msd-core/get-shit-done/workflows/execute-plan.md

Execute a phase prompt (PLAN.md) and create the outcome summary (SUMMARY.md).

<required_reading> Read STATE.md before any operation to load project context. Read config.json for planning behavior settings.

@~/.claude/get-shit-done/references/git-integration.md </required_reading>

<atomic_close_out_invariant> For each executed plan, the only complete close-out order is: production-code commit(s) -> SUMMARY commit -> STATE/ROADMAP update.

The only legal half-state is mid-production-commits while the executor is still actively working. Once production commits for a plan exist, returning without a committed SUMMARY.md is an illegal partial-plan state. The next execute-phase resume must detect that condition before dispatching another executor. </atomic_close_out_invariant>

<available_agent_types> Valid GSD subagent types (use exact names — do not fall back to 'general-purpose'):

• gsd-executor — Executes plan tasks, commits, creates SUMMARY.md </available_agent_types>

Load execution context (paths only to minimize orchestrator context):

# SDK resolution: prefer local gsd-tools.cjs, fall back to global gsd-sdk (#3668)
GSD_TOOLS="${RUNTIME_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)}/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs"
if [ -f "$GSD_TOOLS" ]; then
  GSD_SDK="node $GSD_TOOLS"
elif command -v gsd-sdk >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  GSD_SDK="gsd-sdk"
else
  echo "ERROR: gsd-sdk not found on PATH and $GSD_TOOLS does not exist." >&2
  echo "Run: npx get-shit-done-cc@latest --claude --local" >&2
  exit 1
fi
INIT=$($GSD_SDK query init.execute-phase "${PHASE}")
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi

Extract from init JSON: executor_model, commit_docs, sub_repos, phase_dir, phase_number, plans, summaries, incomplete_plans, state_path, config_path.

If .planning/ missing: error.

```bash # Use plans/summaries from INIT JSON, or list files (ls .planning/phases/XX-name/*-PLAN.md 2>/dev/null || true) | sort (ls .planning/phases/XX-name/*-SUMMARY.md 2>/dev/null || true) | sort ```

Find first PLAN without matching SUMMARY. Decimal phases supported (01.1-hotfix/):

PHASE=$(echo "$PLAN_PATH" | grep -oE '[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?-[0-9]+')
# config settings can be fetched via gsd-sdk query config-get if needed

Auto-approve: `⚡ Execute {phase}-{plan}-PLAN.md [Plan X of Y for Phase Z]` → parse_segments. Present plan identification, wait for confirmation. ```bash PLAN_START_TIME=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ") PLAN_START_EPOCH=$(date +%s) ``` ```bash # Count tasks — match ]' .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-PLAN.md 2>/dev/null || echo "0") INLINE_THRESHOLD=$($GSD_SDK query config-get workflow.inline_plan_threshold 2>/dev/null || echo "2") grep -n "type=\"checkpoint" .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-PLAN.md ```

Primary routing: task count threshold (#1979)

If INLINE_THRESHOLD > 0 AND TASK_COUNT <= INLINE_THRESHOLD: Use Pattern C (inline) regardless of checkpoint type. Small plans execute faster inline — avoids ~14K token subagent spawn overhead and preserves prompt cache. Configure threshold via workflow.inline_plan_threshold (default: 2, set to 0 to always spawn subagents).

Otherwise: Apply checkpoint-based routing below.

Checkpoint-based routing (plans with > threshold tasks):

Checkpoints	Pattern	Execution
None	A (autonomous)	Single subagent: full plan + SUMMARY + commit
Verify-only	B (segmented)	Segments between checkpoints. After none/human-verify → SUBAGENT. After decision/human-action → MAIN
Decision	C (main)	Execute entirely in main context

Pattern A: init_agent_tracking → capture EXPECTED_BASE=$(git rev-parse HEAD) → spawn Agent(subagent_type="gsd-executor", model=executor_model) with prompt: execute plan at [path], autonomous, all tasks + SUMMARY + commit, follow deviation/auth rules, report: plan name, tasks, SUMMARY path, commit hash → track agent_id → wait → update tracking → report. Include isolation="worktree" only if workflow.use_worktrees is not false (read via config-get workflow.use_worktrees). When using isolation="worktree", include a <worktree_branch_check> block in the prompt instructing the executor to: (1) FIRST assert git symbolic-ref HEAD resolves to a per-agent branch (NOT a protected ref like main/master/develop/trunk/release/*) and HALT with a blocker if not — never self-recover via git update-ref refs/heads/<protected> (#2924); (2) only after that assertion passes, run git merge-base HEAD {EXPECTED_BASE} and, if the result differs from {EXPECTED_BASE}, hard-reset the branch with git reset --hard {EXPECTED_BASE} before starting work, then verify with [ "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" != "{EXPECTED_BASE}" ] && exit 1. The HEAD assertion (Step 1) MUST run before any reset/checkout. This corrects a known issue where EnterWorktree creates branches from main instead of the feature branch HEAD (affects all platforms — #2015) and prevents the destructive HEAD-on-master self-recovery path (#2924).

Pattern B: Execute segment-by-segment. Autonomous segments: spawn subagent for assigned tasks only (no SUMMARY/commit). Checkpoints: main context. After all segments: aggregate, create SUMMARY, commit. See segment_execution.

Pattern C: Execute in main using standard flow (step name="execute").

Fresh context per subagent preserves peak quality. Main context stays lean.

