Every spec file in a project keeps its 10 most recent revisions; when a new one is saved, the oldest is removed. You can read any kept revision, compare two of them, and, in an Edit session, change a file by hand.
Open a spec file
The file explorer on the left of the project page and of every session lists your spec files under Specs, grouped into folders.
- Select a file’s name to open its latest revision in the viewer.
- Select the arrow next to the name to show the file’s revisions. Each row shows the revision number (for example Rev 3) and when it was saved. The newest revision is marked with a coloured dot. Select a row to open that revision.
- Revisions saved by someone else show their avatar. Hover it to see who saved the revision, and whether the AI assistant wrote it.
- A number next to a file name is the count of open comment threads on it. See Comments.
On a phone, tap a file name to open it, or double-tap it to show its revisions.
Read a file in the viewer
The viewer opens over the page. Its toolbar has these controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Find | Searches this file only. See Find text in a file. |
| Outline | Lists the file’s headings. Select one to jump to it. |
| Preview | Shows the file formatted, with tables, code blocks and Mermaid diagrams. |
| Raw | Shows the Markdown source with line numbers. |
| Diff | Compares this revision with another one. |
| Copy | Copies the revision’s raw Markdown to your clipboard. |
| Download | Saves this revision as a file on your computer. |
The viewer remembers where you were reading. When you open the same revision again in the same browser, it scrolls back to that point.
Press Esc to close the viewer. If the find bar is open, the first Esc closes the find bar.
Compare revisions
- Open one of the two revisions you want to compare.
- Select Diff. The toolbar shows Comparing: with the open revision on the left and a revision picker on the right. By default it compares with the revision just before.
- Pick another revision to compare with, if you need to.
- Use Previous change and Next change to step through the changes.
A file with a single revision shows “This is the only revision — no comparison available.” For very large files the viewer shows “Files are too large to display an inline diff.” Use Raw to read each revision instead.
Find text in a file
Select Find, or press Ctrl+F while the viewer is open. Type your search term, then:
- Press Enter for the next match and Shift+Enter for the previous one, or use Next match and Previous match.
- Turn on Match case to match upper and lower case exactly.
- Press Esc or select Close find to close the bar.
The search covers only the file in the viewer, not the chat or the file explorer around it.
Mermaid diagrams
In Preview, Mermaid code blocks are drawn as diagrams.
- Click a diagram to zoom. It opens in a full-window view.
- In that view, scroll to zoom and drag to pan. You can also press + and - to zoom, 0 to reset, or use the −, + and Reset buttons. On a phone, pinch to zoom.
- Press Esc or select ✕ to close the view.
If a diagram cannot be drawn, the viewer shows its source and the error instead. If you opened the file from a session that is still in progress, select Fix mermaid diagram: the viewer closes and a request to fix the diagram appears in your message box, with the error and the diagram code. It is not sent until you send it, so you can review or change it first.
Edit a file by hand
You can change a spec file yourself in an Edit session that is still in progress. Completed and archived sessions are read-only.
Editing by hand needs Write access on the project. With Read access there is no Edit manually button, but you can still open, compare and download every file and revision. See Teams and project access.
Open the editor
Select the pencil icon (Edit manually) next to a file in the explorer, or on a spec file card in the chat. The editor takes the place of the chat.
Make your changes
Choose how to edit with the switch on the right of the editor toolbar:
- Rich Text: edit the formatted text. The toolbar offers undo and redo, bold, italic, underline and lists.
- Source Mode: edit the Markdown directly.
- Diff Mode: see your unsaved changes next to the version you started from.
Save
Select Save at the top of the page. MySpec saves your changes as a new revision, shows “Changes saved” and returns to the chat. Select Cancel to close the editor instead.
After you save, an Edited manually card appears in the chat, and the assistant is told about your change so it can take it into account.
- Save is turned off while you have no changes, and while the assistant is working. The editor then shows “Saving is disabled while the assistant is working.”
- For more room, select Enter fullscreen in the editor toolbar or press Ctrl+Shift+F. Press Esc or select Exit fullscreen to go back.
- If your organization has reached its storage limit, the save is refused and your text stays in the editor. See Usage and limits.
