Glossary

Short definitions of the words you will meet in MySpec. For how the main pieces fit together, see Core concepts.

A

• Active organization: the organization you are working in right now. Your sign-in, the local MCP server and every API token each work in one organization at a time.
• Admin: an organization role, and the highest project role. Organization admins can open Organization settings, invite and remove members, and manage teams, the default project access and Custom Skills. They are Admin on every project. As a project role, Admin can also change a project’s settings and who has access to it. See Role and Project role.
• API token: a long-lived key, starting with msp_pat_, that lets a program use MySpec as you without a browser sign-in. It works in one organization and is either Read only or Read and write. See API tokens.
• Archive: hide a project or chat from the active list without deleting it. An archived chat is read-only. You must archive a project or chat before you can delete it.
• Artifact: a set of files, such as an HTML mockup, that MySpec stores and versions as one unit. Agents create and update artifacts through the MCP tools.
• Attachment: a file you upload to a project, such as a PDF brief or a screenshot, for the AI to use as background. See Attachments and local files.
• Auto: a project type for when you have not decided yet. The workflow you pick decides. See Project type.

B

• Brownfield: an existing codebase you want to change, and the project type for it. MySpec explores the code before it writes specs. See Work on an existing codebase.
• Bundle: the folder of spec files that one Generate session writes. You can rename a bundle and download it.

C

• Chat: another name for a session. The Chats tab of a project lists sessions.
• Collaborator: someone who has written at least one revision in a project. The project’s Settings → Access page lists them. See Working together.
• Comment thread: a discussion attached to a passage of a spec file. People can reply, resolve and reopen it. See Comments.
• Connected app: an app, such as Claude or ChatGPT, that you allowed to use MySpec on your behalf. Avatar menu → Connected apps lists them, and you can Disconnect them there.
• Connector: how Claude, ChatGPT and similar apps add an MCP server. You add MySpec’s remote server as a connector.
• Constitution: the spec file (constitution.md) with your project’s guiding principles and non-negotiable rules. Every later spec must stay consistent with it.
• content_version: a value the MCP tools return when you read a spec file or comment. Pass it back as expected_version when you update, so you never overwrite someone else’s change by accident. See Edit safely.
• Custom Skill: a piece of your team’s domain knowledge, such as a glossary or a compliance rule, that the AI uses in a project’s sessions. See Custom Skills.

D

• Default project access: the project role every member of an organization has on every project, before any team or personal access: No access, Read, Write (the default) or Admin. Owners and admins set it in Organization settings. See Teams and project access.
• Detached comment: a comment thread whose passage no longer exists in the file. It moves to the Detached comments section, and you can attach it to new text.

E

• EARS+: the structured way MySpec writes requirements, so each one is testable. See Writing requirements (EARS+).
• Edit lock: a notice that someone else is editing a spec file. It never stops you from saving; select Edit anyway to take over. See View and edit spec files.
• Edit session: a session that changes spec files you already have. It goes through Reference, Describe and Review. See Edit sessions.
• Explore: the first stage of the OpenSpec workflow. The AI reads your codebase to understand it. It writes no spec file.

G

• Generate session: a session that writes a new set of spec files by following a workflow. See Generate sessions.
• Greenfield: a new product built from scratch, and the project type for it.

I

• Interview: the first stage of most Generate workflows. The AI asks focused questions, many of them multiple choice. It writes no spec file.

L

• Local MCP server: the @myspec/mcp-server npm package, which runs on your machine. See Local MCP server.
• Local Workspace: a folder on your computer that you share with a chat from your browser, so the AI can read its files. See Attachments and local files.

M

• MCP (Model Context Protocol): an open standard that connects AI tools to data and actions. Your coding agent uses it to reach MySpec. See Connect your coding agent.
• Member: someone in an organization, and also the basic organization role. Members can create projects and work on each project as their project role allows. See Role.

O

• Organization: the shared space for a team. It holds projects, members and settings. Sign-up calls it a workspace. See Organizations and members.
• Owner: the organization role with every permission. The person who creates an organization is its owner.

P

• Plan: the SpecKit stage that turns the spec into a technical implementation plan (plan.md).
• Presence: the avatars that show who else is viewing a project or file, or working in a session, right now. See Working together.
• Professional role: how you work, for example Developer or Solution Architect. It is not a permission; it helps the AI tailor its questions.
• Project: holds everything for one product or codebase: its chats, spec files and attachments. See Projects.
• Project role: what you can do on one project: Read, Write or Admin. Your role is the highest of the default project access, the access the project gives you and the access it gives your teams. With no role, you can’t see the project. See Teams and project access.
• Project type: Greenfield, Brownfield or Auto. It decides which workflows a new chat offers.
• Proposal: the spec file (proposal.md) that explains a change to an existing codebase and why. Brownfield workflows write it.

R

• Read / Write / Admin: the three project roles. Read can view everything, but change nothing. Write can also edit specs, comment and chat with the AI. Admin can also change the project’s settings and who has access. See Project role.
• Read only / Read and write: the two access levels of an API token or a connected app. Read only can read everything but cannot change anything, except that a read-only API token can create and revoke stream tokens. A Read only token or app acts as Read on every project.
• Remote MCP server: the hosted MySpec MCP server at https://mcp.myspec.dev/mcp. See Remote MCP server.
• Requirements: the spec file (requirements.md) with user stories and the requirements the system must meet.
• reverse bridge: a command of the local MCP server (npx -y @myspec/mcp-server reverse --root <folder>) that lets MySpec’s AI read one folder on your machine during Brownfield sessions.
• Revision: a saved version of a spec file. Every save adds one, and the 10 most recent revisions stay available.
• Role: what someone may do in an organization: Owner, Admin or Member. Each project also gives people a project role.

S

• Session: one conversation with the AI that writes or changes spec files. Each session is a Generate or an Edit session, and is In progress or Completed.
• Share link: a public, read-only link to a snapshot of spec files you choose. Anyone with the link can open it until it expires or you revoke it. See Share links.
• Slash command: a command you type in the message box. /btw asks a side question, /goback returns to an earlier stage, and /complete ends the session.
• Solution: the spec file (solution.md) with the technical approach: architecture, data model and key design decisions.
• Spec depth: how many question and review rounds a Generate session may use: Lite, Full (the default) or Ultra. See Spec depth.
• Spec file: a Markdown document the AI writes, such as constitution.md. See Spec files.
• Specify: the SpecKit stage that writes spec.md, which describes what to build and why.
• Specs: the OpenSpec stage that writes delta spec files: which capabilities are added, changed or removed.
• Stage: one step of a workflow. Most stages write one spec file, which you review before the next stage starts.
• Stream token: a short-lived token that lets a client follow a project’s live events without signing in. See Stream tokens.

T

• Task board: a project’s Tasks tab, which shows the tasks from every tasks.md as a table or a Kanban board, with a status, assignee and other planning fields for each. See Tasks.
• Tasks: the spec file (tasks.md) with an ordered work plan, ready to hand off for implementation.
• Team: a group of members of an organization, created by owners and admins. When a project gives a team a role, every member of the team gets it. See Teams.
• Trash Bin: where spec files go when you move them to the trash. You can restore them from there.

W

• Workflow: the series of stages a session follows, such as MySpec, SpecKit or OpenSpec. See Which workflow should I pick?.
• Workspace: what sign-up calls an organization.