diff --git a/src/expect.sh b/src/expect.sh
index 56db94e..01a319a 100644
--- a/src/expect.sh
+++ b/src/expect.sh
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ source expect/env.sh
 
 ##
 # Shorthand for bailing out on unrecognized clauses
-_bail_clause()
+shspec::bail-clause()
 {
   local -r type="$1"
   local -r clause="$2"
 
-  _bail "unrecognized \`$type' clause: \`$2'"
+  shspec::bail "unrecognized \`$type' clause: \`$2'"
 }
 
 
@@ -44,12 +44,12 @@ _bail_clause()
 # where the remainder clause begins; this ensures that shspec can continue
 # to evolve in the future without BC breaks in properly designed expection
 # handlers.
-__chk-shiftn()
+shspec::_chk-shiftn()
 {
   local -ri expect="$1"
   local -ri given="$2"
 
-  test "$given" -ge "$expect" || _bail \
+  test "$given" -ge "$expect" || shspec::bail \
     "internal: expected shift of at least $expect, but given $given"
 }
 
@@ -59,16 +59,16 @@ __chk-shiftn()
 # spoken
 #
 # For example, "to be silent".
-_expect--be() { _proxy-to "$@"; }
+shspec::expect::be() { shspec::proxy-to "$@"; }
 
 
 ##
 # Basic success and failure (zero or non-zero exit code)
-_expect--succeed() { test "$1" -eq 0; }
-_expect--fail()    { test "$1" -ne 0; }
+shspec::expect::succeed() { test "$1" -eq 0; }
+shspec::expect::fail()    { test "$1" -ne 0; }
 
 
 ##
 # Inverts the result of an expectation represented by the remainder clause
-_expect--not() { ! _proxy-to "$@"; }
+shspec::expect::not() { ! shspec::proxy-to "$@"; }
 
diff --git a/src/expect/env.sh b/src/expect/env.sh
index 8523efa..0f7e141 100644
--- a/src/expect/env.sh
+++ b/src/expect/env.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ __INC_EXPECT_ENV=1
 # Expect that an environment variable is set to a particular value, or
 # assert on flags
 #
-__expect-env()
+shspec::expect::__env()
 {
   local -r expflags="$1" var="$2" cmp="$3"
   shift 3
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ __expect-env()
 
   # TODO: support escaped newlines
   local flags val
-  __read-env-line "$var" flags val < "$envpath"
+  shspec::expect::__read-env-line "$var" flags val < "$envpath"
 
   # perform flag assertion if requested
   test -n "$expflags" && {
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ __expect-env()
 # Expected output is of the form:
 #   declare -flags? -- var="val"
 #
-__read-env-line()
+shspec::expect::__read-env-line()
 {
   local -r var="$1" destflag="$2" destval="$3"
 
@@ -90,26 +90,26 @@ __read-env-line()
 ##
 # Expect that an environment variable has been set to a certain value
 #
-_expect--set()
+shspec::expect::set()
 {
   local -ri shiftn="$2"
   local -r  envpath="$4"
   shift "$shiftn"
 
   # ensure envpath is available
-  __chk-shiftn 4 "$shiftn"
+  shspec::_chk-shiftn 4 "$shiftn"
 
   # no flag expectation
-  __expect-env '' "$@"
+  shspec::expect::__env '' "$@"
 }
 
 
 ##
 # Alias for `set`
 #
-_expect--declare()
+shspec::expect::declare()
 {
-  _expect--set "$@"
+  shspec::expect::set "$@"
 }
 
 
@@ -118,16 +118,16 @@ _expect--declare()
 #
 # Same syntax as `set`
 #
-_expect--export()
+shspec::expect::export()
 {
   local -ri shiftn="$2"
   local -r  envpath="$4"
   shift "$shiftn"
 
