@pmelab/gtd 2.8.0 → 3.0.0

This diff represents the content of publicly available package versions that have been released to one of the supported registries. The information contained in this diff is provided for informational purposes only and reflects changes between package versions as they appear in their respective public registries.
package/docs/cli.md CHANGED
@@ -4,14 +4,17 @@
4
4
  Usage: gtd [command] [options]
5
5
 
6
6
  Commands:
7
- step Advance the workflow as the human actor (to fixpoint)
8
- step-agent Advance the workflow as the agent actor (to fixpoint)
9
- next Print the prompt for whichever actor is awaited (no mutation)
10
- status Predict the next commit and state from the working tree (no mutation)
11
- review <target> Anchor an ad-hoc human review against a git ref or branch
12
- questions List open questions from the active grilling/architecting doc
13
- changesets List changesets/files from the active review doc
7
+ step <actor> Authenticate as <actor>, match the resolved rest's
8
+ declared patterns against the pending changes, and commit
9
+ (or squash) the one resulting transition
10
+ next Print the resolved rest's rendered script/prompt/message
11
+ (no mutation)
12
+ run Execute the resolved rest's emitted script, then step its
13
+ actor (the built-in script driver)
14
+ status Print the resolved rest's state/actor and which declared
15
+ pattern (if any) each pending change matches (no mutation)
14
16
  format <file> Format a markdown file in place
17
+ lsp Start the LSP server for .gtd/ steering files (stdio)
15
18
 
16
19
  Options:
17
20
  --json Output structured JSON instead of plain text
@@ -23,334 +26,230 @@ Options:
23
26
  repository-state work — they run outside a repo and in any repo state. Bare
24
27
  `gtd` (no subcommand) is a usage error: it prints the help text and exits 1
25
28
  without touching the repository. Every other command must be run from the
26
- **repository root** — gtd derives steering files, diffs, and pathspecs relative
27
- to cwd, so it refuses with a clear error if invoked from a subdirectory.
29
+ **repository root** — gtd derives the workflow, pending changes, and process
30
+ history relative to cwd, so it refuses with a clear error if invoked from a
31
+ subdirectory.
28
32
 
29
33
  `--json` is the only long option. Any other `--` option (including a typo like
30
34
  `--jsn`) is rejected with a usage error rather than silently ignored, so a
31
35
  mistyped flag can never degrade a JSON caller to plain-text mode.
32
36
 
33
- One nuance to "(no mutation)": `next` and `status` never author commits or
34
- change workflow state, but while a human review is pending they do maintain the
35
- review checkout window (closing it to read state, re-arming it on the way out —
36
- see [Human review gate](workflow.md#human-review-gate)), which transiently moves
37
- HEAD and the index. The working tree is never touched.
38
-
39
- ## `gtd step` / `gtd step-agent`
40
-
41
- Both drive the **same fixpoint loop** — gather → resolve → perform the returned
42
- edge action → repeat — differing only in which actor's turn they are allowed to
43
- capture:
44
-
45
- - **`gtd step`** captures the **human** turn at whichever gate is awaiting one.
46
- - **`gtd step-agent`** captures the **agent** turn.
47
-
48
- **Fixpoint advance.** A single invocation may author several commits: it authors
49
- the awaited actor's turn commit, then keeps performing any further mid-chain
50
- routing (a test run, a routing commit, a package close, …) until it reaches a
51
- rest where a prompt would be shown, or a fixpoint where nothing changed.
52
- `gtd step`/`gtd step-agent` never print a prompt themselves — that's
53
- `gtd next`'s job.
54
-
55
- **Idempotence.** Re-running the same command again once the tree is settled at a
56
- rest authors **zero** new commits. It exits 0 while the rest still awaits that
57
- command's actor (an inert empty agent turn, the idle health check); once the
58
- rest awaits the _other_ actor, the re-run is an out-of-turn refusal — still zero
59
- commits, but non-zero exit.
60
-
61
- **Out-of-turn refusal.** Human and agent turns are strictly separated: the wrong
62
- mutator always errors, at every state, on clean and dirty trees alike.
63
- `gtd step-agent` while a human turn is awaited refuses with
64
- `"<state> awaits a human turn — run \`gtd step\`"`; `gtd
65
- step`while an agent turn is awaited refuses with`"<state> awaits an agent turn —
66
- run \`gtd
67
- step-agent\`"`— exit non-zero, zero commits either way. Human edits made while the agent is awaited (e.g. amendment notes in`.gtd/`package files after the`gtd:
68
- planning` commit lands) stay pending in the working tree and ride along as input
69
- to the agent's next captured turn; left unamended, the build proceeds.
70
-
71
- **Red-test fixpoints exit 0.** A red test run below the fix-attempt cap (or the
72
- health-fix cap) still writes its findings and commits — it is a normal,
73
- successful step of the loop, not a failure of the `step`/`step-agent`
74
- invocation. `step`/`step-agent` only exit non-zero for a genuine refusal or an
75
- operational error (bad config, missing test binary, corrupted state).
76
-
77
- **Output.** Plain mode prints one `committed: <subject>` line per commit this
78
- invocation authored (oldest→newest), then a final `state: <state>` line:
37
+ ## `gtd step <actor>`
79
38
 
