/gsd steer

What It Does

/gsd steer registers a plain-English override that changes the direction of ongoing work. GSD saves it to .gsd/OVERRIDES.md, injects it into all future task prompts, and tells the agent what to do next — all without stopping anything.

The behavior differs depending on whether auto-mode is running. When active, the dispatch loop’s first rule detects the pending override at the next cycle and fires a rewrite-docs unit before any other work runs — that unit updates all active plan documents and marks the override resolved. When auto-mode is not running, the gsd-hard-steer message instructs the agent to update plans directly in the current conversation.

Overrides are tagged with execution context — the active milestone, slice, and task IDs are recorded in the Applied-at field so the system knows exactly when and where the override was applied.

Usage

/gsd steer <change description>

The description is plain English. Quotes are optional — everything after steer is captured.

/gsd steer switch from REST to GraphQL for the recipe API
/gsd steer "skip mobile responsive work — desktop only for MVP"
/gsd steer use Tailwind instead of custom CSS

How It Works

Override Registration

1. Context derivation — Calls deriveState() to get the active milestone, slice, and task IDs. These are stored in the Applied-at field as M001/S01/T02 (or none for components without an active counterpart).
2. Append to OVERRIDES.md — The override text, timestamp, and execution context are appended to .gsd/OVERRIDES.md. New overrides always start with **Scope:** active — this flag signals the override hasn’t been propagated yet.
3. Prompt injection — Active overrides (scope active) are automatically injected into every future task prompt as an “Active Overrides” section that supersedes any conflicting plan content. This injection is built by reading OVERRIDES.md at dispatch time for each unit.

Override Entry Format

Each override is stored as a markdown section. New files start with a # GSD Overrides header:

## Override: 2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z

**Change:** switch from REST to GraphQL for the recipe API
**Scope:** active
**Applied-at:** M002/S01/T02

---

After the rewrite-docs unit runs, **Scope:** active is changed to **Scope:** resolved. The post-unit handler calls resolveAllOverrides() (a global regex replace across OVERRIDES.md) immediately after the unit completes, then resets the attempt counter to zero.

Auto-mode Active Path

When auto-mode is running, the command sends a gsd-hard-steer message to the active agent. This message:

• Confirms the override has been saved and will be injected into all future task prompts
• Instructs the agent to finish current work respecting the override
• Notes that a document rewrite unit will run before the next task

The dispatch loop’s first rule is rewrite-docs (override gate). At every cycle, it calls loadActiveOverrides() — if any exist, it dispatches a rewrite-docs unit before any other work. The rewrite-docs unit reads OVERRIDES.md and propagates changes across all active plan documents.

The unit updates these document types based on what the override affects:

Document	What changes
Incomplete task plans (T##-PLAN.md)	Rewrites [ ] tasks to align with the override; may add or remove tasks. Completed ([x]) tasks are never modified.
Slice plans (S##-PLAN.md)	Updates Goal, Demo, and Verification sections. Updates Files Likely Touched if scope changes. Completed task entries are left intact.
DECISIONS.md	Appends a new entry documenting the override; prior decisions are marked superseded, not deleted.
REQUIREMENTS.md	Updates requirement descriptions if the override changes what “done” means.
PROJECT.md	Updated only if the override changes project-level facts.
<MID>-ROADMAP.md	Included in the document list; updated if the override changes roadmap scope or structure.
<MID>-CONTEXT.md	Listed as reference only — never modified by rewrite-docs.

A circuit breaker limits rewrite attempts to 3 per override set (MAX_REWRITE_ATTEMPTS = 3). If the dispatch rule fires 3 times without the unit successfully resolving the overrides, it calls resolveAllOverrides() directly — force-flipping all **Scope:** active entries to resolved via regex — and skips dispatching the unit entirely, preventing an infinite rewrite loop.

Auto-mode Inactive Path

When auto-mode is not running, the gsd-hard-steer message instructs the agent to:

• Read OVERRIDES.md immediately
• Update the current plan documents to reflect the change
• Focus on the active slice plan, incomplete task plans, and DECISIONS.md

This path works in step mode (/gsd, /gsd next) or during a /gsd discuss conversation.

What Files It Touches

Creates

File	Purpose
.gsd/OVERRIDES.md	Created with # GSD Overrides header if it doesn’t exist

Reads

File	Purpose
.gsd/ directory	Scanned by deriveState() to get active milestone/slice/task for the Applied-at field

Writes

File	Purpose
.gsd/OVERRIDES.md	Override entry appended with timestamp and Applied-at context; **Scope:** active entries flipped to resolved after rewrite-docs completes
Slice plans, task plans, DECISIONS.md, REQUIREMENTS.md, PROJECT.md, <MID>-ROADMAP.md	Updated by the rewrite-docs unit (auto-mode) or agent directly (step mode)

Examples

Steering during auto-mode:

> /gsd steer switch from REST to GraphQL for the recipe API

● Override registered: "switch from REST to GraphQL for the recipe API". Will be applied before next task dispatch.

Steering when auto-mode is not running:

> /gsd steer skip mobile responsive work — desktop only for MVP

● Override registered: "skip mobile responsive work — desktop only for MVP". Update plan documents to reflect this change.

Checking what’s stored in OVERRIDES.md:

# GSD Overrides

User-issued overrides that supersede plan document content.

---

## Override: 2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z

**Change:** switch from REST to GraphQL for the recipe API
**Scope:** active
**Applied-at:** M002/S01/T02

---

After rewrite-docs completes, **Scope:** active becomes **Scope:** resolved and the entry is preserved for the project history.

Prompts Used

• rewrite-docs — Document rewrite prompt used to propagate overrides across plan files

Related Commands

• /gsd auto — Auto-mode that detects and processes active overrides at every dispatch cycle
• /gsd capture — Lighter-weight thought capture (no plan rewrite)
• /gsd queue — Reorder or add future milestones
• /gsd discuss — Discuss changes before committing to an override