Workflow Toggle Options in gsd-build: A Complete Guide to Customizing Your Development Pipeline

GSD (Get-Shit-Done) provides four workflow toggle options that let you disable specific AI agents to save tokens or enable auto-advance for hands-off execution.

The gsd-build/get-shit-done repository implements a configurable pipeline where you control which quality gates and research phases run during development. These workflow toggle options are stored in .planning/config.json and determine whether the system performs pre-planning research, plan verification, post-execution validation, or automatic stage progression.

Understanding the Four Core Workflow Toggles in gsd-build

GSD exposes four boolean flags under the workflow namespace in its configuration. Each toggle controls a specific agent that runs during the development lifecycle.

workflow.research – Control Pre-Planning Research

The workflow.research toggle (default: true) governs the Plan Researcher sub-agents. When enabled, GSD spawns specialized agents that analyze your technology stack, identify architectural patterns, and flag potential pitfalls before the main planner begins.

Impact when disabled: The system skips the research phase and proceeds directly to planning based on your initial brief. This reduces token consumption and latency for familiar domains but may result in plans that overlook framework-specific constraints.

workflow.plan_check – Enable or Disable Plan Verification

The workflow.plan_check toggle (default: true) activates the Plan Checker agent. This quality gate runs after the planner generates a phase plan, verifying completeness and consistency. The checker loops up to three times, requesting revisions until the plan passes validation.

Impact when disabled: Planning proceeds immediately without verification. While this accelerates the pipeline, it risks producing incomplete or contradictory execution plans that may fail during implementation.

workflow.verifier – Post-Execution Quality Assurance

The workflow.verifier toggle (default: true) controls the Verifier agent that runs after the execution wave completes. This agent audits the produced code against the phase goals, checking for functional correctness and requirement alignment.

Impact when disabled: No automatic post-execution audit occurs. You must manually review all output, increasing the risk of shipping broken or non-compliant code.

workflow.auto_advance – Automate Pipeline Progression

The optional workflow.auto_advance toggle (default: false) chains the three stages (/gsd:discuss-phase → /gsd:plan-phase → /gsd:execute-phase) into a continuous sequence. When enabled, the system automatically progresses through stages without requiring manual /clear commands or copy-paste interventions.

Impact when disabled: You retain full manual control between stages, allowing inspection of intermediate artifacts, modification of plans, or early aborts.

How to Configure Workflow Toggle Options

GSD provides three methods for modifying these toggles: CLI inspection, interactive prompts, and programmatic updates.

Viewing Current Settings via CLI

To inspect your current configuration, use the state load command implemented in bin/gsd-tools.cjs:

node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs state load

This outputs the JSON configuration object, including the workflow section with current boolean values.

Interactive Configuration with /gsd:settings

For guided modification, invoke the settings workflow defined in get-shit-done/workflows/settings.md:

/gsd:settings

The interactive prompt displays all four toggle options with current values pre-selected. Select No for any toggle you wish to disable, then confirm to write changes to .planning/config.json.

Programmatic Toggle Updates

For automation or scripting, use the config-set command to modify individual toggles without interaction:

# Disable research and plan-check for a familiar domain

node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs config-set workflow.research false
node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs config-set workflow.plan_check false

# Enable auto-advance for hands-off execution

node ~/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs config-set workflow.auto_advance true

Verify your changes by inspecting the configuration file:

cat .planning/config.json

Performance and Quality Trade-offs

Disabling workflow toggles creates a direct trade-off between execution speed and output quality. According to the gsd-build/get-shit-done source code:

• Token Economy: Disabling workflow.research eliminates the Plan Researcher sub-agents, significantly reducing API calls for projects where you already possess domain expertise.
• Velocity vs. Rigor: Disabling workflow.plan_check removes the three-iteration verification loop, accelerating planning but increasing the risk of logical gaps in execution phases.
• Quality Assurance: Disabling workflow.verifier shifts the burden of validation entirely to manual review, suitable for exploratory prototyping but risky for production code.

The workflow.auto_advance toggle operates orthogonally to quality controls, affecting only the user experience of stage transitions rather than the underlying agent logic.

Summary

• GSD workflow toggle options in gsd-build/get-shit-done control four key pipeline behaviors via .planning/config.json.
• workflow.research enables pre-planning domain research; disabling it saves tokens for familiar stacks.
• workflow.plan_check runs the Plan Checker verification loop; disabling it risks incomplete plans.
• workflow.verifier performs post-execution code audits; disabling it requires manual quality control.
• workflow.auto_advance chains stages automatically; disabling it allows manual intervention between phases.
• Configure toggles via /gsd:settings, gsd-tools.cjs config-set, or direct JSON editing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are workflow toggle settings stored in gsd-build?

Workflow toggle settings persist in .planning/config.json at the project root. This JSON file maintains the workflow object containing boolean values for research, plan_check, verifier, and auto_advance. You can inspect this file directly with cat .planning/config.json or use the gsd-tools.cjs state load command to view the active configuration.

What happens if I disable all workflow toggles?

Disabling all four toggles (research, plan_check, verifier, and keeping auto_advance off) creates a minimal pipeline where GSD executes phases with no automated research, verification, or quality gates. This configuration maximizes speed and minimizes token consumption but requires you to manually validate all plans and outputs. It is suitable only for rapid prototyping or when you intend to review every artifact manually.

Can I enable auto-advance without the verification steps?

Yes, you can enable workflow.auto_advance while disabling workflow.plan_check and workflow.verifier. This configuration creates a fast, hands-off pipeline that automatically progresses from discussion to planning to execution without pausing for quality gates. While this maximizes velocity, it eliminates the three-iteration plan verification and post-execution auditing, increasing the risk of logical errors or incomplete implementations in the final output.

How do I reset workflow toggles to default values?

To restore defaults, set workflow.research, workflow.plan_check, and workflow.verifier to true, and workflow.auto_advance to false. You can apply these changes via the interactive /gsd:settings command by selecting the default options, or programmatically using gsd-tools.cjs config-set for each key. Alternatively, manually edit .planning/config.json to ensure the workflow object contains {"research": true, "plan_check": true, "verifier": true, "auto_advance": false}.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}