Spec Workflow MCP▌

by Pimzino
Structured spec-driven development workflow for AI-assisted software development. Creates detailed specifications before
Structured spec-driven development workflow for AI-assisted software development. Creates detailed specifications before implementation, ensuring consistent and well-planned code output. 3,900+ GitHub stars.
github stars
★ 4.0K
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best for
- / AI-assisted software development teams
- / Developers wanting structured coding workflows
- / Projects requiring spec documentation before coding
- / Teams needing approval processes for development tasks
capabilities
- / Generate sequential specifications (Requirements → Design → Tasks)
- / Track implementation progress with visual dashboards
- / Manage approval workflows with revision tracking
- / Monitor task completion with detailed logs
- / Search implementation history with code statistics
- / View specs and progress in VSCode sidebar
what it does
Creates structured development workflows by generating detailed specifications before writing code, with a real-time dashboard to track progress. Ensures AI-assisted development follows a planned, spec-driven approach rather than jumping straight to implementation.
about
Spec Workflow MCP is a community-built MCP server published by Pimzino that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Structured spec-driven development workflow for AI-assisted software development. Creates detailed specifications before It is categorized under developer tools, productivity.
how to install
You can install Spec Workflow MCP in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
license
GPL-3.0
Spec Workflow MCP is released under the GPL-3.0 license.
readme
Spec Workflow MCP
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for structured spec-driven development with real-time dashboard and VSCode extension.
☕ Support This Project
<a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/Pimzino" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.buymeacoffee.com/buttons/v2/default-yellow.png" alt="Buy Me A Coffee" style="height: 60px !important;width: 217px !important;" ></a>
📺 Showcase
🔄 Approval System in Action
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-uEa3mfxd0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/C-uEa3mfxd0/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Approval System Demo" width="600"> </a>See how the approval system works: create documents, request approval through the dashboard, provide feedback, and track revisions.
📊 Dashboard & Spec Management
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9qfvjLUWf8" target="_blank"> <img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/g9qfvjLUWf8/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Dashboard Demo" width="600"> </a>Explore the real-time dashboard: view specs, track progress, navigate documents, and monitor your development workflow.
✨ Key Features
- Structured Development Workflow - Sequential spec creation (Requirements → Design → Tasks)
- Real-Time Web Dashboard - Monitor specs, tasks, and progress with live updates
- VSCode Extension - Integrated sidebar dashboard for VSCode users
- Approval Workflow - Complete approval process with revisions
- Task Progress Tracking - Visual progress bars and detailed status
- Implementation Logs - Searchable logs of all task implementations with code statistics
- Multi-Language Support - Available in 11 languages
🌍 Supported Languages
🇺🇸 English • 🇯🇵 日本語 • 🇨🇳 中文 • 🇪🇸 Español • 🇧🇷 Português • 🇩🇪 Deutsch • 🇫🇷 Français • 🇷🇺 Русский • 🇮🇹 Italiano • 🇰🇷 한국어 • 🇸🇦 العربية
📖 Documentation in your language:
English | 日本語 | 中文 | Español | Português | Deutsch | Français | Русский | Italiano | 한국어 | العربية
🚀 Quick Start
Step 1: Add to your AI tool
Add to your MCP configuration (see client-specific setup below):
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
Step 2: Choose your interface
Option A: Web Dashboard (Required for CLI users) Start the dashboard (runs on port 5000 by default):
npx -y @pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest --dashboard
The dashboard will be accessible at: http://localhost:5000
Note: Only one dashboard instance is needed. All your projects will connect to the same dashboard.
Option B: VSCode Extension (Recommended for VSCode users)
Install Spec Workflow MCP Extension from the VSCode marketplace.
📝 How to Use
Simply mention spec-workflow in your conversation:
- "Create a spec for user authentication" - Creates complete spec workflow
- "List my specs" - Shows all specs and their status
- "Execute task 1.2 in spec user-auth" - Runs a specific task
🔧 MCP Client Setup
<details> <summary><strong>Augment Code</strong></summary>Configure in your Augment settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Claude Code CLI</strong></summary>
Add to your MCP configuration:
claude mcp add spec-workflow npx @pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest -- /path/to/your/project
Important Notes:
- The
-yflag bypasses npm prompts for smoother installation - The
--separator ensures the path is passed to the spec-workflow script, not to npx - Replace
/path/to/your/projectwith your actual project directory path
Alternative for Windows (if the above doesn't work):
claude mcp add spec-workflow cmd.exe /c "npx @pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest /path/to/your/project"
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Claude Desktop</strong></summary>
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details> <details> <summary><strong>Cline/Claude Dev</strong></summary>Important: Run the dashboard separately with
--dashboardbefore starting the MCP server.
