---
name: gsd:quick
description: Execute a quick task with GSD guarantees (atomic commits, state tracking) but skip optional agents
argument-hint: ""
allowed-tools:
- Read
- Write
- Edit
- Glob
- Grep
- Bash
- Task
- AskUserQuestion
---
Execute small, ad-hoc tasks with GSD guarantees (atomic commits, STATE.md tracking) while skipping optional agents (research, plan-checker, verifier).
Quick mode is the same system with a shorter path:
- Spawns gsd-planner (quick mode) + gsd-executor(s)
- Skips gsd-phase-researcher, gsd-plan-checker, gsd-verifier
- Quick tasks live in `.planning/quick/` separate from planned phases
- Updates STATE.md "Quick Tasks Completed" table (NOT ROADMAP.md)
Use when: You know exactly what to do and the task is small enough to not need research or verification.
Orchestration is inline - no separate workflow file. Quick mode is deliberately simpler than full GSD.
@.planning/STATE.md
**Step 1: Pre-flight validation**
Check that an active GSD project exists:
```bash
if [ ! -f .planning/ROADMAP.md ]; then
echo "Quick mode requires an active project with ROADMAP.md."
echo "Run /gsd:new-project first."
exit 1
fi
```
If validation fails, stop immediately with the error message.
Quick tasks can run mid-phase - validation only checks ROADMAP.md exists, not phase status.
---
**Step 2: Get task description**
Prompt user interactively for the task description:
```
AskUserQuestion(
header: "Quick Task",
question: "What do you want to do?",
followUp: null
)
```
Store response as `$DESCRIPTION`.
If empty, re-prompt: "Please provide a task description."
Generate slug from description:
```bash
slug=$(echo "$DESCRIPTION" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]/-/g' | sed 's/--*/-/g' | sed 's/^-//;s/-$//' | cut -c1-40)
```
---
**Step 3: Calculate next quick task number**
Ensure `.planning/quick/` directory exists and find the next sequential number:
```bash
# Ensure .planning/quick/ exists
mkdir -p .planning/quick
# Find highest existing number and increment
last=$(ls -1d .planning/quick/[0-9][0-9][0-9]-* 2>/dev/null | sort -r | head -1 | xargs -I{} basename {} | grep -oE '^[0-9]+')
if [ -z "$last" ]; then
next_num="001"
else
next_num=$(printf "%03d" $((10#$last + 1)))
fi
```
---
**Step 4: Create quick task directory**
Create the directory for this quick task:
```bash
QUICK_DIR=".planning/quick/${next_num}-${slug}"
mkdir -p "$QUICK_DIR"
```
Report to user:
```
Creating quick task ${next_num}: ${DESCRIPTION}
Directory: ${QUICK_DIR}
```
Store `$QUICK_DIR` for use in orchestration.
---
**Step 5: Spawn planner (quick mode)**
Spawn gsd-planner with quick mode context:
```
Task(
prompt="
**Mode:** quick
**Directory:** ${QUICK_DIR}
**Description:** ${DESCRIPTION}
**Project State:**
@.planning/STATE.md
- Create a SINGLE plan with 1-3 focused tasks
- Quick tasks should be atomic and self-contained
- No research phase, no checker phase
- Target ~30% context usage (simple, focused)
",
subagent_type="gsd-planner",
description="Quick plan: ${DESCRIPTION}"
)
```
After planner returns:
1. Verify PLAN.md exists at `${QUICK_DIR}/PLAN.md`
2. Extract plan count (typically 1 for quick tasks)
3. Report: "Plan created: ${QUICK_DIR}/PLAN.md"
If PLAN.md not found, error: "Planner failed to create PLAN.md"
---
**Step 6: Spawn executor**
Spawn gsd-executor with plan reference:
```
Task(
prompt="
Execute quick task ${next_num}.
Plan: @${QUICK_DIR}/PLAN.md
Project state: @.planning/STATE.md
- Execute all tasks in the plan
- Commit each task atomically
- Create SUMMARY.md in the quick task directory
- Do NOT update ROADMAP.md (quick tasks are separate from planned phases)
",
subagent_type="gsd-executor",
description="Execute: ${DESCRIPTION}"
)
```
After executor returns:
1. Verify SUMMARY.md exists at `${QUICK_DIR}/SUMMARY.md`
2. Extract commit hash from executor output
3. Report completion status
If SUMMARY.md not found, error: "Executor failed to create SUMMARY.md"
Note: For quick tasks producing multiple plans (rare), spawn executors in parallel waves per execute-phase patterns.
---
**Step 7: Update STATE.md**
Update STATE.md with quick task completion record.
**7a. Check if "Quick Tasks Completed" section exists:**
Read STATE.md and check for `### Quick Tasks Completed` section.
**7b. If section doesn't exist, create it:**
Insert after `### Blockers/Concerns` section:
```markdown
### Quick Tasks Completed
| # | Description | Date | Commit | Directory |
|---|-------------|------|--------|-----------|
```
**7c. Append new row to table:**
```markdown
| ${next_num} | ${DESCRIPTION} | $(date +%Y-%m-%d) | ${commit_hash} | [${next_num}-${slug}](./quick/${next_num}-${slug}/) |
```
**7d. Update "Last activity" line:**
Find and update the line:
```
Last activity: $(date +%Y-%m-%d) - Completed quick task ${next_num}: ${DESCRIPTION}
```
Use Edit tool to make these changes atomically
---
**Step 8: Final commit and completion**
Stage and commit quick task artifacts:
```bash
# Stage quick task artifacts
git add ${QUICK_DIR}/PLAN.md
git add ${QUICK_DIR}/SUMMARY.md
git add .planning/STATE.md
# Commit with quick task format
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
docs(quick-${next_num}): ${DESCRIPTION}
Quick task completed.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5
EOF
)"
```
Get final commit hash:
```bash
commit_hash=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
```
Display completion output:
```
---
GSD > QUICK TASK COMPLETE
Quick Task ${next_num}: ${DESCRIPTION}
Summary: ${QUICK_DIR}/SUMMARY.md
Commit: ${commit_hash}
---
Ready for next task: /gsd:quick
```
- [ ] ROADMAP.md validation passes
- [ ] User provides task description
- [ ] Slug generated (lowercase, hyphens, max 40 chars)
- [ ] Next number calculated (001, 002, 003...)
- [ ] Directory created at `.planning/quick/NNN-slug/`
- [ ] PLAN.md created by planner
- [ ] SUMMARY.md created by executor
- [ ] STATE.md updated with quick task row
- [ ] Artifacts committed