80
- ```
81
- committed: gtd(human): grilling
82
- committed: gtd: architecting
83
- state: architecting
84
- ```
85
-
86
- `--json` emits `{state, actions, commits}` instead (see
87
- [JSON schemas](#json-schemas)).
88
-
89
- ## `gtd next`
90
-
91
- Pure prompt emitter — it **never mutates** the repository. It reports whichever
92
- actor is currently awaited and, if the tree is at a genuine rest, the full
93
- prompt for that actor.
94
-
95
- **Purity.** No commits, no file writes, no test runs — `gtd next` only gathers
96
- and resolves.
97
-
98
- **Dirty-tree refusal.** If the working tree has pending changes outside the
99
- steering-file set, `gtd next` refuses rather than guess at a prompt for a state
100
- that hasn't been captured yet:
101
-
102
- ```
103
- gtd next: working tree is dirty — run `gtd status` to inspect it, then advance with `gtd step` or `gtd step-agent` (whichever actor is awaited)
104
- ```
105
-
106
- **Pending.** If HEAD is mid-chain — bookkeeping the next `step`/`step-agent`
107
- invocation would perform before reaching a rest — `gtd next` reports
108
- `pending: true` with no prompt. Mid-chain bookkeeping is invoker-agnostic, so
109
- either mutator resumes it; the report names the actor whose chain it is. In
110
- plain mode an agent-driven checkpoint prints `"mid-chain checkpoint — run \`gtd
111
- step-agent\` to continue, then run \`gtd next\`
112
- again"`, a human-driven one prints `"mid-chain checkpoint — run \`gtd step\` to
113
- continue"`.
114
-
115
- **Agent tail lines.** In plain-mode output, a prompt for the **agent** actor
116
- ends with the pinned tail:
117
-
118
- ```
119
- Finish your turn by running `gtd step-agent`. Then run `gtd next` and follow
120
- its output — repeat this cycle as long as the output is addressed to you (the
121
- agent); when it awaits the human, stop and hand off.
122
- ```
39
+ Authenticates `<actor>` against the resolved rest and performs the ONE resulting
40
+ transition. Unlike v2, there is no fixpoint chain to drive: the pattern
41
+ machine's `on` edges are direct one-hop transitions, so a single invocation
42
+ authors at most one commit (a normal turn) or performs one squash
43
+ (§[STATES.md](../STATES.md#8-the-squash-lifecycle)) — never both, never a chain
44
+ of several. A caller that wants several transitions issues several invocations.
123
45
 