```bash if [ ! -f .planning/agent-history.json ]; then echo '{"version":"1.0","max_entries":50,"entries":[]}' > .planning/agent-history.json fi rm -f .planning/current-agent-id.txt if [ -f .planning/current-agent-id.txt ]; then INTERRUPTED_ID=$(cat .planning/current-agent-id.txt) echo "Found interrupted agent: $INTERRUPTED_ID" fi ```

If interrupted: ask user to resume (Task resume parameter) or start fresh.

Tracking protocol: On spawn: write agent_id to current-agent-id.txt, append to agent-history.json: {"agent_id":"[id]","task_description":"[desc]","phase":"[phase]","plan":"[plan]","segment":[num|null],"timestamp":"[ISO]","status":"spawned","completion_timestamp":null}. On completion: status → "completed", set completion_timestamp, delete current-agent-id.txt. Prune: if entries > max_entries, remove oldest "completed" (never "spawned").

Run for Pattern A/B before spawning. Pattern C: skip.

Pattern B only (verify-only checkpoints). Skip for A/C.

1. Parse segment map: checkpoint locations and types

2. Per segment:

   • Subagent route: spawn gsd-executor for assigned tasks only. Prompt: task range, plan path, read full plan for context, execute assigned tasks, track deviations, NO SUMMARY/commit. Track via agent protocol.
   • Main route: execute tasks using standard flow (step name="execute")

3. Critical ordering — write and commit SUMMARY.md as one atomic block. Do NOT emit narrative output between the Write tool call and the commit tool call. Truncation at this boundary is a known failure mode (see #2070 rescue logic in execute-phase.md step 5.5).

   After ALL segments: aggregate files/deviations/decisions → create SUMMARY.md → self-check:

   • Verify key-files.created exist on disk with [ -f ]
   • Check git log --oneline --all --grep="{phase}-{plan}" returns ≥1 commit
   • Re-run ALL <acceptance_criteria> from every task — if any fail, fix before finalizing SUMMARY
   • Re-run the plan-level <verification> commands — log results in SUMMARY
   • Append ## Self-Check: PASSED or ## Self-Check: FAILED to SUMMARY Then commit (no narrative between Write and commit).

   Known Claude Code bug (classifyHandoffIfNeeded): If any segment agent reports "failed" with classifyHandoffIfNeeded is not defined, this is a Claude Code runtime bug — not a real failure. Run spot-checks; if they pass, treat as successful.

```bash cat .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-PLAN.md ``` This IS the execution instructions. Follow exactly. If plan references CONTEXT.md: honor user's vision throughout.

If plan contains <interfaces> block: These are pre-extracted type definitions and contracts. Use them directly — do NOT re-read the source files to discover types. The planner already extracted what you need.

