Files
get-shit-done/docs/CONFIGURATION.md
Tom Boucher 8bc255c266 fix(workstream): normalize migration workstream names (#3269)
* fix(workstream): normalize migrate-name to valid slug

* docs(context): record workstream migrate-name slug invariant

* fix(catalog-cjs): balanced fallback for unknown profile (CR finding A)

profiles[profile] could return undefined for any profile key absent from
the catalog entry, causing downstream callers like formatAgentToModelMapAsTable
to crash on .length. Add ?? profiles.balanced fallback to match the SDK adapter.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(sdk): anchor path resolution on import.meta.url not cwd (CR finding B)

resolve(process.cwd(), '..') breaks when Vitest is invoked from the repo root
because cwd is already the repo root and '..' goes one level above. Replace
with a file-relative path using fileURLToPath(new URL('../../../', import.meta.url))
anchored at the test file's location (sdk/src/query/).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test: derive Group B runtime list from catalog (CR finding C)

Hardcoded ['kilo', 'cline', ...] throws TypeError if a runtime name is
removed from the catalog. Derive group B dynamically via
Object.keys(catalog.runtimeTierDefaults).filter(r => !r.opus) so the
test never goes stale and auto-covers future Group B additions.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(workflow): add hermes to Step B runtime options (CR finding D)

hermes appears in the Group A built-in defaults table but was missing from
the AskUserQuestion options in Step B, forcing users to manually type it via
'Other (Group B or custom)'. Add explicit hermes entry for UI consistency.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(config): refresh dynamic_routing tier table; fix stale L671 (findings E+F)

Finding E: tier table was missing 6 heavy-tier agents and 15 standard/light
agents added by this PR. Updated all three rows to match catalog routingTier
assignments (33 agents total).

Finding F: removed stale '18 of 31' claim and agent enumeration; replaced
with accurate note that all 33 agents have explicit catalog entries. Updated
authoritative source pointers to model-catalog.cjs / model-catalog.ts.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(core): add profile-fallback unit tests for quality and budget (CR nitpick G)

The PR introduced quality→opus and budget→haiku unknown-agent fallbacks but
only balanced→sonnet and inherit→inherit were tested. Add two tests covering
the remaining two branches to complete coverage.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* adr: define planning workspace and worktree seam

* refactor(worktree): extract worktree safety policy module

* refactor(workstream): extract active workstream pointer store seam

* test(worktree): cover policy branch paths and persist seam guardrails

* refactor(worktree): centralize health inventory seam for W017

* fix(workspace): align SDK project path policy with CJS planningDir

* refactor(query): unify SDK planning path projection seam

* refactor(init): route workspace projection through planningPaths seam

* docs(adr): add SDK architecture and planning path ADRs

* refactor(worktree): deepen name, pointer, inventory, and config seams

* docs(config): harmonize claude-opus-4-6 to 4-7 in resolve_model_ids example (CR finding 2)

* fix(sdk): return undefined for model_profile='inherit' sentinel (CR finding 3)

* docs(adr): renumber conflicting 0003-sdk-package-seam-module to 0007, update seam-map reference (CR finding 4)

* fix(workstream): align CJS and SDK name validation to accept dots, guard path traversal via includes('..') (CR finding 5)

* fix(sdk): guard writeActiveWorkstream against non-existent workstream directory, k014/k031 parity (CR finding 6)

* chore(changeset): add #3269 changeset (CR finding 1 — proper changeset for this PR)

* docs(inventory): register 3 new CLI modules in INVENTORY.md/MANIFEST (active-workstream-store, workstream-name-policy, worktree-safety)

* fix(sdk): use relPlanningPath(workstream) in planningPaths, fix setActiveWorkstream/getActiveWorkstream name errors in workstream.ts

* fix(sdk): validate GSD_WORKSTREAM in planningPaths before use (#3269 regression)

planningPaths() called resolveWorkspaceContext() which returned GSD_WORKSTREAM
raw (no validation). An invalid value like '../evil' was used as effectiveWorkstream,
constructing a bad path; roadmapAnalyze() caught the ENOENT and returned a
no-phase_count error object instead of the root ROADMAP result.

Fix: validate envCtx.workstream with validateWorkstreamName() in planningPaths()
before accepting it as effectiveWorkstream. Invalid env → null → root .planning/
fallback, preserving the bug-2791 contract: invalid GSD_WORKSTREAM is silently
ignored and falls back to the root context (phase_count: 0 for empty root ROADMAP).

The bug-2791 regression test now passes. No other call sites read GSD_WORKSTREAM
without validation: query-runtime-context.ts already validates; cli.ts already
validates; context-engine.ts takes a caller-validated workstream parameter.

Closes #3268 (regression introduced by #3269 workstream-name-policy work).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-09 00:15:04 -04:00

58 KiB

GSD Configuration Reference

Full configuration schema, workflow toggles, model profiles, and git branching options. For feature context, see Feature Reference.


Configuration File

GSD stores project settings in .planning/config.json. Created during /gsd-new-project, updated via /gsd-settings.

Full Schema

{
  "mode": "interactive",
  "granularity": "standard",
  "model_profile": "balanced",
  "model_overrides": {},
  "models": {},
  "dynamic_routing": null,
  "planning": {
    "commit_docs": true,
    "search_gitignored": false,
    "sub_repos": []
  },
  "context": null,
  "workflow": {
    "research": true,
    "plan_check": true,
    "verifier": true,
    "auto_advance": false,
    "nyquist_validation": true,
    "ui_phase": true,
    "ui_safety_gate": true,
    "ui_review": true,
    "node_repair": true,
    "node_repair_budget": 2,
    "research_before_questions": false,
    "discuss_mode": "discuss",
    "max_discuss_passes": 3,
    "skip_discuss": false,
    "tdd_mode": false,
    "text_mode": false,
    "use_worktrees": true,
    "code_review": true,
    "code_review_depth": "standard",
    "plan_bounce": false,
    "plan_bounce_script": null,
    "plan_bounce_passes": 2,
    "plan_chunked": false,
    "code_review_command": null,
    "cross_ai_execution": false,
    "cross_ai_command": null,
    "cross_ai_timeout": 300,
    "security_enforcement": true,
    "security_asvs_level": 1,
    "security_block_on": "high",
    "post_planning_gaps": true,
    "build_command": null,
    "test_command": null
  },
  "hooks": {
    "context_warnings": true,
    "workflow_guard": false
  },
  "parallelization": {
    "enabled": true,
    "plan_level": true,
    "task_level": false,
    "skip_checkpoints": true,
    "max_concurrent_agents": 3,
    "min_plans_for_parallel": 2
  },
  "git": {
    "branching_strategy": "none",
    "phase_branch_template": "gsd/phase-{phase}-{slug}",
    "milestone_branch_template": "gsd/{milestone}-{slug}",
    "quick_branch_template": null
  },
  "gates": {
    "confirm_project": true,
    "confirm_phases": true,
    "confirm_roadmap": true,
    "confirm_breakdown": true,
    "confirm_plan": true,
    "execute_next_plan": true,
    "issues_review": true,
    "confirm_transition": true
  },
  "safety": {
    "always_confirm_destructive": true,
    "always_confirm_external_services": true
  },
  "project_code": null,
  "agent_skills": {},
  "response_language": null,
  "features": {
    "thinking_partner": false,
    "global_learnings": false
  },
  "learnings": {
    "max_inject": 10
  },
  "intel": {
    "enabled": false
  },
  "claude_md_path": "./CLAUDE.md"
}

