{"slug": "specmanager-a-full-agile-team-for-founders-as-a-claude-code-plugin", "title": "SpecManager – a full agile team for founders, as a Claude Code plugin", "summary": "SpecManager, a Claude Code plugin that replaces ad-hoc vibe coding with a gated spec-driven development lifecycle, has been released as an MIT-licensed open-source tool. The plugin enforces a PRD-to-walkthrough workflow with a localhost kanban board backed by plain markdown, targeting single-user, fully local use for founders. It is available via GitHub and requires Node 20+ and Claude Code.", "body_md": "Spec-driven development for Claude Code. A Claude Code plugin that replaces ad-hoc vibe coding with a gated lifecycle — PRD → Architecture → (Design) → Plan + tasks → Build → Walkthroughs — rendered as a localhost kanban board backed by plain markdown in your repo.\n\nClaude *drafts* each stage from the previous approved one **and your existing codebase**; you *edit and approve* in the board. Every artifact is git-tracked markdown, so it diffs, reviews, and travels with the code. Single-user, fully local, no auth, bound to `127.0.0.1`\n\n.\n\n[specmanager.org](https://specmanager.org) · MIT licensed\n\n```\n# 1. Add the marketplace (from GitHub)\n/plugin marketplace add joanseg/specmanager\n\n# 2. Install\n/plugin install specmanager@specmanager\n\n# 3. Reload plugins\n/reload-plugins\n\n# 4. Reconnect MCP server\n/mcp ## If plugin:specmanager:specmanager ✘ failed select and click enter to reconnect\n\n# 4. In your project, scaffold SpecManager and open the board\n/specmanager-init\n/specmanager-board\n```\n\nExample of a Specmanager board:\n\nThat's it — no build step. The compiled server and UI are committed, and a `SessionStart`\n\nhook installs runtime dependencies into the plugin's data dir on first launch.\n\n**Requirements:** Node 20+ and Claude Code. The board runs at `http://127.0.0.1:4317`\n\n(change the port in the plugin's user config).\n\nEach **feature** is a row on the board that flows left to right through the lifecycle. You drive it with slash commands; Claude does the drafting via dedicated subagents, and you approve each stage in the board before the next unlocks.\n\n```\n/specmanager-interview \"Checkout corridor\" # OPTIONAL pre-PRD interview — extracts & stress-tests the idea\n/specmanager-prd \"Checkout corridor\" # create the feature + draft its PRD → approve in board\n/specmanager-architecture # draft the Architecture → approve in board\n/specmanager-design # OPTIONAL high-fi HTML mockups → approve\n/specmanager-plan # plan.md + phased tasks → approve in board\n/specmanager-build next # build one phase at a time\n/specmanager-walkthrough # per-phase walkthrough\n/specmanager-walkthrough final # feature-level roll-up\n/specmanager-board # open the kanban board anytime\n```\n\n``\n\nis the feature's slug or id (reported by `/specmanager-prd`\n\nwhen it creates the feature).\n\n`/specmanager-interview`\n\nis optional: a multi-turn interview in your Claude session that pulls the idea out of your head and challenges it (using the [gstack office-hours](https://github.com/garrytan/gstack/tree/main/office-hours) forcing-question method) before any PRD exists. The result can be stored as `interview.md`\n\nin the feature's PRD folder — shown as a chip on the board, never gating anything — and the PRD drafter grounds itself in it when present.\n\n| Stage | Produces | Unlocks when |\n|---|---|---|\nPRD |\n`press-release.md` , `prd.md` |\nalways (the entry point) |\nArchitecture |\n`architecture.md` |\nPRD approved |\nDesign (optional) |\nhigh-fidelity HTML mockups | PRD approved (runs in parallel with Architecture) |\nPlan |\n`plan.md` + task records (`tasks.json` , rollup) |\nArchitecture approved (and Design, if one exists, approved) |\nBuild |\nno doc — it's execution |\nPlan approved |\nWalkthroughs |\n`.md` per phase + a final roll-up |\nthe phase's tasks are all `done` |\n\nGates are enforced in shared code, not in prompts — Claude **cannot** draft a stage whose gate is closed. Plans are organised into **phases**, each a testable, runnable increment; tasks carry a Fibonacci `complexity`\n\nscore and anything over 3 must be split. `/specmanager-build`\n\nbuilds one phase and stops at its boundary.\n\n`approved`\n\nis a commitment, not a freeze. Reopen an approved doc and every downstream doc that depended on it gets a non-blocking **stale** badge — a \"the basis changed, review me\" signal. Regenerate or re-approve to clear it.\n\n`/specmanager-board`\n\nopens a grid: **one row per feature, one column per stage** (PRD · Architecture · Design · Plan · Build · Walkthroughs). It updates live over websockets as Claude writes docs or you edit them.\n\n- Each cell is a card showing status (\n`draft`\n\n/`approved`\n\n), a stale badge, and whether it was generated by agent or human. - Clicking a card opens a\n**doc panel** drawer over the dimmed board to read, edit, and approve. Design docs get a CodeMirror HTML editor with a live sandboxed`