```bash $GSD_SDK query phases.list --type summaries --raw # Extract the second-to-last summary from the JSON result ```

Text mode (workflow.text_mode: true in config or --text flag): Set TEXT_MODE=true if --text is present in $ARGUMENTS OR text_mode from init JSON is true. When TEXT_MODE is active, replace every AskUserQuestion call with a plain-text numbered list and ask the user to type their choice number. This is required for non-Claude runtimes (OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, etc.) where AskUserQuestion is not available. If previous SUMMARY has unresolved "Issues Encountered" or "Next Phase Readiness" blockers: AskUserQuestion(header="Previous Issues", options: "Proceed anyway" | "Address first" | "Review previous").

Deviations are normal — handle via rules below.

1. Read @context files from prompt
2. MCP tools: If CLAUDE.md or project instructions reference MCP tools (e.g. jCodeMunch for code navigation), prefer them over Grep/Glob when available. Fall back to Grep/Glob if MCP tools are not accessible.
3. Per task:
   • MANDATORY read_first gate: If the task has a <read_first> field, you MUST read every listed file BEFORE making any edits. This is not optional. Do not skip files because you "already know" what's in them — read them. The read_first files establish ground truth for the task.
   • type="auto": if tdd="true" → TDD execution. Implement with deviation rules + auth gates. Verify done criteria. Commit (see task_commit). Track hash for Summary.
   • type="checkpoint:*": STOP → checkpoint_protocol → wait for user → continue only after confirmation.
   • HARD GATE — acceptance_criteria verification: After completing each task, if it has <acceptance_criteria>, you MUST run a verification loop before proceeding:
     1. For each criterion: execute the grep, file check, or CLI command that proves it passes
     2. Log each result as PASS or FAIL with the command output
     3. If ANY criterion fails: fix the implementation immediately, then re-run ALL criteria
     4. Repeat until all criteria pass — you are BLOCKED from starting the next task until this gate clears
     5. If a criterion cannot be satisfied after 2 fix attempts, log it as a deviation with reason — do NOT silently skip it This is not advisory. A task with failing acceptance criteria is an incomplete task.
4. Run <verification> checks
5. Confirm <success_criteria> met
6. Document deviations in Summary

<authentication_gates>

Authentication Gates

Auth errors during execution are NOT failures — they're expected interaction points.

Indicators: "Not authenticated", "Unauthorized", 401/403, "Please run {tool} login", "Set {ENV_VAR}"

Protocol:

1. Recognize auth gate (not a bug)
2. STOP task execution
3. Create dynamic checkpoint:human-action with exact auth steps
4. Wait for user to authenticate
5. Verify credentials work
6. Retry original task
7. Continue normally

Example: vercel --yes → "Not authenticated" → checkpoint asking user to vercel login → verify with vercel whoami → retry deploy → continue

In Summary: Document as normal flow under "## Authentication Gates", not as deviations.

</authentication_gates>

<deviation_rules>

Deviation Rules

Apply deviation rules from the gsd-executor agent definition (single source of truth):

• Rules 1-3 (bugs, missing critical, blockers): auto-fix, test, verify, track as deviations
• Rule 4 (architectural changes): STOP, present decision to user, await approval
• Scope boundary: do not auto-fix pre-existing issues unrelated to current task
• Fix attempt limit: max 3 retries per deviation before escalating
• Priority: Rule 4 (STOP) > Rules 1-3 (auto) > unsure → Rule 4

</deviation_rules>

<deviation_documentation>

Documenting Deviations

Summary MUST include deviations section. None? → ## Deviations from Plan\n\nNone - plan executed exactly as written.

Per deviation: [Rule N - Category] Title — Found during: Task X | Issue | Fix | Files modified | Verification | Commit hash

End with: Total deviations: N auto-fixed (breakdown). Impact: assessment.

