msd-core/get-shit-done/workflows/transition.md

<required_reading> Read these files NOW:

1. .planning/STATE.md
2. .planning/ROADMAP.md
3. Current phase's plan files (*-PLAN.md)
4. Current phase's summary files (*-SUMMARY.md) </required_reading>

Mark current phase complete and advance to next. This is the natural point where progress tracking happens - implicit via forward motion.

"Planning next phase" = "current phase is done"

Before transition, read project state:

cat .planning/STATE.md 2>/dev/null

Parse current position to verify we're transitioning the right phase. Note accumulated context that may need updating after transition.

Check current phase has all plan summaries:

ls .planning/phases/XX-current/*-PLAN.md 2>/dev/null | sort
ls .planning/phases/XX-current/*-SUMMARY.md 2>/dev/null | sort

Verification logic:

• Count PLAN files
• Count SUMMARY files
• If counts match: all plans complete
• If counts don't match: incomplete

Check workflow config for gate behavior:

cat .planning/config.json 2>/dev/null

Parse the config:

• If mode: "yolo" → auto-approve transition (if all complete)
• If mode: "interactive" → prompt user
• If mode: "custom" → check gates.confirm_transition

If all plans complete:

If auto-approved:

⚡ Auto-approved: Transition Phase [X] → Phase [X+1]
Phase [X] complete - all [Y] plans finished.

Proceeding to mark done and advance...

Proceed directly to cleanup_handoff.

If prompting: Ask: "Phase [X] complete - all [Y] plans finished. Ready to mark done and move to Phase [X+1]?"

If plans incomplete:

SAFETY RAIL: always_confirm_destructive applies here. Skipping incomplete plans is destructive - ALWAYS prompt regardless of mode.

Present:

Phase [X] has incomplete plans:
- {phase}-01-SUMMARY.md ✓ Complete
- {phase}-02-SUMMARY.md ✗ Missing
- {phase}-03-SUMMARY.md ✗ Missing

⚠️ Safety rail: Skipping plans requires confirmation (destructive action)

Options:
1. Continue current phase (execute remaining plans)
2. Mark complete anyway (skip remaining plans)
3. Review what's left

Wait for user decision.

Check for lingering handoffs:

ls .planning/phases/XX-current/.continue-here*.md 2>/dev/null

If found, delete them - phase is complete, handoffs are stale.

Update the roadmap file:

ROADMAP_FILE=".planning/ROADMAP.md"

Update the file:

• Mark current phase: [x] Complete
• Add completion date
• Update plan count to final (e.g., "3/3 plans complete")
• Update Progress table
• Keep next phase as [ ] Not started

Example:

## Phases

- [x] Phase 1: Foundation (completed 2025-01-15)
- [ ] Phase 2: Authentication ← Next
- [ ] Phase 3: Core Features

## Progress

| Phase             | Plans Complete | Status      | Completed  |
| ----------------- | -------------- | ----------- | ---------- |
| 1. Foundation     | 3/3            | Complete    | 2025-01-15 |
| 2. Authentication | 0/2            | Not started | -          |
| 3. Core Features  | 0/1            | Not started | -          |

If prompts were generated for the phase, they stay in place. The `completed/` subfolder pattern from create-meta-prompts handles archival. Update Current Position section in STATE.md to reflect phase completion and transition.

Format:

Phase: [next] of [total] ([Next phase name])
Plan: Not started
Status: Ready to plan
Last activity: [today] - Phase [X] complete, transitioned to Phase [X+1]

Progress: [updated progress bar]

Instructions:

• Increment phase number to next phase
• Reset plan to "Not started"
• Set status to "Ready to plan"
• Update last activity to describe transition
• Recalculate progress bar based on completed plans

Example - transitioning from Phase 2 to Phase 3:

Before:

## Current Position

Phase: 2 of 4 (Authentication)
Plan: 2 of 2 in current phase
Status: Phase complete
Last activity: 2025-01-20 - Completed 02-02-PLAN.md

Progress: ███████░░░ 60%

After:

## Current Position

Phase: 3 of 4 (Core Features)
Plan: Not started
Status: Ready to plan
Last activity: 2025-01-20 - Phase 2 complete, transitioned to Phase 3

Progress: ███████░░░ 60%

Step complete when:

• Phase number incremented to next phase
• Plan status reset to "Not started"
• Status shows "Ready to plan"
• Last activity describes the transition
• Progress bar still reflects total completed plans

Review and update Accumulated Context section in STATE.md.

Blockers/Concerns:

• Review blockers from completed phase
• If addressed in this phase: Remove from list
• If still relevant for future: Keep with note "Carried from Phase X"
• Add any new concerns from completed phase's summaries

Deferred Issues:

• Count open issues in ISSUES.md
• Update count: "[N] open issues - see ISSUES.md"
• If many accumulated, note: "Consider addressing ISS-XXX, ISS-YYY in next phase"

Example:

Before:

### Blockers/Concerns Carried Forward

- ⚠️ [Phase 1] Database schema not indexed for common queries
- ⚠️ [Phase 2] WebSocket reconnection behavior on flaky networks unknown

### Deferred Issues

- ISS-001: Rate limiting on sync endpoint (Phase 2) - Medium

After (if database indexing was addressed in Phase 2):

### Blockers/Concerns Carried Forward

- ⚠️ [Phase 2] WebSocket reconnection behavior on flaky networks unknown

### Deferred Issues

- ISS-001: Rate limiting on sync endpoint (Phase 2) - Medium
- ISS-002: Better sync error messages (Phase 2) - Quick

Step complete when:

• Resolved blockers removed from list
• Unresolved blockers kept with phase prefix
• New concerns from completed phase added
• Deferred issues count updated

Perform brief alignment check after phase completion to verify work matches original vision.

