Spring Boot Web Application Specification Generator

Optional Integration Versions

Include in the version table only when the corresponding integration is selected.

Core Dependencies

The spec must include these in the Maven configuration section (always):

• Spring Web (starter-web)
• Spring Modulith (core, events-api)
• JTE Spring Boot Starter (gg.jte:jte-spring-boot-starter-3)
• JTE precompiler (gg.jte:jte-maven-plugin with precompile goal at process-classes phase, output to target/classes so precompiled templates are included in the Spring Boot fat JAR)
• Lombok
• Spring Boot DevTools
• MapStruct (with annotation processor)
• frontend-maven-plugin (for Node/Vite build)

Conditional Dependencies

If Database = MongoDB:

• Spring Data MongoDB (spring-boot-starter-data-mongodb)
• MongoDB Driver
• Spring Modulith starter-mongodb (spring-modulith-starter-mongodb)

If Database = PostgreSQL or MySQL:

• Spring Data JPA (spring-boot-starter-data-jpa)
• PostgreSQL driver (org.postgresql:postgresql) or MySQL driver (com.mysql:mysql-connector-j)
• Flyway (org.flywaydb:flyway-core) for schema migration
• Spring Modulith starter-jpa (spring-modulith-starter-jpa)

If Auth = Keycloak:

• Spring Security (spring-boot-starter-security)
• Spring Security OAuth2 Client (spring-boot-starter-oauth2-client)

If Auth = Spring Security (form login):

• Spring Security (spring-boot-starter-security)

If Scheduling = yes:

• Spring Quartz (spring-boot-starter-quartz)
• If Database = MongoDB: io.fluidsonic.mirror:fluidsonic-mirror-quartz (MongoDB job store for Quartz)
• If Database = PostgreSQL/MySQL: Quartz JDBC job store (built-in)

If Scheduling = yes AND Spring Batch = yes:

• Spring Batch (spring-boot-starter-batch)

If Scheduling = yes AND Spring Batch = yes AND Remote Partitioning = yes:

• Spring Batch Integration (spring-batch-integration)
• Spring Integration AMQP (spring-integration-amqp)
• Spring Boot AMQP Starter (spring-boot-starter-amqp)

If Messaging = yes:

• Spring Boot AMQP Starter (spring-boot-starter-amqp) (shared with Remote Partitioning — if both are selected, include the dependency once)

If Reporting = yes:

• JasperReports (net.sf.jasperreports:jasperreports:7.0.3) — report engine with JRDesign API for programmatic layout
• JasperReports Fonts (net.sf.jasperreports:jasperreports-fonts:7.0.3)
• OpenPDF (com.github.librepdf:openpdf:2.0.4) — PDF export engine for JasperReports 7.x
• Apache POI OOXML (org.apache.poi:poi-ooxml:5.4.1) — XLSX export support

When the Skill Triggers

Generate the spec when the user provides an application name and version that corresponds to one of the custom applications defined in CLAUDE.md. The skill reads all required inputs from the project's context files — no interactive Q&A is needed for the core inputs.

The user invokes this skill by specifying the target application and version, for example:

• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx hub_middleware v1.0.3
• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx hub_middleware v1.0.3 module:Location Information
• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx "Hub Middleware" v1.0.3

The skill then locates the matching context folder and reads all input files automatically.

Version Gate

Before starting any work, resolve the application folder first (see Input Resolution below), then check CHANGELOG.md in the application folder (<app_folder>/CHANGELOG.md):

1. If <app_folder>/CHANGELOG.md does not exist, skip this check (first-ever execution for this application).
2. If <app_folder>/CHANGELOG.md exists, scan all ## vX.Y.Z headings and determine the highest version using semantic versioning comparison.
3. Compare the requested version against the highest version:
   • If requested version >= highest version: proceed normally.
   • If requested version < highest version: STOP immediately. Print: "Version {requested} is lower than the current application version {highest} recorded in <app_folder>/CHANGELOG.md. Execution rejected." Do NOT proceed with any work.