</deviation_documentation>

<tdd_plan_execution>

TDD Execution

For type: tdd plans — RED-GREEN-REFACTOR:

1. Infrastructure (first TDD plan only): detect project, install framework, config, verify empty suite
2. RED: Read <behavior> → failing test(s) → run (MUST fail) → commit: test({phase}-{plan}): add failing test for [feature]
3. GREEN: Read <implementation> → minimal code → run (MUST pass) → commit: feat({phase}-{plan}): implement [feature]
4. REFACTOR: Clean up → tests MUST pass → commit: refactor({phase}-{plan}): clean up [feature]

Errors: RED doesn't fail → investigate test/existing feature. GREEN doesn't pass → debug, iterate. REFACTOR breaks → undo.

See ~/.claude/get-shit-done/references/tdd.md for structure. </tdd_plan_execution>

<precommit_failure_handling>

Pre-commit Hook Failure Handling

Your commits may trigger pre-commit hooks. Auto-fix hooks handle themselves transparently — files get fixed and re-staged automatically.

If running as a parallel executor agent (spawned by execute-phase): Run commits normally — let pre-commit hooks run. Do NOT use --no-verify by default (#2924). Hooks should run so issues surface at the introducing commit, and silent bypass violates project CLAUDE.md guidance. If a project explicitly opts out via workflow.worktree_skip_hooks=true, the orchestrator will surface that flag in the prompt; absent that signal, hooks run normally. If a hook fails, follow the sequential-mode handling below.

If running as the sole executor (sequential mode): If a commit is BLOCKED by a hook:

1. The git commit command fails with hook error output
2. Read the error — it tells you exactly which hook and what failed
3. Fix the issue (type error, lint violation, secret leak, etc.)
4. git add the fixed files
5. Retry the commit
6. Budget 1-2 retry cycles per commit </precommit_failure_handling>

<task_commit>

Task Commit Protocol

Canonical per-task commit rules live in agents/gsd-executor.md (<task_commit_protocol>). Follow that section for staging, {type}({phase}-{plan}) messages, commit-to-subrepo when sub_repos is set, post-commit checks, and untracked-file handling — do not duplicate or paraphrase the full protocol here (single source of truth).

Orchestrator note: After each task, the spawned executor reports commit hashes; this workflow does not re-specify commit semantics beyond pointing at the executor.

</task_commit>

On `type="checkpoint:*"`: automate everything possible first. Checkpoints are for verification/decisions only.

Display: CHECKPOINT: [Type] box → Progress {X}/{Y} → Task name → type-specific content → YOUR ACTION: [signal]

Type	Content	Resume signal
human-verify (90%)	What was built + verification steps (commands/URLs)	"approved" or describe issues
decision (9%)	Decision needed + context + options with pros/cons	"Select: option-id"
human-action (1%)	What was automated + ONE manual step + verification plan	"done"

After response: verify if specified. Pass → continue. Fail → inform, wait. WAIT for user — do NOT hallucinate completion.

See ~/.claude/get-shit-done/references/checkpoints.md for details.

When spawned via Task and hitting checkpoint: return structured state (cannot interact with user directly).

Required return: 1) Completed Tasks table (hashes + files) 2) Current Task (what's blocking) 3) Checkpoint Details (user-facing content) 4) Awaiting (what's needed from user)

Orchestrator parses → presents to user → spawns fresh continuation with your completed tasks state. You will NOT be resumed. In main context: use checkpoint_protocol above.

If verification fails:

Check if node repair is enabled (default: on):

NODE_REPAIR=$($GSD_SDK query config-get workflow.node_repair 2>/dev/null || echo "true")

If NODE_REPAIR is true: invoke @./.claude/get-shit-done/workflows/node-repair.md with:

• FAILED_TASK: task number, name, done-criteria
• ERROR: expected vs actual result
• PLAN_CONTEXT: adjacent task names + phase goal
• REPAIR_BUDGET: workflow.node_repair_budget from config (default: 2)

Node repair will attempt RETRY, DECOMPOSE, or PRUNE autonomously. Only reaches this gate again if repair budget is exhausted (ESCALATE).

