## Definition **GSD** ("Get Shit Done") is an open-source, lightweight [[Spec-Driven Development]] framework for agentic CLIs (Claude Code, OpenCode, Gemini CLI) that couples meta-prompting with structured phase commands and a fixed markdown state-tracking layer. Its central premise is that [[Context Rot]] is the primary cause of quality degradation in long agentic runs; GSD prevents it by staging work into discrete, verified phases and maintaining canonical planning documents that anchor each new phase's context. The project was created by LA-based EDM artist and developer Tasha and is installed directly into a project's `.claude/` directory. ## Core Mechanism GSD installs a set of slash commands, hooks, and template prompts. The canonical workflow is: 1. `/gsd:new-project` — spawns parallel mapper agents to analyse the existing codebase and produces `project.md`, `requirements.md`, and `roadmap.md` in `.planning/`. 2. `/gsd:discuss` — iterative Q&A to shape requirements before committing to a plan. 3. `/gsd:plan <phase>` — produces a `plan.md` for the current phase; can run phases in parallel. 4. `/gsd:execute` — executes the phase using subagents; generates code, tests, and `state.md` checkpoints. 5. `/gsd:verify` — runs tests and verifies completion before unlocking the next phase. 6. `/gsd:complete-milestone` / `/gsd:new-milestone` — lifecycle management across milestones. The `--quick` flag collapses discuss/plan/execute into a single pass for smaller tasks. ## Key Properties **Meta-prompting.** GSD wraps the agent in a layer of pre-built, carefully engineered prompts so the practitioner needs only high-level natural-language input; the framework translates it into precise agent instructions. **State-tracking documents.** All intermediate artefacts — requirements, roadmap, plan, state, summary, to-dos — live in `.planning/` as markdown files. This gives the agent a persistent, structured scratchpad that survives context compaction. **Parallel mapper agents.** During project initialisation GSD spawns four mapper subagents in parallel to analyse the codebase, following the [[Orchestrator-Subagent Pattern]]. **Opinionated quality tiers.** A `/gsd:settings` command lets the practitioner select model quality (budget / balance / quality) across spawn-plan-researcher, plan-checker, and execution-verifier roles. ## Comparison with Related Frameworks | | GSD | [[BMAD Method]] | [[OpenSpec]] | |---|---|---|---| | Primary goal | Context rot prevention + multi-agent orchestration | Agile AI-driven development via role prompts | Versioned delta proposals against a canonical spec | | Agent coordination | Parallel mapper + serial phase execution | Sequential role-based agents | Single-agent with explicit spec diffs | | Artefact structure | `.planning/` markdown state machine | Role cards + epics | Spec file + proposal deltas | | Install | Slash command injection into `.claude/` | Standalone CLI | Library | ## Trade-offs GSD is more serial and thorough than raw [[Multi-Agent System|agent teams]] (which sling all tasks to workers simultaneously), consuming roughly ten times more tokens and time than an equivalent Claude agent-team run. Its strength is reliability and auditability; its weakness is latency. ## Related - [[Spec-Driven Development]] - [[SDD Spectrum]] - [[BMAD Method]] - [[OpenSpec]] - [[Context Rot]] - [[Context Compaction]] - [[Orchestrator-Subagent Pattern]] - [[Multi-Agent System]] - [[Ralph Loop]] ## Sources - [[AI Coder - Claude Code and Coding Agents (Udemy)]]