124
- The first sentence closes the current turn; the second closes the outer loop —
125
- it is what lets a plain-text agent chain multiple iterations (e.g. successive
126
- test/fix cycles) without an external driver, until a human gate is reached.
127
- Human-actor prompts carry no tail. `--json` output never embeds the tail into
128
- `prompt` either — the structured `actor` field (see
129
- [JSON schemas](#json-schemas) below) carries the same information: `"agent"`
130
- means another agent round, `"human"` means stop and hand off.
46
+ - **Out-of-turn refusal** — `<actor>` isn't the resolved state's declared actor:
47
+ exit non-zero, zero commits.
48
+ `gtd step <actor>: out of turn — "<state>" awaits <awaited-actor>`
49
+ - **No-match refusal** — the tree is dirty and no declared `on` pattern matches:
50
+ exit non-zero, zero commits, naming every declared pattern.
51
+ `gtd step <actor>: no declared pattern matches the pending changes at "<state>" — declared patterns: <p1>, <p2>, …`
52
+ - **No-op** — the tree is clean and the state declares no `C` pattern: exit
53
+ **0**, zero commits. This is the default, silent case a loop driver relies on
54
+ (see [Driving the loop](loop.md)).
55
+ - **Commit/squash** — a pattern matched: exit 0, one commit (or one squash)
56
+ authored.
131
57
 
132
- ## `gtd status`
133
-
134
- Pure, read-only **dry-run prediction** — the same gather+resolve `gtd next`
135
- runs, but reporting a prediction of the next turn rather than the actual prompt.
136
- Performs no git mutation, no test run, no file write — guaranteed side-effect
137
- free, including on a dirty tree.
138
-
139
- Prints four fields:
58
+ Plain-mode output is one line:
140
59
 
141
60
  ```
142
- State: grilling
143
- Awaits: human
144
- Predicted commit: gtd(human): grilling
145
- Predicted state: grilling
61
+ committed: gtd(human): grilling
146
62
  ```
147
63
 
148
- - **State** — the currently resolved state.
149
- - **Awaits** — the actor (`human` or `agent`) whose turn it is.
150
- - **Predicted commit** — the subject `step`/`step-agent` would author next, or
151
- `(none)` at a fixpoint (e.g. idle with nothing to do).
152
- - **Predicted state** — the state that commit would land in.
153
-
154
- `gtd status` takes no arguments — extra positional args are rejected.
64
+ or, at a no-op:
155
65
 
156
- ## `gtd review <target>`
157
-
158
- A pure mutator that **anchors, then exits** — it never prints a prompt itself.
159
- Use it to start an ad-hoc human review against an explicit git ref or branch,
160
- independent of the automatic review base the workflow otherwise computes.
161
-
162
- 1. Refuses on a dirty tree.
163
- 2. Resolves `<target>` via merge-base semantics and computes the diff HEAD adds
164
- over `merge-base(<target>, HEAD)`.
165
- 3. Refuses if that diff is empty after filtering ("nothing to review").
166
- 4. Authors exactly one commit: `gtd: reviewing <full-hash-of-the-base>`.
167
- 5. Prints a short confirmation pointing at `gtd next` — it does **not** print
168
- the review prompt itself.
169
-
170
- ```bash
171
- gtd review main
172
- # anchored review at <hash> — run `gtd next` to get the review prompt
173
- gtd next --json
174
- # {"actor":"agent", ...} — the review-record prompt scoped to that anchor
175
66
  ```
176
-
177
- Errors (all exit 1, message on stderr):
178
-
179
- - Missing target: `gtd review: missing target argument`
180
- - Extra arguments:
181
- `gtd review: too many arguments — expected one target, got: …`
182
- - Unresolvable ref: `gtd review: cannot resolve ref '<target>': <error message>`
183
- - Empty diff:
184
- `gtd review: nothing to review (<target> diff is empty after filtering)`
185
-
186
- ## `gtd questions` / `gtd changesets`
187
-
188
- Pure, read-only reporters — no dirty-tree check, no mutation — that parse the
189
- structured content out of the active grilling/architecting and review documents,
190
- for a future UI:
191
-
192
- - **`gtd questions`** reads whichever of `.gtd/TODO.md` / `.gtd/ARCHITECTURE.md`
193
- is present and reports its `## Open Questions` list (see
194
- [Structured grilling/architecting and review files](workflow.md#structured-grillingarchitecting-and-review-files)).
195
- Reports an empty list when neither file exists.
196
- - **`gtd changesets`** reads `.gtd/REVIEW.md`, if present, and reports its
197
- chunks/file-pointer list. Reports an empty list when the file doesn't exist.
198
-
199
- Both take no arguments and always exit 0 — a malformed file is reported via the
200
- `errors` field/lines rather than failing the command (the same diagnosis
201
- `gtd step-agent` would refuse the agent's next turn capture with).
202
-
203
- ```bash
204
- gtd questions --json
205
- # {"file":".gtd/TODO.md","questions":[{"question":"Which operations?","status":"suggested","text":"add and subtract."}],"errors":[]}
206
- gtd changesets --json
207
- # {"file":".gtd/REVIEW.md","shortHash":"abc1234","fullHash":"abc1234...","changesets":[...],"errors":[]}
67
+ nothing to do at "idle"
208
68
  ```
209
69
 
