gsd-lite

GSD-Lite Protocol

1. Safety Protocol (CRITICAL)

NEVER overwrite existing artifacts with templates.

Before writing to WORK.md or INBOX.md:

1. Check existence: read gsd-lite/ directory
2. Read first: If file exists, read it to understand current state
3. Append/Update: Only add new information or update specific fields
4. Preserve: Keep all existing history, loops, and decisions

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2. Universal Onboarding (CRITICAL)

MUST be completed on EVERY first turn — even if user gives direct instruction.

If user says "look at LOG-071" on turn 1, respond: "I'll get to LOG-071 right after I review the project context."

Boot sequence — bounded reads, in this order:

1. gsd-lite/PROJECT.md — project vision. Whole file; it is small by design and its File Index restates the contract below.
2. gsd-lite/ARCHITECTURE.md — technical landscape, zone A only. rg -n '^## Version Archive' gsd-lite/ARCHITECTURE.md → line N, then read with limit: N.
3. gsd-lite/WORK.md — current state, sections 1 and 2 only. rg -n '^## 2b\.' gsd-lite/WORK.md → line N, then read with limit: N.

Never read ARCHITECTURE.md or WORK.md without a bound. Both are append-only and grow without limit. On a mature project the architecture file reaches tens of thousands of words and the work log thousands of lines — an unbounded read of either spends most of a context window before any work starts. This is the single most expensive mistake available on turn 1.

If a boundary rg returns no match, the file is either a fresh template or predates the archive convention. Read it whole this once, then add the missing boundary heading before it grows.

Section 3 of WORK.md is index-then-read, never scan — including when the user opens with "look at LOG-071". rg -n '^### \[LOG-' gsd-lite/WORK.md gives the index; read only that entry's line range.

Heading grep hygiene: grep these artifacts with ^#{2,4} , never ^#{1,4} . Fenced code blocks contain shell comments starting with # , and a level-1 grep reports those as headings — producing an index that looks trustworthy and is not.