docs: add monorepo guide (#3084)

* docs: add monorepo guide

Adds docs/guides/monorepo.md covering per-project .specify/, targeting a member project from the repo root with SPECIFY_INIT_DIR, agent env propagation, the git extension scoping limitation (#3081), and per-project constitutions. Wires it into docs/toc.yml under Development.

* docs: correct monorepo Git guidance

* docs: drop open-issue reference and polish monorepo guide prose

* docs: fix SPECIFY_INIT_DIR error example (absolute path, non-project dir)

* docs: address Copilot wording nits in monorepo guide

* docs: clarify monorepo constitution sharing

Assisted-by: Codex (model: GPT-5, autonomous)
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Pascal THUET
2026-06-23 21:20:28 +02:00
committed by GitHub
parent 0ef53eb91f
commit b6b74d4ccf
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# Using Spec Kit in a Monorepo
A Spec Kit project is **directory-scoped**: the project is whichever directory
contains `.specify/`. A monorepo can hold several independent Spec Kit projects
under one repository root, each with its own `.specify/`, `specs/`, constitution,
and feature numbering.
Root resolution already prefers the **nearest** `.specify/` over the Git
toplevel, so commands run from inside a member project resolve to that project,
not the repo root.
## Layout
```text
my-monorepo/
├── .git/ # one Git repository at the root
├── apps/
│ ├── web/
│ │ └── .specify/ # Spec Kit project "web"
│ │ └── memory/constitution.md
│ └── api/
│ └── .specify/ # Spec Kit project "api"
│ └── memory/constitution.md
└── packages/
└── ui/
└── .specify/ # Spec Kit project "ui"
```
Initialize each member project independently:
```bash
specify init apps/web --integration claude
specify init apps/api --integration claude
```
Each project keeps its own `specs/` directory and numbers features
independently (`apps/web/specs/001-…`, `apps/api/specs/001-…`).
## Working inside a member project
The default workflow is unchanged: change into the project directory and run the
slash commands. Root resolution finds the nearest `.specify/`.
```bash
cd apps/web
# then run /speckit.specify, /speckit.plan, … in your agent
```
## Targeting a member project from the repo root
For non-interactive or CI runs where you do not want to `cd`, set
**`SPECIFY_INIT_DIR`** to the member project root (the directory *containing*
`.specify/`). Relative paths resolve against the current directory.
```bash
# operate on apps/web from the monorepo root (no cd required)
export SPECIFY_INIT_DIR=apps/web
```
The path must exist and contain `.specify/`. If it does not, the command
**errors and does not fall back** to the current directory or the Git toplevel.
This is deliberate: a typo never writes specs into the wrong project. A
nonexistent path is reported as you typed it; a path that exists but is not a
Spec Kit project is reported as its resolved absolute path:
```text
# SPECIFY_INIT_DIR=apps/wbe (typo: no such directory)
ERROR: SPECIFY_INIT_DIR does not point to an existing directory: apps/wbe
# SPECIFY_INIT_DIR=apps (exists, but has no .specify/ of its own)
ERROR: SPECIFY_INIT_DIR is not a Spec Kit project (no .specify/ directory): /home/you/my-monorepo/apps
```
`SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` selects the **project**; `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` selects
the **feature** within it. They compose: set both to pick a project and a
feature non-interactively. See the
[`SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` reference](../reference/core.md#environment-variables) for
the full contract and the two-axes model.
## How `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` reaches your agent
`SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` is read by the shell scripts that the slash commands invoke
(`get_repo_root` in Bash, `Get-RepoRoot` in PowerShell). It takes effect only
when it is present in the environment of the shell that runs those scripts.
- **Scripted / CI runs:** export it in the same shell that drives the commands;
it is reliable there.
- **Interactive agents:** whether an exported variable reaches the shell tool an
agent uses is agent-specific. Export `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` *before* launching the
agent, and verify once (e.g. run `/speckit.specify` and confirm the new feature
landed under the intended project's `specs/`).
## Git in a monorepo
> [!NOTE]
> Spec Kit project files are scoped to the **resolved project root**, but Git
> operations still run in the containing Git work tree. In a monorepo with a
> single Git repository at the root and projects in subdirectories, feature
> branch creation creates or switches branches in the shared root repository.
> Spec directories still live under the selected member project, while the Git
> branch namespace is shared by the whole monorepo. Manage branches and commits
> at the repository root, or initialize Git per member project if you want
> isolated per-project branch namespaces.
## Constitutions
Each member project has its own `.specify/memory/constitution.md` and
`/speckit.constitution` edits the local project's file. Spec Kit does not provide
a built-in base/inheritance mechanism; if you want one constitution to reference
shared rules elsewhere in the monorepo, you need to maintain that wiring yourself.
Otherwise, duplicate or sync shared engineering rules per project.

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href: local-development.md
- name: Evolving Specs
href: guides/evolving-specs.md
- name: Monorepos
href: guides/monorepo.md
# Community
- name: Community