210
- ## `gtd format <file>`
211
-
212
- Formats a markdown file in place with a bundled prettier (`parser: "markdown"`,
213
- `printWidth: 80`, `proseWrap: "always"`), ignoring the host repo's own
214
- `.prettierrc` so `.gtd/TODO.md`/`.gtd/REVIEW.md` stay consistently formatted
215
- regardless of the host project's toolchain. Rejects `--json` (exit 1,
216
- `gtd format does not accept --json`) — it is a plain file operation, not a v2
217
- state command.
218
-
219
- Errors (all exit 1, message on stderr):
220
-
221
- - Missing path: `gtd format: missing file path argument`
222
- - Extra arguments: `gtd format: too many arguments — expected one path, got: …`
223
- - Non-markdown file:
224
- `gtd format: <file> is not a markdown file (expected .md or .markdown)`
225
- - File not found: `gtd: skipped formatting <file>: not found`
226
-
227
- ## JSON schemas
228
-
229
- Pass `--json` to `step`, `step-agent`, `next`, `status`, `review`, `questions`,
230
- or `changesets` for machine-readable single-line JSON output instead of plain
231
- text.
232
-
233
- **`step` / `step-agent`** — `{state, actions, commits}`:
70
+ `--json` emits `{state, subject}` — `subject` is `null` at a no-op:
234
71
 
235
72
  ```json
236
- {
237
- "state": "architecting",
238
- "actions": ["capture the human turn as \"gtd(human): grilling\""],
239
- "commits": ["gtd(human): grilling", "gtd: architecting"]
240
- }
73
+ { "state": "grilling", "subject": "gtd(human): grilling" }
241
74
  ```
242
75
 
243
- - `state` — the final resolved state after the fixpoint loop settled.
244
- - `actions` — human-readable descriptions of every edge action this invocation
245
- performed, oldest→newest.
246
- - `commits` — every commit subject this invocation authored, oldest→newest.
76
+ ## `gtd next [--json]`
77
+
78
+ Pure emitter of the resolved rest's rendered content — it **never mutates** the
79
+ repository (no commits, no file writes, no script execution). Resolves HEAD
80
+ exactly like `gtd step`, renders that state's declared
81
+ `script`/`prompt`/`message` template, and prints it. `kind` is never `"commit"`
82
+ here: resolution never rests at a commit state (entering one always ends the
83
+ process in the same step that entered it — see
84
+ [STATES.md §5](../STATES.md#5-resolution)).
247
85
 
248
- **`next`** — `{state, actor, pending, prompt}`:
86
+ Plain mode prints the rendered content verbatim (with exactly one trailing
87
+ newline) — never the `model`/`file`/`mode` hints, which are JSON-only. `--json`
88
+ emits `{state, actor, kind, content, model?, file?, mode?}`:
249
89
 
250
90
  ```json
251
91
  {
252
92
  "state": "building",
253
93
  "actor": "agent",
254
- "pending": false,
255
- "prompt": "..."
94
+ "kind": "prompt",
95
+ "content": "You are an autonomous coding agent. ..."
256
96
  }
257
97
  ```
258
98
 