Add to your MCP server configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Continue IDE Extension</strong></summary>
Add to your Continue configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Cursor IDE</strong></summary>
Add to your Cursor settings (settings.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>OpenCode</strong></summary>
Add to your opencode.json configuration file:
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"spec-workflow": {
"type": "local",
"command": ["npx", "-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"],
"enabled": true
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Windsurf</strong></summary>
Add to your ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec-workflow": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Codex</strong></summary>
Add to your ~/.codex/config.toml configuration file:
[mcp_servers.spec-workflow]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest", "/path/to/your/project"]
</details>
🐳 Docker Deployment
Run the dashboard in a Docker container for isolated deployment:
# Using Docker Compose (recommended)
cd containers
docker-compose up --build
# Or using Docker CLI
docker build -f containers/Dockerfile -t spec-workflow-mcp .
docker run -p 5000:5000 -v "./workspace/.spec-workflow:/workspace/.spec-workflow:rw" spec-workflow-mcp
The dashboard will be available at: http://localhost:5000
🔒 Security
Spec-Workflow MCP includes enterprise-grade security features suitable for corporate environments:
✅ Implemented Security Controls
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Localhost Binding | Binds to 127.0.0.1 by default, preventing network exposure |
| Rate Limiting | 120 requests/minute per client with automatic cleanup |
| Audit Logging | Structured JSON logs with timestamp, actor, action, and result |
| Security Headers | X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection, CSP, Referrer-Policy |
| CORS Protection | Restricted to localhost origins by default |
| Docker Hardening | Non-root user, read-only filesystem, dropped capabilities, resource limits |
⚠️ Not Yet Implemented
| Feature | Workaround |
|---|---|
| HTTPS/TLS | Use a reverse proxy (nginx, Apache) with TLS certificates |
| User Authentication | Use a reverse proxy with Basic Auth or OAuth2 Proxy for SSO |
For External/Network Access
If you need to expose the dashboard beyond localhost, we recommend:
- Keep dashboard on localhost (
127.0.0.1) - Use nginx or Apache as a reverse proxy with:
- TLS/HTTPS termination
- Basic authentication or OAuth2
- Configure firewall rules to restrict access
# Example nginx reverse proxy with auth
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name dashboard.example.com;
ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;
auth_basic "Dashboard Access";
auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5000;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
}
}
🔒 Sandboxed Environments
For sandboxed environments (e.g., Codex CLI with sandbox_mode=workspace-write) where $HOME is read-only, use the SPEC_WORKFLOW_HOME environment variable to redirect global state files to a writable location:
SPEC_WORKFLOW_HOME=/workspace/.spec-workflow-mcp npx -y @pimzino/spec-workflow-mcp@latest /workspace
📚 Documentation
- Configuration Guide - Command-line options, config files
- User Guide - Comprehensive usage examples
- Workflow Process - Development workflow and best practices
- Interfaces Guide - Dashboard and VSCode extension details
- Prompting Guide - Advanced prompting examples
- [Tools Reference](docs/TOOL
FAQ
- What is the Spec Workflow MCP MCP server?
- Spec Workflow MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
- How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
- Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
- How are reviews shown for Spec Workflow MCP?
- This profile displays 74 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.6 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
Ratings
4.6★★★★★74 reviews- ★★★★★Ganesh Mohane· Dec 28, 2024
Spec Workflow MCP is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Olivia Diallo· Dec 28, 2024
Useful MCP listing: Spec Workflow MCP is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Mei Ramirez· Dec 28, 2024
Spec Workflow MCP is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.
- ★★★★★Sofia Khanna· Dec 16, 2024
We evaluated Spec Workflow MCP against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Li Martinez· Dec 12, 2024
We evaluated Spec Workflow MCP against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Ama Liu· Dec 12, 2024
Spec Workflow MCP has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.
- ★★★★★Sakshi Patil· Nov 19, 2024
Useful MCP listing: Spec Workflow MCP is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Evelyn Martin· Nov 19, 2024
Spec Workflow MCP is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Li Gill· Nov 19, 2024
According to our notes, Spec Workflow MCP benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
- ★★★★★Kabir Bhatia· Nov 11, 2024
Strong directory entry: Spec Workflow MCP surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.
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