specyou
AI writes generic code. It follows "best practices," not your practices.
specyou fixes that. Document your taste once. Claude Code reads it on every prompt.
npx specyou init
That's it. One command. Takes 10 seconds.
What it does
specyou creates ~/.specyou/, a folder of markdown files that describe how you work. It hooks into Claude Code so every prompt starts with your preferences loaded.
Without specyou:
"Add a button to delete the user account"
Claude writes generic React with handleClick, isLoading, try/catch, default error handling. It works. It looks like everyone else's code.
With specyou:
Same prompt. But Claude read your specs first. It knows you prefer early returns over try/catch. It knows you name booleans as questions (isDeleting, not deleteLoading). It knows your app uses a specific toast pattern for errors. The code looks like you wrote it.
How it works
~/.specyou/
SPECYOU.md # System prompt (auto-generated)
specs/
coding/ # Naming, patterns, error handling
personality/ # Voice, aesthetics, tone
philosophy/ # Decision-making, growth principles
app-development/ # Stack, auth, monetization
... # Your categories, your rules
Everything is plain markdown. Portable. Version-controllable. Editable by hand.
Claude Code reads SPECYOU.md on every prompt via a hook. When it encounters a task, it searches your specs for relevant preferences and follows them.
Writing specs
You don't write specs by hand. You tell Claude what to document.
> "Ask me 10 questions about how I handle errors"
> "Create a spec for my naming conventions"
> "I want to document my opinions on monetization"
Claude asks questions, uses your exact words, and saves the spec. You review it, edit if needed, done.
Example spec
# Naming
## Core Principle
Names should be as clear and simple as they need to be. No more, no less.
## The Scope-Length Rule
The length of a name should be proportional to its scope.
- Small scope (loops, lambdas): `i`, `x` are fine
- Large scope (globals, public APIs): `findUserByEmailAddress`
## Collections
Prefer plural nouns: `users`, not `userList` or `userArray`.
## For AI
- Auto-fix: Expand abbreviations to full words
- Ask first: Rename functions (might break imports)
- Never change: API routes, exported names, database columns
Install
npm (recommended)
npx specyou init
Creates ~/.specyou/, scaffolds folders, configures the Claude Code hook automatically.
Manual
- Create
~/.specyou/specs/ and add markdown files
- Add the hook to
~/.claude/settings.json:
{
"hooks": {
"UserPromptSubmit": [
{
"hooks": [
{
"type": "command",
"command": "cat $HOME/.specyou/SPECYOU.md && echo '\\n\\n---\\nTo search specs use: Glob(pattern: **/*.md, path: $HOME/.specyou). Read specs relevant to the current task.'"
}
]
}
]
}
}
VS Code extension (optional)
Sidebar panel to browse, search, and manage your specs visually.
Install from VS Code Marketplace
The idea
No one can replace a tasteful person. But a tasteful person can replace themselves.
Most AI personalization is shallow: "be concise" or "use TypeScript." specyou goes deeper. It captures the decisions you make instinctively: when to abstract, how to name things, what "good code" means to you, how you think about products, what your voice sounds like.
The result: AI output that's indistinguishable from your own work.
License
MIT
