_UPD=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-update-check 2>/dev/null || .claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-update-check 2>/dev/null || true)
[ -n "$_UPD" ] && echo "$_UPD" || true
mkdir -p ~/.gstack/sessions
touch ~/.gstack/sessions/"$PPID"
_SESSIONS=$(find ~/.gstack/sessions -mmin -120 -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
find ~/.gstack/sessions -mmin +120 -type f -delete 2>/dev/null || true
_CONTRIB=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get gstack_contributor 2>/dev/null || true)
_PROACTIVE=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get proactive 2>/dev/null || echo "true")
_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
echo "BRANCH: $_BRANCH"
echo "PROACTIVE: $_PROACTIVE"
_LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
_TEL=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get telemetry 2>/dev/null || true)
_TEL_PROMPTED=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
_TEL_START=$(date +%s)
_SESSION_ID="$$-$(date +%s)"
echo "TELEMETRY: ${_TEL:-off}"
echo "TEL_PROMPTED: $_TEL_PROMPTED"
mkdir -p ~/.gstack/analytics
echo '{"skill":"design-review","ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","repo":"'$(basename "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")'"}'  >> ~/.gstack/analytics/skill-usage.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true
for _PF in ~/.gstack/analytics/.pending-*; do [ -f "$_PF" ] && ~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-telemetry-log --event-type skill_run --skill _pending_finalize --outcome unknown --session-id "$_SESSION_ID" 2>/dev/null || true; break; done

PROACTIVE

"false"

UPGRADE_AVAILABLE <old> <new>

~/.claude/skills/gstack/gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md

JUST_UPGRADED <from> <to>

LAKE_INTRO

no

open https://garryslist.org/posts/boil-the-ocean
touch ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen

open

touch

TEL_PROMPTED

no

LAKE_INTRO

yes

Help gstack get better! Community mode shares usage data (which skills you use, how long they take, crash info) with a stable device ID so we can track trends and fix bugs faster. No code, file paths, or repo names are ever sent. Change anytime with

gstack-config set telemetry off

.

• A) Help gstack get better! (recommended)
• B) No thanks

~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config set telemetry community

How about anonymous mode? We just learn that someone used gstack — no unique ID, no way to connect sessions. Just a counter that helps us know if anyone's out there.

• A) Sure, anonymous is fine
• B) No thanks, fully off

~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config set telemetry anonymous

~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config set telemetry off

touch ~/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted

TEL_PROMPTED

yes

1. Re-ground: State the project, the current branch (use the

   _BRANCH

   value printed by the preamble — NOT any branch from conversation history or gitStatus), and the current plan/task. (1-2 sentences)
2. Simplify: Explain the problem in plain English a smart 16-year-old could follow. No raw function names, no internal jargon, no implementation details. Use concrete examples and analogies. Say what it DOES, not what it's called.
3. Recommend:

   RECOMMENDATION: Choose [X] because [one-line reason]

   — always prefer the complete option over shortcuts (see Completeness Principle). Include

   Completeness: X/10

   for each option. Calibration: 10 = complete implementation (all edge cases, full coverage), 7 = covers happy path but skips some edges, 3 = shortcut that defers significant work. If both options are 8+, pick the higher; if one is ≤5, flag it.
4. Options: Lettered options:

   A) ... B) ... C) ...

   — when an option involves effort, show both scales:

   (human: ~X / CC: ~Y)

• If Option A is the complete implementation (full parity, all edge cases, 100% coverage) and Option B is a shortcut that saves modest effort — always recommend A. The delta between 80 lines and 150 lines is meaningless with CC+gstack. "Good enough" is the wrong instinct when "complete" costs minutes more.
• Lake vs. ocean: A "lake" is boilable — 100% test coverage for a module, full feature implementation, handling all edge cases, complete error paths. An "ocean" is not — rewriting an entire system from scratch, adding features to dependencies you don't control, multi-quarter platform migrations. Recommend boiling lakes. Flag oceans as out of scope.
• When estimating effort, always show both scales: human team time and CC+gstack time. The compression ratio varies by task type — use this reference:

• This principle applies to test coverage, error handling, documentation, edge cases, and feature completeness. Don't skip the last 10% to "save time" — with AI, that 10% costs seconds.

