docs/runbook.md

GSD Runbook

Operational procedures for debugging, validation, and recovery.

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Quick Commands

Status Check

PowerShell:

# Current git status
git status

# Recent commits
git log --oneline -10

# Current branch
git branch --show-current

Bash:

# Current git status
git status

# Recent commits
git log --oneline -10

# Current branch
git branch --show-current

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Wave Validation

Verify Wave Completion

Before marking a wave complete:

1. All tasks have commits:

   git log --oneline -N  # N = number of tasks in wave
   

2. All verifications passed (documented in SUMMARY.md)

3. STATE.md updated with current position

4. State snapshot created

Wave Rollback

If a wave needs to be reverted:

# Find commit before wave started
git log --oneline -20

# Reset to that commit (keeps changes staged)
git reset --soft <commit-hash>

# Or hard reset (discards changes)
git reset --hard <commit-hash>

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Debugging Procedures

3-Strike Rule

After 3 consecutive failed debug attempts:

1. Stop — Don't try a 4th approach in same session

2. Document in STATE.md:

   ## Debug Session
   
   **Problem:** {description}
   
   **Attempts:**
   1. {approach 1} → {result}
   2. {approach 2} → {result}
   3. {approach 3} → {result}
   
   **Hypothesis:** {current theory}
   
   **Recommended next:** {suggested approach}
   

3. Fresh session — Start new conversation with documented context

Log Inspection

Find relevant logs:

# Search for error patterns
Select-String -Path "*.log" -Pattern "error|exception|failed" -CaseSensitive:$false

# Search for error patterns
grep -ri "error\|exception\|failed" *.log

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Verification Commands

Build Verification

# Node.js
npm run build
if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Write-Host "✅ Build passed" }

# Python
python -m py_compile src/**/*.py

Test Verification

# Node.js
npm test

# Python
pytest -v

# Go
go test ./...

Lint Verification

# Node.js
npm run lint

# Python
ruff check .

# Go
golangci-lint run

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State Recovery

From STATE.md

When resuming work:

1. Read STATE.md for current position
2. Check "Last Action" for context
3. Follow "Next Steps" to continue
4. Verify recent commits match documented progress

From Git History

If STATE.md is outdated:

# See recent work
git log --oneline -20

# Check specific commit details
git show <commit-hash> --stat

# View file at specific commit
git show <commit-hash>:path/to/file

Context Pollution Recovery

If quality is degrading mid-session:

1. Create state snapshot immediately
2. Update STATE.md with full context
3. Commit any pending work
4. Start fresh session
5. Run /resume to reload context

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Search Commands

Find in Codebase

PowerShell:

# Find pattern in files
Select-String -Path "src/**/*.ts" -Pattern "TODO" -Recurse

# Find files by name
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.config.*"

Bash:

# Find pattern in files (with ripgrep)
rg "TODO" --type ts

# Find pattern in files (with grep)
grep -r "TODO" src/

# Find files by name
find . -name "*.config.*"

Search-First Workflow

Before reading any file:

1. Search for relevant terms:

   Select-String -Path "**/*.md" -Pattern "architecture" -Recurse
   

2. Identify candidate files from results

3. Read only relevant sections:

   Get-Content file.md | Select-Object -Skip 49 -First 20  # Lines 50-70
   

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Common Issues

"SPEC.md not FINALIZED"

Cause: Planning lock prevents implementation

Fix:

1. Open .gsd/SPEC.md
2. Complete all required sections
3. Change status to Status: FINALIZED
4. Retry command

"Context degrading"

Symptoms: Shorter responses, skipped steps, inconsistency

Fix:

1. Create state snapshot
2. Commit current work
3. Start fresh session
4. Run /resume

"Commit failed"

Causes: Staged conflicts, hook failures

Debug:

git status
git diff --staged

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Checklist Templates

Pre-Execution Checklist

• SPEC.md is FINALIZED
• ROADMAP.md has current phase
• STATE.md loaded and understood
• Previous wave verified complete

Post-Wave Checklist

• All tasks committed
• Verifications documented
• STATE.md updated
• State snapshot created
• No uncommitted changes

Session End Checklist

• Current work committed
• STATE.md has "Next Steps"
• JOURNAL.md updated (if milestone)
• No loose ends

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See PROJECT_RULES.md for canonical rules. See docs/model-selection-playbook.md for model guidance.