Gstack Skills

Complete development workflow suite from Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's gstack. Use /gstack or any gstack command (/office-hours, /review, /ship, etc.) to acce...

Security Scan

The skill's files, instructions, and required resources are coherent with a development-workflow/router tool and request no unexplained credentials or installs.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (gstack workflow router & tools) matches the shipped assets: SKILL.md instruction files for multiple subskills and two small helper scripts (command_router.py, state_manager.py). There are no unrelated binaries or environment variables requested.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md files instruct the agent to inspect git state, produce diffs, and optionally apply 'auto-fix' changes. That behavior is consistent with a code-review workflow, but it can modify repository files if auto-fixes are applied. The docs explicitly recommend creating backups and asking user confirmation before applying fixes, which mitigates risk. No instructions direct reading of unrelated system paths, secrets, or external servers.

Install Mechanism

No install spec is provided (instruction-only plus two local helper scripts). Nothing is downloaded or written outside the included scripts, so install risk is low.

Credentials

The skill requires no environment variables, credentials, or external config paths. The only persisted path is a local directory (.workbuddy/gstack-state) used to store workflow JSON files—reasonable for state between steps.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and autonomous model invocation is allowed (platform default). The skill persistently writes state under a project-local folder (.workbuddy/gstack-state) and may auto-edit repo files if auto-fix actions are executed; however the instructions call for backups and user confirmation prior to changes. It does not modify other skills or global agent settings.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: routing gstack commands, reviewing diffs, and storing workflow state locally. Things to consider before installing: 1) The review workflow can run git commands and may propose or auto-apply fixes — ensure the agent asks for confirmation or run it in a test branch or container. 2) The state manager writes files to .workbuddy/gstack-state in your project directory; if you have sensitive files, review that path. 3) Inspect the included scripts yourself (they are small and local) before granting autonomous execution. 4) No credentials or network installs are requested, which reduces risk. If you want lower blast radius, disable autonomous invocation for this skill or restrict it to read-only review actions until you're comfortable with auto-fix behavior.

gstack-skills - Complete Development Workflow Suite

Complete development workflow suite adapted from Garry Tan's gstack for OpenClaw/WorkBuddy. Provides 15 specialized tools covering the entire development lifecycle from product ideation to deployment.

About gstack

gstack is Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's open-source Claude Code configuration that helped him write 600,000+ lines of production code in 60 days (35% tests). This OpenClaw adaptation makes those powerful workflows available to any AI agent.

Quick Start

Use any of these commands directly:

• /gstack - Get help and see all available commands
• /office-hours - Validate product ideas and design thinking
• /plan-ceo-review - CEO perspective on feature planning
• /plan-eng-review - Engineering architecture review
• /review - Pre-merge code review
• /qa - Test application and fix bugs
• /ship - Automated release workflow
• /investigate - Systematic root cause analysis

Example usage:

User: /office-hours I have an idea for an AI-powered code review tool

User: /review my current branch

User: /ship the user authentication feature

Command Routing

When a user invokes any gstack command, this skill automatically routes to the appropriate specialized skill:

Command	Specialized Skill	Purpose
/gstack	gstack-skills	Show help and command overview
/office-hours	office-hours	Product ideation and validation
/plan-ceo-review	plan-ceo-review	CEO perspective planning
/plan-eng-review	plan-eng-review	Engineering architecture review
/plan-design-review	plan-design-review	Design review
/design-consultation	design-consultation	Design system consultation
/review	review	Pre-merge code review
/investigate	investigate	Root cause analysis
/design-review	design-review	Design audit and fixes
/qa	qa	Test application and fix bugs
/qa-only	qa-only	Bug reporting only
/ship	ship	Automated release workflow
/document-release	document-release	Update documentation
/retro	retro	Team retrospective
/codex	codex	OpenAI Codex independent review
/careful	careful	Dangerous operation warnings
/freeze	freeze	Lock file editing scope
/guard	guard	Full safety mode (careful + freeze)

When to Use This Skill

This skill acts as a router and should be used when:

1. User invokes /gstack - Show command overview and recommendations
2. User needs guidance - Help choose the right gstack command for their task
3. User is new to gstack - Provide context and explain the workflow philosophy
4. User wants to learn - Explain how gstack commands work together

For specific command execution, this skill routes to the appropriate specialized skill.

Core Philosophy

Boil the Lake Principle

"Don't be half-invested, boil the whole lake" - Garry Tan

AI-assisted development should pursue complete implementation, not shortcuts. When a problem is identified, actually fix it. Completing a task means truly completing it.

Intelligent Borrowing

When borrowing features from other products, always consider:

1. Why does it work in the original product?
2. Will it succeed or fail in your product?
3. What adaptations are needed for success?

