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Overview

The quick command executes small, ad-hoc tasks with full GSD guarantees (atomic commits, state tracking) while skipping optional quality gates. Perfect for tasks you know how to do without extensive planning.

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Syntax

/gsd:quick [flags]
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--discuss
flag
Enable lightweight discussion phase before planning. Surfaces assumptions, clarifies gray areas, captures decisions in CONTEXT.md. Use when the task has ambiguity worth resolving upfront.
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--full
flag
Enable plan-checking (max 2 iterations) and post-execution verification. Use when you want quality guarantees without full milestone ceremony.

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How It Works

Quick mode runs the same GSD system with a shorter path:
  1. Spawns gsd-planner in quick mode (skips research by default)
  2. Spawns gsd-executor(s) to implement the plan
  3. Tracks in .planning/quick/ separate from planned phases
  4. Updates STATE.md “Quick Tasks Completed” table (not ROADMAP.md)
  5. Creates atomic commit with descriptive message

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Mode Comparison

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Default Quick Mode (no flags)

  • ❌ Research agent
  • ❌ Discussion phase
  • ❌ Plan checker
  • ❌ Verifier agent
  • ✅ Planning and execution
  • ✅ Atomic commits
  • ✅ State tracking
Use when: You know exactly what to do, task is straightforward

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Quick with --discuss

  • ❌ Research agent
  • ✅ Discussion phase
  • ❌ Plan checker
  • ❌ Verifier agent
  • ✅ Planning and execution
  • ✅ Atomic commits
  • ✅ State tracking
Use when: Task has ambiguity, assumptions need clarification

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Quick with --full

  • ❌ Research agent
  • ❌ Discussion phase
  • ✅ Plan checking (max 2 iterations)
  • ✅ Verification
  • ✅ Planning and execution
  • ✅ Atomic commits
  • ✅ State tracking
Use when: Want quality gates without full ceremony

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Quick with --discuss --full

  • ❌ Research agent
  • ✅ Discussion phase
  • ✅ Plan checking (max 2 iterations)
  • ✅ Verification
  • ✅ Planning and execution
  • ✅ Atomic commits
  • ✅ State tracking
Use when: Task is complex but doesn’t warrant full phase

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Usage Examples

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Simple bug fix

/gsd:quick
You: Fix the validation error in user signup form GSD:
  • Creates plan to fix validation
  • Executes fix
  • Commits: fix: correct email validation in signup form
  • Updates STATE.md quick tasks table

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Ambiguous task with discussion

/gsd:quick --discuss
You: Add caching to the product API GSD (Discussion):
  • Where should cache live? (Redis, in-memory, CDN?)
  • What’s the TTL strategy?
  • Which endpoints need caching?
GSD (After discussion):
  • Captures decisions in CONTEXT.md
  • Creates informed plan
  • Executes implementation
  • Commits with context

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Important task with quality gates

/gsd:quick --full
You: Refactor authentication middleware GSD:
  • Creates refactoring plan
  • Plan checker reviews (catches issues)
  • Revises plan if needed (max 2 iterations)
  • Executes refactoring
  • Verifier checks implementation
  • Commits if verified

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Complex quick task

/gsd:quick --discuss --full
You: Optimize database queries in dashboard GSD:
  • Discusses optimization approach
  • Captures decisions
  • Creates detailed plan
  • Plan checker reviews
  • Executes optimization
  • Verifier validates performance
  • Commits with full context

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When to Use Quick vs Phase

Use /gsd:quick

  • Bug fixes
  • Small features (< 1 hour)
  • Refactoring isolated components
  • Configuration changes
  • Documentation updates
  • Quick experiments
  • Hot fixes

Use /gsd:plan-phase

  • New features (> 1 hour)
  • Architecture changes
  • Multiple file changes
  • Cross-cutting concerns
  • Requires research
  • Part of roadmap
  • Needs milestone tracking

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Directory Structure

Quick tasks are tracked separately: 
.planning/
├── quick/
│   ├── 001-fix-signup-validation.md
│   ├── 002-add-api-caching.md
│   └── 003-optimize-dashboard-queries.md
└── STATE.md  # "Quick Tasks Completed" table
Not added to ROADMAP.md - keeps roadmap focused on planned phases.

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State Tracking

Completed quick tasks appear in STATE.md: 
## Quick Tasks Completed

| # | Task | Completed | Commit |
|---|------|-----------|--------|
| 1 | Fix signup validation | 2026-03-06 | a1b2c3d |
| 2 | Add API caching | 2026-03-06 | d4e5f6g |
| 3 | Optimize dashboard | 2026-03-06 | g7h8i9j |

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Commit Messages

Quick tasks generate descriptive atomic commits: 
# Bug fix
fix: correct email validation in signup form

# Feature addition
feat: add Redis caching to product API endpoints

# Refactoring
refactor: simplify authentication middleware logic

# Performance
perf: optimize database queries in dashboard

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Flag Composition

Flags can be combined for different quality levels:
FlagsResearchDiscussionPlan CheckVerification
(none)❌❌❌❌
--discuss❌✅❌❌
--full❌❌✅✅
--discuss --full❌✅✅✅

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Success Criteria

  • ✅ Task description captured
  • ✅ Plan created (with optional checking)
  • ✅ Implementation executed
  • ✅ Optional verification passed
  • ✅ Atomic commit created
  • ✅ STATE.md updated
  • ✅ Task file in .planning/quick/

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Context Loading

Quick mode loads minimal context:
  • STATE.md for project overview
  • CONTEXT.md for relevant decisions
  • Related files mentioned in task
  • No full codebase scan (use phase planning for that)