If NODE_REPAIR is false OR repair returns ESCALATE: STOP. Present: "Verification failed for Task [X]: [name]. Expected: [criteria]. Actual: [result]. Repair attempted: [summary of what was tried]." Options: Retry | Skip (mark incomplete) | Stop (investigate). If skipped → SUMMARY "Issues Encountered".

```bash PLAN_END_TIME=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ") PLAN_END_EPOCH=$(date +%s)

DURATION_SEC=$(( PLAN_END_EPOCH - PLAN_START_EPOCH )) DURATION_MIN=$(( DURATION_SEC / 60 ))

if $DURATION_MIN -ge 60 ; then HRS=$(( DURATION_MIN / 60 )) MIN=$(( DURATION_MIN % 60 )) DURATION="${HRS}h ${MIN}m" else DURATION="${DURATION_MIN} min" fi

</step>

<step name="generate_user_setup">
```bash
grep -A 50 "^user_setup:" .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-PLAN.md | head -50

If user_setup exists: create {phase}-USER-SETUP.md using template ~/.claude/get-shit-done/templates/user-setup.md. Per service: env vars table, account setup checklist, dashboard config, local dev notes, verification commands. Status "Incomplete". Set USER_SETUP_CREATED=true. If empty/missing: skip.

**Critical ordering — write and commit SUMMARY.md as one atomic block.** Do NOT emit narrative output between the Write tool call and the commit tool call. Truncation at this boundary is a known failure mode (see #2070 rescue logic in execute-phase.md step 5.5).

Create {phase}-{plan}-SUMMARY.md at .planning/phases/XX-name/. Use ~/.claude/get-shit-done/templates/summary.md.

Frontmatter: phase, plan, subsystem, tags | requires/provides/affects | tech-stack.added/patterns | key-files.created/modified | key-decisions | requirements-completed (MUST copy requirements array from PLAN.md frontmatter verbatim) | duration ($DURATION), completed ($PLAN_END_TIME date).

Title: # Phase [X] Plan [Y]: [Name] Summary

One-liner SUBSTANTIVE: "JWT auth with refresh rotation using jose library" not "Authentication implemented"

Include: duration, start/end times, task count, file count.

Next: more plans → "Ready for {next-plan}" | last → "Phase complete, ready for next step".

**Skip this step if running in parallel mode** (the orchestrator in execute-phase.md handles STATE.md/ROADMAP.md updates centrally after merging worktrees to avoid merge conflicts).

Update STATE.md using gsd-sdk query (or legacy gsd-tools) state mutations:

# Auto-detect parallel mode: .git is a file in worktrees, a directory in main repo
IS_WORKTREE=$([ -f .git ] && echo "true" || echo "false")

# Skip in parallel mode — orchestrator handles STATE.md centrally
if [ "$IS_WORKTREE" != "true" ]; then
  # Advance plan counter (handles last-plan edge case)
  $GSD_SDK query state.advance-plan

  # Recalculate progress bar from disk state
  $GSD_SDK query state.update-progress

  # Record execution metrics
  $GSD_SDK query state.record-metric \
    --phase "${PHASE}" --plan "${PLAN}" --duration "${DURATION}" \
    --tasks "${TASK_COUNT}" --files "${FILE_COUNT}"
fi

From SUMMARY: Extract decisions and add to STATE.md:

# Add each decision from SUMMARY key-decisions
# Prefer file inputs for shell-safe text (preserves `$`, `*`, etc. exactly)
$GSD_SDK query state.add-decision \
  --phase "${PHASE}" --summary-file "${DECISION_TEXT_FILE}" --rationale-file "${RATIONALE_FILE}"

# Add blockers if any found
$GSD_SDK query state.add-blocker --text-file "${BLOCKER_TEXT_FILE}"

Update session info using gsd-sdk query (or legacy gsd-tools):

$GSD_SDK query state.record-session \
  --stopped-at "Completed ${PHASE}-${PLAN}-PLAN.md" \
  --resume-file "None"

Keep STATE.md under 150 lines.

If SUMMARY "Issues Encountered" ≠ "None": yolo → log and continue. Interactive → present issues, wait for acknowledgment. Run this step only when NOT executing inside a git worktree (i.e. `use_worktrees: false`, the bug #2661 reproducer). In worktree mode each worktree has its own ROADMAP.md, so per-plan writes here would diverge across siblings; the orchestrator owns the post-merge sync centrally (see execute-phase.md §5.7, single-writer contract from #1486 / dcb50396).

