Project Constitution

Create, update, or validate the project constitution file for the Spec Kit workflow.

What is a Constitution?

The constitution (.constitution.md) defines project principles, constraints, and standards that guide all specification and implementation work. It's Phase 0 of the Spec Kit workflow.

Constitution Structure

# Project Constitution

## Mission

[One sentence describing the project's purpose]

## Principles

1. **[Principle Name]**: [Description]
2. **[Principle Name]**: [Description]

## Architecture Constraints

- [Technology constraint]
- [Pattern constraint]
- [Integration constraint]

## Quality Standards

- **Testing:** [Testing requirements]
- **Documentation:** [Documentation requirements]
- **Code Style:** [Style requirements]

## Team Conventions

- [Development workflow]
- [Communication patterns]
- [Review process]

Workflow

Initialize (--init)

1. Check for Existing

   • Look for .constitution.md
   • If exists, prompt to update instead

2. Gather Project Context

   • Analyze existing codebase
   • Identify patterns in use
   • Detect technology stack

3. Generate Constitution

   • Create mission statement
   • Define principles from patterns
   • Document constraints
   • Establish quality standards

4. Save

   • Write to .constitution.md
   • Report creation summary

Update (--update)

1. Load Existing

   • Read current constitution
   • Parse sections

2. Analyze Changes

   • Check codebase for new patterns
   • Identify drift from principles

3. Suggest Updates

   • Present changes for approval
   • Apply approved changes

Validate (--validate)

1. Load Constitution

   • Read .constitution.md

2. Check Structure

   • Required sections present
   • Principles well-formed
   • No conflicting constraints

3. Check Alignment

   • Compare codebase to principles
   • Identify violations
   • Report compliance status

Arguments

• --init - Create new constitution (default)
• --update - Update existing constitution
• --validate - Validate constitution and check alignment
• --force - Overwrite existing without prompt

Examples

# Create new constitution
/spec-driven-development:constitution --init

# Update existing
/spec-driven-development:constitution --update

# Validate alignment
/spec-driven-development:constitution --validate

# Force overwrite
/spec-driven-development:constitution --init --force

Constitution Example

# Project Constitution

## Mission

Build a secure, scalable e-commerce platform that enables small businesses
to sell products online with minimal technical expertise required.

## Principles

1. **Security First**: All features must consider security implications.
   User data protection is non-negotiable.

2. **Simplicity Over Cleverness**: Choose boring, proven solutions over
   novel approaches. Code should be readable by junior developers.

3. **Vertical Slices**: Features are implemented as complete vertical
   slices, not horizontal layers. Each feature is independently deployable.

4. **Test-Driven**: All business logic has unit tests. Integration tests
   cover critical paths. No feature merges without passing tests.

## Architecture Constraints

- **Language:** TypeScript (strict mode) for all application code
- **Database:** PostgreSQL for persistent storage
- **API Style:** REST with OpenAPI specifications
- **Authentication:** OAuth 2.0 + JWT tokens
- **Deployment:** Docker containers on Kubernetes

## Quality Standards

- **Test Coverage:** Minimum 80% for business logic
- **Documentation:** All public APIs documented with examples
- **Code Review:** All changes require one approval
- **Performance:** API responses under 200ms (p95)

## Team Conventions

- **Branching:** Feature branches from main, squash merge
- **Commits:** Conventional commits (feat:, fix:, docs:)
- **PRs:** Include description, test plan, screenshots if UI
- **Releases:** Semantic versioning, automated changelog

Validation Report

# Constitution Validation Report

**File:** .constitution.md
**Status:** ⚠️ VALID WITH WARNINGS

## Structure Check

✓ Mission section present
✓ Principles section present
✓ Architecture Constraints present
✓ Quality Standards present
✓ Team Conventions present

## Principle Conflicts

None detected

## Alignment Check

✓ TypeScript strict mode enabled (matches constraint)
✓ PostgreSQL in use (matches constraint)
⚠️ Test coverage at 72% (below 80% threshold)
⚠️ Some API endpoints missing OpenAPI docs

## Recommendations

1. Increase test coverage to meet 80% threshold
2. Add OpenAPI docs for: /api/orders/*, /api/users/*

Related Commands

• /spec-driven-development:speckit-run - Full 5-phase workflow
• /spec-driven-development:specify - Generate specification (Phase 1)
• /spec-driven-development:validate - Validate specification