msd-core/docs/RELEASE-v1.42.0-rc.1.md

v1.42.0-rc.1 Release Notes

First release candidate for the 1.42.0 train. Published to npm under the next dist-tag.

npx @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@next
# or pin exact:
npm install -g @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@1.42.0-rc1

Release-candidate stream caveat. RCs come from main and are the staging stream for the next stable latest. They are stable enough for everyday use but may carry bake items resolved before the matching vX.Y.0 is published. See CANARY.md for the stream policy.

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What's in this release

1.42.0-rc.1 is the first cut of the 1.42 train. The headline addition is a package legitimacy gate against slopsquatting — a three-layer defense across the research → plan → execute pipeline that prevents AI-hallucinated package names from flowing undetected into npm install. Underneath that, two structural refactors deepen the SDK package seam and the phase lifecycle seams so future work has cleaner module boundaries.

This RC also rolls up every fix that shipped in v1.41.1. Those fixes are listed in the v1.41.1 notes and on the GitHub release page; this document is scoped to the new features in 1.42.0.

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Added

Security

Package legitimacy gate against slopsquatting (#3215)

A three-layer defense across the research → plan → execute pipeline. Before this release, a hallucinated package name that passed npm view could flow undetected into gsd-executor running npm install <malicious-pkg> with no human gate. The gate closes that path:

• Layer 1 — Researcher (agents/gsd-phase-researcher.md). A new <package_legitimacy_protocol> block runs slopcheck install <pkgs> --json over every recommended package, performs ecosystem-specific verification (pip index versions / npm view / cargo search), and emits a ## Package Legitimacy Audit table to RESEARCH.md with Package, Registry, Age, Downloads, Source Repo, slopcheck, and Disposition columns. Packages discovered solely through WebSearch are tagged [ASSUMED] — never [VERIFIED]. [SLOP] packages are removed from RESEARCH.md and listed under "Packages removed due to slopcheck."
• Layer 2 — Planner (agents/gsd-planner.md). Reads the Audit table and inserts a checkpoint:human-verify task before any install whose package is tagged [ASSUMED] or [SUS]. Plans that introduce installs gain a T-{phase}-SC Tampering / supply-chain row in their <threat_model> template.
• Layer 3 — Executor (agents/gsd-executor.md). RULE 3 amended: package installs (npm/pip/cargo) are excluded from auto-fix scope. Failed installs become checkpoint:human-verify with a slopsquatting-risk rationale instead of being silently retried.

Hardening. Every npx --yes <pkg>@latest invocation across the three agent files is replaced with a command -v <bin> guard pattern — this closes the same fetch-and-execute hole npx --yes opens.

Graceful degradation. When slopcheck is unavailable at research time, every recommended package is tagged [ASSUMED] and gated with a checkpoint, so the protective behavior degrades safely instead of bypassing the gate.

Documentation. docs/USER-GUIDE.md has a new "Package Legitimacy Gate" subsection in the Security section; docs/COMMANDS.md notes the gate on /gsd-plan-phase; docs/ARCHITECTURE.md documents the gate before the Security Hooks section and updates the plan-phase pipeline diagram with the gate steps.

Closes #2827.

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Changed

Architecture

SDK package seam deepened; runtime-global skills policy converged (#3238)

Concentrates two areas that were previously scattered across the codebase:

• SDK Package Seam Module. Legacy package and install-layout compatibility — previously leaked across state-project-load, verify, roadmap, prompt-loading paths, agent-skills, skill-manifest, and generateDevPreferences — is now centralized behind a single Module. Callers consume legacy-asset discovery and install-layout probing through a thin Adapter; transition-only error messaging lives in one place.
• Runtime-Global Skills Policy Module. A single runtime-aware global-skills directory policy is now shared by SDK and CJS callers. Resolves runtime-global skills bases and skill paths from the runtime + env precedence chain, renders display paths for warnings/manifests, and reports unsupported runtimes that lack a skills directory.

The CONTEXT.md domain glossary is updated with both Module entries so future work points at the canonical seams instead of re-deriving the boundaries.

Closes #3237. Refs #3234.

Phase lifecycle seams deepened (#3267)

phase-lifecycle.ts becomes a thin public orchestrator. Three new modules are extracted:

• Phase Numbering Policy Module. Phase-name and project-code validation, slug/ID generation, sequential and decimal phase progression, and roadmap-entry construction.
• Phase Filesystem Adapter Module. Directory listing, gitkeep creation, and archive operations for phase directories.
• Phase Roadmap Mutation Module. replaceInCurrentMilestone and atomic ROADMAP.md read-modify-write under planning lock.

Backward-compatible re-exports are preserved on phase-lifecycle.ts so existing callers continue to work; new callers should import from the dedicated modules.

Closes #3270.

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What was in 1.41.x

• v1.41.1 — 14-fix hotfix: phase-plan-index DAG correctness, state-snapshot YAML frontmatter precedence, code-review SUMMARY parser hardening (BL- / blocker: accepted as Critical-tier), Codex install TOML floats + idempotent rollback, persistent SDK reachability probe, shared model-catalog source of truth (ADR-0003), and more.
• v1.41.0 — six namespace meta-skills, /gsd-health --context utilization guard, --minimal install flag, /gsd-edit-phase, post-merge build & test gate, manual canary release workflow, and 25+ correctness fixes. See RELEASE-v1.41.0.md.

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Installing

# npm (global, RC channel)
npm install -g @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@next

# npx (one-shot)
npx @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@next

# Pin to this exact RC
npm install -g @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@1.42.0-rc1

The installer is idempotent — re-running on an existing install updates in-place, preserving your .planning/ directory and local patches.

To roll back to the latest stable, install with @latest:

npx @opengsd/get-shit-done-redux@latest