gs-codex

name	gs:codex
preamble-tier	3
version	1.0.0
description	OpenAI Codex CLI wrapper — three modes. (gstack)
triggers	["codex review","second opinion","outside voice challenge"]
allowed-tools	["Bash","Read","Write","Glob","Grep","AskUserQuestion"]

Preamble (run first)

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --skill codex | iex

If PROACTIVE is "false", do not proactively suggest gstack skills AND do not auto-invoke skills based on conversation context. Only run skills the user explicitly types (e.g., /gs:qa, /gs:ship). If you would have auto-invoked a skill, instead briefly say: "I think /skillname might help here — want me to run it?" and wait for confirmation. The user opted out of proactive behavior.

If SKILL_PREFIX is "true", the user has namespaced skill names. When suggesting or invoking other gstack skills, use the /gstack- prefix (e.g., /gstack-qa instead of /qa, /gstack-ship instead of /ship). Disk paths are unaffected — always use $GSTACK_ROOT/[skill-name]/SKILL.md for reading skill files.

If output shows UPGRADE_AVAILABLE <old> <new>: read $GSTACK_ROOT/gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md and follow the "Inline upgrade flow" (auto-upgrade if configured, otherwise AskUserQuestion with 4 options, write snooze state if declined). If JUST_UPGRADED <from> <to>: tell user "Running gstack v{to} (just updated!)" and continue.

If WRITING_STYLE_PENDING is yes: You're on the first skill run after upgrading to gstack v1. Ask the user once about the new default writing style. Use AskUserQuestion:

v1 prompts = simpler. Technical terms get a one-sentence gloss on first use, questions are framed in outcome terms, sentences are shorter.

Keep the new default, or prefer the older tighter prose?

Options:

• A) Keep the new default (recommended — good writing helps everyone)
• B) Restore V0 prose — set explain_level: terse

If A: leave explain_level unset (defaults to default). If B: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set explain_level terse.

Always run (regardless of choice):

Remove-Item -Force ~/.gstack/.writing-style-prompt-pending
New-Item -ItemType File -Force ~/.gstack/.writing-style-prompted | Out-Null

This only happens once. If WRITING_STYLE_PENDING is no, skip this entirely.

If LAKE_INTRO is no: Before continuing, introduce the Completeness Principle. Tell the user: "gstack follows the Boil the Lake principle — always do the complete thing when AI makes the marginal cost near-zero. Read more: https://garryslist.org/posts/boil-the-ocean" Then offer to open the essay in their default browser:

Start-Process https://garryslist.org/posts/boil-the-ocean
New-Item -ItemType File -Force ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen | Out-Null

Only run open if the user says yes. Always run touch/New-Item to mark as seen. This only happens once.

If TEL_PROMPTED is no AND LAKE_INTRO is yes: After the lake intro is handled, ask the user about telemetry. Use AskUserQuestion:

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.

Options:

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

If A: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set telemetry community

If B: ask a follow-up AskUserQuestion:

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.

Options:

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

If B→A: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set telemetry anonymous If B→B: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set telemetry off

Always run:

New-Item -ItemType File -Force ~/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted | Out-Null

This only happens once. If TEL_PROMPTED is yes, skip this entirely.

If PROACTIVE_PROMPTED is no AND TEL_PROMPTED is yes: After telemetry is handled, ask the user about proactive behavior. Use AskUserQuestion:

gstack can proactively figure out when you might need a skill while you work — like suggesting /gs:qa when you say "does this work?" or /gs:investigate when you hit a bug. We recommend keeping this on — it speeds up every part of your workflow.

Options:

• A) Keep it on (recommended)
• B) Turn it off — I'll type /commands myself

If A: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set proactive true If B: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set proactive false

Always run:

New-Item -ItemType File -Force ~/.gstack/.proactive-prompted | Out-Null

This only happens once. If PROACTIVE_PROMPTED is yes, skip this entirely.

If HAS_ROUTING is no AND ROUTING_DECLINED is false AND PROACTIVE_PROMPTED is yes: Check if a CLAUDE.md file exists in the project root. If it does not exist, create it.

Use AskUserQuestion:

gstack works best when your project's CLAUDE.md includes skill routing rules. This tells Claude to use specialized workflows (like /gs:ship, /gs:investigate, /gs:qa) instead of answering directly. It's a one-time addition, about 15 lines.

Options:

• A) Add routing rules to CLAUDE.md (recommended)
• B) No thanks, I'll invoke skills manually

If A: Append this section to the end of CLAUDE.md:

## Skill routing

When the user's request matches an available skill, ALWAYS invoke it using the Skill
tool as your FIRST action. Do NOT answer directly, do NOT use other tools first.
The skill has specialized workflows that produce better results than ad-hoc answers.

Key routing rules:
- Product ideas, "is this worth building", brainstorming → invoke gs:office-hours
- Bugs, errors, "why is this broken", 500 errors → invoke gs:investigate
- Ship, deploy, push, create PR → invoke gs:ship
- QA, test the site, find bugs → invoke gs:qa
- Code review, check my diff → invoke gs:review
- Update docs after shipping → invoke gs:document-release
- Weekly retro → invoke gs:retro
- Design system, brand → invoke gs:design-consultation
- Visual audit, design polish → invoke gs:design-review
- Architecture review → invoke gs:plan-eng-review
- Save progress, checkpoint, resume → invoke gs:checkpoint
- Code quality, health check → invoke gs:health

Then commit the change: git add CLAUDE.md && git commit -m "chore: add gstack skill routing rules to CLAUDE.md"

If B: run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-config set routing_declined true Say "No problem. You can add routing rules later by running gstack-config set routing_declined false and re-running any skill."

This only happens once per project. If HAS_ROUTING is yes or ROUTING_DECLINED is true, skip this entirely.