259
99
  - `state` — the resolved state.
260
- - `actor` — `"human"` or `"agent"`: who owns the next move. This is the single
261
- loop-driver signal: `"agent"` means proceed with another round — act on
262
- `prompt` when present, then run `gtd step-agent`; at an agent-driven pending
263
- checkpoint (`prompt` is `null`, nothing to act on) just run `gtd step-agent`.
264
- `"human"` means halt and hand off (a human rest, whose prompt body already
265
- tells the human what to do, or a human-driven pending checkpoint resumed by
266
- `gtd step`).
267
- - `pending` — `true` at a mid-chain HEAD (no prompt yet — resume with a mutator
268
- first); `false` at a genuine rest.
269
- - `prompt` — the full prompt markdown when `pending` is `false`, else `null`.
270
-
271
- **`status`** — `{state, actor, predictedCommit, predictedState}`:
100
+ - `actor` — the state's declared actor.
101
+ - `kind` — `"script"` | `"prompt"` | `"message"` — the dispatch key a driver
102
+ switches on (see [Driving the loop](loop.md)).
103
+ - `content` — the fully rendered template.
104
+ - `model` — the state's opaque `model:` hint, RENDERED through the same template
105
+ context as `content` (see
106
+ [Configuration](configuration.md#model--the-opaque-harness-hint-template-rendered)),
107
+ present only when the state declares one; **omitted entirely** (never `null`)
108
+ when unset.
109
+ - `file` — the state's declared steering file, RENDERED the same way; `mode` —
110
+ its format, verbatim (`"qa"` | `"review"`) (see
111
+ [Configuration](configuration.md#filemode--the-steering-file-association)).
112
+ Both present only when the state declares them; **omitted entirely** (never
113
+ `null`) otherwise.
114
+
115
+ ## `gtd run`
116
+
117
+ The built-in driver for a `script`-content rest — the **only** place gtd itself
118
+ spawns a subprocess. Renders the resolved rest exactly like `gtd next`, executes
119
+ its content verbatim via `bash -c` (foreground, inherited stdio, exit code
120
+ deliberately ignored — a check script encodes its outcome in the tree, e.g.
121
+ writing a findings file, never in its exit status), then runs `gtd step <actor>`
122
+ for that state's own actor to capture the outcome in one command. Refuses (exit
123
+ non-zero, no execution, no step) when the resolved rest isn't a script:
124
+
125
+ ```
126
+ gtd run: "<state>" awaits a <kind> from "<actor>" — nothing scripted to run
127
+ ```
128
+
129
+ Reports the same `{state, subject}` (or `committed: …` / `nothing to do at "…"`)
130
+ as `gtd step` for the capturing step it performs. Takes no arguments — extra
131
+ positional args are rejected.
132
+
133
+ ## `gtd status [--json]`
134
+
135
+ Pure, read-only dry-run reporter — the same resolution `gtd next` performs, but
136
+ reporting the resolved state/actor and, for every pending change, which declared
137
+ `on` pattern (if any) matches it — no mutation, and no CONTENT rendering (the
138
+ `script`/`prompt`/`message`/`commit` template is never rendered here, unlike
139
+ `gtd next`). It DOES render the resolved state's `model:`/`file:` hints (if
140
+ declared) through the same `it.vars`-carrying template context `gtd next` uses —
141
+ see
142
+ [Configuration](configuration.md#model--the-opaque-harness-hint-template-rendered)
143
+ — so a templated `model:`/`file:` failing to render fails `gtd status` too,
144
+ exactly like it would fail `gtd next`.
145
+
146
+ ```
147
+ State: working
148
+ Awaits: agent
149
+ Pending:
150
+ A DONE.md -> A DONE.md
151
+ A scratch.txt -> (no match)
152
+ ```
153
+
154
+ or, on a clean tree: `Pending: (clean)`. A `Model: <value>` line appears right
155
+ after `Awaits:` when the resolved state declares a `model:` hint, and
156
+ `File: <value>`/`Mode: <value>` lines appear after that (in that order) when
157
+ declared — each independently, only when set.
158
+
159
+ `--json` emits
160
+ `{state, actor, changes: [{status, path, pattern}], model?, file?, mode?}` —
161
+ `pattern` is `null` when no declared row matches that change; `model`/`file`/
162
+ `mode` are present only when the resolved state declares them (omitted entirely,
163
+ never `null`, otherwise):
272
164
 