Input Resolution

This skill uses standardized input resolution. Provide:

Application Folder Resolution

The application name is matched against root-level application folders:

1. Strip any leading <number>_ prefix from folder names (e.g., 1_hub_middleware → hub_middleware)
2. Match case-insensitively against the provided application name
3. Accept snake_case, kebab-case, or title-case input (all match the same folder)
4. If no match found, list available applications and stop

Auto-Resolved Paths

Example Invocations

• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx hub_middleware v1.0.3 (all modules)
• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx hub_middleware v1.0.3 module:Location Information (one module)
• /specgen-spring-jpa-jtehtmx "Hub Middleware" v1.0.3

Version Filtering

When a version is provided, only include user stories, NFRs, and constraints from versions <= the provided version. For example, if v1.0.3 is specified:

• Include items tagged [v1.0.0], [v1.0.1], [v1.0.2], [v1.0.3]
• Exclude items tagged [v1.0.4] or later
• Version comparison uses semantic versioning order

Module Filtering

When module:<name> is provided:

• Only generate the SPEC.md for that specific module
• Other existing module spec files remain untouched
• SPECIFICATION.md (root) gets a partial update — only that module's entry in the TOC is added or updated; all other TOC entries are preserved as-is

Gathering Input

The specification is driven by six input sources that are read from the project's context files. The skill does NOT ask the user for database, authentication, scheduling, or messaging choices — it determines these automatically from the context.

Input 1: Application Name (from CLAUDE.md)

From CLAUDE.md (already loaded in context), locate the target application under the Custom Applications section. Extract:

• Application name: The section heading (e.g., "Hub Middleware", "HC Adapter")
• Application description: The description paragraph below the heading
• Dependencies: The "Depends on" list — this is the primary source for determining optional components (see Determining Optional Components)

The application name is used to derive:

• Artifact ID: Kebab-case of the application name (e.g., hub-middleware)
• Group ID: com.bestinet.urp (project-level constant)
• Base package: com.bestinet.urp.<artifactid_no_hyphens> (e.g., com.bestinet.urp.hubmiddleware)

Input 2: User Stories (from PRD.md)

Read <app_folder>/context/PRD.md. This file contains all user stories organized by module. Extract:

• System modules: Modules under the # System Module heading (e.g., User, Notification, Activities, Audit Trail). These become system-level modules in the spec.
• Business modules: Modules under the # Business Module heading (e.g., Location Information, Corridor, Employer). These become business-level modules.
• User stories per module: Each ### User Story section contains tagged items like [USHM00108] As a user, I want to.... These define the functional requirements for each module's service interface and page controllers.

The user stories directly inform:

• Which CRUD operations each module's service must expose
• Which page controllers and JTE views are needed
• Which form fields and validation rules apply

Important: Items with strikethrough (~~text~~) are deprecated — do NOT include them as active requirements. Instead, list them in the "Removed / Replaced" subsection of the traceability table (see spec-template.md) so that developers can see what was removed and which version removed it. If a deprecated item has a replacement (e.g., USHM00015 replaced by USHM00222), note the replacement ID.

• Version tags per item: Each ### User Story, ### Non Functional Requirement, and ### Constraint section contains one or more version blocks formatted as [v1.0.x]. Items listed under each version tag belong to that version. The skill must track the version tag for each item (user story, NFR, constraint) and carry it through to the generated specification's traceability section. When a version block explicitly lists "Removed ... from previous version", record those removals in a "Removed / Replaced" subsection with the version that removed them and the replacement ID (if any).

Input 3: Non-Functional Requirements (from PRD.md)

Within the same PRD.md, each module has a ### Non Functional Requirement section with tagged items like [NFRHM0120]. These inform:

• Data storage strategies (e.g., "stored in JWT token", "stored in the database")
• Integration patterns (e.g., "API call to SSO service", "sent asynchronously")
• Performance constraints (e.g., "automatically deleted after 30 days")
• Security requirements (e.g., "require user to relogin")

NFRs should be mapped to specific technical decisions in the spec — for example, an NFR stating "stored in JWT token" confirms stateless auth, while "sent asynchronously" confirms event-driven processing.

