diff --git a/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs b/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
index e68d436d..fd699446 100755
--- a/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
+++ b/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
@@ -294,6 +294,17 @@ async function main() {
     args.splice(pickIdx, 2);
   }
 
+  // --default <value>: for config-get, return this value instead of erroring
+  // when the key is absent. Allows workflows to express optional config reads
+  // without defensive `2>/dev/null || true` boilerplate (#1893).
+  const defaultIdx = args.indexOf('--default');
+  let defaultValue = undefined;
+  if (defaultIdx !== -1) {
+    defaultValue = args[defaultIdx + 1];
+    if (defaultValue === undefined) defaultValue = '';
+    args.splice(defaultIdx, 2);
+  }
+
   const command = args[0];
 
   if (!command) {
@@ -346,7 +357,7 @@ async function main() {
       }
     };
     try {
-      await runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw);
+      await runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw, defaultValue);
       cleanup();
     } catch (e) {
       fs.writeSync = origWriteSync;
@@ -355,7 +366,7 @@ async function main() {
     return;
   }
 
-  await runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw);
+  await runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw, defaultValue);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -381,7 +392,7 @@ function extractField(obj, fieldPath) {
   return current;
 }
 
-async function runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw) {
+async function runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw, defaultValue) {
   switch (command) {
     case 'state': {
       const subcommand = args[1];
@@ -589,7 +600,7 @@ async function runCommand(command, args, cwd, raw) {
     }
 
     case 'config-get': {
-      config.cmdConfigGet(cwd, args[1], raw);
+      config.cmdConfigGet(cwd, args[1], raw, defaultValue);
       break;
     }
 
diff --git a/get-shit-done/bin/lib/config.cjs b/get-shit-done/bin/lib/config.cjs
index fe8929fb..0cd64ab5 100644
--- a/get-shit-done/bin/lib/config.cjs
+++ b/get-shit-done/bin/lib/config.cjs
@@ -361,17 +361,21 @@ function cmdConfigSet(cwd, keyPath, value, raw) {
   output(setConfigValueResult, raw, `${keyPath}=${parsedValue}`);
 }
 
-function cmdConfigGet(cwd, keyPath, raw) {
+function cmdConfigGet(cwd, keyPath, raw, defaultValue) {
   const configPath = path.join(planningRoot(cwd), 'config.json');
+  const hasDefault = defaultValue !== undefined;
 
   if (!keyPath) {
-    error('Usage: config-get <key.path>');
+    error('Usage: config-get <key.path> [--default <value>]');
   }
 
   let config = {};
   try {
     if (fs.existsSync(configPath)) {
       config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(configPath, 'utf-8'));
+    } else if (hasDefault) {
+      output(defaultValue, raw, String(defaultValue));
+      return;
     } else {
       error('No config.json found at ' + configPath);
     }
@@ -385,12 +389,14 @@ function cmdConfigGet(cwd, keyPath, raw) {
   let current = config;
   for (const key of keys) {
     if (current === undefined || current === null || typeof current !== 'object') {
+      if (hasDefault) { output(defaultValue, raw, String(defaultValue)); return; }
       error(`Key not found: ${keyPath}`);
     }
     current = current[key];
   }
 
   if (current === undefined) {
+    if (hasDefault) { output(defaultValue, raw, String(defaultValue)); return; }
     error(`Key not found: ${keyPath}`);
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/config-get-default.test.cjs b/tests/config-get-default.test.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3bc3279c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/config-get-default.test.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for config-get --default flag (#1893)
+ *
+ * When --default <value> is passed, config-get should return the default
+ * value (exit 0) instead of erroring (exit 1) when the key is absent.
+ * When the key IS present, --default should be ignored and the real value
+ * returned.
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+const { describe, test, beforeEach, afterEach } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+const { execFileSync } = require('child_process');
+const os = require('os');
+
+const GSD_TOOLS = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'get-shit-done', 'bin', 'gsd-tools.cjs');
+
+describe('config-get --default flag (#1893)', () => {
+  let tmpDir;
+  let planningDir;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gsd-config-default-'));
+    planningDir = path.join(tmpDir, '.planning');
+    fs.mkdirSync(planningDir, { recursive: true });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  function run(...args) {
+    return execFileSync('node', [GSD_TOOLS, ...args, '--cwd', tmpDir], {
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      timeout: 5000,
+    }).trim();
+  }
+
+  function runRaw(...args) {
+    return run(...args, '--raw');
+  }
+
+  function runExpectError(...args) {
+    try {
+      execFileSync('node', [GSD_TOOLS, ...args, '--cwd', tmpDir], {
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        timeout: 5000,
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      });
+      assert.fail('Expected command to exit non-zero');
+    } catch (err) {
+      assert.ok(err.status !== 0, 'Expected non-zero exit code');
+      return err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  test('absent key without --default errors', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), '{}');
+    runExpectError('config-get', 'nonexistent.key', '--raw');
+  });
+
+  test('absent key with --default returns default value', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), '{}');
+    const result = runRaw('config-get', 'nonexistent.key', '--default', 'fallback');
+    assert.equal(result, 'fallback');
+  });
+
+  test('absent key with --default "" returns empty string', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), '{}');
+    const result = runRaw('config-get', 'nonexistent.key', '--default', '');
+    assert.equal(result, '');
+  });
+
+  test('present key with --default returns real value (ignores default)', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), JSON.stringify({
+      workflow: { discuss_mode: 'adaptive' }
+    }));
+    const result = runRaw('config-get', 'workflow.discuss_mode', '--default', 'ignored');
+    assert.equal(result, 'adaptive');
+  });
+
+  test('nested absent key with --default returns default', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), JSON.stringify({
+      workflow: {}
+    }));
+    const result = runRaw('config-get', 'workflow.deep.missing.key', '--default', 'safe');
+    assert.equal(result, 'safe');
+  });
+
+  test('missing config.json with --default returns default', () => {
+    // No config.json written
+    const result = runRaw('config-get', 'any.key', '--default', 'no-config');
+    assert.equal(result, 'no-config');
+  });
+
+  test('missing config.json without --default errors', () => {
+    // No config.json written
+    runExpectError('config-get', 'any.key', '--raw');
+  });
+
+  test('--default works with JSON output (no --raw)', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(planningDir, 'config.json'), '{}');
+    const result = run('config-get', 'missing.key', '--default', 'json-test');
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(result);
+    assert.equal(parsed, 'json-test');
+  });
+});