Learn-skills.dev spec-kit-constitution

Use when creating or amending a Spec Kit project constitution, especially when `memory/constitution.md` is missing, contains `[PLACEHOLDER]` tokens, or principle changes must be propagated to planning/spec/task templates.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/NeverSight/learn-skills.dev

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/NeverSight/learn-skills.dev "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/data/skills-md/ahgraber/skills/spec-kit-constitution" ~/.claude/skills/neversight-learn-skills-dev-spec-kit-constitution && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: data/skills-md/ahgraber/skills/spec-kit-constitution/SKILL.md

source content

Spec Kit Constitution

Create or amend the project constitution and keep dependent templates aligned.

When to Use

User asks to create the first constitution for a Spec Kit project.
User asks to amend governance/principles and update constitution versioning.
```
memory/constitution.md
```
is missing or still contains
```
[PLACEHOLDER]
```
tokens.
Principle changes must be propagated into planning/spec/task templates.

Router Fit

Primary route from
```
spec-kit
```
when intent is governance/principles.
Run before feature planning when constitutional rules changed.
Downstream dependency:
```
spec-kit-plan
```
constitution checks rely on this output.

Preconditions

Work from the target project repository root.
Treat
```
memory/constitution.md
```
as the source of truth once created.

Workflow

Resolve constitution file:

Target:
```
{REPO_ROOT}/memory/constitution.md
```
.

If missing, initialize from

{REPO_ROOT}/templates/constitution-template.md

when present; otherwise use

assets/constitution-template.md

Capture baseline state from existing constitution (if present):
- Current version.
- Ratified and last amended dates.
- Principle/section titles for diff reporting.
- Any unresolved
```
[PLACEHOLDER]
```
  tokens.
Fill required values from user input first, then repository context.
- If critical data is unknown, use
```
TODO(<FIELD_NAME>): <reason>
```
  .
Decide semantic version bump and dates:
- ```
MAJOR
```
  : backward-incompatible governance/principle redefinition or removal.
- ```
MINOR
```
  : new principle/section or materially expanded policy.
- ```
PATCH
```
  : clarifications, wording, typo, non-semantic refinements.
- ```
RATIFICATION_DATE
```
  : keep original adoption date.
- ```
LAST_AMENDED_DATE
```
  : set to today (
```
YYYY-MM-DD
```
  ) only when content changes.
Draft the constitution:
- Replace placeholders with concrete policy text.
- Keep heading hierarchy from the template.
- Make principles declarative and testable (
```
MUST
```
  /
```
SHOULD
```
  with rationale).
- Keep Governance explicit about amendment process, versioning policy, and compliance review.
Propagate policy changes to dependent templates in the target repo when present:
- ```
templates/plan-template.md
```
- ```
templates/spec-template.md
```
- ```
templates/tasks-template.md
```
  Update constitutional checks, required sections, and task expectations to match revised principles.
Prepend a Sync Impact Report HTML comment to
```
memory/constitution.md
```
containing:
- Version change (
```
old -> new
```
  ).
- Modified principles (including renames).
- Added/removed sections.
- Template sync status (
```
updated
```
  vs
```
pending
```
  ) with file paths.
- Deferred TODO items.
Validate before finalizing:
- No unexplained bracket placeholders remain.
- Version/date line matches report and uses
```
YYYY-MM-DD
```
  format.
- File path is
```
memory/constitution.md
```
  (not
```
/memory/constitution.md
```
  ).
Write
```
memory/constitution.md
```
and report results to the user.

Output

Updated
```
memory/constitution.md
```
.
Updated template files when present and required.
Summary including version bump rationale, pending follow-ups, and a suggested commit message.

Common Mistakes

Updating principles without updating dependent templates.
Using a patch bump for material policy changes that require a minor/major bump.
Leaving unresolved placeholders without explicit TODO annotations.

Writing to

/memory/constitution.md

instead of

memory/constitution.md

References

```
references/spec-kit-workflow.dot
```
for where constitution work fits in the Spec Kit sequence.
```
assets/constitution-template.md
```
```
assets/spec-template.md
```
```
assets/plan-template.md
```
```
assets/tasks-template.md
```

https://github.com/github/spec-kit/blob/9111699cd27879e3e6301651a03e502ecb6dd65d/templates/commands/constitution.md