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Getting started | ESSInstall ess, write a one-file specification, pin the toolchain, generate a contract from it, and hold a small implementation to the conformance suite it obliges.ESShow-toesshow-toadopterdevelopertry-spec-driven-developmentinstall

Getting started

Getting started is four pages. Follow them in order; each continues in the directory the one before it left.

  1. Install ess: a verified release archive on macOS or Linux, cargo install, or an agent plugin; then pin the release for a project.
  2. Write your first specification: a one-file specification of a task list, validated, with an OpenAPI contract generated from it.
  3. Run your first conformance suite: a TypeScript test package synthesized from the specification, a small implementation held to it, and the run that fails when the implementation is wrong.
  4. Use ess with an agent: the same path through a coding agent.

Then pick the runner for your implementation's language: TypeScript, Go or Rust. Explore the repository example runs a larger specification from a checkout.

This path generates a contract and a suite. A repository can stop earlier or go further: Adopt ESS at the depth you need names the modes and what each checks.