Skill Surface Budget Module owns install-time skill listing curation
- Status: Proposed
- Date: 2026-05-12
We propose extending the existing install profile seam (get-shit-done/bin/lib/install-profiles.cjs) into a Skill Surface Budget Module that owns which subset of GSD's 66 skills is written to the runtime config dirs, and that owns the per-skill requires: dependency manifest used to keep that subset closed under cross-skill references. GSD currently ships a binary --minimal / full toggle; runtimes that enumerate skills (Claude Code, OpenCode, etc.) cap the <available_skills> system-prompt block at skillListingBudgetFraction of the context window (default 1% = ~2k tokens at 200k), and GSD alone consumes ~60% of that cap (#3408). Further description shrinkage is unavailable — scripts/lint-descriptions.cjs already enforces a hard 100-char ceiling and the mean is 72.5 chars. The remaining lever is surfacing fewer skills, which requires a typed profile model plus a dependency manifest, not more ad-hoc allowlists.
Decision
- Add a Skill Surface Budget Module by extending
get-shit-done/bin/lib/install-profiles.cjsas the single owner for whichcommands/gsd/*.mdandagents/gsd-*.mdfiles are staged into the per-runtime copy pipeline. - Replace the single
MINIMAL_SKILL_ALLOWLISTconstant with a typedPROFILESmap keyed by profile name. Each profile is a base set of skills; the module computes the transitive closure over each skill's declaredrequires:set before staging. - Add a
requires:frontmatter field to every skill whose body references another GSD skill. The dependency graph in the research memo (docs/research/2026-05-12-skill-surface-budget.md§3.1) is the migration spec for this pass. - Extend
bin/install.jsargument parsing to accept--profile=<name>and--profile=<name1>,<name2>(composable). Preserve--minimal/--core-onlyas aliases for--profile=core. Default install (no flag) remainsfullfor back-compat. - Persist the active profile to
~/.claude/skills/.gsd-profile(and runtime-equivalent locations) sogsd updatere-applies the same profile instead of expanding silently to full. - Add
scripts/lint-skill-deps.cjsand wire it into the existingnpm run lint:descriptionspretest gate. The lint fails if:- a skill body references another skill not in its
requires:set, or - any profile would ship a skill whose
requires:closure is not satisfied.
- a skill body references another skill not in its
- Keep the interactive install picker behind the same
AskUserQuestion-style flow already used for runtime/location selection. Non-interactive installs (CI,npx --yes) fall back to--profile=fullunless overridden.
Initial Scope
First migration slice should land the profile model and one new tier above core:
- Profile map (typed):
core(current minimal, 7 skills includingphase),standard(~13 skills covering the audit + main-loop + utility floor),full(current default, 66 skills). requires:frontmatter added to the hot nodes of the dependency graph first:phase(38 callers),review(11),config(7),progress(5),update(5). These are the skills whose absence silently breaks others, so they need explicitrequired_byaudit before any profile narrows them out.- Confirm-and-lock the latent bug fix surfaced by the audit:
phaseis referenced by 38 skills and now belongs inMINIMAL_SKILL_ALLOWLIST/PROFILES.core. Keep explicit coverage in minimal/core tests so this cannot regress. - CLI surface:
--profile=, comma-composed profiles,--profile=helplisting each profile's contents and token cost. - Profile marker persistence +
gsd updatere-application.
It should not in the first pass:
- Build a runtime enable/disable surface (
/gsd:surface). Track as a follow-up ADR (see "Open questions"). - Split GSD into multiple npm packages. The packaging-level alternative was considered and rejected — see research memo §4 Option F.
- Consolidate further skills (e.g. collapsing
*-phaseinto a dispatcher). Track separately as IA cleanup; orthogonal to surface curation.
Migration Inventory
get-shit-done/bin/lib/install-profiles.cjs
- Replace
MINIMAL_SKILL_ALLOWLISTObject.freeze constant withPROFILESObject.freeze map of profile-name → base skill set. - Replace
isMinimalMode(mode)withresolveProfile(mode)returning a typed\{name, skills: Set, agents: Set\}after transitive-closure computation. - Replace
shouldInstallSkill(name, mode)withshouldInstallSkill(name, resolvedProfile). - Replace
stageSkillsForMode(srcDir, mode)withstageSkillsForProfile(srcDir, resolvedProfile). Add a siblingstageAgentsForProfilesince this module now owns agent staging too (current--minimalskips agents wholesale; tiered profiles need finer control). - Keep the existing exit-cleanup machinery (
STAGED_DIRS,ensureExitCleanup) unchanged — the bug surface it covers is the same.
bin/install.js
These call sites should migrate behind the Skill Surface Budget Module:
--minimal/--core-onlyflag parsing —bin/install.js:123-124_effectiveInstallModeplumbing +isMinimalMode()checks —bin/install.js:7634-8465(passes through to per-runtime copy fns)- minimal-agent skip block —
bin/install.js:8167-8207(becomes "skip agents not in profile") - runtime-specific copy entry points that consume
stageSkillsForMode— 13 sites per the existing comment ininstall-profiles.cjs - usage help block —
bin/install.js:508(add--profile=documentation)
Frontmatter changes
- Add
requires:field to every skill incommands/gsd/*.mdwhose body references another GSD skill. Audit data lists the full set (docs/research/2026-05-12-skill-surface-budget.md§3.1). Estimate: 25-30 files touched in Phase 1. - Field is optional. Absence = "no GSD-skill dependencies."
lint-skill-deps.cjsenforces consistency, not presence.
