How to set up OpenCode for SpecDD

How-To Set up your agent Beginner 1021006HOWTO-1021006

HOWTO-1021006Set up your agentBeginner

This guide shows you how to set up OpenCode for spec-driven development using the universal Agent Skills package.

OpenCode is listed as an Agent Skills-compatible client in the SpecDD tools reference, so use the portable Agent Skills install path.

Source and install details: github.com/specdd/agentskills

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

OpenCode installed
the SpecDD CLI installed
a project with SpecDD initialized

Steps

1. Initialize SpecDD

From the project root:

specdd init

Initialization creates the bootstrap files and agent entrypoints:

AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md
.specdd/
  bootstrap.md
  bootstrap.project.md
  bootstrap.local.md

2. Deploy universal Agent Skills

Install skills into the current project’s Agent Skills directory:

specdd agentskills deploy

This creates:

.agents/skills

3. Deploy into another project directory

Install into another project path:

specdd agentskills deploy path/to/project

Use this when you want to prepare a repository before opening it in OpenCode.

4. Use user-level or manual install

If OpenCode reads user-level Agent Skills in your environment, install there instead:

specdd agentskills deploy --user

For manual installation, clone the universal Agent Skills package and copy the specdd-* skill directories into the target skills directory OpenCode reads.

5. Open the project root in OpenCode

Open or start OpenCode from the folder that contains the SpecDD bootstrap files and the root .sdd file.

This gives OpenCode the correct project boundary for path-based spec resolution.

6. Verify orientation

Use:

Orient in this SpecDD project.

Then try:

Explain the Itinerary spec.

OpenCode should describe the relevant SpecDD contract and identify useful constraints before implementation.

7. Run a small planned change

Start with a planning prompt:

Plan the Itinerary validation change.

After the plan is right, ask for implementation:

Implement the open validation task.

SpecDD helps keep this efficient because the local spec states the behavior, authority, and completion criteria.

Common mistakes

Installing Agent Skills in a directory OpenCode does not read.
Manually copying the package wrapper instead of the specdd-* skills.
Starting OpenCode from a nested package instead of the selected content root.
Skipping the orientation check after deployment.

How to verify the result

OpenCode is ready for SpecDD when:

the SpecDD skills are installed in the appropriate Agent Skills directory
.specdd/bootstrap.md exists in the project
orientation and explanation requests mention .sdd specs
implementation stays inside Can modify or Owns

Tools

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