ReqText — Summary

ReqText is a Git-native, CLI-first requirements and documentation framework that stores requirements as a flat hierarchical JSON structure (.reqt.json) alongside generated human-readable markdown files, designed to bring requirements management directly into the developer workflow. It ships as an npm package (npm install -g reqtext) with two binary aliases (reqt and reqtext) and provides both a full CLI for structured requirements management and an interactive terminal tree editor for visual navigation. The framework generates two separate README files from requirements: README.md for human readers and README_AI.reqt.json for AI tools with exclude fields to filter out human-only content. Requirements items carry requirement, acceptance, details, readme, readme_ai, test_exists, test_passed, and status fields, making test traceability a native feature.

Compared to seeds: closest to agent-os (markdown scaffold for structuring work context) but more specialized — reqtext is a standalone requirements management CLI that generates documentation rather than an agent behavior framework. Unlike any seed, it separates human-facing and AI-facing documentation as first-class output formats.

ReqText — Overview

Origin

Created by Fred Terzi (fred-terzi); published as npm package reqtext v0.2.1. Original GitHub repo (fred-terzi/reqtext) has been removed but a fork (NoleHealth/reqtext-fork) preserves the content. npm package remains published at https://www.npmjs.com/package/reqtext.

Philosophy

"Reqtext is a Git-native, CLI first requirements and documentation framework meant to bring requirement management directly into your workflow. Human -and AI- readable."

"My workflow is to write all the details in common language, like a prompt, and have AI populate the rest." — Fred Terzi (README)

The framework treats requirements as source-of-truth data that generates documentation, not the other way around. The .reqt.json is the canonical store; markdown files are derived artifacts.

Design Principles

• Git-native: .reqt.json is a flat JSON structure that diffs cleanly in version control
• Human + AI dual output: two generated files — README.md for humans, README_AI.reqt.json for AI tools (with exclude field to filter sensitive/non-AI-useful content)
• Test traceability: test_exists and test_passed fields on every requirement item
• Markdown editing workflow: check out requirements to a .reqt.md file for bulk editing, then import back
• AI-assisted authoring: write requirements in plain language, let AI populate fields, then clean up

ReqText — Architecture

Distribution

npm package:

npm install -g reqtext
# or
npm install reqtext

Binaries: reqt (preferred shorthand) and reqtext

Install Complexity

One-liner (npm global install)

Required Runtime

• Node.js (npm)

Directory Tree (after reqt init "My Project")

<project-root>/
└── .reqt/
    ├── config.reqt.json          # Project configuration
    ├── itemTemplate.reqt.json    # Template for new items (customizable)
    └── <project-name>.reqt.json  # Source of truth (flat hierarchical JSON)

Generated output files (in project root):

• README.md — human-facing documentation with mermaid diagrams
• README_AI.reqt.json — AI-facing version with excluded fields stripped

Item Data Model

{
  "reqt_ID": "2025-05-20T19:14:37.669Z-12b36284",
  "hier": 1,
  "outline": "5.3",
  "title": "Example Reqt",
  "requirement": "...",
  "acceptance": "...",
  "details": "...",
  "readme": "...",
  "readme_ai": "exclude",
  "test_exists": "true",
  "test_passed": "false",
  "status": "IN DEV"
}

Config Files

• .reqt/config.reqt.json — project name, item template reference
• .reqt/itemTemplate.reqt.json — template for new items, editable at any time

Target AI Tools

Any AI tool that can read JSON files; specifically README_AI.reqt.json is designed for AI context injection.

ReqText — Components

CLI Binary: reqt / reqtext

General Commands

Item Management Commands

Markdown Workflow Commands

Generation Commands

Interactive Terminal Editor

reqt editor — tree view with keyboard navigation:

• Arrow keys: navigate
• k/j: move item up/down
• →/←: demote/promote
• a: add new item after current
• d: delete selected
• e: edit title
• r: reload
• q/Ctrl+C: quit

ReqText — Uniqueness & Positioning

Differs from Seeds

ReqText doesn't closely match any seed framework — it occupies a different niche. It is a requirements management tool, not an agent behavior framework. The closest seeds are agent-os and claude-conductor (both generate structured markdown context for agents) but those are CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md scaffolds rather than standalone requirements databases. ReqText's .reqt.json → README_AI.reqt.json generation pipeline is the opposite direction from Kiro's spec format (Kiro generates tasks from requirements; ReqText generates documentation from requirements). Unlike taskmaster-ai (task execution tracker), ReqText is pre-execution — it manages formal requirements with acceptance criteria and test traceability before any tasks are created. The dual-output system (human README.md vs AI README_AI.reqt.json with selective exclusion) is not found in any seed.

Distinctive Positioning

• Only tool in this batch focused on formal requirements management (not task/issue tracking)
• Dual-output generation: README.md (human) + README_AI.reqt.json (AI) with field-level exclude control
• Test traceability baked into the data model (test_exists, test_passed per requirement)
• Interactive terminal tree editor for hierarchical requirements management
• Flat JSON with outline IDs (1.2.3) for deterministic hierarchy without nested objects

Observable Failure Modes

• Original GitHub repo removed; only available via npm and a fork — maintainability unclear
• No integration with task trackers (Jira, GitHub Issues, backlog-md) — requirements live separately from tasks
• No agent-executable instructions — AI tools use the output as context but ReqText doesn't tell agents what to do with requirements
• Limited adoption (original repo gone, fork has 0 stars) — community feedback absent
• No version control for individual requirements beyond git history of .reqt.json