feat: add timestamp-based branch naming option for specify init

README.md

@@ -222,6 +222,7 @@ The `specify` command supports the following options:
 | `--debug`              | Flag     | Enable detailed debug output for troubleshooting                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
 | `--github-token`       | Option   | GitHub token for API requests (or set GH_TOKEN/GITHUB_TOKEN env variable)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
 | `--ai-skills`          | Flag     | Install Prompt.MD templates as agent skills in agent-specific `skills/` directory (requires `--ai`)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
+| `--branch-numbering`   | Option   | Branch numbering strategy: `sequential` (default — `001`, `002`, `003`) or `timestamp` (`YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS`). Timestamp mode is useful for distributed teams to avoid numbering conflicts                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
 
 ### Examples
 
@@ -296,6 +297,9 @@ specify init my-project --ai claude --ai-skills
 # Initialize in current directory with agent skills
 specify init --here --ai gemini --ai-skills
 
+# Use timestamp-based branch numbering (useful for distributed teams)
+specify init my-project --ai claude --branch-numbering timestamp
+
 # Check system requirements
 specify check
 ```

scripts/bash/common.sh

@@ -33,16 +33,27 @@ get_current_branch() {
     if [[ -d "$specs_dir" ]]; then
         local latest_feature=""
         local highest=0
+        local latest_timestamp=""
 
         for dir in "$specs_dir"/*; do
             if [[ -d "$dir" ]]; then
                 local dirname=$(basename "$dir")
-                if [[ "$dirname" =~ ^([0-9]{3})- ]]; then
+                if [[ "$dirname" =~ ^([0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6})- ]]; then
+                    # Timestamp-based branch: compare lexicographically
+                    local ts="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                    if [[ "$ts" > "$latest_timestamp" ]]; then
+                        latest_timestamp="$ts"
+                        latest_feature=$dirname
+                    fi
+                elif [[ "$dirname" =~ ^([0-9]{3})- ]]; then
                     local number=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}
                     number=$((10#$number))
                     if [[ "$number" -gt "$highest" ]]; then
                         highest=$number
-                        latest_feature=$dirname
+                        # Only update if no timestamp branch found yet
+                        if [[ -z "$latest_timestamp" ]]; then
+                            latest_feature=$dirname
+                        fi
                     fi
                 fi
             fi
@@ -72,9 +83,9 @@ check_feature_branch() {
         return 0
     fi
 
-    if [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{3}- ]]; then
+    if [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{3}- ]] && [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6}- ]]; then
         echo "ERROR: Not on a feature branch. Current branch: $branch" >&2
-        echo "Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name" >&2
+        echo "Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name or 20260319-143022-feature-name" >&2
         return 1
     fi
 
@@ -90,15 +101,18 @@ find_feature_dir_by_prefix() {
     local branch_name="$2"
     local specs_dir="$repo_root/specs"
 
-    # Extract numeric prefix from branch (e.g., "004" from "004-whatever")
-    if [[ ! "$branch_name" =~ ^([0-9]{3})- ]]; then
-        # If branch doesn't have numeric prefix, fall back to exact match
+    # Extract prefix from branch (e.g., "004" from "004-whatever" or "20260319-143022" from timestamp branches)
+    local prefix=""
+    if [[ "$branch_name" =~ ^([0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6})- ]]; then
+        prefix="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+    elif [[ "$branch_name" =~ ^([0-9]{3})- ]]; then
+        prefix="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+    else
+        # If branch doesn't have a recognized prefix, fall back to exact match
         echo "$specs_dir/$branch_name"
         return
     fi
 
-    local prefix="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