Core Settings

Setting Type Options Default Description
mode enum interactive, yolo interactive yolo auto-approves decisions; interactive confirms at each step
granularity enum coarse, standard, fine standard Controls phase count: coarse (3-5), standard (5-8), fine (8-12)
model_profile enum quality, balanced, budget, adaptive, inherit balanced Model tier for each agent (see Model Profiles). adaptive was added per #1713 / #1806 and resolves the same way as the other tiers under runtime-aware profiles.
runtime string claude, codex, or any string (none) Active runtime for runtime-aware profile resolution. When set, profile tiers (opus/sonnet/haiku) resolve to runtime-native model IDs. Today only the Codex install path emits per-agent model IDs from this resolver; other runtimes (opencode, gemini, qwen, copilot, …) consume the resolver at spawn time and gain dedicated install-path support in #2612. When unset (default), behavior is unchanged from prior versions. Added in v1.39
model_profile_overrides.<runtime>.<tier> string | object per-runtime tier override (none) Override the runtime-aware tier mapping for a specific (runtime, tier). Tier is one of opus, sonnet, haiku. Value is either a model ID string (e.g. "gpt-5-pro") or { model, reasoning_effort }. See Runtime-Aware Profiles. Added in v1.39
models.<phase_type> enum opus, sonnet, haiku, inherit (none) Per-phase-type model tier. Six accepted slots: planning, discuss, research, execution, verification, completion. Lets you tune at the phase level ("Opus for planning, Sonnet for the rest") without learning agent names. Resolves between model_overrides (higher) and model_profile (lower); see Per-Phase-Type Models. Added in v1.40 (#3023)
dynamic_routing.enabled boolean true, false false Master switch for dynamic routing with failure-tier escalation. When true, agents resolve to tier_models[default_tier] and escalate one tier up on orchestrator-detected soft failure. Added in v1.40 (#3024)
dynamic_routing.tier_models.<tier> enum opus, sonnet, haiku (none) Tier alias for light, standard, or heavy. Used when dynamic_routing.enabled: true. Added in v1.40
dynamic_routing.escalate_on_failure boolean true, false true When false, escalation is disabled even if enabled: true — every attempt uses the default tier. Added in v1.40
dynamic_routing.max_escalations integer 0, 1, 2, … 1 Hard cap on retries per agent invocation. Beyond the cap the resolver returns the cap-tier model. Added in v1.40
project_code string any short string (none) Prefix for phase directory names (e.g., "ABC" produces ABC-01-setup/). Added in v1.31
response_language string language code (none) Language for agent responses (e.g., "pt", "ko", "ja"). Propagates to all spawned agents for cross-phase language consistency. Added in v1.32
context_window number any integer 200000 Context window size in tokens. Set 1000000 for 1M-context models (e.g., claude-opus-4-7[1m]). Values >= 500000 enable adaptive context enrichment (full-body reads of prior SUMMARY.md, deeper anti-pattern reads). Configured via /gsd-config --advanced.
context_profile string dev, research, review (none) Execution context preset that applies a pre-configured bundle of mode, model, and workflow settings for the current type of work. Added in v1.34
claude_md_path string any file path ./CLAUDE.md Custom output path for the generated CLAUDE.md file. Useful for monorepos or projects that need CLAUDE.md in a non-root location. Defaults to ./CLAUDE.md at the project root. Added in v1.36
claude_md_assembly.mode enum embed, link embed Controls how managed sections are written into CLAUDE.md. embed (default) inlines content between GSD markers. link writes @.planning/<source-path> instead — Claude Code expands the reference at runtime, reducing CLAUDE.md size by ~65% on typical projects. link only applies to sections that have a real source file; workflow and fallback sections always embed. Per-block overrides: claude_md_assembly.blocks.<section> (e.g. claude_md_assembly.blocks.architecture: link). Added in v1.38
context string any text (none) Custom context string injected into every agent prompt for the project. Use to provide persistent project-specific guidance (e.g., coding conventions, team practices) that every agent should be aware of
phase_naming string any string (none) Custom prefix for phase directory names. When set, overrides the auto-generated phase slug (e.g., "feature" produces feature-01-setup/ instead of the roadmap-derived slug)
brave_search boolean true/false auto-detected Override auto-detection of Brave Search API availability. When unset, GSD checks for BRAVE_API_KEY env var or ~/.gsd/brave_api_key file
firecrawl boolean true/false auto-detected Override auto-detection of Firecrawl API availability. When unset, GSD checks for FIRECRAWL_API_KEY env var or ~/.gsd/firecrawl_api_key file
exa_search boolean true/false auto-detected Override auto-detection of Exa Search API availability. When unset, GSD checks for EXA_API_KEY env var or ~/.gsd/exa_api_key file
search_gitignored boolean true/false false Legacy top-level alias for planning.search_gitignored. Prefer the namespaced form; this alias is accepted for backward compatibility

Note: granularity was renamed from depth in v1.22.3. Existing configs are auto-migrated.


Integration Settings

Configured interactively via /gsd-config --integrations. These are connectivity settings — API keys and cross-tool routing — and are intentionally kept separate from /gsd-settings (workflow toggles).

Search API keys

API key fields accept a string value (the key itself). They can also be set to the sentinels true/false/null to override auto-detection from env vars / ~/.gsd/*_api_key files (legacy behavior, see rows above).

Setting Type Default Description
brave_search string | boolean | null null Brave Search API key used for web research. Displayed as ****<last-4> in all UI / config-set output; never echoed plaintext
firecrawl string | boolean | null null Firecrawl API key for deep-crawl scraping. Masked in display
exa_search string | boolean | null null Exa Search API key for semantic search. Masked in display

Masking convention (get-shit-done/bin/lib/secrets.cjs): keys 8+ characters render as ****<last-4>; shorter keys render as ****; null/empty renders as (unset). Plaintext is written as-is to .planning/config.json — that file is the security boundary — but the CLI, confirmation tables, logs, and AskUserQuestion descriptions never display the plaintext. This applies to the config-set command output itself: config-set brave_search <key> returns a JSON payload with the value masked.