Leaving with unsaved changes
If you send a message, switch to another file or select Cancel while you have unsaved changes, MySpec asks what to do:
- Save changes and proceed
- Discard changes and proceed
- Dismiss and back to editing
Find and replace
In the editor, select Find and replace in the toolbar or press Ctrl+F.
- Press Enter for the next match and Shift+Enter for the previous one.
- Type the new text in Replace with, then select Replace for the current match or Replace all (Ctrl+Enter) for every match.
- Replacing works in Rich Text and Source Mode. In Diff Mode you can search but not replace.
When Rich Text cannot open a file
Rich Text reads the file as MDX, where < starts an HTML tag. Text such as
<= 200ms or <id> stops it from loading, and the editor shows
“Rich Text can’t open this content”.
Select Fix automatically to escape those characters. Code blocks are never changed. The editor tells you how many places it repaired. Check them in Diff Mode before you save. If something cannot be fixed automatically, edit it in Source Mode.
Edit alongside other people
Above the editor, a bar shows who else has the file open:
- People viewing this file, and people Editing this file with unsaved changes, marked with a pencil.
- MySpec AI, when the AI assistant is writing to the file. Hover it to see “The AI assistant is working on this file.”
You count as editing only while you have unsaved changes. Opening the editor to read does not.
The bar may also show “Name is editing this file.” with an Edit anyway link. Select Edit anyway to take over editing. This is a signal, not a lock: it never stops you, or them, from saving. The other person keeps their unsaved text and sees that you are now editing. If you both save, the second save is stopped and that person chooses what to do, as described below.
For presence across a whole project, see Working together.
When the file changes while you edit
If someone else, or the AI assistant, saves the file while you have it open, the bar shows “Rev N saved by name.” or “This file has changed since you opened it.” Your text is not touched.
Select Compare to open Compare with a saved revision. It shows the differences between a saved revision and your unsaved draft. Pick a revision at the top of the panel, then choose one of these:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Use this revision as my starting point, keep my text | Your text stays in the editor. Diff Mode now shows how it differs from that revision, so you can merge before you save. |
| Discard my changes and load this revision | Your changes are dropped and the editor shows that revision. |
| Close without changing anything | Nothing changes. |
Save conflicts
If someone saved a newer version after you opened the file, your save is stopped and you see This file changed while you were editing. Your changes are not saved yet, and nothing is lost. The dialog shows how their version differs from yours. Choose:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Keep editing and merge manually | Their version becomes your starting point and your text stays in the editor. Combine the two using Diff Mode, then save. |
| Overwrite with my version | Your version is saved as the newest revision. Their version is kept as the revision before it. |
| Discard my changes and load their version | Your changes are dropped and the editor shows their version. |
Recover unsaved changes
While you type, MySpec keeps a copy of your unsaved text in this browser. If the page reloads or the tab closes before you save, the bar shows “You have unsaved changes from time.” the next time you open the file for editing in the same browser.
- Select Restore to put that text back in the editor. Then save it.
- Select Discard to throw it away.
The copy stays in the browser where you typed it. It is never shared with anyone and never becomes a revision until you save. A copy you do not come back to within 14 days is removed, and very large files are not kept.
Bring back older text
You can open any kept revision, but there is no one-click restore for a live file. To go back to an earlier version:
- Open the revision you want from the file’s revision list.
- Select Copy to copy its raw Markdown.
- In an Edit session, open the file in the editor and switch to Source Mode.
- Replace the content with what you copied, then select Save.
This saves the older text as a new revision. If the file already has 10 revisions, the oldest one is removed.
Move a file to the Trash Bin
You can move spec files to the Trash Bin from the project page and from Edit sessions. Moving a file to the Trash Bin, restoring it and deleting it permanently need Write access on the project.
- Select the trash icon next to the file in the explorer (Move to Trash). On a computer, the icon appears when you hover the file.
- Confirm with Move to Trash.
The file leaves the Specs list and appears in the Trash Bin section at the bottom of the explorer. That section only shows while it holds files. Each file there says who moved it and when, for example “Trashed by Alice · 2 hours ago”, so you know whom to ask before you restore or delete it.
Restore or delete a trashed file
Select a file in the Trash Bin to open it in the viewer. The viewer then has two extra buttons:
- Restore: puts the file back in the Specs list. You see “File restored.”
- Delete permanently: asks you to confirm, then deletes the file. This cannot be undone.