msd-core/get-shit-done/workflows/remove-phase.md

Remove an unstarted future phase from the project roadmap, delete its directory, renumber all subsequent phases to maintain a clean linear sequence, and commit the change. The git commit serves as the historical record of removal.

<required_reading> Read all files referenced by the invoking prompt's execution_context before starting. </required_reading>

Parse the command arguments: - Argument is the phase number to remove (integer or decimal) - Example: `/gsd-remove-phase 17` → phase = 17 - Example: `/gsd-remove-phase 16.1` → phase = 16.1

If no argument provided:

ERROR: Phase number required
Usage: /gsd-remove-phase <phase-number>
Example: /gsd-remove-phase 17

Exit.

Load phase operation context:

INIT=$(gsd-sdk query init.phase-op "${target}")
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi

Extract: phase_found, phase_dir, phase_number, commit_docs, roadmap_exists.

Also read STATE.md and ROADMAP.md content for parsing current position.

Verify the phase is a future phase (not started):

1. Compare target phase to current phase from STATE.md
2. Target must be > current phase number

If target <= current phase:

ERROR: Cannot remove Phase {target}

Only future phases can be removed:
- Current phase: {current}
- Phase {target} is current or completed

To abandon current work, use /gsd-pause-work instead.

Exit.

Present removal summary and confirm:

Removing Phase {target}: {Name}

This will:
- Delete: .planning/phases/{target}-{slug}/
- Renumber all subsequent phases
- Update: ROADMAP.md, STATE.md

Proceed? (y/n)

Wait for confirmation.

**Delegate the entire removal operation to `gsd-sdk query phase.remove`:**

RESULT=$(gsd-sdk query phase.remove "${target}")

If the phase has executed plans (SUMMARY.md files), the CLI will error. Use --force only if the user confirms:

RESULT=$(gsd-sdk query phase.remove "${target}" --force)

The CLI handles:

• Deleting the phase directory
• Renumbering all subsequent directories (in reverse order to avoid conflicts)
• Renaming all files inside renumbered directories (PLAN.md, SUMMARY.md, etc.)
• Updating ROADMAP.md (removing section, renumbering all phase references, updating dependencies)
• Updating STATE.md (decrementing phase count)

Extract from result: removed, directory_deleted, renamed_directories, renamed_files, roadmap_updated, state_updated.

Stage and commit the removal:

gsd-sdk query commit "chore: remove phase {target} ({original-phase-name})" .planning/

The commit message preserves the historical record of what was removed.

Present completion summary:

Phase {target} ({original-name}) removed.

Changes:
- Deleted: .planning/phases/{target}-{slug}/
- Renumbered: {N} directories and {M} files
- Updated: ROADMAP.md, STATE.md
- Committed: chore: remove phase {target} ({original-name})

---

## What's Next

Would you like to:
- `/gsd-progress` — see updated roadmap status
- Continue with current phase
- Review roadmap

---

<anti_patterns>

• Don't remove completed phases (have SUMMARY.md files) without --force
• Don't remove current or past phases
• Don't manually renumber — use gsd-sdk query phase.remove which handles all renumbering
• Don't add "removed phase" notes to STATE.md — git commit is the record
• Don't modify completed phase directories </anti_patterns>

<success_criteria> Phase removal is complete when:

• Target phase validated as future/unstarted
• gsd-sdk query phase.remove executed successfully
• Changes committed with descriptive message
• User informed of changes </success_criteria>