specit

Specit is a name used for a lightweight specification language and associated tooling designed to describe the interfaces and behavior of software components. It aims to provide a language-agnostic way to define data models, endpoints, and constraints in a human- and machine-readable form that can be validated and used to generate scaffolding code or documentation.

Historically, Specit emerged in software engineering forums as a concept to improve the clarity of API design and reduce gaps between design and implementation. The term is blended from "specification" and a communicative suffix, and is not tied to a single standard.

A typical Specit specification describes a set of components, each with defined types and a set of operations. Data types include primitive and composite forms, with optional constraints such as nullable, range, or pattern. Operations specify inputs and outputs, along with preconditions and postconditions. Tooling may include validators, schema registries, and code generators that translate specs into skeleton server stubs or client libraries, or into human-friendly documentation.

Usage examples include defining a User object with fields id, name, and email, and a UserService with an endpoint getUser(id) that returns a User. Specit is used in teaching, API design reviews, and some light-weight contract-first development workflows.

Reception is mixed: proponents praise its readability and machine-parseability, while critics point to the lack of universal tooling and standards compared to established formats like OpenAPI or RAML. As of now, Specit remains a niche approach, with several independent implementations and ongoing discussions about interoperability.

See also: OpenAPI, RAML, API specification languages, contract-first development.