Labs / SpecForge

The spec is the source code.

SpecForge is a spec-driven development platform: teams write what the system should do in structured specs, and the platform carries each spec through plan, build, and review — with a human approving every gate.

Labs experiment · built by Lakeline Data · not a client engagement

  • Spec-driven
  • Human gates
  • Traceability
  • CI-native
Architecture

Spec to merged PR, gated by humans.

EVERY DIFF TRACES BACK TO A SPEC LINE — DRIFT BETWEEN SPEC AND CODE CANNOT MERGE

SPEC → CISPEC-4127
AC-01 · order total includes tax · PASS
AC-02 · refund reverses the tax line · PASS
AC-03 · partial refund is prorated · FAIL: SPEC DRIFT
AC-04 · audit row per state change · PASS
AC-05 · export matches spec schema · BLOCKED: GATE
HUMAN GATES
GATE: ARCHITECTAPPROVED · plan #248
GATE: REVIEWERPENDING
TRACEABILITY
SPEC COVERED
92%
DIFF TRACED
100%
GATES CLEARED
50%
How it works

Plan. Build. Review.

  1. 01

    Plan. Each spec — behavior plus acceptance criteria — lands in the spec repo, and the planner turns it into tasks, interfaces, and tests. An architect approves the plan at a gate before any code is generated.

  2. 02

    Build. Codegen and unit tests run against the approved plan, and the spec's acceptance criteria run as CI checks — spec drift fails the build.

  3. 03

    Review. A reviewer approves the merge at the second gate, and the merged PR stays traced to the spec lines it satisfies — the traceability matrix is a by-product, not a chore.

Why it exists

Requirements that can't rot.

In most teams the spec dies the day coding starts — the document says one thing, the code says another, and nobody knows which is right. SpecForge makes the spec executable: acceptance criteria become CI checks, so the spec and the system can't quietly diverge.

We use it internally on every data-platform build — the same runbooks and quality gates we sell are enforced by it.

Where it’s useful

Where spec-driven pays for itself.

FIXED-SCOPE DELIVERY

Scope disputes end at CI

Acceptance criteria are executable checks, so "done" is a green build — not a meeting. Our own packaged offers run through it.

LEGACY MODERNIZATION

Spec the old system first

Write the spec from observed behavior, then validate the rewrite against it wave by wave — behavior parity becomes measurable, not hoped for.

REGULATED TEAMS

Audit-ready by construction

Every diff traces back to a spec line and an approval gate — the traceability matrix auditors ask for already exists.

Curious what spec-driven delivery feels like?

Bring one real feature request — we'll run it through SpecForge end to end with you.

Request a walkthrough