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Your First Increment

Build a real feature in 15 minutes.

This hands-on tutorial walks you through the complete SpecWeave workflow — from idea to shipped code.

Prerequisites​

  • SpecWeave installed (npm install -g specweave)
  • Project initialized (specweave init .)
  • Claude Code (or another AI tool) ready

Step 1: Define Your Feature​

Think of something simple for your project. Examples:

Project TypeExample Feature
Web App"Add dark mode toggle"
API"Add health check endpoint"
Mobile"Add pull-to-refresh"
CLI"Add --verbose flag"

For this tutorial, we'll use: "Add a greeting message component"

Step 2: Create the Increment​

In Claude Code:

/sw:increment "Add greeting message component"

What happens:

  1. PM Agent analyzes your request and creates user stories
  2. Architect Agent designs the implementation approach
  3. Planner Agent generates tasks with embedded tests

Output — Three files in .specweave/increments/0001-greeting-message/:

├── spec.md      # WHAT: User stories, acceptance criteria
├── plan.md      # HOW: Architecture, design decisions
└── tasks.md     # DO: Implementation tasks with tests

Step 3: Review the Spec​

Open spec.md and review the generated content:

## User Stories

### US-001: Greeting Message Display
**As a** user,
**I want** to see a personalized greeting,
**So that** I feel welcomed when using the application.

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] AC-US1-01: Greeting displays user's name when logged in
- [ ] AC-US1-02: Greeting shows generic message when not logged in
- [ ] AC-US1-03: Greeting updates immediately on name change

Edit if needed — Add missing requirements, adjust acceptance criteria.

Step 4: Execute Tasks​

Option A: Autonomous Mode​

/sw:auto

Watch SpecWeave:

  1. Pick up the first task
  2. Implement it
  3. Run tests
  4. Update docs
  5. Move to next task
  6. Repeat until done

Real-time labels show progress:

🔄 AUTO SESSION CONTINUING
Iteration: 3/2500
Increment: 0001-greeting-message
Tests: 4 passed, 0 failed

Option B: Step-by-Step​

/sw:do

Executes one task at a time. Check progress:

/sw:progress

Output:

📊 Increment 0001-greeting-message
├── Tasks: 3/5 completed (60%)
├── Tests: 12 passing
├── Coverage: 78%
└── Next: T-004: Add responsive styles

Step 5: Validate Quality​

Before closing, run validation:

/sw:validate 0001

SpecWeave checks:

  • All tasks marked complete
  • Test coverage meets threshold (60%+ default)
  • Acceptance criteria satisfied
  • Living docs synced

If validation fails, SpecWeave tells you exactly what's missing.

Step 6: Complete the Increment​

When all checks pass:

/sw:done 0001

SpecWeave:

  1. Validates quality gates one final time
  2. Updates status to completed
  3. Syncs to external tools (GitHub/JIRA/ADO if configured)
  4. Archives the increment

What You Just Did​

Permanent artifacts created:

  • Specification with traceable requirements
  • Architecture decisions documented
  • Implementation with tests
  • Living documentation that never goes stale

Understanding the Three Files​

spec.md — The WHAT​

Business requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria.

### US-001: Feature Name
**As a** [user type],
**I want** [capability],
**So that** [benefit].

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] AC-US1-01: Specific, testable condition

plan.md — The HOW​

Architecture, design decisions, technical approach.

## Design Decisions

### ADR-001: Component Architecture
**Decision**: Use React functional components with hooks
**Rationale**: Consistent with existing codebase, better testing

tasks.md — The DO​

Implementation tasks with embedded tests.

### T-001: Create Greeting Component
**User Story**: US-001
**Satisfies ACs**: AC-US1-01, AC-US1-02
**Status**: [ ] pending

**Test Cases:**
- test_greeting_shows_user_name_when_logged_in
- test_greeting_shows_generic_when_anonymous

Next Steps​

GoalCommand/Resource
Start next feature/sw:increment "next feature"
Check all progress/sw:status
Learn TDD workflowLesson 6: TDD
Connect GitHubGitHub Integration
Full curriculumSpecWeave Essentials

Common Questions​

What if I need to change the spec mid-way?​

Edit spec.md directly. SpecWeave tracks changes and adapts tasks accordingly.

What if tests fail?​

In /sw:auto mode, SpecWeave automatically tries to fix failing tests (up to 3 attempts). In /sw:do mode, you'll be prompted to fix them.

Can I skip tasks?​

Mark irrelevant tasks as [x] skipped with a note. SpecWeave respects this during validation.

Congratulations! You've completed your first increment.

→ Learn the full workflow