Is OpenSpec’s Propose Too Coarse? Enable 6 Expanded Commands in 4 Steps and Choose the Right Workflow Mode

1. Core vs. Expanded Workflow

OpenSpec controls command visibility through a Profile system. The default core profile exposes five commands:

propose → explore → apply → sync → archive

These cover the full loop of creating a plan, exploring ideas, implementing tasks, syncing specs, and archiving. When a change requires finer control—step‑by‑step review, quality verification, bulk archiving, or an onboarding tutorial—the core profile is insufficient.

The expanded (or custom) profile adds six more commands, bringing the total to eleven.

2. Four‑Step Procedure to Enable Expanded Workflow

Run the profile wizard : openspec config profile The wizard shows the current profile and asks what to configure. Choose Workflows only.

Select the additional commands (space to toggle, Enter to confirm):

Select workflows to make available: (Space to toggle, Enter to confirm)
  [x] Propose change
  [x] Explore ideas
  [ ] New change
  [ ] Continue change
  [x] Apply tasks
  [ ] Fast‑forward
  [x] Sync specs
  [x] Archive change
  [ ] Bulk archive
  [ ] Verify change
  [ ] Onboard

All six expanded commands ( new, continue, ff, verify, bulk-archive, onboard) must be checked.

Confirm the changes :

Config changes:
  profile: core -> custom
  workflows: added new, continue, ff, verify, bulk-archive, onboard

The new configuration is saved to ~/.config/openspec/config.json (XDG‑compliant). If you are inside an OpenSpec project, the wizard also asks to apply the changes immediately—answer Y.

Synchronise the project : openspec update This copies the global configuration into the project’s AI‑tool config (e.g., .claude/skills/) so the newly enabled commands become visible.

After these four steps, the expanded workflow is active in under two minutes.

3. The Six Expanded Commands Explained

/opsx:new

– creates only the change skeleton (directory + metadata) without generating any planning artifacts. Useful when you want to set up a container first and fill it manually later. /opsx:continue – creates the next missing artifact based on the dependency graph. Each execution adds one ready‑to‑review artifact, offering finer granularity than /opsx:propose. /opsx:ff (fast‑forward) – after a skeleton is created, this command fills all remaining artifacts (proposal, specs, design, tasks) in one shot. /opsx:verify – performs a three‑dimensional quality check:

Completeness : all tasks finished? all requirements have code? scenarios covered?

Correctness : implementation matches spec intent? edge cases handled? error states correct?

Coherence : design decisions reflected in code? naming consistent with design.md?

Verification does not block archiving; it merely reports the health of the change. /opsx:bulk-archive – archives multiple completed changes at once, detecting spec conflicts and ordering by timestamp. /opsx:onboard – an interactive tutorial for first‑time users that walks through a full change lifecycle.

4. Three Typical Workflow Mode Combinations

Quick Feature – for well‑defined tasks:

/opsx:new → /opsx:ff → /opsx:apply → /opsx:verify → /opsx:archive

Adds a verification step compared with the core propose → apply → archive chain.

Exploratory – for vague requirements:

/opsx:explore → /opsx:new → /opsx:continue → … → /opsx:apply

Allows iterative creation and review of each artifact.

Parallel Changes – for multiple concurrent streams:

Change A: /opsx:new → /opsx:ff → /opsx:apply (in progress)
          │
Switch to Change B
          │
Change B: /opsx:new → /opsx:ff → /opsx:apply → /opsx:archive

Both changes are later bulk‑archived with /opsx:bulk-archive.

A decision matrix (described in the source) recommends ff when the full scope is known beforehand, and continue when the work is exploratory.

5. Underlying Mechanisms

Profile Derivation – The global config ( ~/.config/openspec/config.json) stores a profile field. When the selected workflow set exactly matches the core list, the system sets profile: 'core'; otherwise it sets 'custom'. The source code shows the simple check:

// src/core/profiles.ts
export function deriveProfileFromWorkflowSelection(selectedWorkflows: string[]): Profile {
  const isCoreMatch =
    selectedWorkflows.length === CORE_WORKFLOWS.length &&
    CORE_WORKFLOWS.every(w => selectedWorkflows.includes(w));
  return isCoreMatch ? 'core' : 'custom';
}

Artifact Dependency Graph – Artifacts transition through BLOCKED → READY → DONE. The graph determines which artifact can be created next, but it does not enforce a strict order; developers can create specs before design, etc.

6. Recommendations

Use the core profile for small, well‑scoped changes ( propose → apply → archive).

For medium‑to‑large changes that need quality gates, enable the expanded profile and include /opsx:verify.

When handling multiple parallel changes, enable bulk‑archive to streamline finalisation.

OpenSpec intentionally hides the six advanced commands until you need finer control, giving you the flexibility to pick the appropriate workflow for your project’s pace.