/sync

name: "OPSX: Sync"
description: "Sync delta specs from a change to main specs"
allowed-tools: Bash(openspec:*)
category: "Workflow"
tags: ["workflow", "specs", "experimental"]

Sync delta specs from a change to main specs.

This is an **agent-driven** operation - you will read delta specs and directly edit main specs to apply the changes. This allows intelligent merging (e.g., adding a scenario without copying the entire requirement).

**Store selection:** If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run `openspec store list --json` to discover registered store ids, then pass `--store <id>` on the commands that read or write specs and changes (`new change`, `status`, `instructions`, `list`, `show`, `validate`, `archive`, `doctor`, `context`, `schemas`, `view`). Once selected, treat `--store <id>` as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run `openspec status --change "<name>" --json --store "<id>"`, not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local `openspec/` root.

**Project check:** These steps expect a project that already uses OpenSpec. Before the first step that writes anything (`new change`, `archive`, `sync specs`, or authoring an artifact file), confirm the project has a root: run `openspec list --json` (with `--store <id>` when a store is selected, since the store is then the root) and read `root`. A root object means the project is set up. `"root": null` means it is not - there is no `openspec/` directory here, and a write such as `openspec new change` would create one as a side effect. The command also exits non-zero, which is that answer rather than a broken CLI, so read the JSON instead of retrying or working around it.

One `"root": null` is not about setup: when a `status` error message starts with `Declared in` or `Invalid store declaration in` and names this project's `openspec/config.yaml` (or `config.yml`), the project does use OpenSpec through a store it declares, which this machine cannot resolve (the store is not registered, or the `store:` line is malformed). Do not treat it as uninitialized and skip the branches below: stop before writing and show the user that error's `message` and `fix`.

Otherwise, with no root, what happens next depends on how this workflow was reached:

• **Auto-selected**: you chose this workflow yourself, without the user naming OpenSpec, naming this skill, or running its slash command. Stop using OpenSpec and answer the request normally, as you would with no OpenSpec installed. Do not ask them to set anything up and do not mention OpenSpec setup.
• **Explicit OpenSpec request**: the user named OpenSpec, named this skill, or ran its slash command. Stop before writing and ask how to proceed: set this project up (`openspec init`), target a store they already have (`--store <id>`), or continue without OpenSpec for this request. Wait for their answer.

In both branches, never create the root as a side effect: do not run `openspec init` until the user asks for it, do not hand-create `openspec/` files, and do not let a command create it.

`<capability-path>` is the spec directory relative to `specs/` (for example, `user-auth` or `identity/user-auth`). Preserve the full path from each delta spec when resolving its main spec.

**Input**: Optionally specify a change name after `/opsx:sync` (e.g., `/opsx:sync add-auth`). If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

**Steps**

1. **Select the change**

If a name is provided, use it. Otherwise:

• Infer from conversation context if the user mentioned a change
• Auto-select if only one active change exists
• If ambiguous, run `openspec list --json` to get available changes and ask the user to select one

When prompting, show changes that have delta specs (under `specs/` directory).

Always announce: "Using change: <name>" and how to override (e.g., `/opsx:sync <other>`).

2. **Resolve change context**

Run:

   openspec status --change "<name>" --json

The JSON includes `planningHome.root`. Main specs live under `<planningHome.root>/openspec/specs/` — use that (store-aware) root for every main-spec path below, not a hardcoded repo path. When a store is selected it points at the store, not the current repository.

3. **Find delta specs**

Use `artifactPaths.specs.existingOutputPaths` from the status JSON as the only source of delta spec paths. If the `specs` entry is missing or `existingOutputPaths` is empty, report that there are no delta specs to sync, do not infer them from other artifacts, and stop without requesting artifact instructions or writing a main spec.

Sync every path in `existingOutputPaths` unless the caller narrowed the set. A caller narrows it by naming an explicit list of complete entries from `existingOutputPaths` — copy those absolute values verbatim. Archive does this inline, and a user can too (for example, by selecting the entry ending in `/specs/billing/invoices/spec.md`). Then sync only the named paths and leave the remaining delta specs untouched: bulk archive excludes a delta whose implementation it could not find, and syncing it anyway would write a main spec the caller deliberately withheld. Carry that narrowed selection through step 4; never widen it back to the full list. If a named path is not in `existingOutputPaths`, do not sync it — report it and stop, rather than dropping it silently. If the named list is empty, report that there is nothing to sync and stop without writing a main spec.

Each delta spec file contains sections like:

• `## ADDED Requirements`