Documentation overview
A map of every page in the SpecUI docs and where to start.
These docs follow a simple rule: tutorials teach, how-to guides solve one job, reference pages answer exact questions. Nothing here is filler — if a page exists, a command or workflow needed it.
Content is edited in wiki/*.md in the repo; the site pages are generated from it.
Where to start
| Your goal | Start here |
|---|---|
| Install the CLI | Install |
First .specui/ in an app | Quick start |
| Pick a workflow — monorepo, DS repo, agents, shadcn | Scenarios |
| Understand the mental model | Concepts |
| Wire Cursor, Claude, or MCP | Agents & MCP |
| Give the agent a ready prompt | Agent prompts |
| Feed the docs to an LLM or crawler | /llms.txt |
| Fail PRs when the spec breaks | CI/CD |
| Look up any command | CLI reference |
Look up any init flag | init reference |
| Something broke | Troubleshooting |
| Quick answers | FAQ |
How these docs are written
- Commands you can paste. Examples use
npx @logicplanes/specui@latestornpx specuifrom the project root unless a page says otherwise. - Register before code. Every how-to repeats the same loop:
specui add→ implement →validate→sync→ commit.specui/with the code. - One source of truth.
.specui/(or a flatSPEC.mdrepo) is canonical; exports are regenerated, never hand-edited. - Agents are first-class.
AGENTS.md,.specui/AGENTS-GUIDE.md, rules, skills, and MCP get the same coverage as human workflows. - Strict in CI.
validate --strictis the recommended production gate throughout.
Every page
Getting started
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Introduction | What SpecUI is, comparisons, layouts, doc map |
| Install | npx, global, devDependency, verifying, offline installs |
| Quick start | Tutorial: init → doctor → add → validate → optional get |
| Concepts | The contract, consumer vs flat layout, registry, tokens, presets |
How-to guides
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Scenarios | Web app, flat DS, monorepo, agent-first, shadcn, export, migrate, upgrade, open source |
| Tokens & components | add token/component/asset/pattern, TOKENS.yaml, manifests |
| Agents & MCP | AGENTS.md, AGENTS-GUIDE, rules, skills, MCP hooks |
| Agent prompts | Copy-paste prompts to install SpecUI with a coding agent |
| CI/CD | validate in CI, GitHub Actions, JSON output, monorepos, pre-commit |
| Distribution | load, link, unlink, push, pull, import, export, update, diff |
| Registries | get, shadcn, custom JSON registries, when to use load instead |
| Interop | designmd, dtcg, tailwind, css, json, tarball, dir exports |
| DESIGN.md bridge | SpecUI as canonical source with DESIGN.md as an export |
| Validation | validate, strict mode, JSON output, doctor, how sync relates |
| Troubleshooting | install, init, validate, get, load, MCP, wiki, docs URLs |
Reference
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| CLI reference | Every command, exit codes, environment variables |
| init reference | Presets, flags, worked examples |
| Schema | Files, folders, front matter, components, assets, patterns |
| Specification | Normative summary, link to the full docs/SPEC.md |
Community
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Contributing | Contributing to SpecUI vs documenting your own app |
| FAQ | Short answers with links to the long ones |
The whole CLI, mapped to docs
| Area | Commands | Primary doc |
|---|---|---|
| Scaffold | init, new | init reference, CLI |
| Register | add component|asset|token|pattern | Tokens & components |
| Quality | validate, sync, doctor | Validation |
| Inspect | list | CLI |
| Registry | get | Registries |
| Distribute | load, link, unlink, push, pull, import, export, update, diff | Distribution, Interop |
| Agents | rules, skills, spec, mcp | Agents & MCP |
| Meta | --help, --version | CLI |
Docs that live in the repo instead
| Path | Audience |
|---|---|
docs/SPEC.md | The normative standard (print it with specui spec) |
docs/schema.md | Maintainer-level schema detail |
.specui/AGENTS-GUIDE.md in your app | Agent reference shipped by specui init |
Next
New here? Install, then the quick start. Know what you're building? Pick a scenario. Just have a question? Try the FAQ.
Introduction
What SpecUI is, the problem it solves, and how the documentation is organized.
Install
Install the specui CLI globally or per-project, and verify your environment.