GSD Core
A set of prompts and workflows that guide AI coding agents through planned, phased software work.
- Stars
- 11.1k
- Forks
- 788
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- Framework
What it is
GSD Core is a framework that helps AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor work on software projects in an organized way. It runs each milestone as a repeated loop of discuss, plan, execute, verify, and ship, one phase at a time. Heavy research and execution happen in fresh-context subagents so the main session stays lean, and files like STATE.md and CONTEXT.md carry information between sessions.
- Start a greenfield project with the /gsd-new-project command
- Onboard an existing repository with the /gsd-onboard command
- Plan and verify a single phase of work before shipping a pull request
- Recover and troubleshoot a stalled session using the documented guide
Great for
- Developers already using Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or another supported AI coding runtime
- People running multi-step projects who want written plans and verification steps rather than one-off prompts
- Teams onboarding an existing codebase into an AI-assisted workflow
- Developers who want to keep long AI sessions from degrading in quality
Not ideal for
- People who do not use any supported AI coding runtime, since the framework is built to drive those tools
- Developers who want a simple one-shot code generator with no planning overhead
- Anyone unwilling to let an installer add files to their runtime configuration, as the README describes a prompting-based workflow with installed commands
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Node.js (version not specified in the README excerpt)
Run the installer
npx @opengsd/gsd-core@latest - 2
Run it
- Run the installer with npx and choose your runtime and global or local install.
- Open your AI coding runtime and start a new session.
- Run /gsd-new-project for a new project, or /gsd-onboard for an existing codebase.
- Follow the first-project tutorial in the docs for a guided walkthrough.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the phase loop explanation to understand the discuss, plan, execute, verify, and ship cycle
- Use the CONFIGURATION reference to tune settings for your runtime
- Review the COMMANDS reference to see the full set of slash commands
- Consult the recover-and-troubleshoot guide when a session goes wrong
Downloads
Strengths
- Addresses context degradation by running heavy work in fresh subagents, as described in the README
- Works across many runtimes, including Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, and Windsurf
- Has tutorials, how-to guides, and reference docs, and is published on npm under MIT license
Trade-offs
- Its effectiveness depends on the underlying AI runtime, which the README does not evaluate
- The README is truncated and does not show full command lists or configuration details here, so setup nuances are unclear
- Relies on a Node.js-based installer and an npm package, and the README notes it does not support copying files manually
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gsd-core (this) | 11.1k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers already using Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or another supported AI coding runtime |
| get-shit-done | 64.2k | Dev tool | intermediate | 5 months ago | Developers who already use Claude Code and want to find the current GSD project |
| OpenSpec | 73.7k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who use AI coding assistants and want to agree on requirements before code is written |
| planning-with-files | 27.8k | Dev tool | beginner | 6 days ago | Developers running long multi-step tasks in Claude Code or Codex CLI |
| Trail-Code | 11k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who use Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or similar agents on a medium or large repository |
| ECC | 295k | Dev tool | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who already use Claude Code and want a shared workflow for planning, testing and review |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.