Code-review CLI routing

review.models.<cli> maps a reviewer flavor to a shell command. The code-review workflow shells out using this command when a matching flavor is requested.

Setting Type Default Description
review.models.claude string (session model) Command for Claude-flavored review. Defaults to the session model when unset
review.models.codex string null Command for Codex review, e.g. "codex exec --model gpt-5"
review.models.gemini string null Command for Gemini review, e.g. "gemini -m gemini-2.5-pro"
review.models.opencode string null Command for OpenCode review, e.g. "opencode run --model claude-sonnet-4"

The <cli> slug is validated against [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+. Empty or path-containing slugs are rejected by config-set.

Agent-skill injection (dynamic)

agent_skills.<agent-type> extends the agent_skills map documented below. Slug is validated against [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+ — no path separators, no whitespace, no shell metacharacters. Configured interactively via /gsd-config --integrations.


Workflow Toggles

All workflow toggles follow the absent = enabled pattern. If a key is missing from config, it defaults to true.

Setting Type Default Description
workflow.research boolean true Domain investigation before planning each phase
workflow.plan_check boolean true Plan verification loop (up to 3 iterations)
workflow.verifier boolean true Post-execution verification against phase goals
workflow.auto_advance boolean false Auto-chain discuss → plan → execute without stopping
workflow.nyquist_validation boolean true Test coverage mapping during plan-phase research
workflow.ui_phase boolean true Generate UI design contracts for frontend phases
workflow.ui_safety_gate boolean true Prompt to run /gsd-ui-phase for frontend phases during plan-phase
workflow.ui_review boolean true Run visual quality audit (/gsd-ui-review) after phase execution in autonomous mode. When false, the UI audit step is skipped.
workflow.node_repair boolean true Autonomous task repair on verification failure
workflow.node_repair_budget number 2 Max repair attempts per failed task
workflow.research_before_questions boolean false Run research before discussion questions instead of after
workflow.discuss_mode string 'discuss' Controls how /gsd-discuss-phase gathers context. 'discuss' (default) asks questions one-by-one. 'assumptions' reads the codebase first, generates structured assumptions with confidence levels, and only asks you to correct what's wrong. Added in v1.28
workflow.max_discuss_passes number 3 Maximum number of question rounds in discuss-phase before the workflow stops asking. Useful in headless/auto mode to prevent infinite discussion loops.
workflow.skip_discuss boolean false When true, /gsd-autonomous bypasses the discuss-phase entirely, writing minimal CONTEXT.md from the ROADMAP phase goal. Useful for projects where developer preferences are fully captured in PROJECT.md/REQUIREMENTS.md. Added in v1.28
workflow.text_mode boolean false Replaces AskUserQuestion TUI menus with plain-text numbered lists. Required for Claude Code remote sessions (/rc mode) where TUI menus don't render. Can also be set per-session with --text flag on discuss-phase. Added in v1.28
workflow.use_worktrees boolean true When false, disables git worktree isolation for parallel execution. Users who prefer sequential execution or whose environment does not support worktrees can disable this. Added in v1.31
workflow.worktree_skip_hooks boolean false When true, executor agents in worktree mode pass --no-verify (skipping pre-commit hooks) and post-wave hook validation runs against the merged result instead. Opt-in escape hatch for projects whose hooks cannot run in agent worktrees. Default false runs hooks on every commit (#2924).
workflow.code_review boolean true Enable /gsd-code-review and /gsd-code-review --fix commands. When false, the commands exit with a configuration gate message. Added in v1.34
workflow.code_review_depth string standard Default review depth for /gsd-code-review: quick (pattern-matching only), standard (per-file analysis), or deep (cross-file with import graphs). Can be overridden per-run with --depth=. Added in v1.34
workflow.plan_bounce boolean false Run external validation script against generated plans. When enabled, the plan-phase orchestrator pipes each PLAN.md through the script specified by plan_bounce_script and blocks on non-zero exit. Added in v1.36
workflow.plan_bounce_script string (none) Path to the external script invoked for plan bounce validation. Receives the PLAN.md path as its first argument. Required when plan_bounce is true. Added in v1.36
workflow.plan_bounce_passes number 2 Number of sequential bounce passes to run. Each pass feeds the previous pass's output back into the validator. Higher values increase rigor at the cost of latency. Added in v1.36
workflow.post_planning_gaps boolean true Unified post-planning gap report (#2493). After all plans are generated and committed, scans REQUIREMENTS.md and CONTEXT.md <decisions> against every PLAN.md in the phase directory, then prints one Source | Item | Status table. Word-boundary matching (REQ-1 vs REQ-10) and natural sort (REQ-02 before REQ-10). Non-blocking — informational report only. Set to false to skip Step 13e of plan-phase.
workflow.plan_review_convergence boolean false Enable the /gsd-plan-review-convergence command. Disabled by default — the command exits with an enable instruction when this key is false. The command automates the manual plan→review→replan loop: it spawns configured reviewers (Codex, Gemini, Claude, OpenCode, Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp), counts unresolved HIGH concerns via the CYCLE_SUMMARY contract, replans with --reviews feedback, and repeats until converged or max cycles reached. Enable with gsd config-set workflow.plan_review_convergence true. Added in v1.39
workflow.plan_chunked boolean false Enable chunked planning mode. When true (or when --chunked flag is passed to /gsd-plan-phase), the orchestrator splits the single long-lived planner Task into a short outline Task followed by N short per-plan Tasks (~3-5 min each). Each plan is committed individually for crash resilience. If a Task hangs and the terminal is force-killed, rerunning with --chunked resumes from the last completed plan. Particularly useful on Windows where long-lived Tasks may hang on stdio. Added in v1.38
workflow.code_review_command string (none) Shell command for external code review integration in /gsd-ship. Receives changed file paths via stdin. Non-zero exit blocks the ship workflow. Added in v1.36
workflow.tdd_mode boolean false Enable TDD pipeline as a first-class execution mode. When true, the planner aggressively applies type: tdd to eligible tasks (business logic, APIs, validations, algorithms) and the executor enforces RED/GREEN/REFACTOR gate sequence. An end-of-phase collaborative review checkpoint verifies gate compliance. Added in v1.36
workflow.cross_ai_execution boolean false Delegate phase execution to an external AI CLI instead of spawning local executor agents. Useful for leveraging a different model's strengths for specific phases. Added in v1.36
workflow.cross_ai_command string (none) Shell command template for cross-AI execution. Receives the phase prompt via stdin. Must produce SUMMARY.md-compatible output. Required when cross_ai_execution is true. Added in v1.36
workflow.cross_ai_timeout number 300 Timeout in seconds for cross-AI execution commands. Prevents runaway external processes. Added in v1.36
workflow.ai_integration_phase boolean true Enable the /gsd-ai-integration-phase command. When false, the command exits with a configuration gate message
workflow.auto_prune_state boolean false When true, automatically prune stale entries from STATE.md at phase boundaries instead of prompting
workflow.pattern_mapper boolean true Run the gsd-pattern-mapper agent between research and planning to map new files to existing codebase analogs
workflow.subagent_timeout number 600 Timeout in seconds for individual subagent invocations. Increase for long-running research or execution phases
workflow.inline_plan_threshold number 3 Maximum number of tasks in a phase before the planner generates a separate PLAN.md file instead of inlining tasks in the prompt
workflow.drift_threshold number 3 Minimum number of new structural elements (new directories, barrel exports, migrations, route modules) introduced during a phase before the post-execute codebase-drift gate takes action. See #2003. Added in v1.39
workflow.drift_action string warn What to do when workflow.drift_threshold is exceeded after /gsd-execute-phase. warn prints a message suggesting /gsd-map-codebase --paths …; auto-remap spawns gsd-codebase-mapper scoped to the affected paths. Added in v1.39
workflow.build_command string (none) Shell command to build the project in the post-merge build gate (Step A of step 5.6 in execute-phase). When unset, the gate auto-detects: Xcode (.xcodeproj present) → xcodebuild build, Makefile with build: target → make build, Justfile → just build, Cargo.tomlcargo build, go.modgo build ./..., Python → python -m py_compile, package.json with build script → npm run build. Runs with a 5-minute timeout; failure increments WAVE_FAILURE_COUNT. Added in v1.39
workflow.test_command string (none) Shell command to run the project's test suite in the post-merge test gate (Step B of step 5.6 in execute-phase) and the regression gate. When unset, the gate auto-detects: Xcode (.xcodeproj present) → xcodebuild test, Makefile with test: target → make test, Justfile → just test, package.jsonnpm test, Cargo.tomlcargo test, go.modgo test ./..., Python → python -m pytest. Runs with a 5-minute timeout; failure increments WAVE_FAILURE_COUNT. Added in v1.39
Scenario mode granularity profile research plan_check verifier
Prototyping yolo coarse budget false false false
Normal development interactive standard balanced true true true
Production release interactive fine quality true true true

