SpecLens

A local-first VS Code / Kiro extension that turns your spec-driven development artifacts into a live, read-only reactive dashboard. No server, no telemetry, no sync — everything stays in your workspace.

Features

Pipeline Bar

Tracks the lifecycle phases declared by your framework:

• Kiro Spec — Requirements → Design → Tasks
• AI-DLC — Inception → Construction → Operations
• OpenSpec — Proposal → Design → Specs → Tasks

The active phase is highlighted. Completed phases show their last-modified timestamp. Each phase box expands to show a sub-stage checklist (e.g. the individual AI-DLC stages within Inception or Construction), with a completion count summary toggle.

Task Graph

A top-down dependency graph of tasks grouped into topological waves (dependency layers). Tasks are colour-coded by state — pending, running, or completed. Click any node to jump directly to that line in the source file. The graph viewport is resizable by dragging the bottom handle.

Selecting a requirement in the traceability sidebar filters the graph down to only the tasks linked to that requirement. A banner shows the active filter with a one-click clear button.

Spec ↔ Code Traceability

A collapsible sidebar (drag to resize, or click to hide/show) with one row per requirement, showing:

• EARS classification badge — each requirement is classified as Ubiquitous (UBQ), Event-driven (EVT), State-driven (STA), Optional (OPT), or Unwanted (UNW) based on EARS syntax
• Task count badge — number of tasks linked to the requirement group
• Verification status (unverified, verified, or failing — based on a loaded test report)
• Click a row to filter the task graph to that requirement's tasks; double-click (or Ctrl+Enter) to jump to the requirement in the editor

Live AI Agent Log

A collapsible terminal-style panel pinned to the bottom of the left column. Shows the most recent file-system activity events scoped to the active spec, colour-coded by event type. Supports CLEAR and PAUSE controls. When collapsed, previews the latest log line in the header bar.

Snapshot History

SpecLens automatically saves a snapshot every time something meaningful changes (task states, verification status). The History surface (opened via the SpecLens: View History command) lets you:

• Browse and filter snapshots by spec, repo, framework, and date range
• Export a filtered snapshot set to a JSON file (with optional path redaction)
• Import a previously exported snapshot file
• Clear history with a confirmation prompt

Supported frameworks

SpecLens activates automatically when it detects any of these structures. Multiple frameworks can coexist in the same workspace.

Getting started

1. Install the extension

Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or from a .vsix file:

Extensions panel → ⋯ → Install from VSIX…

2. Open a workspace with a spec

SpecLens activates automatically when your workspace contains a recognised spec structure. No configuration is needed to get started.

3. Open the dashboard

Commands

Loading a test report

Point SpecLens at a test report to upgrade verification status from linkage-only to real pass/fail.

Add to .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "speclens.testReportPath": "reports/junit.xml"
}

The value is a path relative to the workspace folder (or an absolute path). Supported formats:

• JUnit XML — generated by Jest, Vitest, pytest, Go test, and most CI systems
• JSON — any .json file containing an array of { name, passed, isPropertyBased? } entries:

[
  { "name": "my test name", "passed": true },
  { "name": "another test", "passed": false, "isPropertyBased": true }
]

SpecLens never runs tests — it only reads an existing report file. If the file exists but cannot be parsed, a banner is shown in the dashboard.

Settings

All settings are workspace-folder scoped.

Framework override example

{
  "speclens.frameworks": {
    "file:///Users/you/workspace/my-project": "kiro-spec"
  }
}

Privacy

SpecLens is entirely local. It reads files from your workspace, writes snapshots to VS Code's extension global storage on your machine, and makes no network requests. No telemetry, no sync, no external services.

License

MIT