Inception
Requirements, user stories and workflow planning turn a raw request into a plan. Nothing generates until a human signs it.
SpecForge · The method behind the work
SpecForge, the method behind every build I run
SpecForge merges GitHub Spec Kit with AWS AI-DLC. No agent touches a file until a human signs the spec and the plan.
What it fuses
Two proven systems, one enforced workflow
Spec Kit supplies the specs and AI-DLC supplies the discipline. SpecForge runs both on every build, not only when someone remembers to be careful.
From GitHub Spec Kit
- Executable specifications an agent can act on without guessing
- Acceptance criteria written before generation starts
- Versioned intent as the source of truth, not a chat thread
From AWS AI-DLC
- A managed lifecycle instead of an unsupervised chat session
- Phase gates that require a decision before work continues
- A governance layer built for teams, not solo experiments
The gate
Approval is enforced, not requested
Claude Code runs a PreToolUse hook, a check that fires before any tool touches a file. If a human has not approved the spec and plan, the edit never happens.
The lifecycle
Three phases, one accountable owner each
Every build runs three phases in order. A human signs off before each move to the next.
Construction
Agents write the code here. AIDLC, my eight-phase build engine, runs every change through evals before it ships.
Read the AIDLC guideOperations
Deployment, monitoring and the audit trail carry the system past launch. Then your team owns and runs it without me.
Autonomous mode
Ralph loop stays inside the plan
Once you approve the plan, SpecForge can run the steps on its own. I call that the Ralph loop. It never adds a step you did not approve.
Built for real codebases
I read your existing code first
SpecForge first documents the architecture and business logic already in production. Every approval and code change after that lands in an audit trail that ships with the repo.
The vocabulary
The words the method runs on
SpecForge and AIDLC run on a few words that mean something specific here. Each one has its own post.
- What is spec-driven development?What Is Spec-Driven Development? Specs as the New Source of Truth
- What is a bolt?What Is a Bolt? The Work Unit That Replaced the Sprint
- What is an agent harness?What Is an Agent Harness? The Layer That Turns a Model Into an Agent
- What is the Ralph loop?What Is the Ralph Loop? Agentic Coding, Deterministically Simple
- How do you write a spec for an agent?How to Write a Spec an AI Agent Can Actually Build
- How do specs and bolts fit together?The Spec-to-Bolt Loop: The Agentic Development Cycle End to End
- Does AI-DLC replace Agile and Scrum?Bolts vs Sprints: How Agentic Teams Measure Work Now
- How do you run a Ralph loop in practice?How to Build an App With a Ralph Loop and a Goal Prompt
- What is SpecForge?SpecForge: Spec-Driven AI Development With Approval Gates That Actually Block
Use the method
Run SpecForge on your next build
SpecForge is open source. Install it from GitHub, or read the AIDLC guide for the eight phases it runs.