• BAD: "Choose B — it covers 90% of the value with less code." (If A is only 70 lines more, choose A.)
• BAD: "We can skip edge case handling to save time." (Edge case handling costs minutes with CC.)
• BAD: "Let's defer test coverage to a follow-up PR." (Tests are the cheapest lake to boil.)
• BAD: Quoting only human-team effort: "This would take 2 weeks." (Say: "2 weeks human / ~1 hour CC.")

~/.claude/skills/gstack/ETHOS.md

• Layer 1 (tried and true — in distribution). Don't reinvent the wheel. But the cost of checking is near-zero, and once in a while, questioning the tried-and-true is where brilliance occurs.
• Layer 2 (new and popular — search for these). But scrutinize: humans are subject to mania. Search results are inputs to your thinking, not answers.
• Layer 3 (first principles — prize these above all). Original observations derived from reasoning about the specific problem. The most valuable of all.

jq -n --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" --arg skill "SKILL_NAME" --arg branch "$(git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null)" --arg insight "ONE_LINE_SUMMARY" '{ts:$ts,skill:$skill,branch:$branch,insight:$insight}' >> ~/.gstack/analytics/eureka.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true

1. {step}

• DONE — All steps completed successfully. Evidence provided for each claim.
• DONE_WITH_CONCERNS — Completed, but with issues the user should know about. List each concern.
• BLOCKED — Cannot proceed. State what is blocking and what was tried.
• NEEDS_CONTEXT — Missing information required to continue. State exactly what you need.

• If you have attempted a task 3 times without success, STOP and escalate.
• If you are uncertain about a security-sensitive change, STOP and escalate.
• If the scope of work exceeds what you can verify, STOP and escalate.

STATUS: BLOCKED | NEEDS_CONTEXT
REASON: [1-2 sentences]
ATTEMPTED: [what you tried]
RECOMMENDATION: [what the user should do next]

https://myapp.com

http://localhost:3000

Focus on the settings page

Just the homepage

--quick

--deep

Sign in as user@example.com

Import cookies

DESIGN.md

design-system.md

git status --porcelain

• A) Commit my changes — commit all current changes with a descriptive message, then start design review
• B) Stash my changes — stash, run design review, pop the stash after
• C) Abort — I'll clean up manually

_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)
B=""
[ -n "$_ROOT" ] && [ -x "$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse" ] && B="$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse"
[ -z "$B" ] && B=~/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse
if [ -x "$B" ]; then
  echo "READY: $B"
else
  echo "NEEDS_SETUP"
fi

NEEDS_SETUP

1. Tell the user: "gstack browse needs a one-time build (~10 seconds). OK to proceed?" Then STOP and wait.
2. Run:

   cd <SKILL_DIR> && ./setup

3. If

   bun

   is not installed:

   curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

• "[runtime] best test framework 2025 2026"

• "[framework A] vs [framework B] comparison"

1. Install the chosen packages (npm/bun/gem/pip/etc.)
2. Create minimal config file
3. Create directory structure (test/, spec/, etc.)
4. Create one example test matching the project's code to verify setup works

git checkout -- package.json package-lock.json

1. Find recently changed files:

   git log --since=30.days --name-only --format="" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

2. Prioritize by risk: Error handlers > business logic with conditionals > API endpoints > pure functions
3. For each file: Write one test that tests real behavior with meaningful assertions. Never

   expect(x).toBeDefined()

   — test what the code DOES.
4. Run each test. Passes → keep. Fails → fix once. Still fails → delete silently.
5. Generate at least 1 test, cap at 5.

