/rig-spec.md (product reference doc) — RigSpec format specification
• openrig/docs/reference/agent-spec.md (product reference doc) — AgentSpec format specification