Planning Settings

Setting Type Default Description
planning.commit_docs boolean true Whether .planning/ files are committed to git
planning.search_gitignored boolean false Add --no-ignore to broad searches to include .planning/
planning.sub_repos array of strings [] Paths of nested sub-repos relative to the project root. When set, GSD-aware tooling scopes phase-lookup, path-resolution, and commit operations per sub-repo instead of treating the outer repo as a monorepo

Project-Root Resolution in Multi-Repo Workspaces

When sub_repos is set and gsd-tools.cjs or gsd-sdk query is invoked from inside a listed child repo, both CLIs walk up to the parent workspace that owns .planning/ before dispatching handlers. Resolution order (checked at each ancestor up to 10 levels, never above $HOME):

  1. If the starting directory already has its own .planning/, it is the project root (no walk-up).
  2. Parent has .planning/config.json listing the starting directory's top-level segment in sub_repos (or the legacy planning.sub_repos shape).
  3. Parent has .planning/config.json with legacy multiRepo: true and the starting directory is inside a git repo.
  4. Parent has .planning/ and an ancestor up to the candidate parent contains .git (heuristic fallback).

If none match, the starting directory is returned unchanged. Explicit --project-dir /path/to/workspace is idempotent under this resolution.

Auto-Detection

If .planning/ is in .gitignore, commit_docs is automatically false regardless of config.json. This prevents git errors.


Hook Settings

Setting Type Default Description
hooks.context_warnings boolean true Show context window usage warnings via context monitor hook
hooks.workflow_guard boolean false Warn when file edits happen outside GSD workflow context (advises using /gsd-quick or /gsd-fast)
statusline.show_last_command boolean false Append last: /<cmd> suffix to the statusline showing the most recently invoked slash command. Opt-in; reads the active session transcript to extract the latest <command-name> tag (closes #2538)

The prompt injection guard hook (gsd-prompt-guard.js) is always active and cannot be disabled — it's a security feature, not a workflow toggle.

Private Planning Setup

To keep planning artifacts out of git:

  1. Set planning.commit_docs: false and planning.search_gitignored: true
  2. Add .planning/ to .gitignore
  3. If previously tracked: git rm -r --cached .planning/ && git commit -m "chore: stop tracking planning docs"

Agent Skills Injection

Inject custom skill files into GSD subagent prompts. Skills are read by agents at spawn time, giving them project-specific instructions beyond what CLAUDE.md provides.

Setting Type Default Description
agent_skills object {} Map of agent types to skill directory paths

Configuration

Add an agent_skills section to .planning/config.json mapping agent types to arrays of skill directory paths (relative to project root):

{
  "agent_skills": {
    "gsd-executor": ["skills/testing-standards", "skills/api-conventions"],
    "gsd-planner": ["skills/architecture-rules"],
    "gsd-verifier": ["skills/acceptance-criteria"]
  }
}

Each path must be a directory containing a SKILL.md file. Paths are validated for safety (no traversal outside project root).

Supported Agent Types

Any GSD agent type can receive skills. Common types:

  • gsd-executor -- executes implementation plans
  • gsd-planner -- creates phase plans
  • gsd-checker -- verifies plan quality
  • gsd-verifier -- post-execution verification
  • gsd-researcher -- phase research
  • gsd-project-researcher -- new-project research
  • gsd-debugger -- diagnostic agents
  • gsd-codebase-mapper -- codebase analysis
  • gsd-advisor -- discuss-phase advisors
  • gsd-ui-researcher -- UI design contract creation
  • gsd-ui-checker -- UI spec verification
  • gsd-roadmapper -- roadmap creation
  • gsd-synthesizer -- research synthesis

How It Works

At spawn time, workflows call gsd-sdk query agent-skills <type> (or legacy node gsd-tools.cjs agent-skills <type>) to load configured skills. If skills exist for the agent type, they are injected as an <agent_skills> block in the Task() prompt:

<agent_skills>
Read these user-configured skills:
- @skills/testing-standards/SKILL.md
- @skills/api-conventions/SKILL.md
</agent_skills>

If no skills are configured, the block is omitted (zero overhead).

