An MCP server that brings AI-guided spec-driven development workflow to any AI-powered IDEs. This tool transforms your development process with structured, step-by-step guidance from idea to implementation using a methodology that emphasizes creating detailed specifications before writing code.
The simplest way to install and run the spec-coding-mcp server is using npx:
# Always get the latest version
npx spec-coding-mcp@latest
# Or simply (will also get latest)
npx spec-coding-mcp
You can also install the package globally using npm:
npm install -g spec-coding-mcp
spec-coding-mcp
To install spec-coding-mcp for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @kevinlin/spec-coding-mcp --client claude
Add the following to your Cursor MCP settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-coding-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["spec-coding-mcp@latest"],
"env": {},
"disabled": false
}
}
}
The MCP server provides several tools that guide you through different stages of the development workflow:
The spec-driven development process follows five distinct stages:
Define clear, specific objectives for your feature. For example:
User: I want to build a user authentication feature
Assistant: Let me start the spec-driven development workflow for you.
[calls spec_coding_workflow_start]
Let's define your feature goals:
1. What specific authentication methods do you want to support?
2. Do you need social login (Google, GitHub, etc.)?
3. What user roles and permissions are required?
User: I need email/password login with JWT tokens, plus Google OAuth, and basic user/admin roles.
Transform your goals into specific, testable requirements using the EARS (Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax) format:
Assistant: Great! Now let's gather detailed requirements.
[calls spec_coding_requirements_start]
[Assistant generates detailed EARS-format requirements]
- WHEN a user provides valid email/password THEN the system SHALL authenticate them
- GIVEN a user wants Google OAuth WHEN they click "Sign in with Google" THEN the system SHALL redirect to Google
Create detailed technical specifications including architecture, component design, data models, and API specifications:
Assistant: Now let's create the technical design.
[calls spec_coding_design_start]
[Assistant creates detailed design document including:]
- Database schema for users, sessions, oauth_tokens
- Authentication middleware architecture
- JWT token structure and validation flow
Decompose the feature into specific, prioritized development tasks with clear dependencies:
Assistant: Let's break this down into executable tasks.
[calls spec_coding_tasks_start]
[Assistant creates numbered task list:]
1. Set up database models (User, Session, OAuthToken)
2. Implement JWT token service
3. Create email/password authentication endpoints
Execute the planned tasks systematically, implementing the feature according to specifications:
Assistant: Time to implement! Let's start coding.
[calls spec_coding_execute_start]
[Assistant implements each task step by step]
Throughout the workflow, the following documentation structure is created:
docs/specs/{feature_name}/
├── requirements.md # EARS-format requirements
├── design.md # Technical architecture
└── tasks.md # Implementation checklist
This structured approach ensures your development process is methodical, well-documented, and produces high-quality, maintainable code.
To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:
claude mcp add-json "spec-driven-dev-mcp" '{"command":"npx","args":["spec-driven-dev-mcp@latest"],"env":[],"disabled":false}'See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.
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.
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-driven-dev-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"spec-driven-dev-mcp@latest"
],
"env": [],
"disabled": false
}
}
}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.
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.
To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:
1. Find your configuration file:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json2. Add this to your configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-driven-dev-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"spec-driven-dev-mcp@latest"
],
"env": [],
"disabled": false
}
}
}3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect