# Project State

## Project Reference

See: .planning/PROJECT.md (updated 2026-01-19)

**Core value:** Maintain ownership of the reasoning process - you stay the author who can explain the "why" behind every decision, not a passenger consuming agent output.
**Current focus:** Phase 1.1 - Allow Flexible Token Budget (next) or Phase 2 - Session Handoff System

## Current Position

Phase: 1.3 of 6 (Context Lifecycle, Coaching Model & Workflow Decomposition)
Plan: 5 of 5 (Phase 1.3 complete)
Status: Phase complete
Last activity: 2026-01-25 — Completed 01.3-05-PLAN.md (workflow verification & fixes)

Progress: [████░░░░░░] 40% (Phase 0 + Phase 1 + Phase 1.2 + Phase 1.3 complete, Phase 1.1 pending)

## Performance Metrics

**Velocity:**
- Total plans completed: 12
- Average duration: 3.6 min
- Total execution time: 0.72 hours

**By Phase:**

| Phase | Plans | Total | Avg/Plan |
|-------|-------|-------|----------|
| 1. Foundation & Templates | 4 | 22 min | 5.5 min |
| 1.2 Audit & Fix Template Coherence | 3 | 7 min | 2.3 min |
| 1.3 Context Lifecycle & Workflow Decomposition | 5 | 17.5 min | 3.5 min |

**Recent Trend:**
- Last 5 plans: 01.3-02 (4 min), 01.3-03 (2.5 min), 01.3-04 (3 min), 01.3-05 (4 min)
- Trend: Excellent velocity (2.5-4 min per plan, averaging 3.4 min)

*Updated after each plan completion*

## Accumulated Context

### Roadmap Evolution

- Phase 0 added retroactively: GSD Pattern Analysis (completed via Quick 001)
- Phase 1.1 inserted after Phase 1: Allow Flexible Token Budget (URGENT) - handle token budget flexibility discovered after Phase 1 completion
- Phase 1.2 inserted after Phase 1: Audit and fix template coherence for single-agent sessions (URGENT) - user found confusion when reading templates, must fix before Phase 2 uses them
- Phase 1.3 inserted after Phase 1.2: Context Lifecycle, Coaching Model & Workflow Decomposition (URGENT) - eval findings revealed context rot as core problem, need to document coaching philosophy and decompose protocol into per-workflow files

### Decisions

Decisions are logged in PROJECT.md Key Decisions table.
Recent decisions affecting current work:

