Prerequisites

Required Dependencies

1. Supported CLI Coding Agent (Required)

autospec orchestrates feature development workflows using a supported coding agent. Production-supported integrations are Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and native jcode. jcode can connect to an existing runtime or launch an isolated private runtime through the SDK.

Installation:

• Claude Code: https://claude.ai/download
• Codex CLI: https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/reference
• OpenCode: https://opencode.ai
• jcode: https://github.com/1jehuang/jcode (only required when using the CLI-compatible jcode runner)

Verify installation:

claude --version
# or
codex --version
# or
opencode --version
# or, when using the jcode CLI runner
jcode --version

2. Git (Required)

Git is required for spec detection from branch names and general version control.

Verify installation:

git --version

3. Platform-Specific Requirements

Linux:

• Git package from your distribution’s package manager

macOS:

• Xcode Command Line Tools (includes git): xcode-select --install

Windows:

• Use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and follow the Linux instructions

Verification

Run the doctor command to verify all dependencies:

autospec doctor

Or verify manually:

# Verify your CLI agent
claude --version
# or
codex --version
# or
opencode --version
# or, when using the jcode CLI runner
jcode --version

# Verify Git
git --version

Installing Missing Dependencies

CLI Coding Agent

Installation guide: See the installation links above for Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, or the jcode CLI runner. Native jcode connect mode can use an existing runtime without a separate agent CLI; private and auto modes may need the jcode binary or a configured startup command to launch a runtime.

Git

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install git

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S git

Fedora:

sudo dnf install git

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Windows (via WSL): Use WSL, then install git with your Linux distribution’s package manager

---

Development Setup (Contributing)

If you want to contribute to autospec or build from source, you’ll need additional tools.

Go (1.21+)

Ubuntu/Debian:

# Download from https://go.dev/dl/ or use snap
sudo snap install go --classic

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S go

Fedora:

sudo dnf install golang

macOS:

brew install go

Verify:

go version

golangci-lint (for linting)

All platforms (via Go):

go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest

Arch Linux (AUR):

yay -S golangci-lint
# or
paru -S golangci-lint

Fedora:

sudo dnf install golangci-lint

macOS:

brew install golangci-lint

Verify:

golangci-lint --version

Claude Code CLI (Alternative Install Methods)

Native installer (recommended for all Linux):

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Arch Linux (AUR):

yay -S claude-code
# or
paru -S claude-code

Via npm (requires Node.js):

# First install Node.js
# Arch: sudo pacman -S nodejs npm
# Fedora: sudo dnf install nodejs npm
# Ubuntu: sudo apt install nodejs npm

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Build & Test

Once dependencies are installed:

make build    # Build the binary
make test     # Run tests
make lint     # Run linters
make fmt      # Format code

Note on GitHub SpecKit

autospec was originally inspired by GitHub SpecKit, but is now a fully standalone tool. The command templates in internal/commands/templates/ were initially generated using SpecKit’s tooling, but autospec now embeds and manages these commands independently.

You do NOT need to install SpecKit - autospec includes everything needed out of the box.