• Philosophy: "100% test coverage is the key to great vibe coding. Tests let you move fast, trust your instincts, and ship with confidence — without them, vibe coding is just yolo coding. With tests, it's a superpower."
• Framework name and version
• How to run tests (the verified command from B5)
• Test layers: Unit tests (what, where, when), Integration tests, Smoke tests, E2E tests
• Conventions: file naming, assertion style, setup/teardown patterns

## Testing

## Testing

• Run command and test directory
• Reference to TESTING.md
• Test expectations:
  • 100% test coverage is the goal — tests make vibe coding safe
  • When writing new functions, write a corresponding test
  • When fixing a bug, write a regression test
  • When adding error handling, write a test that triggers the error
  • When adding a conditional (if/else, switch), write tests for BOTH paths
  • Never commit code that makes existing tests fail

1. Analyze the branch diff:

   git diff main...HEAD --name-only

2. Map changed files to affected pages/routes
3. Detect running app on common local ports (3000, 4000, 8080)
4. Audit only affected pages, compare design quality before/after

1. Navigate to the target URL
2. Take a full-page desktop screenshot:

   $B screenshot "$REPORT_DIR/screenshots/first-impression.png"

3. Write the First Impression using this structured critique format:
   • "The site communicates [what]." (what it says at a glance — competence? playfulness? confusion?)
   • "I notice [observation]." (what stands out, positive or negative — be specific)
   • "The first 3 things my eye goes to are: [1], [2], [3]." (hierarchy check — are these intentional?)
   • "If I had to describe this in one word: [word]." (gut verdict)

• Clear focal point? One primary CTA per view?
• Eye flows naturally top-left to bottom-right?
• Visual noise — competing elements fighting for attention?
• Information density appropriate for content type?
• Z-index clarity — nothing unexpectedly overlapping?
• Above-the-fold content communicates purpose in 3 seconds?
• Squint test: hierarchy still visible when blurred?
• White space is intentional, not leftover?

• Font count <=3 (flag if more)
• Scale follows ratio (1.25 major third or 1.333 perfect fourth)
• Line-height: 1.5x body, 1.15-1.25x headings
• Measure: 45-75 chars per line (66 ideal)
• Heading hierarchy: no skipped levels (h1→h3 without h2)
• Weight contrast: >=2 weights used for hierarchy
• No blacklisted fonts (Papyrus, Comic Sans, Lobster, Impact, Jokerman)
• If primary font is Inter/Roboto/Open Sans/Poppins → flag as potentially generic

• text-wrap: balance

  or

  text-pretty

  on headings (check via

  $B css <heading> text-wrap

  )
• Curly quotes used, not straight quotes
• Ellipsis character (

  …

  ) not three dots (

  ...

  )

• font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums

  on number columns
• Body text >= 16px
• Caption/label >= 12px
• No letterspacing on lowercase text

• Palette coherent (<=12 unique non-gray colors)
• WCAG AA: body text 4.5:1, large text (18px+) 3:1, UI components 3:1
• Semantic colors consistent (success=green, error=red, warning=yellow/amber)
• No color-only encoding (always add labels, icons, or patterns)
• Dark mode: surfaces use elevation, not just lightness inversion
• Dark mode: text off-white (~#E0E0E0), not pure white
• Primary accent desaturated 10-20% in dark mode

• color-scheme: dark

  on html element (if dark mode present)
• No red/green only combinations (8% of men have red-green deficiency)
• Neutral palette is warm or cool consistently — not mixed

• Grid consistent at all breakpoints
• Spacing uses a scale (4px or 8px base), not arbitrary values
• Alignment is consistent — nothing floats outside the grid
• Rhythm: related items closer together, distinct sections further apart
• Border-radius hierarchy (not uniform bubbly radius on everything)
• Inner radius = outer radius - gap (nested elements)
• No horizontal scroll on mobile
• Max content width set (no full-bleed body text)

• env(safe-area-inset-*)

  for notch devices
• URL reflects state (filters, tabs, pagination in query params)
• Flex/grid used for layout (not JS measurement)
• Breakpoints: mobile (375), tablet (768), desktop (1024), wide (1440)

• Hover state on all interactive elements

• focus-visible

  ring present (never

  outline: none

  without replacement)
• Active/pressed state with depth effect or color shift
• Disabled state: reduced opacity +

  cursor: not-allowed

• Loading: skeleton shapes match real content layout
• Empty states: warm message + primary action + visual (not just "No items.")
• Error messages: specific + include fix/next step
• Success: confirmation animation or color, auto-dismiss
• Touch targets >= 44px on all interactive elements

