State management

last_updated: 2026-03-02T14:30:00Z session_count: 12 current_milestone: v1.0

Project State

Current Work

• Phase: 72
• Task: Implement OAuth2 login flow
• Status: executing
• Plan: PLAN-1.md (task 3 of 5)

Completed Phases

• Phase 70: Project setup and scaffolding
• Phase 71: Database schema and migrations

Blockers

• [HIGH] API key for OAuth provider not configured (@user, 2026-03-01)

Decisions

Date	Decision	Rationale
2026-02-28	Use PostgreSQL over SQLite	Need concurrent writes for API
2026-03-01	Skip Phase 71.1 (Redis cache)	Not needed for v1.0

Quick Tasks

#	Task	Status	Date
001	Fix login redirect	done	2026-02-28
002	Add rate limiting	in-progress	2026-03-02

### 2. Update Individual Fields

Update a single field without affecting the rest of the document:

update current_phase -> 73 update current_task -> "Build API endpoints for user management" update status -> "planning"

Use `Edit` tool to perform surgical updates on specific lines.

### 3. Append to List Fields

Add items to list-type fields:

append completed_phases -> "Phase 72: OAuth2 authentication" append decisions -> { date: "2026-03-02", decision: "Use JWT tokens", rationale: "Stateless auth for API" } append blockers -> { severity: "MEDIUM", description: "Need design mockups", owner: "@designer" }

### 4. Remove from List Fields

Remove items when resolved:

remove blocker -> "API key for OAuth provider not configured"

Mark blockers as resolved rather than deleting (change `[ ]` to `[x]`).

### 5. Quick Tasks Table Management

Add, update, and query quick tasks:

add_quick_task -> { number: 3, task: "Update README", status: "pending" } update_quick_task -> { number: 2, status: "done" } query_quick_tasks -> { status: "in-progress" }

### 6. Cross-Session Memory

STATE.md persists across context resets. On session start:
1. Read STATE.md to restore project context
2. Increment `session_count` in frontmatter
3. Update `last_updated` timestamp
4. Report state summary to orchestrator

### 7. Decision Log

Structured decision tracking with timestamps and rationale:

```markdown
| Date | Decision | Rationale |
|------|----------|-----------|
| 2026-03-02 | Use JWT tokens | Stateless auth for API |

8. Blocker Tracking

Track blockers with severity and ownership:

- [ ] [HIGH] API key not configured (@user, 2026-03-01)
- [x] [MEDIUM] Design mockups needed (@designer, 2026-02-28) - resolved 2026-03-01

Severity levels: HIGH (blocks current work), MEDIUM (blocks future work), LOW (inconvenience).

Tool Use Instructions

Reading State

1. Use Read to load .planning/STATE.md
2. Parse frontmatter for metadata (last_updated, session_count, current_milestone)
3. Parse markdown sections into structured fields
4. Return parsed state object

Updating a Field

1. Use Read to load current STATE.md
2. Locate the target field/section
3. Use Edit with precise old_string/new_string to update only the target
4. Verify edit succeeded by reading the section back

Appending to Lists

1. Use Read to find the end of the target list section
2. Use Edit to insert new item at the correct position
3. For tables, append new row before the section break

Resolving Blockers

1. Use Read to find the blocker text
2. Use Edit to change - [ ] to - [x] and append resolution date

Process Integration

This skill is used by most GSD processes:

• execute-phase.js - Update current_task as each task completes, track position
• verify-work.js - Add/resolve blockers based on verification results
• audit-milestone.js - Read completed_phases for coverage analysis
• progress.js - Read full state for progress display and routing
• quick.js - Add/update quick tasks table
• debug.js - Track debug sessions, add blockers for unresolved issues
• complete-milestone.js - Clear completed_phases, reset current_task
• add-tests.js - Update state with test coverage info

Output Format

{
  "operation": "read|update|append|remove",
  "field": "current_phase|completed_phases|blockers|decisions|quick_tasks",
  "status": "success|error",
  "previousValue": "...",
  "newValue": "...",
  "stateSnapshot": {
    "currentPhase": 72,
    "currentTask": "Implement OAuth2",
    "completedPhases": [70, 71],
    "activeBlockers": 1,
    "quickTasksTotal": 3,
    "quickTasksPending": 1
  }
}

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
stateFile	.planning/STATE.md	Path to STATE.md
autoTimestamp	true	Auto-update last_updated on write
autoSessionCount	true	Auto-increment session_count on read
blockerSeverityLevels	HIGH,MEDIUM,LOW	Valid blocker severities

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
STATE.md not found	Planning directory not initialized	Run gsd-tools init first
Section not found	Unexpected STATE.md format	Rebuild STATE.md from template
Edit collision	Non-unique text match for edit	Provide more context in old_string
Frontmatter parse error	Malformed YAML frontmatter	Fix YAML syntax or regenerate
Concurrent modification	Multiple processes editing state	STATE.md is not lock-protected; serialize access

Constraints

• STATE.md must remain human-readable markdown at all times
• Never delete historical entries (blockers, decisions); mark as resolved instead
• Frontmatter must be valid YAML
• Quick task numbers must be sequential
• All timestamps must be ISO 8601 format
• Decision log must be append-only (no editing past decisions)
• Blocker resolution must preserve the original blocker text