Examples
Example 1: Video Game with Multiplayer
specbase query video_game --features multiplayer --format table
Returns 10 required and recommended documents. The multiplayer feature adds Networking Specification, Server Architecture, Anti-Cheat Design, and Matchmaking Specification on top of the base game documents.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Game Design Document | product | A game design document captures the core mechanics, player experience goals, progression… |
| Required | Technical Design Document | engineering | The technical design document defines the engine architecture, rendering pipeline, physics… |
| Required | Art Bible | design | An art bible establishes the visual style, color palette, character design guidelines, and… |
| Required | Networking Specification | engineering | A networking specification defines the netcode architecture, protocol selection, latency b… |
| Required | Server Architecture | engineering | A server architecture document describes the game server topology, scaling strategy, regio… |
| Recommended | Anti-Cheat Design | engineering | Anti-cheat design documents detection methods, enforcement actions, appeal flows, and the … |
Example 2: Backend Service with GDPR and Async Jobs
specbase query backend_service --features gdpr,async_jobs --format table
Returns 9 documents. The gdpr feature adds GDPR Compliance Checklist, Data Subject Request Flow, and Data Processing Agreement. The async_jobs feature adds Job Queue Specification, Retry and Backoff Policy, and Dead Letter Handling.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Architecture Decision Record Log | engineering | An ADR log captures every significant architecture choice, its context, alternatives considered… |
| Required | Job Queue Specification | engineering | The job queue specification defines the message broker, serialization format, ordering guarantees… |
| Required | GDPR Compliance Checklist | legal | A GDPR compliance checklist ensures that lawful basis, consent mechanisms, data minimization… |
| Required | Service Level Agreement | operations | An SLA definition establishes measurable uptime, latency, throughput, and error rate commitments… |
| Recommended | Data Subject Request Flow | engineering | The data subject request flow documents the technical implementation for access, rectification… |
| Recommended | Retry and Backoff Policy | engineering | A retry and backoff policy specifies the maximum retry count, exponential backoff intervals… |
Example 3: CLI Tool (no features)
specbase query cli_tool --format prompt
Even with no optional features, the base documents for a CLI tool cover installation, configuration, performance, and distribution. The --format prompt output is ready to paste into your AI agent as a system prompt.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Configuration Specification | engineering | A configuration specification defines all config file formats, environment variables, and flag… |
| Required | Installation Guide | operations | An installation guide documents supported platforms, package manager commands, binary distribution… |
| Required | README | product | A README provides the essential first-contact documentation including purpose, installation, quick… |
| Recommended | Performance Benchmarks | engineering | Performance benchmarks establish baseline execution times, memory usage profiles, and throughput… |
| Recommended | Packaging Guide | operations | A packaging guide describes how to build release artifacts for Homebrew, APT, RPM, Chocolatey… |
Example 4: Web App with Auth and i18n
specbase query web_app --features auth,i18n --format table
Combining auth and i18n features shows how SpecBase handles feature composition — 12 documents total. Auth adds Authentication Design, Session Management Spec, and RBAC Spec; i18n adds Internationalization Strategy, Locale Management Spec, and Translation Workflow.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Internationalization Strategy | design | An internationalization strategy defines locale detection logic, string externalization, pluralization… |
| Required | UI/UX Specification | design | A UI/UX specification defines wireframes, interaction flows, design system tokens, and accessibility… |
| Required | API Contract | engineering | An API contract specifies endpoint schemas, request and response formats, authentication requirements… |
| Required | Authentication Design | security | An authentication design document specifies identity provider integration, credential storage, MFA flows… |
| Required | Security & Privacy Plan | security | A security and privacy plan identifies threat vectors, data classification levels, encryption requirements… |
| Required | Product Requirements Document | product | A product requirements document captures user needs, business objectives, feature scope, and success metrics… |
Example 5: Mobile App with Push Notifications and Deep Linking
specbase query mobile_app --features push,deep_linking --format json
Mobile apps have platform-specific requirements. With push and deep_linking enabled, SpecBase generates 7 documents covering notification payload formats, URL routing to in-app screens, privacy policy requirements, and app store submission metadata.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Deep Link Routing Specification | engineering | A deep link routing specification maps URL patterns to in-app screens, defining parameter extraction… |
| Required | Push Notification Specification | engineering | A push notification specification defines payload formats, delivery channels, and platform-specific… |
| Required | Privacy Policy | legal | A privacy policy discloses what user data is collected, how it is stored and shared, and what rights… |
| Required | App Store Metadata | product | App store metadata defines the title, description, screenshots, keywords, and category selections… |
| Recommended | Universal Links Specification | engineering | A universal links specification documents the Apple Associated Domains and Android App Links config… |
| Recommended | Crash Reporting Plan | operations | A crash reporting plan defines the crash analytics service, symbolication pipeline, and triage process… |
Example 6: Data Pipeline with Streaming and Quality (MCP agent workflow)
# In your AI agent's MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"specbase": {
"command": "specbase",
"args": ["mcp", "--transport", "stdio"]
}
}
}
# Then your agent can call:
# get_standard_docs(type="data_pipeline", features=["streaming", "data_quality"])
AI agents connect to SpecBase via MCP and call get_standard_docs. The response includes structured JSON with required documents, rationale, and starter templates — no CLI needed. This query returns 8 documents.
| Priority | Document | Category | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Data Quality Framework | data | The data quality framework defines the dimensions measured such as completeness, accuracy, freshness… |
| Required | ETL Specification | data | The ETL specification defines the extraction sources, transformation rules, loading targets… |
| Required | Streaming Architecture Specification | engineering | The streaming architecture specification defines the event broker, partitioning scheme, consumer groups… |
| Recommended | Anomaly Detection Specification | data | The anomaly detection specification covers the statistical methods, lookback windows, and alerting thresholds… |
| Recommended | Event Schema Specification | data | The event schema specification standardizes the envelope format, payload structure, versioning strategy… |
| Recommended | Schema Evolution Plan | data | A schema evolution plan documents how backward and forward compatible schema changes are handled… |
Try it yourself
Use the interactive runner to explore all 11 software types and their features without installing anything. Or browse the Document Library to see all 214 specification documents.