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Get Started Free →STATE.md reading, writing, and field-level updates. Provides cross-session state persistence via .planning/STATE.md with structured fields for current task, completed phases, blockers, decisions, and quick tasks.
| Test case | Without → With | Effect | Δ tokens | Δ turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| case-05 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 41% | 0% |
| case-06 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 21% | 0% |
| case-08 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | -27% | 0% |
| case-01 | ✗→✗ | = Same ✗ | 692% | 0% |
| case-02 | ✗→✗ | = Same ✗ | 47% | 0% |
last_updated: 2026-03-02T14:30:00Z session_count: 12 current_milestone: v1.0
| Date | Decision | Rationale | |------|----------|-----------| | 2026-02-28 | Use PostgreSQL over SQLite | Need concurrent writes for API | | 2026-03-01 | Skip Phase 71.1 (Redis cache) | Not needed for v1.0 |
| # | Task | Status | Date | |---|------|--------|------| | 001 | Fix login redirect | done | 2026-02-28 | | 002 | Add rate limiting | in-progress | 2026-03-02 |
### 2. Update Individual Fields
Update a single field without affecting the rest of the document:
update current_phase -> 73 update current_task -> "Build API endpoints for user management" update status -> "planning"
Use `Edit` tool to perform surgical updates on specific lines.
### 3. Append to List Fields
Add items to list-type fields:
append completed_phases -> "Phase 72: OAuth2 authentication" append decisions -> { date: "2026-03-02", decision: "Use JWT tokens", rationale: "Stateless auth for API" } append blockers -> { severity: "MEDIUM", description: "Need design mockups", owner: "@designer" }
### 4. Remove from List Fields
Remove items when resolved:
remove blocker -> "API key for OAuth provider not configured"
Mark blockers as resolved rather than deleting (change `[ ]` to `[x]`).
### 5. Quick Tasks Table Management
Add, update, and query quick tasks:
add_quick_task -> { number: 3, task: "Update README", status: "pending" } update_quick_task -> { number: 2, status: "done" } query_quick_tasks -> { status: "in-progress" }
### 6. Cross-Session Memory
STATE.md persists across context resets. On session start:
1. Read STATE.md to restore project context
2. Increment `session_count` in frontmatter
3. Update `last_updated` timestamp
4. Report state summary to orchestrator
### 7. Decision Log
Structured decision tracking with timestamps and rationale:
| Date | Decision | Rationale | |------|----------|-----------| | 2026-03-02 | Use JWT tokens | Stateless auth for API |
### 8. Blocker Tracking
Track blockers with severity and ownership:
Severity levels: `HIGH` (blocks current work), `MEDIUM` (blocks future work), `LOW` (inconvenience).
## Tool Use Instructions
### Reading State
1. Use `Read` to load `.planning/STATE.md`
2. Parse frontmatter for metadata (last_updated, session_count, current_milestone)
3. Parse markdown sections into structured fields
4. Return parsed state object
### Updating a Field
1. Use `Read` to load current STATE.md
2. Locate the target field/section
3. Use `Edit` with precise old_string/new_string to update only the target
4. Verify edit succeeded by reading the section back
### Appending to Lists
1. Use `Read` to find the end of the target list section
2. Use `Edit` to insert new item at the correct position
3. For tables, append new row before the section break
### Resolving Blockers
1. Use `Read` to find the blocker text
2. Use `Edit` to change `- [ ]` to `- [x]` and append resolution date
## Process Integration
This skill is used by most GSD processes:
- `execute-phase.js` - Update current_task as each task completes, track position
- `verify-work.js` - Add/resolve blockers based on verification results
- `audit-milestone.js` - Read completed_phases for coverage analysis
- `progress.js` - Read full state for progress display and routing
- `quick.js` - Add/update quick tasks table
- `debug.js` - Track debug sessions, add blockers for unresolved issues
- `complete-milestone.js` - Clear completed_phases, reset current_task
- `add-tests.js` - Update state with test coverage info
## Output Format
{ "operation": "read|update|append|remove", "field": "current_phase|completed_phases|blockers|decisions|quick_tasks", "status": "success|error", "previousValue": "...", "newValue": "...", "stateSnapshot": { "currentPhase": 72, "currentTask": "Implement OAuth2", "completedPhases": 70, 71], "activeBlockers": 1, "quickTasksTotal": 3, "quickTasksPending": 1 } }
## Configuration
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| `stateFile` | `.planning/STATE.md` | Path to STATE.md |
| `autoTimestamp` | `true` | Auto-update last_updated on write |
| `autoSessionCount` | `true` | Auto-increment session_count on read |
| `blockerSeverityLevels` | `HIGH,MEDIUM,LOW` | Valid blocker severities |
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Resolution |
|-------|-------|------------|
| `STATE.md not found` | Planning directory not initialized | Run gsd-tools init first |
| `Section not found` | Unexpected STATE.md format | Rebuild STATE.md from template |
| `Edit collision` | Non-unique text match for edit | Provide more context in old_string |
| `Frontmatter parse error` | Malformed YAML frontmatter | Fix YAML syntax or regenerate |
| `Concurrent modification` | Multiple processes editing state | STATE.md is not lock-protected; serialize access |
## Constraints
- STATE.md must remain human-readable markdown at all times
- Never delete historical entries (blockers, decisions); mark as resolved instead
- Frontmatter must be valid YAML
- Quick task numbers must be sequential
- All timestamps must be ISO 8601 format
- Decision log must be append-only (no editing past decisions)
- Blocker resolution must preserve the original blocker textOther measured skills in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.