GSD Decision Archaeology

SkillDev tools

Traces decisions and requirements through GSD artifacts. Use when user asks "why did we...", "what happened to...", or mentions decision history.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the GSD Decision Archaeology skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by tibsfox/gsd-skill-creator in project-claude/skills/gsd-trace/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Excavate GSD artifact timeline to reconstruct decision chains, requirement evolution, and phase rationale.

Sources (authority order)

  1. PROJECT.md Key Decisions
  2. STATE.md Session Continuity
  3. ROADMAP.md phase goals/criteria
  4. Phase CONTEXT.md / RESEARCH.md
  5. Plan SUMMARY.md outcomes
  6. Git commit messages
  7. Archived milestone docs

Trace Process

  1. Identify query type — decision rationale, requirement status, phase outcome, impact analysis
  2. Search sources — start with highest authority, cross-reference downward
  3. Build timeline — chronological events from artifacts
  4. Trace causality — link decisions to requirements to implementation
  5. Answer directly — cite specific sources and dates

Query Types

TypePrimary Sources
Why decision X?PROJECT.md Key Decisions, RESEARCH.md
What happened to req Y?REQUIREMENTS.md, STATE.md, milestones/
Phase N outcome?ROADMAP.md, SUMMARY files, git commits
What depends on X?PLAN files, git history, code search
What was tried/abandoned?RESEARCH.md, STATE.md

Limitations

Can only trace what GSD documented. Undocumented decisions, verbal discussions, and vague commit messages are untraceable.

Signals

GitHub stars
69
Forks
9
Last commit
Jul 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
gsd-trace
Source
github.com/tibsfox/gsd-skill-creator