CLI

Set skills via the CLI:

gsd-sdk query config-set agent_skills.gsd-executor '["skills/my-skill"]'

Feature Flags

Toggle optional capabilities via the features.* config namespace. Feature flags default to false (disabled) — enabling a flag opts into new behavior without affecting existing workflows.

Setting Type Default Description
features.thinking_partner boolean false Enable thinking partner analysis at workflow decision points
features.global_learnings boolean false Enable cross-project learnings pipeline (auto-copy at phase completion, planner injection)
learnings.max_inject number 10 Maximum number of cross-project learnings injected into each planner prompt. Lower values reduce prompt size; higher values provide broader historical context
intel.enabled boolean false Enable queryable codebase intelligence system. When true, /gsd-map-codebase --query commands build and query a JSON index in .planning/intel/. Added in v1.34

Graphify Settings

Setting Type Default Description
graphify.enabled boolean false Enable the project knowledge graph. When true, /gsd-graphify builds and queries a graph in .planning/graphs/. Added in v1.36
graphify.build_timeout number (seconds) 300 Maximum seconds allowed for a /gsd-graphify build run before it aborts. Added in v1.36

Multi-developer setup

If multiple developers will rebuild the graph in the same repo, run once per clone after enabling graphify:

graphify hook install

This installs a git merge driver that union-merges concurrent graph.json writes (no conflict markers in the knowledge graph), plus the post-commit rebuild hook. It writes .gitattributes and registers graphify merge-driver in .git/config. Solo projects can skip this step; running it anyway is harmless. Introduced upstream in graphify v0.7.0 alongside the built_at_commit freshness signal that /gsd-graphify status surfaces.

Commit-based staleness

/gsd-graphify status reports two orthogonal staleness signals:

  • stale (mtime-based, 24-hour window) — when the graph file was last written. Useful when graphify isn't run automatically.
  • commit_stale (commit-based, requires graphify v0.7+) — whether the graph was built against the current git HEAD. Trustworthy when present. Tri-state: true / false / null. null means the signal is unavailable (pre-v0.7 graph, no git, or unreachable commit) — fall back to the mtime flag.

A CI-built graph rebuilt minutes ago against an old checkout will read as fresh on mtime but commit_stale: true. Surface both when answering architecture questions.

Usage

# Enable a feature
gsd-sdk query config-set features.global_learnings true

# Disable a feature
gsd-sdk query config-set features.thinking_partner false

The features.* namespace is a dynamic key pattern — new feature flags can be added without modifying VALID_CONFIG_KEYS. Any key matching features.<name> is accepted by the config system.


Parallelization Settings

Setting Type Default Description
parallelization boolean true Shorthand for parallelization.enabled. Setting parallelization false disables parallel execution without changing other sub-keys
parallelization.enabled boolean true Run independent plans simultaneously
parallelization.plan_level boolean true Parallelize at plan level
parallelization.task_level boolean false Parallelize tasks within a plan
parallelization.skip_checkpoints boolean true Skip checkpoints during parallel execution
parallelization.max_concurrent_agents number 3 Maximum simultaneous agents
parallelization.min_plans_for_parallel number 2 Minimum plans to trigger parallel execution

Pre-commit hooks and parallel execution: When parallelization is enabled, executor agents commit with --no-verify to avoid build lock contention (e.g., cargo lock fights in Rust projects). The orchestrator validates hooks once after each wave completes. STATE.md writes are protected by file-level locking to prevent concurrent write corruption. If you need hooks to run per-commit, set parallelization.enabled: false.


STATE.md Frontmatter (Phase Lifecycle)

STATE.md carries YAML frontmatter that the status-line hook reads on every render. v1.40 adds four optional phase-lifecycle fields read by parseStateMd() and rendered by formatGsdState():

Field Type Purpose
active_phase string (e.g. "4.5") Phase number when an orchestrator command is in flight
next_action string Recommended next command when idle (discuss-phase / plan-phase / execute-phase / verify-phase)
next_phases YAML flow array Phases the next_action applies to (e.g. ["4.5"])
progress block Nested total_phases / completed_phases / percent for the milestone progress bar

All four fields are optional and additive — STATE.md files without them keep rendering exactly as in v1.38.x. See STATE-MD-LIFECYCLE.md for the full field reference, parser constraints, and rendering scenes.


Git Branching

Setting Type Default Description
git.branching_strategy enum none none, phase, or milestone
git.base_branch string main The integration branch that phase/milestone branches are created from and merged back into. Override when your repo uses master or a release branch
git.phase_branch_template string gsd/phase-{phase}-{slug} Branch name template for phase strategy
git.milestone_branch_template string gsd/{milestone}-{slug} Branch name template for milestone strategy
git.quick_branch_template string or null null Optional branch name template for /gsd-quick tasks

Strategy Comparison

Strategy Creates Branch Scope Merge Point Best For
none Never N/A N/A Solo development, simple projects
phase At execute-phase start One phase User merges after phase Code review per phase, granular rollback
milestone At first execute-phase All phases in milestone At complete-milestone Release branches, PR per version

Template Variables

Variable Available In Example
{phase} phase_branch_template 03 (zero-padded)
{slug} Both templates user-authentication (lowercase, hyphenated)
{milestone} milestone_branch_template v1.0
{num} / {quick} quick_branch_template 260317-abc (quick task ID)

Example quick-task branching:

"git": {
  "quick_branch_template": "gsd/quick-{num}-{slug}"
}

Merge Options at Milestone Completion

Option Git Command Result
Squash merge (recommended) git merge --squash Single clean commit per branch
Merge with history git merge --no-ff Preserves all individual commits
Delete without merging git branch -D Discard branch work
Keep branches (none) Manual handling later

Gate Settings

Control confirmation prompts during workflows.

Setting Type Default Description
gates.confirm_project boolean true Confirm project details before finalizing
gates.confirm_phases boolean true Confirm phase breakdown
gates.confirm_roadmap boolean true Confirm roadmap before proceeding
gates.confirm_breakdown boolean true Confirm task breakdown
gates.confirm_plan boolean true Confirm each plan before execution
gates.execute_next_plan boolean true Confirm before executing next plan
gates.issues_review boolean true Review issues before creating fix plans
gates.confirm_transition boolean true Confirm phase transition

Safety Settings

Setting Type Default Description
safety.always_confirm_destructive boolean true Confirm destructive operations (deletes, overwrites)
safety.always_confirm_external_services boolean true Confirm external service interactions

Security Settings

Settings for the security enforcement feature (v1.31). All follow the absent = enabled pattern. These keys live under workflow.* in .planning/config.json — matching the shipped template and the runtime reads in workflows/plan-phase.md, workflows/execute-phase.md, workflows/secure-phase.md, and workflows/verify-work.md.