# Auto-detect worktree mode: .git is a file in worktrees, a directory in main repo.
# This mirrors the use_worktrees config flag for the executing handler.
IS_WORKTREE=$([ -f .git ] && echo "true" || echo "false")

if [ "$IS_WORKTREE" != "true" ]; then
  # use_worktrees: false → this handler is the sole post-plan sync point (#2661)
  $GSD_SDK query roadmap.update-plan-progress "${PHASE}"
fi

Counts PLAN vs SUMMARY files on disk. Updates progress table row with correct count and status (In Progress or Complete with date).

Mark completed requirements from the PLAN.md frontmatter `requirements:` field:

$GSD_SDK query requirements.mark-complete ${REQ_IDS}

Extract requirement IDs from the plan's frontmatter (e.g., requirements: [AUTH-01, AUTH-02]). If no requirements field, skip.

**Critical ordering — write and commit SUMMARY.md as one atomic block.** Do NOT emit narrative output between the Write tool call and the commit tool call. Truncation at this boundary is a known failure mode (see #2070 rescue logic in execute-phase.md step 5.5).

Task code already committed per-task. Commit plan metadata:

# Auto-detect parallel mode: .git is a file in worktrees, a directory in main repo
IS_WORKTREE=$([ -f .git ] && echo "true" || echo "false")

# In parallel mode: exclude STATE.md and ROADMAP.md (orchestrator commits these)
if [ "$IS_WORKTREE" = "true" ]; then
  $GSD_SDK query commit "docs({phase}-{plan}): complete [plan-name] plan" --files .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-SUMMARY.md .planning/REQUIREMENTS.md
else
  $GSD_SDK query commit "docs({phase}-{plan}): complete [plan-name] plan" --files .planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-{plan}-SUMMARY.md .planning/STATE.md .planning/ROADMAP.md .planning/REQUIREMENTS.md
fi

If .planning/codebase/ doesn't exist: skip.

FIRST_TASK=$(git log --oneline --grep="feat({phase}-{plan}):" --grep="fix({phase}-{plan}):" --grep="test({phase}-{plan}):" --reverse | head -1 | cut -d' ' -f1)
git diff --name-only ${FIRST_TASK}^..HEAD 2>/dev/null || true

Update only structural changes: new src/ dir → STRUCTURE.md | deps → STACK.md | file pattern → CONVENTIONS.md | API client → INTEGRATIONS.md | config → STACK.md | renamed → update paths. Skip code-only/bugfix/content changes.

$GSD_SDK query commit "" --files .planning/codebase/*.md --amend

If `USER_SETUP_CREATED=true`: display `⚠️ USER SETUP REQUIRED` with path + env/config tasks at TOP.

(ls -1 .planning/phases/[current-phase-dir]/*-PLAN.md 2>/dev/null || true) | wc -l
(ls -1 .planning/phases/[current-phase-dir]/*-SUMMARY.md 2>/dev/null || true) | wc -l

Condition	Route	Action
summaries < plans	A: More plans	Find next PLAN without SUMMARY. Yolo: auto-continue. Interactive: show next plan, suggest /gsd:execute-phase {phase} + /gsd:verify-work. STOP here.
summaries = plans, current < highest phase	B: Phase done	Show completion, suggest /gsd:plan-phase {Z+1} + /gsd:verify-work {Z} + /gsd:discuss-phase {Z+1}
summaries = plans, current = highest phase	C: Milestone done	Show banner, suggest /gsd:complete-milestone + /gsd:verify-work + /gsd-add-phase

All routes: /clear first for fresh context.

<success_criteria>

• All tasks from PLAN.md completed
• All verifications pass
• USER-SETUP.md generated if user_setup in frontmatter
• SUMMARY.md created with substantive content
• STATE.md updated (position, decisions, issues, session) — unless parallel mode (orchestrator handles)
• ROADMAP.md updated — unless parallel mode (orchestrator handles)
• If codebase map exists: map updated with execution changes (or skipped if no significant changes)
• If USER-SETUP.md created: prominently surfaced in completion output </success_criteria>