• cursor: pointer

  on all clickable elements

• Mobile layout makes design sense (not just stacked desktop columns)
• Touch targets sufficient on mobile (>= 44px)
• No horizontal scroll on any viewport
• Images handle responsive (srcset, sizes, or CSS containment)
• Text readable without zooming on mobile (>= 16px body)
• Navigation collapses appropriately (hamburger, bottom nav, etc.)
• Forms usable on mobile (correct input types, no autoFocus on mobile)
• No

  user-scalable=no

  or

  maximum-scale=1

  in viewport meta

• Easing: ease-out for entering, ease-in for exiting, ease-in-out for moving
• Duration: 50-700ms range (nothing slower unless page transition)
• Purpose: every animation communicates something (state change, attention, spatial relationship)

• prefers-reduced-motion

  respected (check:

  $B js "matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches"

  )
• No

  transition: all

  — properties listed explicitly
• Only

  transform

  and

  opacity

  animated (not layout properties like width, height, top, left)

• Empty states designed with warmth (message + action + illustration/icon)
• Error messages specific: what happened + why + what to do next
• Button labels specific ("Save API Key" not "Continue" or "Submit")
• No placeholder/lorem ipsum text visible in production
• Truncation handled (

  text-overflow: ellipsis

  ,

  line-clamp

  , or

  break-words

  )
• Active voice ("Install the CLI" not "The CLI will be installed")
• Loading states end with

  …

  ("Saving…" not "Saving...")
• Destructive actions have confirmation modal or undo window

• Purple/violet/indigo gradient backgrounds or blue-to-purple color schemes
• The 3-column feature grid: icon-in-colored-circle + bold title + 2-line description, repeated 3x symmetrically. THE most recognizable AI layout.
• Icons in colored circles as section decoration (SaaS starter template look)
• Centered everything (

  text-align: center

  on all headings, descriptions, cards)
• Uniform bubbly border-radius on every element (same large radius on everything)
• Decorative blobs, floating circles, wavy SVG dividers (if a section feels empty, it needs better content, not decoration)
• Emoji as design elements (rockets in headings, emoji as bullet points)
• Colored left-border on cards (

  border-left: 3px solid <accent>

  )
• Generic hero copy ("Welcome to [X]", "Unlock the power of...", "Your all-in-one solution for...")
• Cookie-cutter section rhythm (hero → 3 features → testimonials → pricing → CTA, every section same height)

• LCP < 2.0s (web apps), < 1.5s (informational sites)
• CLS < 0.1 (no visible layout shifts during load)
• Skeleton quality: shapes match real content, shimmer animation
• Images:

  loading="lazy"

  , width/height dimensions set, WebP/AVIF format
• Fonts:

  font-display: swap

  , preconnect to CDN origins
• No visible font swap flash (FOUT) — critical fonts preloaded

$B snapshot -i
$B click @e3           # perform action
$B snapshot -D          # diff to see what changed

• Response feel: Does clicking feel responsive? Any delays or missing loading states?
• Transition quality: Are transitions intentional or generic/absent?
• Feedback clarity: Did the action clearly succeed or fail? Is the feedback immediate?
• Form polish: Focus states visible? Validation timing correct? Errors near the source?

• Navigation bar consistent across all pages?
• Footer consistent?
• Component reuse vs one-off designs (same button styled differently on different pages?)
• Tone consistency (one page playful while another is corporate?)
• Spacing rhythm carries across pages?

• Design Score: {A-F} — weighted average of all 10 categories
• AI Slop Score: {A-F} — standalone grade with pithy verdict

• A: Intentional, polished, delightful. Shows design thinking.
• B: Solid fundamentals, minor inconsistencies. Looks professional.
• C: Functional but generic. No major problems, no design point of view.
• D: Noticeable problems. Feels unfinished or careless.
• F: Actively hurting user experience. Needs significant rework.

design-baseline.json

--regression

• Load baseline grades
• Compare: per-category deltas, new findings, resolved findings
• Append regression table to report

• "I notice..." — observation (e.g., "I notice the primary CTA competes with the secondary action")
• "I wonder..." — question (e.g., "I wonder if users will understand what 'Process' means here")
• "What if..." — suggestion (e.g., "What if we moved search to a more prominent position?")
• "I think... because..." — reasoned opinion (e.g., "I think the spacing between sections is too uniform because it doesn't create hierarchy")