   # ensure envpath is available
-  __chk-shiftn 4 "$shiftn"
+  shspec::_chk-shiftn 4 "$shiftn"
 
   # expect the -x flag, which denotes export
-  __expect-env x "$@"
+  shspec::expect::__env x "$@"
 }
 
diff --git a/src/expect/output.sh b/src/expect/output.sh
index 9cf8044..8229942 100644
--- a/src/expect/output.sh
+++ b/src/expect/output.sh
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ exec 99<>/dev/null
 #
 # This command is successful if and only if both the remainder clause and
 # the provided command line complete successfully.
-__expect-output-cmd()
+shspec::expect::__output-cmd()
 {
   local -r cmd="$1"
   shift
@@ -62,11 +62,11 @@ __expect-output-cmd()
   local nl
   local intype
   {
-    __expect-output-clause "${clause[@]}" | {
+    shspec::expect::__output-clause "${clause[@]}" | {
       IFS=\| read nl intype
 
       if [ "$intype" == stderr ]; then
-        __chk-shiftn 3 "$shiftn"
+        shspec::_chk-shiftn 3 "$shiftn"
         exec 99<"$stderr"
       fi
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ __expect-output-cmd()
 }
 
 # parses output remainder clause according to the aforementioned rules
-__expect-output-clause()
+shspec::expect::__output-clause()
 {
   [ $# -gt 0 ] || return 0
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ __expect-output-clause()
     if [[ "$1 $2" =~ ^on\ std(err|out) ]]; then
       [ "$2" == stderr ] && input="$2"
     else
-      _bail_clause output "$*"
+      shspec::bail-clause output "$*"
     fi
   fi
 
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ __expect-output-clause()
 #
 # This expectation assumes a trailing newline by default; this behavior can
 # be suppressed with the `without newline' clause.
-_expect--output()
+shspec::expect::output()
 {
   local -a args=("$@")
   local -i shiftn="$2"
@@ -122,10 +122,11 @@ _expect--output()
     fi
   fi
 
-  __expect-output-cmd "__expect--output-do -$nl" "${args[@]}"
+  shspec::expect::__output-cmd "shspec::expect::__output-do -$nl" \
+    "${args[@]}"
 }
 
-__expect--output-do()
+shspec::expect::__output-do()
 {
   local -r nl="${1:1}"
   local -r cmp="$2"
@@ -139,12 +140,12 @@ __expect--output-do()
 ##
 # Expects that stdout matches the provided extended regular expression (as
 # in regex(3))
-_expect--match()
+shspec::expect::match()
 {
-  __expect-output-cmd '__expect--match-do' "$@"
+  shspec::expect::__output-cmd 'shspec::expect::__match-do' "$@"
 }
 
-__expect--match-do()
+shspec::expect::__match-do()
 {
   local -r pat="$1"
   [[ "$(cat)" =~ $pat ]]
@@ -153,13 +154,13 @@ __expect--match-do()
 
 ##
 # Expects that both stdin and stderr (if available) are empty
-_expect--silent()
+shspec::expect::silent()
 {
   local -r stderr="${3:-/dev/null}"
   shift "$2"
 
   # we accept no arguments
-  test $# -eq 0 || _bail_clause silent "$*"
+  test $# -eq 0 || shspec::bail-clause silent "$*"
 
   # quick read using builtins; if we find any single byte, then we know that
   # it is non-empty
diff --git a/src/run-spec b/src/run-spec
index f050946..5c71ec6 100755
--- a/src/run-spec
+++ b/src/run-spec
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ source spec.sh
 
 declare -r tcase="${1?Missing test case path}"
 
-_begin-spec
+shspec::begin-spec
   cd "$( dirname "$tcase" )" \
     && source "$tcase" \
     || exit $?
-_end-spec
+shspec::end-spec
 
diff --git a/src/spec.sh b/src/spec.sh
index 3d898a7..11833da 100644
--- a/src/spec.sh
+++ b/src/spec.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ declare -ir __SHIFTN=4
 
 ##
 # Attempts to make tempoary path in /dev/shm, falling back to default
-mktemp-shm()
+shspec::__mktemp-shm()
 {
   local -r shm=/dev/shm
   [ -d $shm -a -r $shm ] && mktemp -p$shm || mktemp
@@ -46,10 +46,10 @@ mktemp-shm()
 
