fission-ai__openspec/openspec/changes/fix-update-tool-selection/proposal.md

Fix Update Command Tool Selection

Problem

The openspec update command currently forces the creation/update of CLAUDE.md regardless of which AI tool was selected during initialization. This violates the tool-agnostic design principle and creates confusion for users who selected different AI assistants.

Additionally, different team members may use different AI tools, so we cannot rely on a shared configuration file.

Solution

Modify the update command to:

1. Only update AI tool configuration files that already exist
2. Never create new AI tool configuration files
3. Always update the core OpenSpec files (README.md, etc.)

Implementation

• Remove hardcoded CLAUDE.md update from update command
• Implement file existence check before updating any AI tool config
• Update each existing AI tool config file with its appropriate markers
• No configuration file needed (avoids team conflicts)

Success Criteria

• Update command only modifies existing AI tool configuration files
• No new AI tool files created during update
• Team members can use different AI tools without conflicts
• Existing projects continue to work (backward compatibility)

Why

Users need predictable, tool-agnostic behavior from openspec update. Creating or forcing updates for AI tool files that a project does not use causes confusion and merge conflicts. Restricting updates to existing files and always updating core OpenSpec files keeps the workflow consistent for mixed-tool teams.

What Changes

• cli-update: Modify update behavior to update only existing AI tool configuration files and never create new ones; always update core OpenSpec files and display an ASCII-safe success message.

ADDED Requirements

Removed from proposal to follow conventions. See specs/cli-update/spec.md for the delta requirements content.