Table of Contents

The Mission System Explained

Spec Kitty's mission system lets you choose a workflow optimized for your type of work. This document explains why missions exist and how they shape your experience.

Why Different Missions?

Not all projects are the same:

Work Type Primary Goal Key Activities
Software development Working code Write tests, implement features, review code
Research Validated findings Collect evidence, analyze data, synthesize conclusions
Documentation Clear docs Audit gaps, create content, validate accessibility

A workflow designed for software development doesn't fit research:

  • "All tests pass" makes no sense for a literature review
  • "Documented sources" isn't relevant for code implementation
  • Phases like "gather data" don't apply to feature development

Missions solve this by providing domain-specific workflows, validation rules, and artifacts.

How Missions Work

Selected Per-Feature During /spec-kitty.specify

When you run /spec-kitty.specify, Spec Kitty prompts for the mission type:

? Select mission type:
  Software Dev Kitty - Build high-quality software with structured workflows
  Deep Research Kitty - Conduct systematic research with evidence synthesis
  Documentation Kitty - Create high-quality documentation following Divio principles

Your choice determines:

  • Workflow phases
  • Required artifacts
  • Validation rules
  • Agent context (personality/instructions)

Stored in Feature's meta.json

The mission selection is stored per-feature:

// kitty-specs/012-user-auth/meta.json
{
  "mission": "software-dev",
  "created": "2026-01-15T10:00:00Z"
}

Different features can use different missions:

  • kitty-specs/012-user-auth/ → Software Dev Kitty
  • kitty-specs/013-market-analysis/ → Deep Research Kitty
  • kitty-specs/014-user-docs/ → Documentation Kitty

Affects Templates, Phases, and Artifacts

Each mission provides:

Templates: Slash command prompts optimized for the domain Phases: Workflow stages appropriate for the work type Artifacts: Files created during the workflow

The Three Missions

Software Dev Kitty

Focus: Building software features with test-driven development.

Workflow phases:

  1. research - Research technologies and best practices
  2. design - Define architecture and contracts
  3. implement - Write code following TDD
  4. test - Validate implementation
  5. review - Code review and quality checks

Key practices:

  • Tests before code (non-negotiable)
  • Library-first architecture
  • CLI interfaces for all features
  • Real dependencies over mocks in testing

Required artifacts:

  • spec.md - Feature specification
  • plan.md - Technical design
  • tasks.md - Work packages

Validation checks:

  • Git is clean (no uncommitted changes)
  • All tests pass
  • Kanban board complete (all WPs done)
  • No unresolved clarification markers

Deep Research Kitty

Focus: Systematic research with evidence-based conclusions.

Workflow phases:

  1. question - Define research question and scope
  2. methodology - Design research methodology
  3. gather - Collect data and sources
  4. analyze - Analyze findings
  5. synthesize - Synthesize results
  6. publish - Prepare for publication

Key practices:

  • Document ALL sources in source register (CSV)
  • Extract findings to evidence log with confidence levels
  • Distinguish raw evidence from interpretation
  • Every claim must have a citation

Required artifacts:

  • spec.md - Research question and scope
  • plan.md - Methodology plan
  • tasks.md - Research work packages
  • findings.md - Synthesized findings

Validation checks:

  • All sources documented
  • Methodology clearly stated
  • Findings synthesized
  • No unresolved questions

Documentation Kitty

Focus: Creating documentation following Write the Docs best practices.

Workflow phases:

  1. discover - Identify documentation needs
  2. audit - Analyze existing docs, identify gaps
  3. design - Plan structure and Divio types
  4. generate - Create from templates and generators
  5. validate - Check quality and accessibility
  6. publish - Deploy documentation

Key practices:

  • Documentation as code (in version control)
  • Divio 4-type system (tutorial, how-to, reference, explanation)
  • Accessibility and bias-free language
  • Iterative improvement (gap-filling mode)

Required artifacts:

  • spec.md - Documentation needs
  • plan.md - Structure and generator config
  • tasks.md - Documentation work packages
  • gap-analysis.md - Coverage matrix and gaps

Validation checks:

  • All Divio types valid
  • No conflicting generators
  • Templates populated (no [TODO] markers)
  • Gap analysis complete

Mission Templates

Each mission customizes the slash commands with domain-appropriate prompts:

/spec-kitty.specify

Mission Prompt Focus
Software Dev User scenarios and acceptance criteria
Deep Research Research question, scope, expected outcomes
Documentation Iteration mode, Divio types, target audience

/spec-kitty.plan

Mission Prompt Focus
Software Dev Technical architecture and implementation plan
Deep Research Research methodology and data collection strategy
Documentation Documentation structure and generator configuration

/spec-kitty.tasks

Mission Prompt Focus
Software Dev Work packages with TDD workflow
Deep Research Literature review, data collection, analysis
Documentation Template creation, generator setup, content authoring

Per-Feature vs. Global

Before 0.8.0: Project-Wide Mission

Early versions set the mission at project level:

.kittify/
└── mission.yaml  # One mission for entire project

Problem: Real projects need different approaches for different features:

  • Feature A is new software development
  • Feature B is researching which library to use
  • Feature C is writing user documentation

After 0.8.0: Per-Feature Mission

Now missions are selected per-feature:

kitty-specs/
├── 010-auth-system/
│   └── meta.json  # mission: "software-dev"
├── 011-library-comparison/
│   └── meta.json  # mission: "research"
└── 012-user-docs/
    └── meta.json  # mission: "documentation"

Benefits:

  • Choose the right workflow for each task
  • Same project can have software, research, and documentation features
  • No need to reconfigure between different types of work

How Missions Affect Agent Behavior

The agent_context field in each mission provides instructions that shape agent behavior:

Software Dev agent:

You are a software development agent following TDD practices. Tests before code (non-negotiable).

Research agent:

You are a research agent conducting systematic literature reviews. Document ALL sources.

Documentation agent:

You are a documentation agent following Write the Docs best practices and Divio system.

These instructions guide AI agents to behave appropriately for the domain.

See Also

This document explains why missions exist and how they differ. For how to select and use missions, see the tutorials and how-to guides.

Try It

How-To Guides

Reference

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