From 8d977328e44fdc10f6a42c7201c171d64cb65af3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Lex Christopherson <lex@glittercowboy.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:35:39 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] fix(tools): write large JSON payloads to tmpfile to prevent
 truncation (closes #493)

When init commands include many file contents (state, roadmap, requirements,
etc.), the JSON output can exceed Claude Code's Bash tool buffer (~50KB),
causing parse errors. The output() function now auto-detects large payloads
and writes to a tmpfile, returning @file:/path instead. All workflows that
consume init output handle both formats.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs         | 11 ++++++++++-
 get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md | 10 +++++++++-
 get-shit-done/workflows/plan-phase.md   | 10 +++++++++-
 get-shit-done/workflows/progress.md     | 10 +++++++++-
 4 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs b/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
index 4ebff20ac..a3f225a76 100755
--- a/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
+++ b/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
@@ -468,7 +468,16 @@ function output(result, raw, rawValue) {
   if (raw && rawValue !== undefined) {
     process.stdout.write(String(rawValue));
   } else {
-    process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(result, null, 2));
+    const json = JSON.stringify(result, null, 2);
+    // Large payloads exceed Claude Code's Bash tool buffer (~50KB).
+    // Write to tmpfile and output the path prefixed with @file: so callers can detect it.
+    if (json.length > 50000) {
+      const tmpPath = path.join(require('os').tmpdir(), `gsd-${Date.now()}.json`);
+      fs.writeFileSync(tmpPath, json, 'utf-8');
+      process.stdout.write('@file:' + tmpPath);
+    } else {
+      process.stdout.write(json);
+    }
   }
   process.exit(0);
 }
diff --git a/get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md b/get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md
index 7a489adbd..b6bfcc16d 100644
--- a/get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md
+++ b/get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md
@@ -15,7 +15,15 @@ Read config.json for planning behavior settings.
 Load execution context (uses `init execute-phase` for full context, including file contents):
 
 ```bash
-INIT=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init execute-phase "${PHASE}" --include state,config)
+INIT_RAW=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init execute-phase "${PHASE}" --include state,config)
+# Large payloads are written to a tmpfile — output starts with @file:/path
+if [[ "$INIT_RAW" == @file:* ]]; then
+  INIT_FILE="${INIT_RAW#@file:}"
+  INIT=$(cat "$INIT_FILE")
+  rm -f "$INIT_FILE"
+else
+  INIT="$INIT_RAW"
+fi
 ```
 
 Extract from init JSON: `executor_model`, `commit_docs`, `phase_dir`, `phase_number`, `plans`, `summaries`, `incomplete_plans`.
diff --git a/get-shit-done/workflows/plan-phase.md b/get-shit-done/workflows/plan-phase.md
index 987ced402..930aac30a 100644
--- a/get-shit-done/workflows/plan-phase.md
+++ b/get-shit-done/workflows/plan-phase.md
@@ -15,7 +15,15 @@ Read all files referenced by the invoking prompt's execution_context before star
 Load all context in one call (include file contents to avoid redundant reads):
 
 ```bash
-INIT=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init plan-phase "$PHASE" --include state,roadmap,requirements,context,research,verification,uat)
+INIT_RAW=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init plan-phase "$PHASE" --include state,roadmap,requirements,context,research,verification,uat)
+# Large payloads are written to a tmpfile — output starts with @file:/path
+if [[ "$INIT_RAW" == @file:* ]]; then
+  INIT_FILE="${INIT_RAW#@file:}"
+  INIT=$(cat "$INIT_FILE")
+  rm -f "$INIT_FILE"
+else
+  INIT="$INIT_RAW"
+fi
 ```
 
 Parse JSON for: `researcher_model`, `planner_model`, `checker_model`, `research_enabled`, `plan_checker_enabled`, `commit_docs`, `phase_found`, `phase_dir`, `phase_number`, `phase_name`, `phase_slug`, `padded_phase`, `has_research`, `has_context`, `has_plans`, `plan_count`, `planning_exists`, `roadmap_exists`.
diff --git a/get-shit-done/workflows/progress.md b/get-shit-done/workflows/progress.md
index 8c70ebf42..12ae46e58 100644
--- a/get-shit-done/workflows/progress.md
+++ b/get-shit-done/workflows/progress.md
@@ -12,7 +12,15 @@ Read all files referenced by the invoking prompt's execution_context before star
 **Load progress context (with file contents to avoid redundant reads):**
 
 ```bash
-INIT=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init progress --include state,roadmap,project,config)
+INIT_RAW=$(node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs init progress --include state,roadmap,project,config)
+# Large payloads are written to a tmpfile — output starts with @file:/path
+if [[ "$INIT_RAW" == @file:* ]]; then
+  INIT_FILE="${INIT_RAW#@file:}"
+  INIT=$(cat "$INIT_FILE")
+  rm -f "$INIT_FILE"
+else
+  INIT="$INIT_RAW"
+fi
 ```
 
 Extract from init JSON: `project_exists`, `roadmap_exists`, `state_exists`, `phases`, `current_phase`, `next_phase`, `milestone_version`, `completed_count`, `phase_count`, `paused_at`.