Input 4: Constraints (from PRD.md)

Within the same PRD.md, each module has a ### Constraint section with tagged items like [CONSHM042]. These define hard boundaries that the spec must enforce:

• Field-level restrictions (e.g., "can only change name and phone number")
• Feature boundaries (e.g., "only 2 delivery channels supported")
• Scope limitations (e.g., "does not manage any user, permissions and roles")

Constraints are embedded directly into the relevant module blueprint — they inform service interface contracts, validation rules, and UI form configurations.

Input 5: Module Model (from model/ folder)

Read <app_folder>/context/model/MODEL.md first as the index, then read the individual module model files in each module subfolder.

MODEL.md provides:

• Summary table of all modules with collection counts and design decisions
• Links to each module's detailed model files

Per-module files (e.g., model/location-information/model.md):

• Complete document/entity field definitions with types and constraints
• Embedded vs. referenced relationships
• Collection/table names
• Index specifications
• Audit field patterns

Per-module schema (e.g., model/location-information/schemas.json):

• JSON schemas defining exact field types, required fields, and validation rules

Per-module diagram (e.g., model/location-information/document-model.mermaid):

• Visual representation of document structure and relationships

The module model directly maps to:

• MongoDB documents or JPA entities (field-for-field, not placeholder)

• Repository methods and query patterns

• MapStruct mapper definitions

• DTO structures matching the actual module fields

• Service interface method signatures

• Version tracking: The MODEL.md summary table includes a "Versions" column listing which versions each module participates in (e.g., "1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.3"). Per-module model.md files may also include version annotations on fields and indexes. The skill must carry these version tags into the generated specification.

Input 6: HTML Mockup Screens (from mockup/ folder)

Read <app_folder>/context/mockup/MOCKUP.html first as the index page, then read the HTML files organized by role in subfolders.

MOCKUP.html provides:

• Application identity (name, version, short name)
• Design tokens: fonts, colors, spacing from Tailwind config
• List of user roles and their screen sets
• Setup instructions for the mockup server

Role-specific subfolders (e.g., mockup/hub_administrator/content/):

• Individual HTML screens for each page in the application
• Screen layout: which components are used (tables, forms, cards, tabs, modals)
• Navigation structure from sidebar HTML files
• Data display patterns (list pages, detail pages, create/edit forms)

IMPORTANT — Role folders inform access control, NOT URL paths. The role-specific folder structure (e.g., mockup/hub_administrator/content/corridor.html) determines:

1. Which role can access the page → @PreAuthorize("hasRole('HUB_ADMINISTRATOR')")
2. Which sidebar navigation items appear for each role It does NOT determine the URL path. The URL path is always module-based:

• @RequestMapping("/corridor") — NOT @RequestMapping("/hub_administrator/corridor")
• Fragment URL: @RequestMapping("/corridor/fragments") — NOT @RequestMapping("/api/content/hub_administrator/corridor")

Shared partials (e.g., mockup/partials/):

• header.html — Header bar layout and elements
• footer.html — Footer layout
• sidebar-<role>.html — Per-role navigation menus
• shell.html — Page shell/wrapper structure

The mockup screens directly map to:

• JTE page templates (one per HTML screen)

• JTE fragment templates (for htmx partial updates)

• Page controller endpoints (one per screen)

• View model classes (with fields matching the data shown in each screen)

• Sidebar navigation items per role

• Form field layouts and validation display

• Design tokens for Tailwind configuration (colors, fonts from MOCKUP.html)

• Version tracking: The MOCKUP.html index page shows a version tag on each screen card (e.g., v1.0.0, v1.0.3). Individual mockup screens may include version annotations. The skill must associate each mockup screen with its version and carry this through to the generated specification.

