Spec-Driven Documents

Start with a business requirement, end with a reviewed deliverable. Spec-driven generation walks documents, slides, and spreadsheets through a structured lifecycle instead of producing a single one-shot output.

What It Does

Most AI document tools jump straight from prompt to finished draft. Spec-driven generation breaks the work into stages so you can steer it at each handoff.

• Capture the requirement in plain English.
• Pencel proposes an outline before drafting anything.
• Each section is drafted independently, with the outline as scaffolding.
• A review pass surfaces what changed and what is still missing.
• The final artifact is committed to your workspace.

This works for Documents, Reports, Notes, Slides, and Spreadsheets.

The Five Stages

Stage	What Happens	What You Do
Spec	You describe the deliverable, audience, and constraints.	Write 1–3 sentences. Attach context files if relevant.
Outline	The agent proposes a section-by-section structure.	Review, reorder, edit, or rewrite the outline.
Section drafting	The agent drafts each section against the agreed outline.	Watch sections fill in. Pause to redirect any that drift.
Review	The agent compares the draft against the spec and the outline.	Read the diff. Accept, reject, or request changes.
Final	The artifact is saved to your workspace.	Open, export, or attach to a workflow output.

Starting from a Spec

1. Open Artifacts in the sidebar and click New → pick the artifact type.
2. In the wizard, choose Spec-driven (not the freeform option).
3. Write the spec:
   • What you need (the deliverable in one line).
   • Who it is for (audience and tone).
   • Constraints that matter (length, format, must-include sections).
4. Pick the agent — its role and writing-style settings shape the output.
5. Click Propose outline. The agent returns an outline within a few seconds.

You stay in the wizard until you approve the outline. Nothing is drafted before you say so.

Reviewing and Editing

Every change Pencel makes is shown as a diff before it lands in the artifact.

• Section drafting — each new section appears as an insert. Accept it, reject it, or ask the agent to redraft.
• Edits during review — when the agent revises a section, you see the old and new side by side.
• Manual edits — you can edit any section yourself at any point; the agent picks up from your edits on the next pass.

TIP

The diff view is the same one used in chat and workflow outputs — if you have seen it elsewhere in Pencel, it works the same way here.

When to Use Spec-Driven vs Freeform

Use spec-driven when…	Use freeform when…
The deliverable has a clear audience and shape (board update, customer brief, proposal)	You are exploring, brainstorming, or drafting something casual
You want to lock the outline before drafting	You want the agent to write in one pass and you'll edit by hand
The artifact is going to a stakeholder	The artifact is a working draft for yourself
You will run this kind of artifact repeatedly	You only need it once

For recurring deliverables, wrap a spec-driven generation in a workflow so the spec, outline conventions, and review guidelines are reused every time.

What's Next

• Creating Documents, Slides, and Spreadsheets — concrete walkthroughs across all artifact types
• Artifacts & Workspace — how artifacts fit in the rest of Pencel
• Building a Workflow — package a recurring spec-driven workflow as a workflow