SpecKit Companion: Review Before It Ships

Overview

A hands-on walkthrough of SpecKit Companion, the VS Code extension that puts a visual review layer on top of GitHub Spec Kit. Instead of skimming AI-generated code after the fact, you review the spec, the plan, and the tasks — before a single line ships.

The talk is demo-first: a few framing slides, then we build a real feature live — specify, plan, review with inline comments, generate tasks, implement, and finally bend the workflow to a quick fix with a custom SDD workflow.

Topics Covered

• Why vibe coding fails at scale — and what reviewing specs fixes
• The stack: GitHub Spec Kit + VS Code + SpecKit Companion
• The loop: Specify → Plan → Review → Tasks → Implement → Customize
• Inline review comments that persist and resume across sessions
• The activity panel and the archive / complete lifecycle
• Custom workflows: plug any SDD methodology in

Key Takeaways

1. Review the spec, not just the diff — catch the bug before it's code
2. Every step is a markdown file you can read, edit, and review
3. The workflow is yours — customize it to fit the change in front of you