PRD.md Extended Sections

Before determining optional components, check PRD.md for the following extended sections and extract their content for use throughout specification generation:

Architecture Principle Extraction

If PRD.md contains an # Architecture Principle section, read it and extract architectural patterns as a structured context object. These patterns serve as primary signals for optional component determination and specification content:

If the section is absent, proceed with existing CLAUDE.md-only detection.

Design System Extraction

If PRD.md contains a # Design System section with a file reference (e.g., [DESIGN_SYSTEM.md](reference/DESIGN_SYSTEM.md)):

1. Resolve the path relative to PRD.md and read the referenced file
2. Extract design tokens: color palettes, typography, component patterns
3. Include a "Design System Integration" subsection in SPECIFICATION.md under "Application Configuration" specifying:
   • Tailwind CSS custom theme configuration (colors, fonts from design system)
   • JTE layout template design token variables
   • CSS variable definitions for dynamic theming
4. In per-module SPEC.md, reference which design tokens apply to specific components (e.g., status badges use accent-success color for Active)

If the section is absent, use design tokens from MOCKUP.html Tailwind config (existing behavior).

High Level Process Flow Extraction

If PRD.md contains a # High Level Process Flow section:

1. Parse all named process flows and their ordered steps
2. Each process flow becomes an authoritative source for the messaging pipeline sections in per-module SPEC.md:
   • Each step maps to a specific service method, event listener, or message handler
   • Error paths generate corresponding exception handlers and dead-letter queue configurations
   • ACK/NACK patterns become outbound message publisher specifications with defined message schemas
3. Include a "Process Flow Implementation" subsection in each affected module's SPEC.md that maps flow steps to service methods
4. Generate an event catalog in SPECIFICATION.md listing all domain events derived from process flows

If the section is absent, derive messaging patterns from NFRs only (existing behavior).

Determining Optional Components

Instead of asking the user, the skill determines optional components by analyzing the dependencies listed in CLAUDE.md, the # Architecture Principle section in PRD.md (if present), and cross-referencing with PRD.md NFRs and constraints.

Database Detection

First check PRD.md # Architecture Principle: If it explicitly mentions a database type (e.g., "document based database", "MongoDB", "relational database", "MySQL"), use that as the primary signal.

Fallback to CLAUDE.md: Examine the "Depends on" list in CLAUDE.md for the target application:

Also check CLAUDE.md's database section for the exact database name, and read SECRET.md (in the project root) for host, port, and credentials to use in the spec's application configuration.

Authentication Detection

If Auth = Keycloak, also extract from CLAUDE.md:

• Keycloak version from "Hub Single Sign On" section
• Keycloak realm: Default derived from project name
• Keycloak client ID: Default <artifact-id>-web
• Keycloak issuer URI: Default http://localhost:8180/realms/<realm>
• Keycloak roles: Infer from mockup sidebar roles (e.g., hub_administrator → HUB_ADMINISTRATOR)

Messaging Detection

If Messaging = yes, also extract the RabbitMQ version from the corresponding message queue section in CLAUDE.md.

Scheduling Detection

Scheduling is determined from PRD.md content:

If Scheduling = yes, further determine:

• Spring Batch = yes if NFRs mention "batch processing", "ETL", "bulk import/export", or processing large volumes of data with reader/processor/writer patterns
• Remote Partitioning = yes if NFRs mention "distributed processing", "horizontal scaling", or "partitioned batch jobs"

Reporting Detection

Reporting is determined from PRD.md content:

If Reporting = yes, the spec includes:

• JasperReports with JRDesign API for fully programmatic report layout (no .jrxml templates)
• ReportDefinition interface with buildDesign() method for modules to implement
• ReportDesignHelper utility class with static builders for common layout patterns
• ReportService orchestrating compile → fill → export via JRBeanCollectionDataSource
• Report registry persisted in the database
• Report page controller with parameter form and download endpoint
• JTE templates for report list and parameter form pages
• Multi-format export: PDF (OpenPDF), XLSX (Apache POI), CSV

