ase-spec-activate

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md

<purpose name="ase-spec-activate"> Activate Specification Know-How </purpose> <expand name="getopt" arg1="ase-spec-activate"> $ARGUMENTS </expand> <objective> *Activate* the know-how about the **SpecBook**-based specification -- the format contract, the schema configuration, and the artifact set -- so the specification can be worked with *ad-hoc* in plain conversation. </objective>

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-meta.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-spec.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-tenets.md

Procedure

This skill is plan-less and read-mostly: it never composes or persists a task plan and MUST NOT call ase_task_save(...). It only loads know-how into the context and answers an optional query. It modifies SPEC artifacts only when the query explicitly asks for an ad-hoc change, and it never touches the artifact kinds CODE, DOCS, TASK, INFR, and OTHR.

1. Initialize:

   Set <query><getopt-arguments/></query> (with any leading and trailing whitespace stripped). Do not output anything.

2. Activate Format:

   The SpecBook format contract is already loaded into the context through the included ase-format-spec.md (and its nested ase-format-specbook.md). Internalize it now: the object kinds, the object ids and {{<id/>}} anchors, the [[xxx]] references, the , BECAUSE rationale split, the Complex/Concise/Grouped format variants, and the Created:/Modified: frontmatter block. Do not output anything.

3. Activate Schema:

   1. Set <schema-files/> to the list of file paths constituting the SpecBook SCHEMA Model of the project (resolved as described in ase-format-spec.md), each annotated with standard for the bundled schema or custom for a project-specific one. Do not output anything.

   2. <if condition="the content of a file of <schema-files/> was *not* already read into the current context -- neither by an earlier run of this skill nor by a dedicated specification skill"> Read those files of the **SpecBook SCHEMA Model** in <schema-files/> via the `Read` tool to learn the allowed object kinds, properties, nestings, and value constraints. Do not output anything. </if> <else> Do *not* read the files of <schema-files/> again -- their content is already active in the context. Do not output anything. </else>

4. Activate Artifacts:

   Resolve the SPEC artifacts by calling the ase_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ]) tool of the ase MCP server once and reading the returned artifacts array of { kind, files } objects. Set <artifact-files/> to the project-relative file list and <artifact-count/> to its length. Do not read the artifacts themselves in this step. Do not output anything.

5. Report Activation:

   Only output the following <template/>:

   <template> <ase-tpl-boxed title="SPEC" subtitle="ACTIVATED">

   SCHEMA: <schema-files/> (one <file/> (standard|custom) entry per line, aligned) SPEC: <ase-spec-basedir/> (<artifact-count/> artifacts)

   </ase-tpl-boxed> </template>

6. Answer Query:

   <if condition="<query/> is empty"> Silently *skip* this item. Do not output anything about the skipping. </if> <else> The <query/> argument *mainly* serves the *automatic* invocation by the agent harness, which passes the triggering user request *verbatim*, so activation and answer happen in *one* skill run.

   Serve <query/> ad-hoc under the Activated Behavior below: read the SPEC artifacts of <artifact-files/> which are related to <query/>, resolve their [[xxx]] references across artifacts, and answer the query grounded in the specification content, citing the artifact file and object id of every statement you rely on. If <query/> asks for a change, apply it as an ad-hoc modification according to the Activated Behavior. Set <answer/> to the resulting answer and only output the following <template/>:

   <template> <ase-tpl-bullet-normal/> **SPEC ANSWER**: <answer/> </template> </else>

7. Finish:

   Finish the skill processing, but first give the closing hints by expanding the following (which, depending on the configured <ase-guidance-level/>, may each expand into nothing and hence emit no output at all):

   <ase-tpl-hint level="normal"> The specification know-how now stays active for this session: read, query, and ad-hoc edit the `SPEC` artifacts in plain conversation, or use `/ase-spec-edit` for a complete one-shot edit. </ase-tpl-hint> <ase-tpl-hint level="verbose"> Use `/ase-sync-import -t SPEC` to bring foreign sources into the specification, use `/ase-sync-reconcile -s SPEC` to propagate it into the other artifact kinds, and use `/ase-sync-export` to render it into HTML or PDF. </ase-tpl-hint>

Activated Behavior

Once this skill has run, the following rules stay in force for the remainder of the session whenever SPEC artifacts are read, queried, explained, or modified ad-hoc in plain conversation -- i.e. outside of any dedicated specification skill:

• Resolution: You MUST resolve the SPEC artifacts via the ase_artifact_list(kind: [ "spec" ]) tool of the ase MCP server and never guess their file paths. Re-resolve them whenever artifacts might have been added or removed.

• Interpretation: You MUST interpret the specification content strictly according to the SpecBook format contract and the SpecBook SCHEMA Model: object kinds, object ids and {{<id/>}} anchors, properties, [[xxx]] references, and , BECAUSE rationales. Before answering a query, resolve the [[xxx]] references across artifacts, and ground every answer in the specification content by citing artifact file and object id.

• Modification: Every ad-hoc modification of a SPEC artifact MUST honor the GENERIC TENETS and the SPECIFYING TENETS of the ASE Tenets, and MUST keep the artifact conformant to the format contract and the schema: the Created:/Modified: frontmatter block, the heading levels, the format variants, the schema-allowed object kinds, nestings, and property keys, the object ids and anchors, the rationale split, and the references. Call the ase_timestamp(format: "yyyy-LL-dd HH:mm") tool of the ase MCP server once per change set and use its result to refresh the Modified: line of every changed artifact and for both the Created: and Modified: lines of every generated artifact.

• Validation: After every ad-hoc modification, call the ase_specbook_lint() tool of the ase MCP server, fix the reported diagnostics in the affected SPEC artifacts for at most three rounds, and report any remaining diagnostics as <file/>:<line/>:<column/>: <message/> lines.

• Restriction: An ad-hoc modification of the specification MUST stay restricted to the SPEC artifacts -- the artifact kinds CODE, DOCS, TASK, INFR, and OTHR are never touched as part of it. For a substantial or multi-artifact change, point the user to /ase-spec-edit instead of applying it ad-hoc.

• Tandem: The dedicated specification skills ase-spec-edit, ase-sync-import, ase-sync-reconcile, and ase-sync-export include the format contract themselves and activate the know-how implicitly. Whenever one of them is invoked, its own procedure takes precedence over these rules, and this skill MUST NOT be invoked from within it. Conversely, a run of this skill never replaces such a dedicated skill when the user explicitly asks for it.