spec-kit-memory-loader

A Spec Kit extension that loads .specify/memory/ files before spec-kit lifecycle commands so LLM agents have project governance context (constitution, glossary, conventions, resource standards).

Problem

Spec-kit lifecycle commands (/speckit.specify, /speckit.plan, /speckit.implement, etc.) execute without awareness of project-specific governance documents stored in .specify/memory/. This means:

• Constitution principles are not consulted during specification
• Glossary terms are not available during planning
• Coding conventions are missed during implementation
• Resource standards are ignored during task generation

Solution

The Memory Loader extension registers before_* hooks on all major spec-kit lifecycle commands. Before each command runs, it reads every .md file from .specify/memory/ and outputs their contents, giving the LLM agent full governance context.

Installation

# From release
specify extension add memory-loader --from https://github.com/KevinBrown5280/spec-kit-memory-loader/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.0.zip

# From main branch
specify extension add memory-loader --from https://github.com/KevinBrown5280/spec-kit-memory-loader/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

# Development mode (local clone)
specify extension add --dev /path/to/spec-kit-memory-loader

Commands

Command	Description	Modifies Files?
speckit.memory-loader.load	Read all project memory files and output their contents for context	No — read-only

How It Works

1. Gather: Reads every .md file from .specify/memory/

   • If the directory does not exist, skips silently
   • If a file cannot be read, skips it and continues

2. Output: For each file, prints a headed section:

   ## Memory: {filename}
   
   {file contents}
   

3. Summarize: After all files, outputs:

   Context loaded: {memory_count} memory files
   

Hooks

The extension fires automatically before these lifecycle commands:

Hook	Command	Description
before_specify	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before specification
before_plan	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before planning
before_tasks	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before task generation
before_implement	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before implementation
before_clarify	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before clarification
before_checklist	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before checklist generation
before_analyze	speckit.memory-loader.load	Load context before analysis

Design Decisions

• Read-only — never modifies any files
• Graceful degradation — missing directory or unreadable files are skipped silently
• Governance only — loads project-level memory; feature-specific reference docs are handled separately by a companion extension

Requirements

• Spec Kit >= 0.6.0

License

MIT