Summary of Determination

After analyzing all inputs, produce a determination summary before generating the spec. Present it to the user for confirmation:

Optional Component Determination:
- Database:      MongoDB (from CLAUDE.md → depends on Hub Database)
- Authentication: Keycloak (from CLAUDE.md → depends on Hub Single Sign On)
- Scheduling:    yes (from PRD.md → NFR mentions automatic deletion)
  - Spring Batch: no
  - Remote Partitioning: no
- Messaging:     yes (from CLAUDE.md → depends on Hub to HC/SC Adapter Message Queue)
- Reporting:     yes (from PRD.md → Report module with Report interface NFR)

If the user disagrees with any determination, allow them to override before proceeding.

Required Inputs

After determination, these values are needed. Most are derived automatically:

Auto-derived from context files:

• Application name: From CLAUDE.md section heading
• Artifact ID: Kebab-case of application name
• Group ID: com.bestinet.urp
• Base package: com.bestinet.urp.<artifactid>
• Application description: From CLAUDE.md description
• Modules: From PRD.md module headings + model/MODEL.md
• Database: Auto-determined (see above)
• Authentication: Auto-determined (see above)
• Scheduling: Auto-determined (see above)
• Messaging: Auto-determined (see above)
• Database name/credentials: From SECRET.md (root-level file with local environment credentials)
• User roles: From mockup sidebar files
• Design tokens: From MOCKUP.html Tailwind config

Auto-derived from CLAUDE.md (Port Allocation table):

• Server port: Look up the application's port from the Port Allocation table in the Custom Applications section of CLAUDE.md. Do NOT hardcode a default — the port MUST match the allocated port for this application.

Optional (use sensible defaults if not found in context):

• Default theme: Default light (supports light/dark)
• Log level: Default INFO for application, WARN for frameworks

Generating the Specification

Once inputs are gathered from context files and optional components are determined, generate the specification as a multi-file output split by module. Read the spec template at references/spec-template.md for the exact structure and content of each section. The template is the authoritative guide — follow it closely.

The specification is split into two categories:

1. Root SPECIFICATION.md — Contains the Table of Contents, shared infrastructure, and application-level sections that apply across all modules.
2. Per-module <module-name>/SPEC.md — Each module gets its own folder with a self-contained specification file covering that module's complete blueprint.

This split enables a coding agent to:

• First, scaffold the shared infrastructure from SPECIFICATION.md
• Then, implement each module independently by picking up its <module>/SPEC.md

Important: The generated spec must use real module data from the context files, not generic placeholders. Specifically:

• Modules must use the actual module names from PRD.md and MODEL.md (e.g., locationInformation, corridor, employer — not module1, module2)
• Document/Entity fields must match the actual fields defined in the module model files (e.g., model/location-information/model.md), not placeholder fieldOne/fieldTwo
• Service interfaces must expose methods matching the actual user stories (e.g., if a story says "view provinces by country", the service needs listProvincesByCountry())
• Page controllers must map to the actual mockup screens (e.g., if hub_administrator/content/location_information.html exists, there must be a matching controller endpoint and JTE page). The controller URL is module-based (e.g., /location-information), NOT role-prefixed (e.g., NOT /hub_administrator/location-information). The mockup's role folder determines @PreAuthorize annotations, not URL structure.
• Sidebar navigation must match the mockup sidebar files per role. Sidebar hrefs use module-based paths (e.g., /corridor, /quota) — the role determines which items appear in the sidebar, not the URL prefix
• Form fields must match what the mockup screens display
• Design tokens (colors, fonts) must match the MOCKUP.html Tailwind configuration
• Version tags: Every user story ID, NFR ID, constraint ID, and mockup screen in the traceability section must include its version tag (e.g., USHM00228 [v1.0.3]). This enables incremental implementation by version. ALL traceability sub-tables (User Stories, NFRs, AND Constraints) MUST include the | Version | column. Do not omit the Version column from any table — even if a module only has v1.0.0 items.
• Removed / Replaced items: The traceability section must include a "Removed / Replaced" subsection listing any deprecated items from previous versions — showing the removed ID, the version that removed it, the replacement ID (if any), and a brief reason. This ensures developers can see what was removed and understand the evolution of requirements. If a module has no removed items, include the subsection with _None._ to make it explicit that nothing was removed.