- Roadmap creation: Derived 4 phases from 18 v1 requirements (Quick depth)
- Roadmap structure: Foundation → Session Handoff → Context Engineering → Educational Integration & Validation
- GSD pattern adoption (Quick 001): XML structure for LOOPS/CONTEXT templates, conservative token budgets (20/40/50%), checkpoint thinking for workflows
- Session artifact organization: Use .project/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-description/ structure
- Systematic ID format (01-01): TYPE-NNN for global unique references (LOOP-007, TASK-003, DECISION-008)
- Token budget thresholds (01-01): 0-20% comfortable, 20-40% deliberate, 40-50% warning, 50%+ stop
- Progressive loading strategy (01-01): Start narrow, expand deliberately, exclude proactively
- Context stack depth limit (01-01): Single level only to prevent cognitive overload
- Sticky note frequency (01-02): Include when artifact updated OR actions changed, omit when nothing changed
- Dual workflow support (01-02): All templates provide MCP and copy-paste instructions (vendor agnostic)
- GTD export mapping (01-02): Closed loops → achievements, Open → next actions, Clarifying → waiting for
- Template educational style (01-02): Inline comments throughout, not dumped at end
- Protocol reference pattern (01-03): Separate quick-lookup doc consolidating enforcement mechanisms from all templates
- AGENTS.md standard adoption (01-03): Follow agents.md format for cross-platform compatibility
- Checkpoint categorization (01-03): Split into informational (progress) vs blocking (requires action)
- Sticky note inclusion rules (01-03): Include when artifact/state/actions changed, omit for pure conversation
- Namespace correction (01-04): Use .gsd-lite/ instead of .planning/ to avoid namespace conflict
- Mermaid diagrams (01-04): Use Mermaid over ASCII for workflow/sequence diagrams (maintainability, interactivity)
- Loop sources (01-04): Loops originate from both agent discovery AND user questions during checkpoints/decisions
- Window-relative token budgets (01-04): Thresholds relative to context window (Claude 40/50%, Gemini 50/60%)
- Template distribution approach (Quick 002): Manual git clone + copy as primary method, avoid npx/pip (wrong tools for markdown)
- PROTOCOL.md immutability (01.2-01): Agents read but never write to protocol file
- Single-read constraint (01.2-01): Agents can only read files at first turn, requiring self-contained protocol
- 10x emoji moodboard mandatory (01.2-01): Visual banner required for every new phase planning
- Dual-source loop capture (01.2-01): Loops from both user (non-linear thinking) and agent (discovery)
- Aggressive WORK.md trimming (01.2-01): After promotion, WORK.md deleted (not archived)
- STATE.md depth level (01.2-02): Moderate depth with Key Decisions table for weak agent resume
- WORK.md ephemeral pattern (01.2-02): Explicitly marked as deleted after phase promotion
- INBOX.md dual sources (01.2-02): Separate sections for user loops (non-linear) and agent loops (discovery)
- HISTORY.md minimal format (01.2-02): One line per completed phase with external artifact links
- Systematic IDs across artifacts (01.2-03): TYPE-NNN format (PHASE/TASK/LOOP/DECISION) with ID Registry in STATE.md
- User-controlled phase completion (01.2-03): Agent signals readiness, user decides when to promote (prevents premature WORK.md trimming)
- Artifact update timing (01.2-03): STATE.md and WORK.md updated after EVERY turn (not occasionally)
- Sticky note checkpoint banners (01.2-03): 6 informational checkpoint types with distinct emojis, plus action menu
- Workflow file size target (01.3-01): 200-300 lines per workflow to prevent cognitive overload
- Sticky note protocol identity (01.3-01): Identical sticky note section across all workflows for universal orientation
- Coaching philosophy repetition (01.3-01): Repeat in each workflow, not just master PROTOCOL.md
- Removed gsd-lite from .gitignore (01.3-01): Enable version control of workflow files
- Context lifecycle pattern (01.3-02): Checkpoint -> clear -> resume for multi-session work spanning days/weeks
- User-controlled completion rationale (01.3-02): Agent signals readiness, user decides when to promote (prevents premature WORK.md trimming which loses PR material)
- Documentation-only routing (01.3-03): Agent reads STATE.md mode field, manually loads appropriate workflow (no programmatic automation)
- Mode field in STATE.md (01.3-03): Explicit tracking enables unambiguous workflow selection
- Coaching governance framework (01.3-04): Decision type table (Vision/Outcome = User, Technical detail = Agent, Architectural change = User decision)
- Dual-lens analysis pattern (01.3-04): Eval failures viewed as both coaching violations (agent behavior) and architectural gaps (protocol structure)
- Evidence-based gap identification (01.3-04): Protocol improvements grounded in specific eval turn references, not theoretical concerns
- GSD-lite architectural identity (01.3-04): NOT simplified GSD, fundamentally different architecture for different constraints (single-agent, manual context lifecycle, chat app target)
- Checkpoint-promotion separation (01.3-05): Checkpoint preserves WORK.md for cross-session work, promotion trims after extraction to external artifacts
- Vision reflection playback (01.3-05): Agent reflects understanding back to user with concrete examples before proceeding (per questioning.md)
- PyPI template distribution (01.3-05): Workflow files distributed via src/gsd_lite/template/ per __main__.py distribution route

### Pending Todos

1. **Update README.md for human developer orientation** - Create central place to understand gsd-lite design, philosophy, why ultra-slim context, distinction from OG GSD (no central PROJECT/ROADMAP). README should orient new users to the system.

2. **Create evaluation scenario for testing gsd-lite iterations** - Build test scenario to validate gsd-lite behavior across iterations, ensuring coaching model and context lifecycle work as designed.

### Blockers/Concerns

None yet.

### Quick Tasks Completed

| # | Description | Date | Commit | Directory |
|---|-------------|------|--------|-----------|
| 001 | Duplicate .claude to gsd_reference and suggest GSD context engineering patterns | 2026-01-20 | d6b75ce | [001-duplicate-claude-to-gsd-reference-and-su](./quick/001-duplicate-claude-to-gsd-reference-and-su/) |
| 002 | Research gsd-lite template distribution methods | 2026-01-22 | 0cac6fd | [002-research-gsd-lite-template-distribution-](./quick/002-research-gsd-lite-template-distribution-/) |

## Session Continuity

Last session: 2026-01-25
Stopped at: Completed 01.3-05-PLAN.md (workflow verification & fixes) - Phase 1.3 complete
Resume file: None

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*State initialized: 2026-01-19*
*Last updated: 2026-01-25 (Inserted Phase 1.3)*
