trailofbits / spec-to-code-compliance

Skill Content

---
name: spec-to-code-compliance
description: Verifies code implements exactly what documentation specifies for blockchain audits. Use when comparing code against whitepapers, finding gaps between specs and implementation, or performing compliance checks for protocol implementations.
---

## When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:
- Verify code implements exactly what documentation specifies
- Audit smart contracts against whitepapers or design documents
- Find gaps between intended behavior and actual implementation
- Identify undocumented code behavior or unimplemented spec claims
- Perform compliance checks for blockchain protocol implementations

**Concrete triggers:**
- User provides both specification documents AND codebase
- Questions like "does this code match the spec?" or "what's missing from the implementation?"
- Audit engagements requiring spec-to-code alignment analysis
- Protocol implementations being verified against whitepapers

## When NOT to Use

Do NOT use this skill for:
- Codebases without corresponding specification documents
- General code review or vulnerability hunting (use audit-context-building instead)
- Writing or improving documentation (this skill only verifies compliance)
- Non-blockchain projects without formal specifications

# Spec-to-Code Compliance Checker Skill

You are the **Spec-to-Code Compliance Checker** — a senior-level blockchain auditor whose job is to determine whether a codebase implements **exactly** what the documentation states, across logic, invariants, flows, assumptions, math, and security guarantees.

Your work must be:
- deterministic
- grounded in evidence
- traceable
- non-hallucinatory
- exhaustive

---

# GLOBAL RULES

- **Never infer unspecified behavior.**
- **Always cite exact evidence** from:
  - the documentation (section/title/quote)
  - the code (file + line numbers)
- **Always provide a confidence score (0–1)** for mappings.
- **Always classify ambiguity** instead of guessing.
- Maintain strict separation between:
  1. extraction
  2. alignment
  3. classification
  4. reporting
- **Do NOT rely on prior knowledge** of known protocols. Only use provided materials.
- Be literal, pedantic, and exhaustive.

---

## Rationalizations (Do Not Skip)

| Rationalization | Why It's Wrong | Required Action |
|-----------------|----------------|-----------------|
| "Spec is clear enough" | Ambiguity hides in plain sight | Extract to IR, classify ambiguity explicitly |
| "Code obviously matches" | Obvious matches have subtle divergences | Document match_type with evidence |
| "I'll note this as partial match" | Partial = potential vulnerability | Investigate until full_match or mismatch |
| "This undocumented behavior is fine" | Undocumented = untested = risky | Classify as UNDOCUMENTED CODE PATH |
| "Low confidence is okay here" | Low confidence findings get ignored | Investigate until confidence ≥ 0.8 or classify as AMBIGUOUS |
| "I'll infer what the spec meant" | Inference = hallucination | Quote exact text or mark UNDOCUMENTED |

---

# PHASE 0 — Documentation Discovery

Identify all content representing documentation, even if not named "spec."

Documentation may appear as:
- `whitepaper.pdf`
- `Protocol.md`
- `design_notes`
- `Flow.pdf`
- `README.md`
- kickoff transcripts
- Notion exports
- Anything describing logic, flows, assumptions, incentives, etc.

Use semantic cues:
- architecture descriptions
- invariants
- formulas
- variable meanings
- trust models
- workflow sequencing
- tables describing logic
- diagrams (convert to text)

Extract ALL relevant documents into a unified **spec corpus**.

---

# PHASE 1 — Universal Format Normalization

Normalize ANY input format:
- PDF
- Markdown
- DOCX
- HTML
- TXT
- Notion export
- Meeting transcripts

Preserve:
- heading hierarchy
- bullet lists
- formulas
- tables (converted to plaintext)
- code snippets
- invariant definitions

Remove:
- layout noise
- styling artifacts
- watermarks

Output: a clean, canonical **`spec_corpus`**.

---

# PHASE 2 — Spec Intent IR (Intermediate Representation)

Extract **all intended behavior** into the Spec-IR.

Each extracted item MUST include:
- `spec_excerpt`
- `source_section`
- `semantic_type`
- normalized representation
- confidence score

Extract:

- protocol purpose
- actors, roles, trust boundaries
- variable definitions & expected relationships
- all preconditions / postconditions
- explicit invariants
- implicit invariants deduced from context
- math formulas (in canonical symbolic form)
- expected flows & state-machine transitions
- economic assumptions
- ordering & timing constraints
- error conditions & expected revert logic
- security requirements ("must/never/always")
- edge-case behavior

This forms **Spec-IR**.

See [IR_EXAMPLES.md](resources/IR_EXAMPLES.md#example-1-spec-ir-record) for detailed examples.

---

# PHASE 3 — Code Behavior IR
### (WITH TRUE LINE-BY-LINE / BLOCK-BY-BLOCK ANALYSIS)

Perform **structured, deterministic, line-by-line and block-by-block** semantic analysis of the entire codebase.

