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Getting Started

Install

npm install -g gsd-pi

Requires Node.js ≥ 22.0.0 (24 LTS recommended) and Git.

command not found: gsd? Your shell may not have npm's global bin directory in $PATH. Run npm prefix -g to find it, then add $(npm prefix -g)/bin to your PATH. See Troubleshooting for details.

GSD checks for updates once every 24 hours. When a new version is available, you'll see an interactive prompt at startup with the option to update immediately or skip. You can also update from within a session with /gsd update.

Set up API keys

If you use a non-Anthropic model, you'll need a search API key for web search. Run /gsd config to set keys globally — they're saved to ~/.gsd/agent/auth.json and apply to all projects:

# Inside any GSD session:
/gsd config

See Global API Keys for details on supported keys.

Set up custom MCP servers

If you want GSD to call local or external MCP servers, add project-local config in .mcp.json or .gsd/mcp.json.

See Configuration → MCP Servers for examples and verification steps.

VS Code Extension

GSD is also available as a VS Code extension. Install from the marketplace (publisher: FluxLabs) or search for "GSD" in VS Code extensions. The extension provides:

  • @gsd chat participant — talk to the agent in VS Code Chat
  • Sidebar dashboard — connection status, model info, token usage, quick actions
  • Full command palette — start/stop agent, switch models, export sessions

The CLI (gsd-pi) must be installed first — the extension connects to it via RPC.

Web Interface

GSD also has a browser-based interface. Run gsd --web to start a local web server with a visual dashboard, real-time progress, and multi-project support. See Web Interface for details.

First Launch

Run gsd in any directory:

gsd

GSD displays a welcome screen showing your version, active model, and available tool keys. Then on first launch, it runs a setup wizard:

  1. LLM Provider — select from 20+ providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, GitHub Copilot, Amazon Bedrock, Azure, and more). OAuth flows handle Claude Max and Copilot subscriptions automatically; otherwise paste an API key.
  2. Tool API Keys (optional) — Brave Search, Context7, Jina, Slack, Discord. Press Enter to skip any.

If you have an existing Pi installation, provider credentials are imported automatically.

For detailed setup instructions for specific providers (OpenRouter, Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, and more), see the Provider Setup Guide.

Re-run the wizard anytime with:

gsd config

Choose a Model

GSD auto-selects a default model after login. Switch later with:

/model

Or configure per-phase models in preferences — see Configuration.

Two Ways to Work

Step Mode — /gsd

Type /gsd inside a session. GSD executes one unit of work at a time, pausing between each with a wizard showing what completed and what's next.

  • No .gsd/ directory → starts a discussion flow to capture your project vision
  • Milestone exists, no roadmap → discuss or research the milestone
  • Roadmap exists, slices pending → plan the next slice or execute a task
  • Mid-task → resume where you left off

Step mode is the on-ramp. You stay in the loop, reviewing output between each step.

Auto Mode — /gsd auto

Type /gsd auto and walk away. GSD autonomously researches, plans, executes, verifies, commits, and advances through every slice until the milestone is complete.

/gsd auto

See Auto Mode for full details.

Two Terminals, One Project

The recommended workflow: auto mode in one terminal, steering from another.

Terminal 1 — let it build:

gsd
/gsd auto

Terminal 2 — steer while it works:

gsd
/gsd discuss    # talk through architecture decisions
/gsd status     # check progress
/gsd queue      # queue the next milestone

Both terminals read and write the same .gsd/ files. Decisions in terminal 2 are picked up at the next phase boundary automatically.

Project Structure

GSD organizes work into a hierarchy:

Milestone  →  a shippable version (4-10 slices)
  Slice    →  one demoable vertical capability (1-7 tasks)
    Task   →  one context-window-sized unit of work

The iron rule: a task must fit in one context window. If it can't, it's two tasks.

All state lives on disk in .gsd/:

.gsd/
  PROJECT.md          — what the project is right now
  REQUIREMENTS.md     — requirement contract (active/validated/deferred)
  DECISIONS.md        — append-only architectural decisions
  KNOWLEDGE.md        — cross-session rules, patterns, and lessons
  RUNTIME.md          — runtime context: API endpoints, env vars, services (v2.39)
  STATE.md            — quick-glance status
  milestones/
    M001/
      M001-ROADMAP.md — slice plan with risk levels and dependencies
      M001-CONTEXT.md — scope and goals from discussion
      slices/
        S01/
          S01-PLAN.md     — task decomposition
          S01-SUMMARY.md  — what happened
          S01-UAT.md      — human test script
          tasks/
            T01-PLAN.md
            T01-SUMMARY.md

Resume a Session

gsd --continue    # or gsd -c

Resumes the most recent session for the current directory.

To browse and pick from all saved sessions:

gsd sessions

Shows each session's date, message count, and first-message preview so you can choose which one to resume.

Next Steps

Troubleshooting

gsd command runs git svn dcommit instead of GSD

The oh-my-zsh git plugin defines alias gsd='git svn dcommit', which shadows the GSD binary.

Option 1 — Remove the alias in your ~/.zshrc (add after the source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh line):

unalias gsd 2>/dev/null

Option 2 — Use the alternative binary name:

gsd-cli

Both gsd and gsd-cli point to the same binary.