These keys live under workflow.* — that is where the workflows and installer write and read them. Setting them at the top level of config.json is silently ignored.

Setting Type Default Description
workflow.security_enforcement boolean true Enable threat-model-anchored security verification via /gsd-secure-phase. When false, security checks are skipped entirely
workflow.security_asvs_level number (1-3) 1 OWASP ASVS verification level. Level 1 = opportunistic, Level 2 = standard, Level 3 = comprehensive
workflow.security_block_on string "high" Minimum severity that blocks phase advancement. Options: "high", "medium", "low"

Decision Coverage Gates (workflow.context_coverage_gate)

When discuss-phase writes implementation decisions into CONTEXT.md <decisions>, two gates ensure those decisions survive the trip into plans and shipped code (issue #2492).

Setting Type Default Description
workflow.context_coverage_gate boolean true Toggle for both decision-coverage gates. When false, both the plan-phase translation gate and the verify-phase validation gate skip silently.

What the gates do

Plan-phase translation gate (BLOCKING). Runs immediately after the existing requirements coverage gate, before plans are committed. For each trackable decision in <decisions>, it checks that the decision id (D-NN) or its text appears in at least one plan's must_haves, truths, or body. A miss surfaces the missing decision by id and refuses to mark the phase planned.

Verify-phase validation gate (NON-BLOCKING). Runs alongside the other verify steps. Searches every shipped artifact (PLAN.md, SUMMARY.md, files modified, recent commit subjects) for each trackable decision. Misses are written to VERIFICATION.md as a warning section but do not flip the overall verification status. The asymmetry is deliberate — by verify time the work is done, and a fuzzy substring miss should not fail an otherwise green phase.

How to write decisions the gates accept

The discuss-phase template already produces D-NN-numbered decisions. The gate is happiest when:

  1. Every plan that implements a decision cites the id somewhere — must_haves.truths: ["D-12: bit offsets exposed"] or a D-12: mention in the plan body. Strict id match is the cheapest, deterministic path.
  2. Soft phrase matching is a fallback for paraphrases — if a 6+-word slice of the decision text appears verbatim in a plan/summary, it counts.

Opt-outs

A decision is not subject to the gates when any of the following apply:

  • It lives under the ### Claude's Discretion heading inside <decisions>.
  • It is tagged [informational], [folded], or [deferred] in its bullet (e.g., - **D-08 [informational]:** Naming style for internal helpers).

Use these escape hatches when a decision genuinely doesn't need plan coverage — implementation discretion, future ideas captured for the record, or items already deferred to a later phase.


Review Settings

Configure per-CLI model selection for /gsd-review. When set, overrides the CLI's default model for that reviewer.

Setting Type Default Description
review.models.gemini string (CLI default) Model used when --gemini reviewer is invoked
review.models.claude string (CLI default) Model used when --claude reviewer is invoked
review.models.codex string (CLI default) Model used when --codex reviewer is invoked
review.models.opencode string (CLI default) Model used when --opencode reviewer is invoked
review.models.qwen string (CLI default) Model used when --qwen reviewer is invoked
review.models.cursor string (CLI default) Model used when --cursor reviewer is invoked
review.models.ollama string (server default) Model name passed to Ollama when --ollama reviewer is invoked. If unset, the first available model reported by the server is used (e.g. llama3). Set to a specific tag: gsd config-set review.models.ollama codellama
review.models.lm_studio string (server default) Model name passed to LM Studio when --lm-studio reviewer is invoked. If unset, the first available model reported by the server is used.
review.models.llama_cpp string (server default) Model name passed to llama.cpp when --llama-cpp reviewer is invoked. If unset, the first model reported by /v1/models is used.
review.ollama_host string http://localhost:11434 Base URL of the Ollama server. Override when running Ollama on a non-default port or remote host: gsd config-set review.ollama_host http://192.168.1.10:11434
review.lm_studio_host string http://localhost:1234 Base URL of the LM Studio local server. Override when using a non-default port.
review.llama_cpp_host string http://localhost:8080 Base URL of the llama.cpp server (llama-server). Override when using a non-default port.

Example

{
  "review": {
    "models": {
      "gemini": "gemini-2.5-pro",
      "qwen": "qwen-max"
    }
  }
}

Falls back to each CLI's configured default when a key is absent. Added in v1.35.0 (#1849).


Manager Passthrough Flags

Configure per-step flags that /gsd-manager appends to each dispatched command. This allows customizing how the manager runs discuss, plan, and execute steps without manual flag entry.

Setting Type Default Description
manager.flags.discuss string (none) Flags appended to discuss-phase commands (e.g., "--auto")
manager.flags.plan string (none) Flags appended to plan-phase commands (e.g., "--skip-research")
manager.flags.execute string (none) Flags appended to execute-phase commands (e.g., "--validate")

Example:

{
  "manager": {
    "flags": {
      "discuss": "--auto",
      "plan": "--skip-research",
      "execute": "--validate"
    }
  }
}

Invalid flag tokens are sanitized and logged as warnings. Only recognized GSD flags are passed through.


Model Profiles

Profile Definitions

Agent quality balanced budget inherit
gsd-planner Opus Opus Sonnet Inherit
gsd-roadmapper Opus Sonnet Sonnet Inherit
gsd-executor Opus Sonnet Sonnet Inherit
gsd-phase-researcher Opus Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-project-researcher Opus Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-research-synthesizer Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-debugger Opus Sonnet Sonnet Inherit
gsd-codebase-mapper Sonnet Haiku Haiku Inherit
gsd-verifier Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-plan-checker Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-integration-checker Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-nyquist-auditor Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-pattern-mapper Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-ui-researcher Opus Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-ui-checker Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-ui-auditor Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-doc-writer Opus Sonnet Haiku Inherit
gsd-doc-verifier Sonnet Sonnet Haiku Inherit

All 33 shipped agents have explicit per-profile tier assignments in the catalog (sdk/shared/model-catalog.json). The table above shows a representative subset of the most-used agents. For agents not listed here, model_overrides accepts any shipped agent name. The authoritative profile data is derived from sdk/shared/model-catalog.json via get-shit-done/bin/lib/model-catalog.cjs and sdk/src/model-catalog.ts.

Per-Agent Overrides

Override specific agents without changing the entire profile:

{
  "model_profile": "balanced",
  "model_overrides": {
    "gsd-executor": "opus",
    "gsd-planner": "haiku"
  }
}

Valid override values: opus, sonnet, haiku, inherit, or any fully-qualified model ID (e.g., "openai/o3", "google/gemini-2.5-pro").

model_overrides can be set in either .planning/config.json (per-project) or ~/.gsd/defaults.json (global). Per-project entries win on conflict and non-conflicting global entries are preserved, so you can tune a single agent's model in one repo without re-setting global defaults. This applies uniformly across Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Kilo, and the other supported runtimes. On Codex and OpenCode, the resolved model is embedded into each agent's static config at install time — spawn_agent and OpenCode's task interface do not accept an inline model parameter, so running gsd install <runtime> after editing model_overrides is required for the change to take effect. See issue #2256.