 
 # stderr file
-declare -r __spec_errpath="$(mktemp-shm)"
+readonly __spec_errpath="$(shspec::__mktemp-shm)"
 
 # env dump file
-declare -r __spec_envpath="$(mktemp-shm)"
+readonly __spec_envpath="$(shspec::__mktemp-shm)"
 
 # most recent expect result and its exit code
 declare __spec_result=
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ declare __spec_caller=
 #
 # A specification is any shell script using the specification commands
 # defined herein.
-_begin-spec()
+shspec::begin-spec()
 {
   : placeholder
 }
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ _begin-spec()
 #
 # If the specification was improperly nested, this will output a list of
 # nesting errors and return a non-zero error. Otherwise, nothing is done.
-_end-spec()
+shspec::end-spec()
 {
   # if the stack is empty then everything is in order
   _sstack-empty && return 0
@@ -128,9 +128,10 @@ end()
   # some statements are implicitly terminated; explicitly doing so is
   # indicitive of a syntax issue
   [ "${head:0:1}" != : ] \
-    || _bail "unexpected \`end': still processing \`$cleanhead'" $(caller)
+    || shspec::bail \
+      "unexpected \`end': still processing \`$cleanhead'" $(caller)
 
-  _sstack-pop >/dev/null || _bail "unmatched \`end'"
+  _sstack-pop >/dev/null || shspec::bail "unmatched \`end'"
 }
 
 
@@ -160,12 +161,13 @@ to()
 {
   __spec_caller=${__spec_caller:-$(caller)}
 
-  [ $# -gt 0 ] || _bail "missing assertion string for \`to'" $__spec_caller
+  [ $# -gt 0 ] || \
+    shspec::bail "missing assertion string for \`to'" $__spec_caller
 
   _sstack-assert-follow :expect to $(caller)
   _sstack-pop
 
-  __handle-to "$__spec_rexit" $__SHIFTN \
+  shspec::__handle-to "$__spec_rexit" $__SHIFTN \
     "$__spec_errpath" "$__spec_envpath" "$@" \
     || fail "$*"
 
@@ -181,7 +183,7 @@ to()
 #
 #   <exit code> <shiftn> <...N> <expect type> <...remainder clause>
 #
-__handle-to()
+shspec::__handle-to()
 {
   local -ri rexit="$1"
   local -ri shiftn="$2"
@@ -192,9 +194,9 @@ __handle-to()
   local -r type="$1"
   shift
 
-  local -r assert="_expect--$type"
+  local -r assert="shspec::expect::$type"
   type "$assert" &>/dev/null \
-    || _bail "unknown expectation: \`$type'" $__spec_caller
+    || shspec::bail "unknown expectation: \`$type'" $__spec_caller
 
   # first argument is exit code, second is the number of arguments to shift
   # to place $1 at the remainder clause, third is the path to the stderr
@@ -210,7 +212,7 @@ __handle-to()
 # Alias for _handle-to
 #
 # Shows intent to proxy a call and allows proxy implementation to vary.
-_proxy-to() { __handle-to "$@"; }
+shspec::proxy-to() { shspec::__handle-to "$@"; }
 
 
 ##
@@ -249,7 +251,7 @@ fail()
   echo "  exit code: $__spec_rexit"
 
   echo
-  _bail "expectation failure"
+  shspec::bail "expectation failure"
 }
 
 
@@ -261,7 +263,7 @@ fail()
 #
 # If no file and line number are provided, this will default to the current
 # spec caller, if any.
-_bail()
+shspec::bail()
 {
   local -r msg="$1"
   local line="$2"
diff --git a/src/specstack.sh b/src/specstack.sh
index 91cbc96..00a2580 100644
--- a/src/specstack.sh
+++ b/src/specstack.sh
@@ -148,7 +148,8 @@ _sstack-assert-within()
   local -r head="$(_sstack-head-type)"
 
   [ "$head" == "$in" ] \
-    || _bail "\`$chk' must $phrase \`$head'; found \`$head' at $file:$line"
+    || shspec::bail \
+      "\`$chk' must $phrase \`$head'; found \`$head' at $file:$line"
 }
 
 
diff --git a/test/test-expect-core b/test/test-expect-core
index 1b222e8..579cadd 100644
--- a/test/test-expect-core
+++ b/test/test-expect-core
@@ -21,16 +21,16 @@
 
 describe be
   it cannot stand alone
-    expect _expect--be 0 2
+    expect shspec::expect::be 0 2
       to fail
   end
 
   it processes remainder clause as if it did not exist
     (
       expected="foo bar baz"
-      _expect--awesome() { shift "$2"; test "$*" == "$expected"; }
+      shspec::expect::awesome() { shift "$2"; test "$*" == "$expected"; }
 