273
165
  ```json
274
166
  {
275
- "state": "grilling",
276
- "actor": "human",
277
- "predictedCommit": "gtd(human): grilling",
278
- "predictedState": "grilling"
167
+ "state": "working",
168
+ "actor": "agent",
169
+ "changes": [
170
+ { "status": "A", "path": "DONE.md", "pattern": "A DONE.md" },
171
+ { "status": "A", "path": "scratch.txt", "pattern": null }
172
+ ]
279
173
  }
280
174
  ```
281
175
 
282
- `predictedCommit` is `null` when the next invocation would author nothing (e.g.
283
- idle with a green health check).
284
-
285
- **`questions`** — `{file, questions, errors}`:
286
-
287
- ```json
288
- {
289
- "file": ".gtd/TODO.md",
290
- "questions": [
291
- {
292
- "question": "Which operations?",
293
- "status": "suggested",
294
- "text": "add and subtract."
295
- }
296
- ],
297
- "errors": []
298
- }
299
- ```
176
+ `gtd status` takes no arguments — extra positional args are rejected.
300
177
 
301
- `file` is `null` when neither `.gtd/TODO.md` nor `.gtd/ARCHITECTURE.md` is
302
- present. `errors` lists any structural problems in the file — the same diagnosis
303
- that would make `gtd step-agent` refuse the agent's next turn capture.
178
+ ## `gtd format <file>`
304
179
 
305
- **`changesets`** — `{file, shortHash, fullHash, changesets, errors}`:
180
+ Formats a markdown file in place with a bundled prettier (`parser: "markdown"`,
181
+ `printWidth: 80`, `proseWrap: "always"`), ignoring the host repo's own
182
+ `.prettierrc` so `.gtd/`-tracked files stay consistently formatted regardless of
183
+ the host project's toolchain. Rejects `--json` (exit 1,
184
+ `gtd format does not accept --json`) — it's a plain file operation, not a state
185
+ command.
306
186
 
307
- ```json
308
- {
309
- "file": ".gtd/REVIEW.md",
310
- "shortHash": "abc1234",
311
- "fullHash": "abc1234def5678901234567890123456789abcd",
312
- "changesets": [
313
- {
314
- "title": "Add calculator",
315
- "description": "New add function for the calculator.",
316
- "files": [{ "path": "./src/calc.ts", "line": 1, "checked": false }]
317
- }
318
- ],
319
- "errors": []
320
- }
321
- ```
187
+ Errors (all exit 1, message on stderr):
322
188
 
323
- `file` is `null` when `.gtd/REVIEW.md` doesn't exist. `errors` mirrors
324
- `questions`' field above.
189
+ - Missing path: `gtd format: missing file path argument`
190
+ - Extra arguments: `gtd format: too many arguments — expected one path, got: …`
191
+ - Non-markdown file:
192
+ `gtd format: <file> is not a markdown file (expected .md or .markdown)`
193
+ - File not found: `gtd: skipped formatting <file>: not found`
325
194
 
