What is SpecStory?

SpecStory is a collection of local-first extensions designed to automatically record your AI coding interactions as reusable markdown files that work seamlessly with Git. While Git documents what changed in your codebase, SpecStory captures why those changes occurred, maintaining the thought process and rationale that shaped each line of code. Your AI conversation history is always preserved.

❗️Installation Note

When installing directly from the Visual Studio Marketplace, SpecStory will be installed into VS Code by default. To install SpecStory into Cursor instead, you need to install it directly from within Cursor's extensions panel (additional details available on our documentation site).

✨ SpecStory Extension Capabilities

📝 Automatic Local Storage

SpecStory automatically stores your AI conversations in .specstory/history/ within your project folder. This ensures your prompts remain alongside your codebase.

You can enable or disable auto-save in the settings to fit your workflow preferences.

🤖 Create AI Rules from Chat History

Convert your conversation logs into Cursor Rules or Copilot Instructions. SpecStory leverages your interaction patterns to generate and update context files that guide your AI assistant effectively.

Adjust the format to your needs and SpecStory will accommodate your style.

💾 Manual Conversation Saving

When auto-save is disabled, use the Command Palette (CMD/Ctrl-Shift-P) → SpecStory: Save AI Chat History to selectively save individual conversations.

🔗 Conversation Sharing

Collaborate with your team by sharing your problem-solving workflows. Use Command Palette → SpecStory: Share AI Chat History to generate anonymous shareable links for your conversations.

🎮 Management Dashboard

Open the SpecStory panel to handle conversation histories, adjust configuration, and check auto-save status. Locate it in the sidebar or access it through View: Open View > SpecStory in the command palette.

🛠️ Developer Tools

Activate specstory.showDeveloperTools in VS Code settings to unlock:

1. Debug logging in the SpecStory output channel
2. Cursor sqlite database explorer in your Primary Sidebar featuring:

• Search: Command Palette → SpecStory (Developer Tools): Search VS Code State or click the search icon
• Refresh: Command Palette → SpecStory (Developer Tools): Refresh VS Code State or use the refresh control
• Copy values: Hover over any value and click the copy button

☁️ SpecStory Cloud

SpecStory Cloud represents a progressive enhancement to our local-first extension collection, bringing together all your AI conversations from Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, and BearClaude into a single searchable repository.

🚀 Getting Started

For VS Code/Cursor users:

1. Create an account at cloud.specstory.com
2. Open Command Palette → SpecStory: Open Cloud Sync Configuration

You'll be presented with this interface, then follow the authentication steps to sync your initial project:

For Claude Code users:

1. Create an account at cloud.specstory.com
2. Authenticate: specstory auth login
3. Synchronize your conversations: specstory sync

✨ Cloud Benefits

• Universal search: Full-text search capabilities across all your AI conversations
• Privacy-focused: No data syncs without your direct authorization
• Centralized access: Consolidate conversations from Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, and additional tools

Complete documentation →

✨ Continuous Innovation

• Looking for a streamlined method to convert markdown specifications into working software?
• Explore our newest macOS offering at bearclaude.com

📚 Resources & Community

• Discover comprehensive documentation packed with examples and a beginner's guide to enhance your skills @ docs.specstory.com.
• Become part of our slack community to network with fellow software developers!

🔮 Bug Reports and Feature Suggestions

• Discovered a bug? Have a feature idea? Submit it on our GitHub issues page.
• For other inquiries, reach out via email at support@specstory.com.

🔒 Data Privacy

SpecStory gathers usage analytics to enhance the product experience. You can turn this off in the extension by deselecting SpecStory: Help Us Improve in your SpecStory extension settings.

This preference does not impact web analytics. To learn more about our data collection practices and usage, review our privacy policy and data privacy documentation which break down details by feature.