-      expect _expect--be 0 2 awesome $expected
+      expect shspec::expect::be 0 2 awesome $expected
         to succeed
     )
   end
@@ -39,12 +39,12 @@ end
 
 describe succeed
   it will succeed when command exits with status code 0
-    expect _expect--succeed 0 2
+    expect shspec::expect::succeed 0 2
       to succeed
   end
 
   it will fail when command exits with non-zero status code
-    expect _expect--succeed 1 2
+    expect shspec::expect::succeed 1 2
       to fail
   end
 end
@@ -52,12 +52,12 @@ end
 
 describe fail
   it will succeed when command exits with non-zero status code
-    expect _expect--fail 1 2
+    expect shspec::expect::fail 1 2
       to succeed
   end
 
   it will fail when command exits with status code 0
-    expect _expect--fail 0 2
+    expect shspec::expect::fail 0 2
       to fail
   end
 end
@@ -66,11 +66,11 @@ end
 describe not
   it will invert the result of an expectation
     # exit code of 1, so normally `succeed' would fail
-    expect _expect--not 1 2 succeed
+    expect shspec::expect::not 1 2 succeed
       to succeed
 
     # exit code of 0, so normally `succeed' would succeed
-    expect _expect--not 0 2 succeed
+    expect shspec::expect::not 0 2 succeed
       to fail
   end
 end
@@ -78,49 +78,50 @@ end
 
 describe output
   it will default to asserting against stdout
-    expect _expect--output 0 2 "test string" <<< "test string"
+    expect shspec::expect::output 0 2 "test string" <<< "test string"
       to succeed
   end
 
   # by convention, stderr file passed as third argument
   it can assert against stderr output
     {
-      expect _expect--output 0 3 /dev/fd/3 \
+      expect shspec::expect::output 0 3 /dev/fd/3 \
         "test stderr" on stderr
         to succeed
     } 3< <( echo "test stderr" )
   end
 
   it fails on stdout mismatch
-    expect _expect--output 0 2 "foo" <<< "bar"
+    expect shspec::expect::output 0 2 "foo" <<< "bar"
       to fail
   end
 
   it fails on stderr mismatch
     {
-      expect _expect--output 0 3 /dev/fd/3 "foo" on stderr
+      expect shspec::expect::output 0 3 /dev/fd/3 "foo" on stderr
         to fail
     } 3< <( echo bar )
   end
 
   it ignores exit code
-    expect _expect--output 1 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
+    expect shspec::expect::output 1 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
       to succeed
   end
 
   # as is good practice for Unix utilities
   it expects trailing newline by default
-    expect _expect--output 0 2 "foo" < <( echo -n foo )
+    expect shspec::expect::output 0 2 "foo" < <( echo -n foo )
       to fail
   end
 
   it can disable trailing newline check with "'without newline'" clause
-    expect _expect--output 0 2 "foo" without newline < <( echo -n foo )
+    expect shspec::expect::output 0 2 "foo" without newline \
+      < <( echo -n foo )
       to succeed
   end
 
   it errors on any unrecognized clause
-    expect _expect--output 0 2 "foo" fluffy bunnies <<< "foo"
+    expect shspec::expect::output 0 2 "foo" fluffy bunnies <<< "foo"
       to fail
   end
 end
@@ -128,33 +129,33 @@ end
 
 describe match
   it will default to asserting against stdout
-    expect _expect--match 0 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
+    expect shspec::expect::match 0 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
       to succeed
   end
 
   # by convention, stderr file passed as third argument
   it can assert against stderr output
     {
-      expect _expect--match 0 3 /dev/fd/3 "stderr" on stderr
+      expect shspec::expect::match 0 3 /dev/fd/3 "stderr" on stderr
         to succeed
     } 3< <( echo "test stderr" )
   end
 
   it ignores exit code
-    expect _expect--match 1 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
+    expect shspec::expect::match 1 2 "foo" <<< "foo"
       to succeed
   end
 
   it will perform partial match
-    expect _expect--match 0 2 "foo" <<< "contains foo"
+    expect shspec::expect::match 0 2 "foo" <<< "contains foo"
       to succeed
   end
 
   it will match against a pattern
-    expect _expect--match 0 2 "^foo.*baz" <<< "foo bar baz"
+    expect shspec::expect::match 0 2 "^foo.*baz" <<< "foo bar baz"
       to succeed
 