Per-Phase-Type Models (models) — added in v1.41

Express tuning at the phase level (planning, research, execution, verification) without learning the agent taxonomy. Added in #3023.

model_overrides is per-agent (precise but verbose; you have to know that gsd-codebase-mapper is research and gsd-doc-writer is execution). The models block lets you say "Opus for planning and execution, Sonnet for the rest" in two lines:

{
  "model_profile": "balanced",
  "models": {
    "planning": "opus",
    "discuss": "opus",
    "research": "sonnet",
    "execution": "opus",
    "verification": "sonnet",
    "completion": "sonnet"
  },
  "model_overrides": {
    "gsd-codebase-mapper": "haiku"
  }
}

Phase-type → agent mapping

Phase type Agents
planning gsd-planner, gsd-roadmapper, gsd-pattern-mapper
discuss (reserved — no subagent today)
research gsd-phase-researcher, gsd-project-researcher, gsd-research-synthesizer, gsd-codebase-mapper, gsd-ui-researcher
execution gsd-executor, gsd-debugger, gsd-doc-writer
verification gsd-verifier, gsd-plan-checker, gsd-integration-checker, gsd-nyquist-auditor, gsd-ui-checker, gsd-ui-auditor, gsd-doc-verifier
completion (reserved — no subagent today)

discuss and completion are accepted by the schema for forward compatibility; setting them today is a no-op until a subagent maps to them.

Resolution precedence (highest → lowest)

1. model_overrides[<agent>]              ← per-agent; full IDs; targeted exception
2. dynamic_routing.tier_models[<tier>]   ← when enabled (see §Dynamic Routing)
3. models[<phase_type>]                  ← coarse phase-level tier (this section)
4. model_profile (per-agent col)         ← global tier strategy
5. Runtime default                       ← when nothing else applies

The five layers compose top-down: model_profile is the base tier, models[<phase_type>] overrides at the phase level, dynamic_routing (when enabled) escalates per-attempt on soft failure, model_overrides[<agent>] carves per-agent exceptions at the top, and the runtime default applies when nothing else does. In the example above, all five research agents resolve to sonnet except gsd-codebase-mapper, which the per-agent override pins to haiku. dynamic_routing is disabled by default — when off (enabled: false or block omitted), this section's behavior is unchanged from today.

Accepted values

models.<phase_type> accepts only tier aliases:

Value Effect
"opus" / "sonnet" / "haiku" Standard tier — runtime resolution maps to the active runtime's model for that tier
"inherit" Agents in this phase follow the session model (same semantics as model_profile: "inherit")

If you need a fully-qualified model ID ("openai/gpt-5", "google/gemini-2.5-pro"), use model_overrides per agent instead. models.* is intentionally tier-only so the runtime-aware mapping stays correct on Codex / OpenCode / Gemini CLI installs.

When to use which

You want Use
One global tier strategy ("balanced everywhere") model_profile
Coarse phase-level tuning ("Opus for planning") models.<phase_type>
Per-agent precision ("force haiku on the codebase mapper") model_overrides[<agent>]
Full model ID for a specific agent model_overrides[<agent>]: "openai/gpt-5"

Mix freely — the precedence rule above resolves any overlap deterministically.

Validation

config-set rejects unknown phase-types:

$ gsd config-set models.deployment opus
Error: 'models.deployment' is not a valid config key

# Valid:
$ gsd config-set models.research sonnet

Direct edits to .planning/config.json are looser — the resolver simply ignores values it doesn't recognize and falls through to the profile tier — so a typo doesn't silently break tier resolution.

Dynamic Routing with Failure-Tier Escalation (dynamic_routing) — added in v1.41

Start cheap, escalate only when the agent fails the gate. Added in #3024.

dynamic_routing lets you pay for the cheap tier by default and only escalate to the more expensive tier when the orchestrator detects a soft failure (verification inconclusive, plan-check FLAG, etc.).

{
  "dynamic_routing": {
    "enabled": true,
    "tier_models": {
      "light":    "haiku",
      "standard": "sonnet",
      "heavy":    "opus"
    },
    "escalate_on_failure": true,
    "max_escalations": 1
  }
}

Agent default tiers

Each agent in MODEL_PROFILES declares one of three default tiers. The resolver picks tier_models[default_tier] for the first attempt.

Tier Agents Use case
light gsd-codebase-mapper, gsd-doc-classifier, gsd-doc-verifier, gsd-integration-checker, gsd-intel-updater, gsd-nyquist-auditor, gsd-pattern-mapper, gsd-plan-checker, gsd-research-synthesizer, gsd-ui-auditor, gsd-ui-checker Cheap/fast — pure mappers, scanners, low-stakes audits
standard gsd-advisor-researcher, gsd-ai-researcher, gsd-code-fixer, gsd-code-reviewer, gsd-doc-synthesizer, gsd-doc-writer, gsd-domain-researcher, gsd-eval-auditor, gsd-executor, gsd-phase-researcher, gsd-project-researcher, gsd-ui-researcher, gsd-verifier Default workhorse — research, writing, primary verification
heavy gsd-assumptions-analyzer, gsd-debug-session-manager, gsd-debugger, gsd-eval-planner, gsd-framework-selector, gsd-planner, gsd-roadmapper, gsd-security-auditor, gsd-user-profiler Deep reasoning — already at top, can't escalate further

Escalation flow

1. Orchestrator spawns agent → resolver returns tier_models[default_tier]
2. Soft failure?
   ├─ no → ✓ done (cheap path)
   └─ yes → orchestrator re-spawns at attempt+1
            → resolver returns tier_models[next_tier_up]
            → cap at max_escalations
3. Hard failure (exception/crash) → bypass escalation, surface immediately

If dynamic_routing.escalate_on_failure: false, soft failures do not advance the tier — every respawn keeps using tier_models[default_tier] regardless of the attempt counter. The kill-switch overrides the soft-failure branch above.

light → standard → heavy → heavy (heavy stays at heavy; can't go further).

Resolution precedence (highest → lowest)

  1. model_overrides[<agent>] — full IDs accepted; targeted exception
  2. dynamic_routing.tier_models[<tier>] (when enabled: true)
  3. models[<phase_type>] — coarse phase-level (#3023)
  4. model_profile — per-agent column from active profile
  5. Runtime default

The dynamic_routing block is disabled by defaultenabled: false (or omitting the block) preserves today's static resolution exactly.