Recommended Workflow

The complete development lifecycle:

1. /office-hours       → Validate product ideas
2. /plan-ceo-review    → CEO perspective review
3. /plan-eng-review    → Engineering architecture review
4. /plan-design-review → Design review
5. /review             → Code review
6. /qa                 → Test and fix bugs
7. /ship               → Release to production

Command Overviews

Product Ideation Phase

/office-hours

YC office hours tool for product idea validation. Use when:

• User says "brainstorm", "I have an idea", "help me think through this"
• Validating startup concepts
• Design thinking and problem reframing

/plan-ceo-review

CEO/founder perspective planning. Use when:

• User says "think bigger", "expand scope", "strategic review"
• Evaluating feature ambition
• Challenging assumptions and finding 10x opportunities

/plan-eng-review

Engineering manager perspective. Use when:

• User says "engineering review", "architecture review"
• Evaluating technical architecture
• Assessing implementation approaches

/plan-design-review

Designer perspective. Use when:

• User says "design review"
• Checking UX and design quality

Development Phase

/review

Pre-merge code review. Use when:

• User says "review this PR", "code review", "pre-landing review"
• Code is about to be merged
• Analyzing SQL security, race conditions, LLM trust boundaries

/investigate

Debugging expert. Use when:

• User says "debug this", "investigate", "root cause"
• Systematic root cause analysis needed
• Complex troubleshooting

/design-consultation

Design partner consultation. Use when:

• User says "design consultation"
• Building complete design systems
• Design thinking workshops

Testing & Release Phase

/qa

QA engineer. Use when:

• User says "run QA", "test this", "check bugs"
• Code changes need verification
• Systematic testing and bug fixing

/qa-only

QA reporter. Use when:

• User says "qa-only" or just wants bug reports
• No automatic fixing, just reporting

/ship

Release engineer. Use when:

• User says "ship", "deploy", "push to main", "create PR"
• Fully automated release workflow
• Merge base branch, run tests, version management, create PR

Documentation & Review

/document-release

Technical writer. Use when:

• User says "document release", "update docs"
• Updating project documentation

/retro

Engineering manager. Use when:

• User says "retro", "retrospective"
• Team weekly reports

Power Tools

/codex

OpenAI Codex independent review. Use when:

• Needing a second opinion
• Cross-validating review results

/careful

Safety guardrails. Use when:

• About to perform dangerous operations
• Delete operations, file overwrites, dangerous commands

/freeze

Lock file editing scope. Use when:

• Want to restrict which files can be edited
• Focus changes to specific directories

/guard

Full safety mode. Use when:

• Maximum caution needed
• Combines careful + freeze for complete safety

Usage Examples

Example 1: New Feature Development

User: I want to add user authentication to my app

AI: Let's use the gstack workflow for this.

Step 1: /office-hours
Let me help you validate and think through the authentication feature...

[office-hours skill executes]

Step 2: /plan-eng-review
Now let's review the technical architecture...

[plan-eng-review skill executes]

Step 3: Implementation
[Code implementation happens]

Step 4: /review
Let me review your authentication code...

[review skill executes]

Step 5: /qa
Now let's test the authentication feature...

[qa skill executes]

Step 6: /ship
Ready to ship! Let me prepare the release...

[ship skill executes]

Example 2: Quick Code Review

User: /review my current branch

AI: I'll review your current branch changes...

[review skill executes automatically]

Example 3: Bug Investigation

User: /investigate the login bug users are reporting

AI: I'll systematically investigate the root cause...

[investigate skill executes automatically]

Integration with Other Skills

gstack-skills can work alongside other skills:

• data-analysis-workflows: For analyzing product metrics during /office-hours
• sql-queries: When /review or /investigate needs database analysis
• testing skills: When /qa needs specialized testing knowledge

Skill Dependencies

This skill depends on the following specialized skills, which must be available:

• office-hours
• plan-ceo-review
• plan-eng-review
• plan-design-review
• review
• investigate
• qa
• qa-only
• ship
• document-release
• retro
• codex
• careful
• freeze
• guard

Error Handling

If a specialized skill is not available:

1. Inform the user which skill is missing
2. Suggest installing the missing skill
3. Offer to proceed with general capabilities as fallback

Best Practices

1. Start with /office-hours for new features to validate ideas
2. Use /review before merging any code
3. Always /qa before shipping to production
4. Use /careful or /guard for risky operations
5. Follow the complete workflow for major features

Limitations

• Some commands require specific tooling (git, test frameworks)
• /ship assumes git-based workflow
• Certain workflows are optimized for web applications

Learn More

• Original gstack: https://github.com/garrytan/gstack
• Garry Tan's approach: "Boil the Lake" philosophy
• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/

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Version: 2.0.0 (OpenClaw/WorkBuddy adaptation)
Original Author: Garry Tan, Y Combinator
Adaptation Team: gstack-openclaw-skills Team