New: scripts/lint-skill-deps.cjs
- Walks
commands/gsd/*.md, parsesrequires:, walks the body forgsd:<name>or\b<stem>\breferences to other skills (same matching rules documented indocs/research/2026-05-12-skill-surface-budget.md§3.1). - Fails CI if
requires:set ≠ actual references (modulo ignore-list for prose mentions that aren't actual dispatches). - Walks
PROFILESfrominstall-profiles.cjs, fails if any profile's transitive closure references a skill not in the profile. - Wires into
npm run lint:descriptions(or as a siblinglint:skill-deps) andpretest.
Profile marker
- New
~/.claude/skills/.gsd-profile(and per-runtime equivalents under.codex/,.cursor/, etc. as enumerated ininstall.js) containing the active profile name. - Installer Migration Module (ADR-0008) gains a one-shot migration: if marker absent and skills dir matches
coreexactly, writecore; otherwise writefull. Migrations are idempotent per existing module contract.
Tests expected to move with the seam
tests/install-profiles-*.test.cjs(any existing) — extend to assert profile resolution, transitive closure, and--profile=core,standardcomposition.- New
tests/skill-surface-budget-*.test.cjscovering:- profile closure: a profile that lists
discuss-phasemust transitively includephaseifdiscuss-phaserequires it - lint failures: a skill body that references an un-required skill makes
lint:skill-depsfail - marker persistence:
gsd install --profile=standardfollowed bygsd updatepreservesstandard - minimal back-compat:
--minimalresolves to--profile=coreand emits the same file set as today (modulo thephase-inclusion bug fix)
- profile closure: a profile that lists
Interface sketch
The module should accept typed profile intent and return a typed resolved profile:
// install-profiles.cjs (extended)
resolveProfile({
modes: ['core' | 'standard' | 'full'],
skillsManifest: ManifestMap, // parsed `requires:` graph
})
// → { name: 'standard', skills: Set<string>, agents: Set<string> }Profile composition: --profile=core,standard resolves to union(closure(core), closure(standard)). --profile=full is the identity profile (every skill).
stageSkillsForProfile(srcDir, resolvedProfile) // returns staged dir path
stageAgentsForProfile(srcAgentsDir, resolvedProfile) // newProfile marker IO is typed too, not stringly:
readActiveProfile(runtimeConfigDir) // → 'core' | 'standard' | 'full' | null
writeActiveProfile(runtimeConfigDir, profileName)Per-skill frontmatter contract:
---
name: gsd:plan-phase
description: ...
requires: [phase, discuss-phase] # GSD skills only; not Claude Code primitives
---requires: lists GSD skills (file stems). It does not include Claude Code built-ins (Read, Bash, etc.) — those continue to live in allowed-tools: per existing convention.
Consequences
- The skill-set written by the installer becomes a typed first-class artifact, not a side effect of file copies + an allowlist constant. ADR-0008 (Installer Migration Module) gains a clean handle for safe profile migrations on upgrade.
gsd updatestops silently re-expanding a--minimalinstall to full — a current foot-gun documented inline ininstall-profiles.cjs(its module-level comment recommendsgsd updatewithout--minimalto "expand to the full surface"; that path remains available, but the defaultgsd updatenow respects the recorded profile).- The
requires:manifest creates a new authoring obligation (~30 files in Phase 1), enforced by CI. Skill authors who add a/gsd:phasereference in a new skill body have to updaterequires:. The lint script keeps drift low-cost. - The
phase-in-minimal latent gap (research memo §3.1) gets resolved as a side effect of adopting closure-based profile resolution —phaseis auto-included whenever any minimal-loop skillrequires:it. - First-time install UX gains a profile picker. The default remains
fullfor non-interactive (npx --yes) installs, so back-compat for CI scripts is preserved. - The module becomes the canonical place to land future Anthropic platform features (lazy descriptions, per-plugin budgets,
.disabledtoggles — see Open Questions). It does not, in this ADR, use those features. - If accepted,
CONTEXT.mdshould gain a canonical Skill Surface Budget Module entry alongside the existing seam entries, and future architecture reviews should treat ad-hoccommands/gsd/filtering outside this seam as drift.
Open questions
- Whether the Phase-2 runtime
/gsd:surfacecommand (research memo §4 Option B) should be its own ADR or an amendment to this one. Leaning separate ADR because it introduces persistent runtime state outside the install pipeline. - Profile naming bikeshed.
core / standard / fullis the working proposal. Alternatives surveyed:minimal / recommended / everything, functional names (planning, audit, research). Settle in the implementation PR after a contributor poll. - Whether the
requires:field should also be consumed by/gsd:helpto render a "skills you have installed and what depends on what" graph. Likely yes, but out of scope for this ADR. - Whether to keep
phaseexplicitly listed incoreforever vs relying purely on closure semantics. Current recommendation: keep explicit listing because minimal mode has a back-compat allowlist path. - Whether telemetry (opt-in) is worth proposing to inform where the
standardprofile line goes. Without it, the cut points are author-intuition. Track separately; not a blocker. - Whether the Anthropic platform asks (research memo §6 — lazy descriptions, per-plugin budgets, dependency-aware listing,
.disabledtoggles) should be filed before or after this ADR ships. Recommendation: file as a feedback bundle when ADR is accepted, so we ship Phase 1 unilaterally and platform improvements compose on top.
References
- Feature issue:
#3408 - Research input:
docs/research/2026-05-12-skill-surface-budget.md - Existing seam being extended:
get-shit-done/bin/lib/install-profiles.cjs - Description budget enforcement:
scripts/lint-descriptions.cjs - Installer dispatch site:
bin/install.js:123-124,:8167-8207 - See
0008-installer-migration-module.md(the migration that records the profile marker lives here) - See
0005-sdk-architecture-seam-map.md(the seam map this module joins)