Instructions:

1. Re-read PROJECT.md core requirements
2. Assess what was built in completed phase
3. Compare against project's problem statement and success criteria
4. Determine alignment status:
   • ✓ Aligned: Work delivers on project goals, no scope drift
   • ⚠️ Drift detected: Some divergence from original vision
   • ✗ Misaligned: Work doesn't serve the project

Format:

## Brief Alignment

Last checked: [today] (Phase [X] completion)
Status: [✓ Aligned / ⚠️ Drift detected / ✗ Misaligned]
Assessment: [One sentence describing alignment state]
Drift notes: [Details if drift detected, otherwise "None"]

Example - transitioning after Phase 2 completion:

Before:

## Brief Alignment

Last checked: Project start
Status: ✓ Aligned
Assessment: No work done yet - baseline alignment.
Drift notes: None

After:

## Brief Alignment

Last checked: 2025-01-20 (Phase 2 completion)
Status: ✓ Aligned
Assessment: Auth phase delivered JWT-based authentication as specified. Sync phase next aligns with project's real-time requirements.
Drift notes: None

Alternative example - drift detected:

After (with drift):

## Brief Alignment

Last checked: 2025-01-20 (Phase 2 completion)
Status: ⚠️ Drift detected
Assessment: Auth phase added OAuth2 support beyond project's JWT requirement.
Drift notes: OAuth2 adds complexity not in original scope. Consider if this serves user needs or gold-plating.

Step complete when:

• PROJECT.md core requirements reviewed
• Completed phase work assessed against project goals
• Last checked updated to current date with phase reference
• Status reflects actual alignment (Aligned/Drift/Misaligned)
• Assessment explains the alignment state in one sentence
• Drift notes document any divergence from project goals

Update Session Continuity section in STATE.md to reflect transition completion.

Format:

Last session: [today]
Stopped at: Phase [X] complete, ready to plan Phase [X+1]
Resume file: None

Example - after completing Phase 2 transition:

Before:

## Session Continuity

Last session: 2025-01-20
Stopped at: Completed 02-02-PLAN.md
Resume file: None

After:

## Session Continuity

Last session: 2025-01-20 16:45
Stopped at: Phase 2 complete, ready to plan Phase 3
Resume file: None

Step complete when:

• Last session timestamp updated to current date and time
• Stopped at describes phase completion and next phase
• Resume file confirmed as None (transitions don't use resume files)

**Check if there's a next phase in the current milestone:**

Re-read the ROADMAP file:

• Parse current milestone version (e.g., "v1.0" from "## Current Milestone: v1.0 Foundation")
• Look for phases after the current one in the current milestone section
• If next phase exists: offer to plan it
• If no next phase (milestone 100% complete): offer to complete milestone with parsed version

Check workflow config for gate behavior:

Read config (already parsed).

• If mode: "yolo" → auto-continue
• If mode: "interactive" → prompt user
• If mode: "custom" → check gates.confirm_transition (reused for continuation)

If next phase exists:

If auto-approved:

Phase [X] marked complete.

Next: Phase [X+1] - [Name]

⚡ Auto-continuing: Plan Phase [X+1] in detail

Exit skill and invoke SlashCommand("/gsd:plan-phase [X+1]")

If prompting:

Phase [X] marked complete.

Next: Phase [X+1] - [Name]

What would you like to do?
1. Discuss Phase [X+1] context (/gsd:discuss-phase [X+1])
2. Plan Phase [X+1] in detail (/gsd:plan-phase [X+1])
3. Review roadmap
4. Take a break (done for now)

If no next phase (milestone 100% complete):

If auto-approved:

Phase [X] marked complete.

🎉 Milestone [version] is 100% complete - all phases finished!

⚡ Auto-continuing: Complete milestone and archive

Exit skill and invoke SlashCommand("/gsd:complete-milestone [version]")

If prompting:

Phase [X] marked complete.

🎉 Milestone [version] is 100% complete - all phases finished!

What would you like to do?
1. Complete milestone and archive (/gsd:complete-milestone [version])
2. Review accomplishments
3. Take a break (done for now)

<implicit_tracking> Progress tracking is IMPLICIT:

• "Plan phase 2" → Phase 1 must be done (or ask)
• "Plan phase 3" → Phases 1-2 must be done (or ask)
• Transition workflow makes it explicit in ROADMAP.md

No separate "update progress" step. Forward motion IS progress. </implicit_tracking>

<partial_completion> If user wants to move on but phase isn't fully complete:

Phase [X] has incomplete plans:
- {phase}-02-PLAN.md (not executed)
- {phase}-03-PLAN.md (not executed)

Options:
1. Mark complete anyway (plans weren't needed)
2. Defer work to later phase
3. Stay and finish current phase

Respect user judgment - they know if work matters.

If marking complete with incomplete plans:

• Update ROADMAP: "2/3 plans complete" (not "3/3")
• Note in transition message which plans were skipped </partial_completion>

<success_criteria> Transition is complete when:

• Current phase plan summaries verified (all exist or user chose to skip)
• Any stale handoffs deleted
• ROADMAP.md updated with completion status and plan count
• STATE.md updated (position, blockers, alignment, session)
• Brief alignment check performed
• Progress table updated
• User knows next steps </success_criteria>