OpenSpec Workbench for VS Code

OpenSpec Workbench brings the complete OpenSpec change workflow into VS Code. It uses native tree views, markdown editors, diffs, Source Control, Chat, and notifications while keeping lifecycle and security behavior in @openspec-ui/core.

Features

• Navigate config.yaml, active changes, archived changes, canonical specs, and every proposal, design, task list, and delta spec.
• Create, validate, archive, unarchive, and delete changes from contextual actions with confirmation for destructive operations.
• See queued, running, completed, failed, cancelled, interrupted, and rolled-back operations in the Processes view. Read-only work can run in parallel; workspace mutations are serialized to keep checkpoints isolated.
• Use @openspec in VS Code Chat with /plan, /implement, /review, /status, and /validate.
• Recover process history and checkpointed runs after extension reload. Start VS Code Agent implementation sessions, finish them for review, and roll back only files changed by a run. Rollback refuses to overwrite later edits and discloses files omitted by checkpoint size limits.
• Open the Process Dashboard with Workspace root and Change directory filled from the current VS Code workspace. The default message-bridge dashboard follows the active VS Code color theme, including dark and high-contrast themes.
• Open native markdown and diff editors instead of custom replacements.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90 or newer.
• OpenSpec CLI available as openspec on PATH.
• A workspace containing openspec/config.yaml, or initialize OpenSpec from the CLI before using the Workbench.
• VS Code Chat and an available language model for /plan, /implement, and /review. Deterministic lifecycle, status, and validation actions do not require AI.

Workflow

1. Open the OpenSpec activity-bar container.
2. Create or expand a change in Changes.
3. Edit Proposal, Design, Tasks, and delta Specs in native editors.
4. Run Validate, then choose Implement with VS Code Agent.
5. Follow the run in Processes. When Agent work is done, choose Finish Implementation & Review.
6. Review native diffs, roll back the checkpoint if needed, or archive the completed change. Archiving creates or updates canonical specs.

Chat

Enter @openspec and choose a slash command. The first argument must be an active change id:

@openspec /review openspec-workbench focus on rollback safety

Settings

• openspec-ui.transport.localServer.enabled: use the optional standalone REST/WS shell inside the dashboard. The default extension path imports core directly and uses an in-process message bridge. Because the optional localhost shell is a cross-origin iframe, it retains the standalone palette instead of inheriting VS Code theme variables.

Development

npm run typecheck --workspace openspec-ui-vscode
npm run lint --workspace openspec-ui-vscode
npm run test --workspace openspec-ui-vscode
npm run build --workspace openspec-ui-vscode
npm run test:integration --workspace openspec-ui-vscode