-
     # Search for directories in specs/ that start with this prefix
     local matches=()
     if [[ -d "$specs_dir" ]]; then
@@ -119,7 +133,7 @@ find_feature_dir_by_prefix() {
     else
         # Multiple matches - this shouldn't happen with proper naming convention
         echo "ERROR: Multiple spec directories found with prefix '$prefix': ${matches[*]}" >&2
-        echo "Please ensure only one spec directory exists per numeric prefix." >&2
+        echo "Please ensure only one spec directory exists per prefix." >&2
         return 1
     fi
 }

scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh

@@ -5,13 +5,14 @@ set -e
 JSON_MODE=false
 SHORT_NAME=""
 BRANCH_NUMBER=""
+USE_TIMESTAMP=false
 ARGS=()
 i=1
 while [ $i -le $# ]; do
     arg="${!i}"
     case "$arg" in
-        --json) 
-            JSON_MODE=true 
+        --json)
+            JSON_MODE=true
             ;;
         --short-name)
             if [ $((i + 1)) -gt $# ]; then
@@ -40,30 +41,35 @@ while [ $i -le $# ]; do
             fi
             BRANCH_NUMBER="$next_arg"
             ;;
-        --help|-h) 
-            echo "Usage: $0 [--json] [--short-name <name>] [--number N] <feature_description>"
+        --timestamp)
+            USE_TIMESTAMP=true
+            ;;
+        --help|-h)
+            echo "Usage: $0 [--json] [--short-name <name>] [--number N] [--timestamp] <feature_description>"
             echo ""
             echo "Options:"
             echo "  --json              Output in JSON format"
             echo "  --short-name <name> Provide a custom short name (2-4 words) for the branch"
             echo "  --number N          Specify branch number manually (overrides auto-detection)"
+            echo "  --timestamp         Use timestamp prefix (YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS) instead of sequential numbering"
             echo "  --help, -h          Show this help message"
             echo ""
             echo "Examples:"
             echo "  $0 'Add user authentication system' --short-name 'user-auth'"
             echo "  $0 'Implement OAuth2 integration for API' --number 5"
+            echo "  $0 --timestamp --short-name 'user-auth' 'Add user authentication'"
             exit 0
             ;;
-        *) 
-            ARGS+=("$arg") 
+        *)
+            ARGS+=("$arg")
             ;;
     esac
     i=$((i + 1))
 done
 
 FEATURE_DESCRIPTION="${ARGS[*]}"
 if [ -z "$FEATURE_DESCRIPTION" ]; then
-    echo "Usage: $0 [--json] [--short-name <name>] [--number N] <feature_description>" >&2
+    echo "Usage: $0 [--json] [--short-name <name>] [--number N] [--timestamp] <feature_description>" >&2
     exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -96,10 +102,13 @@ get_highest_from_specs() {
         for dir in "$specs_dir"/*; do
             [ -d "$dir" ] || continue
             dirname=$(basename "$dir")
-            number=$(echo "$dirname" | grep -o '^[0-9]\+' || echo "0")
-            number=$((10#$number))
-            if [ "$number" -gt "$highest" ]; then
-                highest=$number
+            # Only match sequential prefixes (###-*), skip timestamp dirs
+            if echo "$dirname" | grep -q '^[0-9]\{3\}-'; then
+                number=$(echo "$dirname" | grep -o '^[0-9]\{3\}')
+                number=$((10#$number))
+                if [ "$number" -gt "$highest" ]; then
+                    highest=$number
+                fi
             fi
         done
     fi
@@ -242,29 +251,42 @@ else
     BRANCH_SUFFIX=$(generate_branch_name "$FEATURE_DESCRIPTION")
 fi
 
-# Determine branch number
-if [ -z "$BRANCH_NUMBER" ]; then
-    if [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
-        # Check existing branches on remotes
-        BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches "$SPECS_DIR")
-    else
-        # Fall back to local directory check
-        HIGHEST=$(get_highest_from_specs "$SPECS_DIR")
-        BRANCH_NUMBER=$((HIGHEST + 1))
-    fi
+# Warn if --number and --timestamp are both specified
+if [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ] && [ -n "$BRANCH_NUMBER" ]; then
+    >&2 echo "[specify] Warning: --number is ignored when --timestamp is used"
+    BRANCH_NUMBER=""
 fi
 
-# Force base-10 interpretation to prevent octal conversion (e.g., 010 → 8 in octal, but should be 10 in decimal)
-FEATURE_NUM=$(printf "%03d" "$((10#$BRANCH_NUMBER))")