If VENDORED_GSTACK is yes: This project has a vendored copy of gstack at .agents/skills/gstack/. Vendoring is deprecated. We will not keep vendored copies up to date, so this project's gstack will fall behind.

Use AskUserQuestion (one-time per project, check for ~/.gstack/.vendoring-warned-$SLUG marker):

This project has gstack vendored in .agents/skills/gstack/. Vendoring is deprecated. We won't keep this copy up to date, so you'll fall behind on new features and fixes.

Want to migrate to team mode? It takes about 30 seconds.

Options:

• A) Yes, migrate to team mode now
• B) No, I'll handle it myself

If A:

1. Run git rm -r .agents/skills/gstack/
2. Run echo '.agents/skills/gstack/' >> .gitignore
3. Run $GSTACK_BIN/gstack-team-init required (or optional)
4. Run git add .claude/ .gitignore CLAUDE.md && git commit -m "chore: migrate gstack from vendored to team mode"
5. Tell the user: "Done. Each developer now runs: cd $GSTACK_ROOT && ./setup --team"

If B: say "OK, you're on your own to keep the vendored copy up to date."

Always run (regardless of choice):

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --slug | Out-Null
New-Item -ItemType File -Force ~/.gstack/.vendoring-warned-${env:SLUG:-unknown} | Out-Null

This only happens once per project. If the marker file exists, skip entirely.

If SPAWNED_SESSION is "true", you are running inside a session spawned by an AI orchestrator (e.g., OpenClaw). In spawned sessions:

• Do NOT use AskUserQuestion for interactive prompts. Auto-choose the recommended option.
• Do NOT run upgrade checks, telemetry prompts, routing injection, or lake intro.
• Focus on completing the task and reporting results via prose output.
• End with a completion report: what shipped, decisions made, anything uncertain.

Voice

Direct, concrete, sharp, builder-to-builder. Match context: senior technical reviewer. Humor: dry observations about complexity. Concreteness is the standard. Name files, functions, lines, and commands. No em dashes. No AI filler words. The user decides.

Context Recovery

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --slug | Out-Null
$PROJ = "${env:GSTACK_HOME:-$HOME/.gstack}/projects/${env:SLUG:-unknown}"
if (Test-Path $PROJ) {
  Write-Host "--- RECENT ARTIFACTS ---"
  Get-ChildItem -Path "$PROJ/ceo-plans", "$PROJ/checkpoints" -Filter *.md -Recurse | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 3
}

AskUserQuestion Format

Re-ground + Simplify + Recommend + Lettered Options (dual-scale efforts).

Writing Style

One-sentence gloss for jargon, outcome framing, short sentences, user impact, user sovereignity.

Completeness Principle — Boil the Lake

Always prefer complete lake implementation over shortcuts.

Confusion Protocol

Stop and ask for architectural ambiguity.

Question Tuning

Check preferences with python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --question-preference "<id>".

Completion Status Protocol

Report DONE, DONE_WITH_CONCERNS, BLOCKED, or NEEDS_CONTEXT.

Operational Self-Improvement

Log durable quirk/fix findings via python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --log-learnings.

Telemetry (run last)

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --telemetry --skill "codex" --outcome "success"

---

Step 0: Detect platform and base branch

First, detect the git hosting platform from the remote URL:

$remoteUrl = git remote get-url origin

• If the URL contains "github.com" → platform is GitHub
• If the URL contains "gitlab" → platform is GitLab
• Otherwise, check CLI availability:
  • gh auth status succeeds → platform is GitHub
  • glab auth status succeeds → platform is GitLab
  • Neither → unknown

Determine which branch this PR/MR targets, or the repo's default branch if no PR/MR exists. Use the result as "the base branch" in all subsequent steps.

If GitHub:

$baseBranch = gh pr view --json baseRefName -q .baseRefName
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
    $baseBranch = gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef -q .defaultBranchRef.name
}

If GitLab:

$mr = glab mr view -F json | ConvertFrom-Json
$baseBranch = $mr.target_branch
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
    $repo = glab repo view -F json | ConvertFrom-Json
    $baseBranch = $repo.default_branch
}

Git-native fallback:

$baseBranch = git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace 'refs/remotes/origin/', '' }
if (!$baseBranch) {
    $baseBranch = "main"
}

---

/codex — Multi-AI Second Opinion

You are running the /codex skill. This wraps the OpenAI Codex CLI to get an independent, brutally honest second opinion from a different AI system.

Step 0.4: Check codex binary

$CODEX_BIN = (Get-Command codex -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Source
if (!$CODEX_BIN) {
    Write-Error "Codex CLI not found. Install it: npm install -g @openai/codex"
    exit 1
}

Step 0.5: Auth probe + version check

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --codex-auth-probe

---

Step 1: Pick a mode (AskUserQuestion)

Choose one of three modes:

• Review (2A): independent diff review via codex review
• Challenge (2B): adversarial mode trying to break your code
• Consult (2C): ask codex anything with session continuity

---

Step 2A: Review Mode

Review staged/unstaged changes.

$TMP_ROOT = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()
$TMPRESP = Join-Path $TMP_ROOT "codex-resp-$((New-Guid).Guid).txt"
$TMPERR = Join-Path $TMP_ROOT "codex-err-$((New-Guid).Guid).txt"

Generate the prompt and run codex:

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --codex-review --resp-path "$TMPRESP" --err-path "$TMPERR"

Step 2B: Challenge Mode

Adversarial challenge to break current changes.

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --codex-challenge --resp-path "$TMPRESP" --err-path "$TMPERR"

Step 2C: Consult Mode

Ask Codex anything about the codebase.

python "bin/gstack-boot.py" --codex-consult --prompt "<prompt>"