AppSpec · Open standard · MIT
The open standard the family runs on.
AppSpec is a portable specification format for AI-assisted software development — PRODUCT + ARCHITECTURE as the two-file contract. Maintained by Jorv, MIT-licensed, usable by anyone in any tool.
Four principles
Open by default
MIT-licensed. No vendor lock-in. Use it inside Jorv, inside Cursor, inside your own CLI, inside whatever comes after. The spec is the lingua franca; the tool is your choice.
Two files, not twenty
AppSpec is small on purpose. A PRODUCT manifest and an ARCHITECTURE manifest. Together they describe what to build and how. Resist the urge to add fields — the discipline is the point.
AI-readable, human-authored
Designed to be diffable in a PR, parseable by an LLM, and reviewable by a non-engineer. Plain markdown with a typed front-matter envelope.
Versioned + provenanced
Every AppSpec document carries a version, an author, and a hash. PROV-compatible from day one. Plays nicely with WORM audit trails like the one Jorv Enterprise writes.
Who uses AppSpec
Jorv Builder
AppSpec is the contract Builder treats as the source of truth. Every brainstorm references it; every audit checks code against it.
Other AI dev tools
AppSpec is tool-agnostic. Use it in Cursor, Copilot Workspace, Devin, Aider, OpenAI Codex — anywhere that benefits from a typed contract for the work.
In-house pipelines
Pipe AppSpec docs into your CI as the spec of record. Compare diffs against AppSpec rather than tribal Slack threads.
Audit + compliance
AppSpec docs are PROV-ready — sign them, root them in a Merkle chain, and the evidence trail is yours.
Read the spec. File an issue.
AppSpec is small and stable. We’d rather merge a careful PR than ship a hasty new field.