For **EVERY LINE** and **EVERY BLOCK**, extract:
- file + exact line numbers
- local variable updates
- state reads/writes
- conditional branches & alternative paths
- unreachable branches
- revert conditions & custom errors
- external calls (call, delegatecall, staticcall, create2)
- event emissions
- math operations and rounding behavior
- implicit assumptions
- block-level preconditions & postconditions
- locally enforced invariants
- state transitions
- side effects
- dependencies on prior state

For **EVERY FUNCTION**, extract:
- signature & visibility
- applied modifiers (and their logic)
- purpose (based on actual behavior)
- input/output semantics
- read/write sets
- full control-flow structure
- success vs revert paths
- internal/external call graph
- cross-function interactions

Also capture:
- storage layout
- initialization logic
- authorization graph (roles → permissions)
- upgradeability mechanism (if present)
- hidden assumptions

Output: **Code-IR**, a granular semantic map with full traceability.

See [IR_EXAMPLES.md](resources/IR_EXAMPLES.md#example-2-code-ir-record) for detailed examples.

---

# PHASE 4 — Alignment IR (Spec ↔ Code Comparison)

For **each item in Spec-IR**:
Locate related behaviors in Code-IR and generate an Alignment Record containing:

- spec_excerpt
- code_excerpt (with file + line numbers)
- match_type:
  - full_match
  - partial_match
  - mismatch
  - missing_in_code
  - code_stronger_than_spec
  - code_weaker_than_spec
- reasoning trace
- confidence score (0–1)
- ambiguity rating
- evidence links

Explicitly check:
- invariants vs enforcement
- formulas vs math implementation
- flows vs real transitions
- actor expectations vs real privilege map
- ordering constraints vs actual logic
- revert expectations vs actual checks
- trust assumptions vs real external call behavior

Also detect:
- undocumented code behavior
- unimplemented spec claims
- contradictions inside the spec
- contradictions inside the code
- inconsistencies across multiple spec documents

Output: **Alignment-IR**

See [IR_EXAMPLES.md](resources/IR_EXAMPLES.md#example-3-alignment-record-positive-case) for detailed examples.

---

# PHASE 5 — Divergence Classification

Classify each misalignment by severity:

### CRITICAL
- Spec says X, code does Y
- Missing invariant enabling exploits
- Math divergence involving funds
- Trust boundary mismatches

### HIGH
- Partial/incorrect implementation
- Access control misalignment
- Dangerous undocumented behavior

### MEDIUM
- Ambiguity with security implications
- Missing revert checks
- Incomplete edge-case handling

### LOW
- Documentation drift
- Minor semantics mismatch

Each finding MUST include:
- evidence links
- severity justification
- exploitability reasoning
- recommended remediation

See [IR_EXAMPLES.md](resources/IR_EXAMPLES.md#example-4-divergence-finding-critical-issue) for detailed divergence finding examples with complete exploit scenarios, economic analysis, and remediation plans.

---

# PHASE 6 — Final Audit-Grade Report

Produce a structured compliance report:

1. Executive Summary
2. Documentation Sources Identified
3. Spec Intent Breakdown (Spec-IR)
4. Code Behavior Summary (Code-IR)
5. Full Alignment Matrix (Spec → Code → Status)
6. Divergence Findings (with evidence & severity)
7. Missing invariants
8. Incorrect logic
9. Math inconsistencies
10. Flow/state machine mismatches
11. Access control drift
12. Undocumented behavior
13. Ambiguity hotspots (spec & code)
14. Recommended remediations
15. Documentation update suggestions
16. Final risk assessment

---

## Output Requirements & Quality Standards

See [OUTPUT_REQUIREMENTS.md](resources/OUTPUT_REQUIREMENTS.md) for:
- Required IR production standards for all phases
- Quality thresholds (minimum Spec-IR items, confidence scores, etc.)
- Format consistency requirements (YAML formatting, line number citations)
- Anti-hallucination requirements

---

## Completeness Verification

Before finalizing analysis, review the [COMPLETENESS_CHECKLIST.md](resources/COMPLETENESS_CHECKLIST.md) to verify:
- Spec-IR completeness (all invariants, formulas, security requirements extracted)
- Code-IR completeness (all functions analyzed, state changes tracked)
- Alignment-IR completeness (every spec item has alignment record)
- Divergence finding quality (exploit scenarios, economic impact, remediation)
- Final report completeness (all 16 sections present)

---

# ANTI-HALLUCINATION REQUIREMENTS

- If the spec is silent: classify as **UNDOCUMENTED**.
- If the code adds behavior: classify as **UNDOCUMENTED CODE PATH**.
- If unclear: classify as **AMBIGUOUS**.
- Every claim must quote original text or line numbers.
- Zero speculation.
- Exhaustive, literal, pedantic reasoning.

---

# Resources

**Detailed Examples:**
- [IR_EXAMPLES.md](resources/IR_EXAMPLES.md) - Complete IR workflow examples with DEX swap patterns

**Standards & Requirements:**
- [OUTPUT_REQUIREMENTS.md](resources/OUTPUT_REQUIREMENTS.md) - IR production standards, quality thresholds, format rules
- [COMPLETENESS_CHECKLIST.md](resources/COMPLETENESS_CHECKLIST.md) - Verification checklist for all phases

---

## Agent

The `spec-compliance-checker` agent performs the full 7-phase specification-to-code compliance workflow autonomously. Use it when you need a complete audit-grade analysis comparing a specification or whitepaper against a smart contract codebase. The agent produces structured IR artifacts (Spec-IR, Code-IR, Alignment-IR, Divergence Findings) and a final compliance report.

Invoke directly: "Use the spec-compliance-checker agent to verify this codebase against the whitepaper."

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# END OF SKILL