Openspec Update Change

---
name: openspec-update-change
description: Update an OpenSpec change by revising its existing planning artifacts and keeping them coherent with one another. Use when the user wants to revise a change's plan, fold new decisions into it, or reconcile its artifacts after an edit. Never edits code.
allowed-tools: Bash(openspec:*), Bash(bun:*)
license: MIT
compatibility: Requires openspec CLI.
metadata:
  author: openspec
  version: "1.0"
---

<!-- CORE-OVERLAY-START -->

## This repository (Asymmetric-al/core)

These repo-owned sections sit above the official OpenSpec skill. Reconcile this
overlay after upstream refreshes before running `bun run skills:sync`.

Use the locally pinned CLI only: `bun run openspec -- <command>`. Do not invoke
`@latest`. Core does not use Stores. Pass an explicit change ID before any
mutating OpenSpec operation. Follow `AGENTS.md` and `docs/ai/rules/openspec.md`.
Do not bypass TDD, exact `base-maia`, data-access boundaries, security, or
repository checks. Do not archive unmerged or incomplete work. Do not run
`openspec update` against the live customized repository. Do not treat product
runtime Eve as a coding agent.

Allowed-tools metadata includes `Bash(bun:*)` so the local wrapper can run.

### Triggers

- The matching OpenSpec workflow is requested: Explore, Propose, Update, Apply,
  Verify, Sync, or Archive.
- Numbered commands `/1-start-project` through `/4-close-project` wrap these
  workflows.

### Workflow

1. Read `openspec/config.yaml`, `openspec/project.md`, and the relevant specs
   or active change.
2. Invoke `bun run openspec --` with the explicit change ID for mutating work.
3. Keep Core TDD, UI, data-boundary, and Guardian rules in force.
4. Leave the change active until implementation has merged.

### Checklist

- [ ] Local pinned CLI used via `bun run openspec --`
- [ ] Explicit change ID used for mutating operations
- [ ] Stores were not introduced
- [ ] Incomplete or unmerged work was not archived
- [ ] `openspec update` was not run against the live repo
- [ ] Product Eve was not treated as a coding agent

<!-- CORE-OVERLAY-END -->

Revise a change's existing planning artifacts and keep them coherent. Never edit code.

**Store selection:** If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run `openspec store list --json` to discover registered store ids, then pass `--store <id>` on the commands that read or write specs and changes (`new change`, `status`, `instructions`, `list`, `show`, `validate`, `archive`, `doctor`, `context`, `schemas`, `view`). Once selected, treat `--store <id>` as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json --store "<id>"`, not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local `openspec/` root.

**Input**: Optionally specify a change name. If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

`/openspec-continue-change` is an optional workflow and may not be installed. Before suggesting it anywhere below, verify that it is available. If it is unavailable, `openspec status --change "<name>" --json` shows the next artifact and `openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --json` explains how to create it.

**Steps**

1. **Select the change**

   If a name is provided, use it. Otherwise:
   - Infer from conversation context if the user mentioned a change
   - Auto-select if only one active change exists
   - If ambiguous, run `openspec list --json` to get available changes sorted by most recently modified, and ask the user to select one

   When prompting, present the top 3-4 most recently modified changes as options, showing:
   - Change name
   - Schema (from `schema` field if present, otherwise "spec-driven")
   - Status (e.g., "0/5 tasks", "complete", "no tasks")
   - How recently it was modified (from `lastModified` field)

   Mark the most recently modified change as "(Recommended)" since it's likely what the user wants to update.

   Always announce: "Using change: <name>" and how to override (e.g., `/openspec-update-change <other>`).

2. **Get the change's artifacts**

   ```bash
   openspec status --change "<name>" --json
   ```

   Parse the JSON to understand current state. The response includes:
   - `schemaName`: The workflow schema being used (e.g., "spec-driven")
   - `artifacts`: Array of artifacts with their status ("done", "skipped", "ready", "blocked")
   - `isPlanningComplete`: Boolean indicating if all planning artifacts are complete. Older CLI versions expose the same value as `isComplete`.
   - `planningHome`, `changeRoot`, `artifactPaths`, and `actionContext`: path and scope context. Use these instead of assuming repo-local paths.

   The artifact ids and paths come from the active schema - do NOT assume them, and do NOT branch on hardcoded artifact names. Custom schemas must work unchanged.

   The files to edit are `artifactPaths.<id>.existingOutputPaths` - the concrete files that exist on disk, already glob-expanded for glob artifacts (e.g. `specs/**/*.md`). Do NOT write to `resolvedOutputPath`: for a glob artifact it is still the glob pattern, not a real file.

3. **Understand the request**
   - If the user asked for a specific revision ("the design now uses X"), that is the starting edit.
   - If they only said "update" / "make this coherent", treat it as a coherence review: read the existing artifacts and check them against each other for contradictions, gaps, and duplication.

4. **Read and reconcile**
   - Read the artifact(s) the request touches and the change's other existing artifacts.
   - Apply the requested edit. Then check every other existing artifact against it - in ANY direction: an edit to a later artifact may require revising an earlier one, not only the other way around. Build order is a useful reading order, not a constraint on which artifacts may be revised.
   - Note everything that is now inconsistent, missing, or contradictory.
   - Revise only files that already exist (`existingOutputPaths`). Do NOT create artifacts that don't exist yet, and do NOT invent new files under a glob artifact - note them and point the user to `/openspec-continue-change` to create them.
   - If the change is already coherent, say so and make no edits.

5. **Confirm and apply, one artifact at a time**
   - Show each proposed revision and why. Write only after the user confirms.
   - If the user rejects a revision, do not write it - leave that artifact unchanged.
   - When a substantial rewrite is needed, get that artifact's rules and template first:
     ```bash
     openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --json
     ```

6. **Point to the next step (guidance only - NEVER act on it)**
   - Artifacts still missing -> suggest `/openspec-continue-change` to create them.
   - Change already implemented (tasks checked off / already applied) -> the code may no longer match the revised plan; suggest `/openspec-apply-change` to carry the delta into code.
   - Everything done and implemented -> suggest `/openspec-archive-change`.

**Output**

After each invocation, show:

- Which artifacts were revised (and which proposed revisions were rejected)
- Anything deferred to `/openspec-continue-change` (not-yet-created artifacts or files)
- Where the change stands and the recommended next command

**Guardrails**

- Planning artifacts only - NEVER edit implementation code. If the revised plan implies code changes, stop and point to `/openspec-apply-change`.
- Use the artifact ids and paths reported by `openspec status`; never branch on hardcoded artifact names.
- Edit only the concrete files in `existingOutputPaths`; never write to a glob `resolvedOutputPath`.
- Do not advance the build frontier: no new artifacts, no new files under glob artifacts - that is `/openspec-continue-change`'s job.
- Confirm every edit with the user before writing.
- If the request changes the change's _intent_ rather than refining it, first verify whether the optional `/openspec-new-change` workflow is available. If it is, recommend starting fresh with `/openspec-new-change` (the "Update vs. Start Fresh" heuristic). If it is unavailable, ask for a distinct unused change name and recommend `openspec new change "<new-change-name>"` instead.