Output Structure

<app_folder>/context/specification/
├── SPECIFICATION.md                    ← TOC + shared/application-level specs
├── location-information/
│   └── SPEC.md                         ← Module blueprint for Location Information
├── corridor/
│   └── SPEC.md                         ← Module blueprint for Corridor
├── employer/
│   └── SPEC.md                         ← Module blueprint for Employer
├── ...                                 ← One folder per module from PRD.md

What Goes in SPECIFICATION.md (Root)

The root file contains the TOC and all shared/application-level sections. These are the sections that a coding agent implements first before any module work:

1. Project Overview

Project metadata, application description, technology stack summary, the complete list of user roles extracted from mockup sidebar files, and the Module Index — a table listing every module with a link to its <module>/SPEC.md file.

2. Maven Configuration

Complete pom.xml structure with all dependencies (core + selected conditional), plugin configurations (MapStruct annotation processor, Spring Boot Maven plugin, frontend-maven-plugin for Vite build, maven-clean-plugin to delete on-demand jte-classes/ folder, jte-maven-plugin with precompile goal at process-classes phase outputting to ${project.build.directory}/classes), and property management.

3. Application Configuration (conditional content varies)

A single application.yml (no profile-specific files like application-dev.yml or application-prod.yml) covering database connection (MongoDB URI or JDBC datasource depending on selection), auth settings (Keycloak/OAuth2 if selected, or form login if selected), JTE configuration (with JTE_DEV_MODE and JTE_PRECOMPILED env vars), scheduling config (if selected), theme defaults, and logging configuration. All environment-sensitive values (ports, hostnames, credentials, URIs) MUST use Spring's ${ENV_VAR:default} syntax to allow externalization via environment variables while keeping sensible defaults for local development. Do NOT use Spring profiles or profile-specific YAML files — environment differences are handled entirely through environment variables (e.g., via .env file locally or system environment variables in deployment).

3a. Application-Specific Configuration (app: namespace)

All application-owned configuration — any config specific to THIS application, as opposed to the Spring/Java ecosystem — MUST live under the top-level app: key in application.yml. NEVER place application-specific keys under Spring framework namespaces (spring.*, server.*, management.*, logging.*) — those are reserved for framework configuration.

Grouping rule. Organise the app: tree by module:

• Cross-cutting values (version, shared feature flags, shared timeouts, CORS, shared security settings, shared messaging infrastructure, shared object-storage settings) sit directly under app.* with no module prefix.
• Per-module values are grouped under app.<module-kebab-case>.*, one block per module that needs runtime config. A module with a single config value still gets its own block — do not flatten.
• NEVER place module-specific keys at the YAML root (e.g., top-level notification:, batch-job:, audit-trail:). They MUST be nested under app:.

Naming rule. YAML keys use kebab-case (from-address, retry-limit, max-retry). Spring Boot's relaxed binding maps them to camelCase Java fields automatically. Do NOT use camelCase or snake_case in YAML.

Binding rule. For every app.* subtree (cross-cutting OR per-module), bind once via @ConfigurationProperties on a record in the corresponding module's config subpackage — or, for cross-cutting values, in the application-level config subpackage. Do NOT inject individual values via @Value("${app....}") scattered across beans or templates. Bind once at the module boundary and inject the typed record.

Environment-override rule. Every app.* leaf value MUST use Spring's ${ENV_VAR:default} syntax so it can be overridden per environment without editing YAML. Every referenced ${ENV_VAR} MUST appear in the .env file generated in section 3b.

Example structure: