Spec Kit — init
Initialize a spec-driven development project for GitHub Copilot with the
Specify CLI (specify). This skill exposes the specify init command. You (the
agent) run the CLI on the user's behalf via the shell; the CLI does the scaffolding.
Because this is the Copilot plugin, always scaffold Copilot in skills mode:
--integration copilot --integration-options="--skills"
This installs spec-kit commands (and any extensions added later) as Copilot
Agent Skills — .github/skills/speckit-<cmd>/SKILL.md — rather than the default
.github/agents/*.agent.md layout. Skills are what Copilot CLI discovers as SKILL.md,
so this keeps the project consistent with how this plugin works. Do not omit
--integration-options="--skills".
Prerequisite
This skill needs the specify CLI. Confirm it is available:
specify --version
If it is missing (command not found), use the speckit-cli-setup skill to install
it first, then continue.
When to use
- The user wants to start a new spec-kit project.
- The user wants to add spec-driven development to the current directory.
How to invoke
specify init scaffolds templates, scripts, the spec-kit workflow, shared
infrastructure, and the Copilot command files. It runs offline from assets
bundled in the installed CLI.
Common forms (always Copilot + skills mode). Pick the --script flavor for the
user's OS — sh on macOS/Linux, ps on Windows (the examples below use
sh; swap in --script ps on Windows):
# New project directory
specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh
# Initialize in the current directory
specify init . --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh
specify init --here --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh
# Current directory is non-empty: skip the confirmation prompt
specify init --here --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh --force
# Install a preset at init time
specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh --preset healthcare-compliance
On Windows, use --script ps instead:
specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script ps
Key options
--integration copilot — always use this in the Copilot plugin.--integration-options="--skills" — required; scaffolds spec-kit commands as Copilot Agent Skills (SKILL.md) instead of .agent.md files.--script <sh|ps|py> — choose the helper script flavor. Always pass this when
running specify init for the user. When stdin is a TTY — which the agent shell
allocates — omitting --script opens an interactive "Choose script type" chooser that
blocks the command. (With genuinely non-interactive stdin, e.g. a closed pipe, the CLI
instead auto-selects the OS default, but you can't rely on that from a PTY-backed agent
session.) Use sh on macOS/Linux, ps on Windows; py is a cross-platform
Python fallback.--ignore-agent-tools — skip checks for the agent's CLI tools. Recommended for the
Copilot plugin so init doesn't fail on missing external agent CLIs.--here / . — initialize in the current directory instead of creating a new one.--force — skip the confirmation when --here targets a non-empty directory.--preset <id> — install a preset during initialization.
Notes
- Prefer non-interactive flags so the command does not block on prompts.
- Always pass
--script (sh on macOS/Linux, ps on Windows, py anywhere).
When specify init runs with a TTY on stdin — as it does in a PTY-backed agent
session — omitting --script opens an interactive "Choose script type" chooser that
blocks. (--integration copilot already suppresses the integration chooser, but the
script-type chooser still appears.) The CLI only auto-selects the OS default when
stdin is genuinely non-interactive (e.g. a closed pipe), which you can't count on here,
so this is the most common cause of specify init appearing to freeze.
- Always pass both
--integration copilot and --integration-options="--skills";
the skills layout is what makes spec-kit commands (and later-added extensions)
show up as SKILL.md for Copilot.
- After init, point the user at the generated skills under
.github/skills/ and the
.specify/ directory. Newly generated skills are picked up in the current Copilot
session with /skills reload, and automatically on the next session start.
Suggest specify check to verify their environment.