-BRANCH_NAME="${FEATURE_NUM}-${BRANCH_SUFFIX}"
+# Determine branch prefix
+if [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ]; then
+    FEATURE_NUM=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
+    BRANCH_NAME="${FEATURE_NUM}-${BRANCH_SUFFIX}"
+else
+    # Determine branch number
+    if [ -z "$BRANCH_NUMBER" ]; then
+        if [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
+            # Check existing branches on remotes
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches "$SPECS_DIR")
+        else
+            # Fall back to local directory check
+            HIGHEST=$(get_highest_from_specs "$SPECS_DIR")
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$((HIGHEST + 1))
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Force base-10 interpretation to prevent octal conversion (e.g., 010 → 8 in octal, but should be 10 in decimal)
+    FEATURE_NUM=$(printf "%03d" "$((10#$BRANCH_NUMBER))")
+    BRANCH_NAME="${FEATURE_NUM}-${BRANCH_SUFFIX}"
+fi
 
 # GitHub enforces a 244-byte limit on branch names
 # Validate and truncate if necessary
 MAX_BRANCH_LENGTH=244
 if [ ${#BRANCH_NAME} -gt $MAX_BRANCH_LENGTH ]; then
     # Calculate how much we need to trim from suffix
-    # Account for: feature number (3) + hyphen (1) = 4 chars
-    MAX_SUFFIX_LENGTH=$((MAX_BRANCH_LENGTH - 4))
+    # Account for prefix length: timestamp (15) + hyphen (1) = 16, or sequential (3) + hyphen (1) = 4
+    PREFIX_LENGTH=$(( ${#FEATURE_NUM} + 1 ))
+    MAX_SUFFIX_LENGTH=$((MAX_BRANCH_LENGTH - PREFIX_LENGTH))
 
     # Truncate suffix at word boundary if possible
     TRUNCATED_SUFFIX=$(echo "$BRANCH_SUFFIX" | cut -c1-$MAX_SUFFIX_LENGTH)
@@ -283,7 +305,11 @@ if [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
     if ! git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>/dev/null; then
         # Check if branch already exists
         if git branch --list "$BRANCH_NAME" | grep -q .; then
-            >&2 echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH_NAME' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with --number."
+            if [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ]; then
+                >&2 echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH_NAME' already exists. Rerun to get a new timestamp or use a different --short-name."
+            else
+                >&2 echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH_NAME' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with --number."
+            fi
             exit 1
         else
             >&2 echo "Error: Failed to create git branch '$BRANCH_NAME'. Please check your git configuration and try again."

scripts/powershell/common.ps1

@@ -38,17 +38,28 @@ function Get-CurrentBranch {
     if (Test-Path $specsDir) {
         $latestFeature = ""
         $highest = 0
-
+        $latestTimestamp = ""
+
         Get-ChildItem -Path $specsDir -Directory | ForEach-Object {
-            if ($_.Name -match '^(\d{3})-') {
+            if ($_.Name -match '^(\d{8}-\d{6})-') {
+                # Timestamp-based branch: compare lexicographically
+                $ts = $matches[1]
+                if ($ts -gt $latestTimestamp) {
+                    $latestTimestamp = $ts
+                    $latestFeature = $_.Name
+                }
+            } elseif ($_.Name -match '^(\d{3})-') {
                 $num = [int]$matches[1]
                 if ($num -gt $highest) {
                     $highest = $num
-                    $latestFeature = $_.Name
+                    # Only update if no timestamp branch found yet
+                    if (-not $latestTimestamp) {
+                        $latestFeature = $_.Name
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }
-        
+
         if ($latestFeature) {
             return $latestFeature
         }
@@ -79,9 +90,9 @@ function Test-FeatureBranch {
         return $true
     }
 
-    if ($Branch -notmatch '^[0-9]{3}-') {
+    if ($Branch -notmatch '^[0-9]{3}-' -and $Branch -notmatch '^\d{8}-\d{6}-') {
         Write-Output "ERROR: Not on a feature branch. Current branch: $Branch"
-        Write-Output "Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name"
+        Write-Output "Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name or 20260319-143022-feature-name"
         return $false
     }
     return $true