Your first 10 minutes

Want the longer version? The recorded walkthrough follows a real build chapter by chapter.

1. Describe the ideaCopy Anchor Link

You:   /gw I want a page where my book club votes on next month's book
Agent: A few specific questions first:
       1. Who can vote: anyone with the link, or signed-in members only?
       2. One vote each, or rank several books?
       3. Show results before voting closes?

The agent asks specific questions in small batches — never "do you agree with section 2?" It offers a sensible default where one exists. If you say "you decide", it marks each default it chose (default) in the spec; nothing is presented as your decision when it wasn't.

2. Confirm the specCopy Anchor Link

You:   Anyone with the link. One vote. Hide results until it closes.
Agent: Spec saved, starting with the smallest useful version. Does it look right?
You:   Yes.

The spec goes in .groundwork/SPEC.md, in your words. Everything that didn't make the smallest useful version goes under "Later phases" — scope growth is declined by default, not discovered later.

3. Agree the planCopy Anchor Link

You:   /gw
Agent: Plan: 2 phases, 5 cards.
       1.1 Book list page · 1.2 Voting · 1.3 Close the vote · ...
       OK to write the cards?
You:   Go.

/gw knows the spec is confirmed and there are no cards, so it runs gw-plan. If the build needs a stack choice (database, framework, hosting), you get 2–4 options with trade-offs first, and a decision record is written once you choose. Nothing is picked for you.

4. Build the first cardCopy Anchor Link

You:   /gw
Agent: Card 1.1 Book list page: tests written, code passing, review passed.
       What changed: the home page lists this month's books.
       How to check: run npm run dev and open http://localhost:3000
       Caveats: no styling yet.
       Approve or reject?

Behind that summary, a card went through three roles:

1. Tester wrote failing tests and saved the output.
2. Implementer made them pass, plus the full suite, lint and build.
3. Reviewer re-ran everything with fresh context and checked every acceptance criterion.

At the stop you get what changed, how to check it yourself, and the caveats, in plain words — plus any judgment calls the agent logged along the way.

5. ApproveCopy Anchor Link

You:   /gw-approve
Agent: Committed [1.1] Book list page. Next up: card 1.2 Voting.

Approval refuses to run while the evidence is missing. Once approved, the card is marked done, the handoff is updated, and the changes are committed with the card's ID in the message.

Then /gw again for the next card. That's the whole loop.

Where everything livesCopy Anchor Link

Small changes skip the loopCopy Anchor Link

For a typo, a copy tweak, a config value, or a bug, /gw-quick makes the change in one pass — no card, no roles. Bugs still need a failing test and a stated cause before the fix. If a "quick" job grows past about three files or changes behavior people notice, the agent stops and suggests a card instead. Right-sizing →