Settings

Key Type Default Description
dynamic_routing.enabled boolean false Master switch. When true, the dynamic-routing resolver is used for tier selection.
dynamic_routing.tier_models.light enum (none) Tier alias for the light tier. Typically haiku.
dynamic_routing.tier_models.standard enum (none) Tier alias for standard. Typically sonnet.
dynamic_routing.tier_models.heavy enum (none) Tier alias for heavy. Typically opus.
dynamic_routing.escalate_on_failure boolean true When false, escalation is disabled (every attempt uses the default tier).
dynamic_routing.max_escalations integer 1 Hard cap on retries per agent invocation. Prevents runaway loops.

When to use which

You want Use
One tier strategy across all agents model_profile
Coarse phase-level tuning models.<phase_type>
Per-agent precision (full IDs) model_overrides
Cheap-by-default, escalate only on failure dynamic_routing

dynamic_routing is structurally a cost lever: you pay Opus rates only for the hard cases that warrant Opus. Compose with model_overrides for per-agent exceptions (override always wins).

Non-Claude Runtimes (Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Kilo)

When GSD is installed for a non-Claude runtime, the installer automatically sets resolve_model_ids: "omit" in ~/.gsd/defaults.json. This causes GSD to return an empty model parameter for all agents, so each agent uses whatever model the runtime is configured with. No additional setup is needed for the default case.

If you want different agents to use different models, use model_overrides with fully-qualified model IDs that your runtime recognizes:

{
  "resolve_model_ids": "omit",
  "model_overrides": {
    "gsd-planner": "o3",
    "gsd-executor": "o4-mini",
    "gsd-debugger": "o3",
    "gsd-codebase-mapper": "o4-mini"
  }
}

The intent is the same as the Claude profile tiers -- use a stronger model for planning and debugging (where reasoning quality matters most), and a cheaper model for execution and mapping (where the plan already contains the reasoning).

When to use which approach:

Scenario Setting Effect
Non-Claude runtime, single model resolve_model_ids: "omit" (installer default) All agents use the runtime's default model
Non-Claude runtime, tiered models resolve_model_ids: "omit" + model_overrides Named agents use specific models, others use runtime default
Claude Code with OpenRouter/local provider model_profile: "inherit" All agents follow the session model
Claude Code with OpenRouter, tiered model_profile: "inherit" + model_overrides Named agents use specific models, others inherit

resolve_model_ids values:

Value Behavior Use When
false (default) Returns Claude aliases (opus, sonnet, haiku) Claude Code with native Anthropic API
true Maps aliases to full Claude model IDs (claude-opus-4-7) Claude Code with API that requires full IDs
"omit" Returns empty string (runtime picks its default) Non-Claude runtimes (Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Kilo)

Runtime-Aware Profiles (#2517)

When runtime is set, profile tiers (opus/sonnet/haiku) resolve to runtime-native model IDs instead of Claude aliases. This lets a single shared .planning/config.json work cleanly across Claude and Codex.

Built-in tier maps:

Runtime opus sonnet haiku reasoning_effort
claude claude-opus-4-7 claude-sonnet-4-6 claude-haiku-4-5 (not used)
codex gpt-5.4 gpt-5.3-codex gpt-5.4-mini xhigh / medium / medium
gemini gemini-3-pro gemini-3-flash gemini-2.5-flash-lite (not used)
qwen qwen3-max-2026-01-23 qwen3-coder-plus qwen3-coder-next (not used)
opencode anthropic/claude-opus-4-7 anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5 (not used)
copilot claude-opus-4-7 claude-sonnet-4-6 claude-haiku-4-5 (not used)
hermes anthropic/claude-opus-4-7 anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5 (not used)
Group B (kilo, cline, cursor, windsurf, augment, trae, codebuddy, antigravity) (no built-in default — your runtime handles model selection)

Codex example — one config, tiered models, no large model_overrides block:

{
  "runtime": "codex",
  "model_profile": "balanced"
}

This resolves gsd-plannergpt-5.4 (xhigh), gsd-executorgpt-5.3-codex (medium), gsd-codebase-mappergpt-5.4-mini (medium). The Codex installer embeds model = "..." and model_reasoning_effort = "..." in each generated agent TOML.

Claude example — explicit opt-in resolves to full Claude IDs (no resolve_model_ids: true needed):

{
  "runtime": "claude",
  "model_profile": "quality"
}

Per-runtime overrides — replace one or more tier defaults:

{
  "runtime": "codex",
  "model_profile": "quality",
  "model_profile_overrides": {
    "codex": {
      "opus": "gpt-5-pro",
      "haiku": { "model": "gpt-5-nano", "reasoning_effort": "low" }
    }
  }
}

Precedence (highest to lowest):

  1. model_overrides[<agent>] — explicit per-agent ID always wins.
  2. Runtime-aware tier resolution (this section) — when runtime is set and profile is not inherit.
  3. resolve_model_ids: "omit" — returns empty string when no runtime is set.
  4. Claude-native default — model_profile tier as alias (current default).
  5. inherit — propagates literal inherit for Task(model="inherit") semantics.

Backwards compatibility. Setups without runtime set see zero behavior change — every existing config continues to work identically. Codex installs that auto-set resolve_model_ids: "omit" continue to omit the model field unless the user opts in by setting runtime: "codex".

Unknown runtimes. If runtime is set to a value with no built-in tier map and no model_profile_overrides[<runtime>], GSD falls back to the Claude-alias safe default rather than emit a model ID the runtime cannot accept. To support a new runtime, populate model_profile_overrides.<runtime>.{opus,sonnet,haiku} with valid IDs.

Profile Philosophy

Profile Philosophy When to Use
quality Opus for all decision-making, Sonnet for verification Quota available, critical architecture work
balanced Opus for planning only, Sonnet for everything else Normal development (default)
budget Sonnet for code-writing, Haiku for research/verification High-volume work, less critical phases
inherit All agents use current session model Dynamic model switching, non-Anthropic providers (OpenRouter, local models)

Environment Variables

Variable Purpose
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR Override default config directory (~/.claude/)
GEMINI_API_KEY Detected by context monitor to switch hook event name
WSL_DISTRO_NAME Detected by installer for WSL path handling
GSD_SKIP_SCHEMA_CHECK Skip schema drift detection during execute-phase (v1.31)
GSD_PROJECT Override project root for multi-project workspace support (v1.32)

Global Defaults

Save settings as global defaults for future projects:

Location: ~/.gsd/defaults.json

When /gsd-new-project creates a new config.json, it reads global defaults and merges them as the starting configuration. Per-project settings always override globals.