326
- **Error envelope** — every command, in `--json` mode, reports failures inside
327
- the JSON object rather than as unstructured text, and still exits 1:
195
+ ## `gtd lsp`
196
+
197
+ Starts an LSP server over stdio for `.gtd/` steering files — document symbols
198
+ for a `qa`-mode file's open questions and a `review`-mode file's review
199
+ chunks/hunks, code actions to check/uncheck a hunk or a whole chunk, and
200
+ diagnostics publishing the same parser findings the bundled workflow's
201
+ `.gtd/FORMAT.md` validators produce (see `src/OpenQuestions.ts` /
202
+ `src/ReviewDoc.ts` and
203
+ [STATES.md §10](../STATES.md#10-the-bundled-default-workflow)).
204
+
205
+ **Config-driven** (see
206
+ [docs/design/state-file-association.md](design/state-file-association.md)): the
207
+ server locates the active gtd config the same way the CLI does, from the
208
+ `initialize` request's workspace root (falling back to the open document's own
209
+ directory), renders every state's `file:` into an absolute-path → `mode` map,
210
+ and dispatches on it — first declaring state wins a path conflict. A path the
211
+ map doesn't cover (or no config at all) falls back to the basename dispatch
212
+ (`TODO.md` → `qa`, `REVIEW.md` → `review`), so the server still works standalone
213
+ with no `.gtdrc` in sight. Also registers an `executeCommand`,
214
+ `gtd.openSteeringFile`: resolves the current state exactly like `gtd status`
215
+ (config + git HEAD) and asks the client to show its `file:`
216
+ (`window/showDocument`); a state with no `file:` gets an informational message
217
+ naming the state instead — bind it to an editor keybinding for a "jump to the
218
+ active steering file" command.
219
+
220
+ Dispatched before the repository-root guard and auto-init, like `gtd format`.
221
+ Rejects `--json` (exit 1, `gtd lsp does not accept --json`) and extra positional
222
+ arguments — it's a long-running server, not a state command. Runs until the
223
+ client disconnects (the LSP `exit` notification), then exits cleanly.
224
+
225
+ ## Error envelope
226
+
227
+ Every command, in `--json` mode, reports a failure as a machine-readable
228
+ envelope on **stdout**, and still exits 1:
328
229
 
329
230
  ```json
330
231
  { "state": "error", "prompt": "<message>" }
331
232
  ```
332
233
 
333
- There is no auto-advance flag anywhere in the wire format — `actor` replaces it.
334
- The caller decides whether to keep looping based on `actor` (halt on `"human"`)
335
- and `pending` (re-run `step`/`step-agent` first when `true`), not on a boolean
336
- auto-advance flag.
234
+ A human-readable `gtd: <message>` line is still written to **stderr** regardless
235
+ of `--json` — the envelope adds a structured stdout channel, it does not replace
236
+ the plain-text one.
337
237
 
338
238
  ## Repository requirements
339
239
 
340
- - **Single writer, linear branch.** State is folded from **first-parent**
341
- history only. A merge commit at HEAD is unsupported (documented, not handled)
342
- — it degrades gracefully on the default branch rather than crashing, but do
343
- not rely on merge commits mid-cycle.
240
+ - **Single writer, linear branch.** A process's history is walked via
241
+ **first-parent** commits only.
344
242
  - **Test/build artifacts must be gitignored.** This is **load-bearing**, not a
345
- style preference: every fixpoint hop in `gtd step`/`gtd step-agent` detects
346
- "clean" via `git status --porcelain`, which silently omits anything matched by
347
- `.gitignore`. If your `testCommand` (or the build it triggers) writes
348
- tracked-but-untracked output — a `dist/`, a coverage report, a log file — into
349
- the working tree, the tree never goes clean after a green test run, and the
350
- fixpoint loop cannot converge: it will either loop forever re-detecting a
351
- "dirty" boundary or misclassify build output as the human's next feature
352
- capture. Gitignore every path your test/build toolchain writes before wiring
353
- gtd into a repo.
354
- - **Repository root invocation.** Every subcommand except `--help`/`--version`
355
- must run from the git repository root — steering files and diffs are resolved
356
- against the process cwd.
243
+ style preference: every step decision detects "clean" via
244
+ `git diff --name-status HEAD` (tracked changes) unioned with
245
+ `git ls-files --others --exclude-standard` (untracked files), which silently
246
+ omits anything matched by `.gitignore`. If a `script` state's command (or the
247
+ build it triggers) writes tracked-but-untracked output — a `dist/`, a coverage
248
+ report, a log file — into the working tree, the tree never goes clean after a
249
+ green run, and the check's `"C"` pattern never fires. Gitignore every path
250
+ your scripts write before wiring gtd into a repo.
251
+ - **Repository root invocation.** Every state subcommand (`step`/`next`/`run`/
252
+ `status`) must run from the git repository root — the workflow, pending
253
+ changes, and process history are resolved against the process cwd.
254
+ `--help`/`--version`, `format`, and `lsp` skip this guard entirely (and any
255
+ git/`.gtdrc` dependency along with it).