guidewire-local-dev-loop

name	guidewire-local-dev-loop
description	Iterate on Gosu rules and configuration without paying the full 5–15 minute runServer rebuild every time. Use when standing up Guidewire Studio against a local InsuranceSuite instance, attaching an IntelliJ remote debugger to runServer, distinguishing changes that hot-reload from changes that force restart, or building a GUnit-driven TDD cycle for rule logic. Trigger with "guidewire studio", "gosu hot reload", "gosu debugger", "gunit", "guidewire runServer".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(gradle:*), Bash(java:*), Bash(jdb:*), Grep, Glob
version	1.25.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code
tags	["guidewire","gosu","studio","hot-reload","gunit","debugging"]

Guidewire Local Dev Loop

Overview

Run a local InsuranceSuite instance and iterate on Gosu rule logic in seconds, not minutes. The single biggest productivity killer in Guidewire development is paying the 5–15 minute gradle runServer cold-start cost on every change because the developer does not know which edits hot-reload and which force a restart.

Three production problems this skill prevents:

1. Restart cascade — developer changes a Gosu rule, restarts runServer, waits 8 minutes, finds the rule was wrong, repeats. A full day disappears in restarts.
2. Silent stale code — Studio claims it hot-reloaded a class but the running JVM is still executing the old bytecode (common when interfaces change). Tests pass against stale code.
3. GUnit drift — unit tests for Gosu rules diverge from the rules themselves because the cycle to run a single test through Studio is too slow; developers stop writing them.

Prerequisites

• JDK 17 (for Cloud release 202503+)
• Guidewire Studio installed (IntelliJ-based, distributed by Guidewire)
• Local InsuranceSuite configuration zone (PolicyCenter, ClaimCenter, or BillingCenter)
• ≥16 GB RAM on the dev machine — runServer + Studio + the JVM debug agent need headroom
• Sample data loader configured for the chosen product (e.g., PersonalAuto for PC)

Instructions

Build the inner loop in this order. Every step targets one of the three productivity killers above.

1. Start runServer once, keep it warm

Cold start takes 5–15 minutes; treat it as a session investment.

# Start in dev mode with debug agent on 8088, leaves the server attached to the terminal
./gradlew runServer -Pdebug=true -PdebugPort=8088 -Dgw.servermode=dev

gw.servermode=dev enables the hot-reload paths inside the JVM. debugPort=8088 exposes the JDWP debug agent — attach IntelliJ to it once and leave it. Restart only when the what hot-reloads table below says you must.

2. What hot-reloads, what does not

Memorize this table — it determines whether the next edit costs 0 seconds or 8 minutes.

Change type	Hot-reload?	Action
Gosu method body in an existing class