Spec Coding MCP server

The Spec Coding MCP Server enables systematic spec-driven development by transforming ideas into production-ready code. It provides a structured approach to software development through detailed specifications that serve as blueprints for your projects.

Setting Up Spec Coding MCP Server

Prerequisites

• .NET 10 installed on your system (download from Microsoft's .NET download page)
• Visual Studio Code

Installation Steps

1. Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your VS Code workspace
2. Visit NuGet.org and search for SpecCodingMcpServer
3. Navigate to the "MCP Server" tab
4. Copy the JSON configuration from NuGet into your mcp.json file
5. Save the file
6. Click the "start" button that appears above the configuration

Using Spec-Driven Development

Starting a New Project

1. Issue the instruction "Start spec coding" to GitHub Copilot
2. Specify the function you want to create (e.g., "Create a Vue to-do app")
3. Provide any additional details and confirm to proceed

Requirements Collection

After initiating a project, Copilot will:

1. Begin collecting requirements
2. Generate a requirements document in EARS (Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax) format
3. Wait for your confirmation before proceeding

Design Phase

Once requirements are confirmed:

1. Copilot generates a comprehensive technical architecture design document
2. The design includes architectural decisions, process logic, and technology selections
3. Review the design and confirm to proceed to task planning

Task Planning

In this phase:

1. Copilot breaks down the design into executable tasks
2. A complete Spec folder structure is generated containing:
   • requirements.md - User stories and acceptance criteria
   • design.md - Technical solution details
   • tasks.md - Executable specific tasks

Task Execution

After confirming the task plan:

1. Enter the execution phase
2. Copilot executes tasks sequentially
3. Each task is completed according to the specifications
4. Development continues until all tasks are complete

Benefits of Spec-Driven Development

• Transforms vague requirements into executable processes
• Creates traceable and verifiable development workflows
• Integrates traditional software engineering rigor into AI programming
• Converts intuitive "vibe coding" into a controlled engineering process

By following this structured approach, you can systematically develop features from initial ideas to production-ready implementations.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "spec-coding" '{"command":"dotnet","args":["tool","run","SpecCodingMcpServer"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "spec-coding": {
            "command": "dotnet",
            "args": [
                "tool",
                "run",
                "SpecCodingMcpServer"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "spec-coding": {
            "command": "dotnet",
            "args": [
                "tool",
                "run",
                "SpecCodingMcpServer"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect