# Install openspec with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Spec-driven development (SDD) for AI coding assistants. Version 1.7.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-30. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#openspec.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:openspec
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install openspec
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install openspec
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: llm/openspec/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#openspec
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/op/openspec/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:openspec
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.7.0
- **Source summary:** Spec-driven development (SDD) for AI coding assistants
- **Homepage:** <https://openspec.dev/>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-30T03:56:01Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- openspec (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.7.0
## Project history and usage

OpenSpec is a TypeScript/Node CLI for spec-driven development with AI coding assistants. It creates repository-local proposal, design, task, and spec artifacts so humans and coding agents can agree on intent before implementation.

### Project history

The project emerged with the wave of agentic coding tools, where chat-only requirements often disappear between sessions. Its README frames OpenSpec as a lightweight spec layer for AI coding assistants: changes get their own folders, requirements become editable artifacts, and slash commands drive planning and implementation through existing assistants.

OpenSpec's public repository and documentation emphasize portability over a single hosted service. The package installs through npm or Homebrew, runs without API keys or an MCP server, and generates command profiles for many coding tools.

### Adoption history

OpenSpec's adoption signals are strongest in developer-tool channels: the GitHub repository advertises tens of thousands of stars, Homebrew packages it as `openspec`, and the project site lists native support for tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, and others.

Because the project is young and its history is mostly described by its own repository, the durable adoption story is still forming. The meaningful package-manager fact is that Homebrew and npm make the same workflow available as a normal CLI rather than only as copied prompt files.

### How it is used

Developers install `openspec`, initialize it in a repository, and then use assistant slash commands such as proposal, apply, explore, and archive flows. A typical change leaves behind `proposal.md`, `design.md`, `tasks.md`, and spec deltas under an `openspec/changes/` directory, then archives accepted changes back into the maintained specs.

### Why package nerds care

OpenSpec is package-nerd interesting because it packages process as code. Instead of shipping a library API, it ships a repo convention, generated assistant instructions, schemas, and CLI maintenance commands that make AI planning artifacts versionable and reviewable.

### Timeline

- 2025-2026: OpenSpec's public materials describe a spec-driven workflow aimed at AI coding assistants and brownfield codebases.
- 2026: Homebrew packages OpenSpec 1.5.0, and the GitHub releases page lists v1.5.0 as a June 28, 2026 release.

### Related projects

- OpenSpec compares itself with GitHub Spec Kit and Kiro, positioning itself as lighter-weight than phase-gated spec frameworks and more portable than IDE-bound planning products.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/openspec>
- <https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec>
- <https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec/releases>
- <https://openspec.dev/>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - openspec: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/op/openspec/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- MacPorts - openspec: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: llm/openspec/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/openspec.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/openspec.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph