quick

Execute quick tasks with GSD guarantees but skip optional agents

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.

Syntax

/gsd:quick [flags]

--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.

--full · flag

Enable plan-checking (max 2 iterations) and post-execution verification. Use when you want quality guarantees without full milestone ceremony.

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

Mode Comparison

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

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

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

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

Usage Examples

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 |

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

Flag Composition

Flags can be combined for different quality levels:

Flags	Research	Discussion	Plan Check	Verification
(none)	❌	❌	❌	❌
--discuss	❌	✅	❌	❌
--full	❌	❌	✅	✅
--discuss --full	❌	✅	✅	✅

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/

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)

Related Commands

• plan-phase - For larger, planned work
• execute - Run existing phase plan
• add-todo - Capture ideas for later
• progress - See quick tasks in context