-    expect _expect--match 0 2 "^foo.*baz" <<< "bar foo bar baz"
+    expect shspec::expect::match 0 2 "^foo.*baz" <<< "bar foo bar baz"
       to fail
   end
 end
@@ -163,32 +164,32 @@ end
 describe silent
   it succeeds when both stdout and stderr are empty
     # omitting stderr arg
-    expect _expect--silent 0 2 < <(:)
+    expect shspec::expect::silent 0 2 < <(:)
       to succeed
 
     # empty stderr
-    expect _expect--silent 0 3 <(:) < <(:)
+    expect shspec::expect::silent 0 3 <(:) < <(:)
       to succeed
   end
 
   it fails when stdout is empty but stderr is not
-  expect _expect--silent 0 3 <( echo ) < <(:)
+  expect shspec::expect::silent 0 3 <( echo ) < <(:)
       to fail
   end
 
   it fails when stderr is empty but stdout is not
     # omitting stderr arg
-    expect _expect--silent 0 2 <<< ""
+    expect shspec::expect::silent 0 2 <<< ""
       to fail
 
     # empty stderr
-    expect _expect--silent 0 3 <(:) <<< ""
+    expect shspec::expect::silent 0 3 <(:) <<< ""
       to fail
   end
 
   # no arguments within context of the DSL, that is
   it accepts no arguments
-    expect _expect--silent 0 2 foo < <(:)
+    expect shspec::expect::silent 0 2 foo < <(:)
       to fail
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/test-expect-env b/test/test-expect-env
index e0f7d7c..510186c 100644
--- a/test/test-expect-env
+++ b/test/test-expect-env
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ declare -- nonexport_empty=""'
 declare curchk
 function setchk()
 {
-  _expect--$curchk 0 4 <(:) <( echo "$stubenv" ) "$@"
+  shspec::expect::$curchk 0 4 <(:) <( echo "$stubenv" ) "$@"
 }
 
 
diff --git a/test/test-spec b/test/test-spec
index 6df9350..8c31bb1 100644
--- a/test/test-spec
+++ b/test/test-spec
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ test-run()
 }
 
 
-describe _begin-spec
+describe shspec::begin-spec
   it is a placeholder that exits successfully
-    expect _begin-spec
+    expect shspec::begin-spec
       to succeed
   end
 end
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ describe expect
     it is provided premise exit code as first argument
       expect test-run <<< '
         declare excode=123
-        _expect--chk() { test "$1" -eq $excode; }
+        shspec::expect::chk() { test "$1" -eq $excode; }
 
         describe foo
           it exposes exit code
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ describe expect
     it is provided remainder clause after shift argument
       expect test-run <<< '
         declare remain="a b c"
-        _expect--chk()
+        shspec::expect::chk()
         {
           shift "$2"
           test "$*" == "$remain"
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ describe expect
     it receives premise output via stdin
       expect test-run <<< '
         declare str=foo
-        _expect--chk() { test "$(cat)" == "$str"; }
+        shspec::expect::chk() { test "$(cat)" == "$str"; }
 
         describe foo
           it pipes command output
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ describe expect
     # newline will be added; we don't want that!
     it does not have newline added to premise output if missing
       expect test-run <<< '
-        _expect--chk() { test "$( wc -c )" -eq 0; }
+        shspec::expect::chk() { test "$( wc -c )" -eq 0; }
 
         describe foo
           it should not add newline
@@ -308,18 +308,18 @@ describe expect
   end
 
 
-  describe _proxy-to
+  describe shspec::proxy-to
     it proxies remainder clause with variable shift length
       expect test-run <<< '
         expected="foo bar baz"
-        _expect--chk() { shift "$2"; test "$*" == "$expected"; }
+        shspec::expect::chk() { shift "$2"; test "$*" == "$expected"; }
 
         describe foo
           it should succeed
-            expect _proxy-to 0 2 chk $expected
+            expect shspec::proxy-to 0 2 chk $expected
               to succeed
 
-            expect _proxy-to 0 3 /dev/null chk $expected
+            expect shspec::proxy-to 0 3 /dev/null chk $expected
               to succeed
           end
         end