Project Spec Skill

Core Principle: A good CLAUDE.md means Claude never has to guess.

Template Selection

Project	Use
Quick build (<8h)	template-minimal.md
Complex / Calculator / Multi-page	template-full.md

Defaults (Don't specify if these apply)

Code maturity: Production
Maintainer: Solo dev
Lifetime: Multi-year
Tech debt: Minimal, documented
Failure impact: Business-impacting
Code ownership: Shared
Review strictness: Standard
Error handling: Fail fast
Logging: Basic (errors)
Data sensitivity: Personal
UI tolerance: Visually close
Refactor permission: None
Dependency policy: Well-known only
Human review: Detailed
Output timing: Correctness first (not fast draft)
Partial completion: Not acceptable
Session: Expect interruptions, be resumable

Only specify deviations from defaults.

Required Sections (Every CLAUDE.md)

[CRITICAL] Critical Rules (stop-on-missing, non-goals)
[CRITICAL] Project Overview (type, goal, timeline)
[CRITICAL] Scope (in/out/future)
[CRITICAL] Constraints
[CRITICAL] Definition of Done

Critical Rules Block (Copy to every CLAUDE.md)

## ⚠️ Critical Rules

**If info missing:** STOP → List missing → Ask → Do NOT assume

**Claude must NOT:**
- Add features outside this document
- Add dependencies without approval
- Refactor unrelated code
- Make "improvements" outside scope

**Authority:** CLAUDE.md > skills > comments > chat > assumptions (FORBIDDEN)

Anti-Patterns

❌ Bad	✅ Good
"Make it look professional"	"#1a1a1a text, Inter 700, 48px H1"
"Standard contact form"	"Fields: Name*, Email*, Phone, Message*"
"Similar to competitor"	"Hero: 60/40 split, CTA left"
"Client will provide"	"Copy pending by [date]"
"Modern design"	"Tailwind, rounded-lg, shadow-sm"

Tier Markers

Marker	Meaning
[CRITICAL]	Read before coding
[REFERENCE]	Read when needed
[NO-IMPL]	Doesn't affect code

References

• template-minimal.md — Quick builds
• template-full.md — Complex projects
• examples.md — Real examples