1. Think like a designer, not a QA engineer. You care whether things feel right, look intentional, and respect the user. You do NOT just care whether things "work."
2. Screenshots are evidence. Every finding needs at least one screenshot. Use annotated screenshots (

   snapshot -a

   ) to highlight elements.
3. Be specific and actionable. "Change X to Y because Z" — not "the spacing feels off."
4. Never read source code. Evaluate the rendered site, not the implementation. (Exception: offer to write DESIGN.md from extracted observations.)
5. AI Slop detection is your superpower. Most developers can't evaluate whether their site looks AI-generated. You can. Be direct about it.
6. Quick wins matter. Always include a "Quick Wins" section — the 3-5 highest-impact fixes that take <30 minutes each.
7. Use

   snapshot -C

   for tricky UIs. Finds clickable divs that the accessibility tree misses.
8. Responsive is design, not just "not broken." A stacked desktop layout on mobile is not responsive design — it's lazy. Evaluate whether the mobile layout makes design sense.
9. Document incrementally. Write each finding to the report as you find it. Don't batch.
10. Depth over breadth. 5-10 well-documented findings with screenshots and specific suggestions > 20 vague observations.
11. Show screenshots to the user. After every

    $B screenshot

    ,

    $B snapshot -a -o

    , or

    $B responsive

    command, use the Read tool on the output file(s) so the user can see them inline. For

    responsive

    (3 files), Read all three. This is critical — without it, screenshots are invisible to the user.

• High Impact: Fix first. These affect the first impression and hurt user trust.
• Medium Impact: Fix next. These reduce polish and are felt subconsciously.
• Polish: Fix if time allows. These separate good from great.

• Read the source code, understand the context
• Make the minimal fix — smallest change that resolves the design issue
• CSS-only changes are preferred (safer, more reversible)
• Do NOT refactor surrounding code, add features, or "improve" unrelated things

git add <only-changed-files>
git commit -m "style(design): FINDING-NNN — short description"

• One commit per fix. Never bundle multiple fixes.
• Message format:

  style(design): FINDING-NNN — short description

• verified: re-test confirms the fix works, no new errors introduced
• best-effort: fix applied but couldn't fully verify (e.g., needs specific browser state)
• reverted: regression detected →

  git revert HEAD

  → mark finding as "deferred"

1. Re-run the design audit on all affected pages
2. Compute final design score and AI slop score
3. If final scores are WORSE than baseline: WARN prominently — something regressed

.gstack/design-reports/design-audit-{domain}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md

source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-slug 2>/dev/null) && mkdir -p ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG

~/.gstack/projects/{slug}/{user}-{branch}-design-audit-{datetime}.md

• Fix Status: verified / best-effort / reverted / deferred
• Commit SHA (if fixed)
• Files Changed (if fixed)
• Before/After screenshots (if fixed)

• Total findings
• Fixes applied (verified: X, best-effort: Y, reverted: Z)
• Deferred findings
• Design score delta: baseline → final
• AI slop score delta: baseline → final

"Design review found N issues, fixed M. Design score X → Y, AI slop score X → Y."

TODOS.md

1. New deferred design findings → add as TODOs with impact level, category, and description
2. Fixed findings that were in TODOS.md → annotate with "Fixed by /design-review on {branch}, {date}"

1. Clean working tree required. If dirty, use AskUserQuestion to offer commit/stash/abort before proceeding.
2. One commit per fix. Never bundle multiple design fixes into one commit.
3. Only modify tests when generating regression tests in Phase 8e.5. Never modify CI configuration. Never modify existing tests — only create new test files.
4. Revert on regression. If a fix makes things worse,

   git revert HEAD

   immediately.
5. Self-regulate. Follow the design-fix risk heuristic. When in doubt, stop and ask.
6. CSS-first. Prefer CSS/styling changes over structural component changes. CSS-only changes are safer and more reversible.
7. DESIGN.md export. You MAY write a DESIGN.md file if the user accepts the offer from Phase 2.