Spec Drift Check
Use this skill when drift assessment is the current phase for one feature.
Shared Contracts
Load this shared shortcut first:
../references/shared-specialist-contract.md
Open the deeper canonical shared references only when the shortcut is insufficient for the current situation.
Purpose
Decide whether a request, artifact, or implementation change stays within the current spec contract.
Use this skill for:
- checking whether implementation has moved ahead of artifacts
- checking whether a new request exceeds
spec.md - deciding whether a discrepancy is clarification or true drift
- updating
drift.mdwith a concise structured note
Read Order
.codex/prompts/speckit.analyze.mdfirst.codex/prompts/speckit.constitution.mdif presentspecs/<feature>/spec.mdspecs/<feature>/plan.mdif presentspecs/<feature>/tasks.mdif presentspecs/<feature>/implementation-status.mdif presentspecs/<feature>/review.mdif presentspecs/<feature>/drift.mdif present- changed code or requested changes that may exceed scope
Shared template:
../references/drift-report-template.md
Owned Outputs
- one drift assessment
drift.mdupdates when drift is confirmed- advisory route-back recommendation when scope has been exceeded
Phase-Specific Rejected Criteria
Return rejected if the request is actually asking for new specification authoring rather than drift assessment.
Phase-Specific Blocked Criteria
Return blocked if scope alignment cannot be determined from available artifacts and code evidence.
Procedure
- identify the current scope boundary from
spec.md - compare proposed or implemented behavior against that boundary
- treat clarifications that do not expand behavior as in scope
- treat new behavior, new integrations, new surfaces, or materially broader scope as drift
- update
drift.mdusing the shared template when drift is confirmed - recommend the earliest phase that must be revisited