Configuration options for `.planning/` directory behavior.
```json
"planning": {
"commit_docs": true,
"search_gitignored": false
},
"git": {
"branching_strategy": "none",
"phase_branch_template": "gsd/phase-{phase}-{slug}",
"milestone_branch_template": "gsd/{milestone}-{slug}",
"quick_branch_template": null
}
```
| Option | Default | Description |
| ------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `commit_docs` | `true` | Whether to commit planning artifacts to git |
| `search_gitignored` | `false` | Add `--no-ignore` to broad rg searches |
| `git.branching_strategy` | `"none"` | Git branching approach: `"none"`, `"phase"`, or `"milestone"` |
| `git.phase_branch_template` | `"gsd/phase-{phase}-{slug}"` | Branch template for phase strategy |
| `git.milestone_branch_template` | `"gsd/{milestone}-{slug}"` | Branch template for milestone strategy |
| `git.quick_branch_template` | `null` | Optional branch template for quick-task runs |
**When `commit_docs: true` (default):**
- Planning files committed normally
- SUMMARY.md, STATE.md, ROADMAP.md tracked in git
- Full history of planning decisions preserved
**When `commit_docs: false`:**
- Skip all `git add`/`git commit` for `.planning/` files
- User must add `.planning/` to `.gitignore`
- Useful for: OSS contributions, client projects, keeping planning private
**Using gsd-tools.cjs (preferred):**
```bash
# Commit with automatic commit_docs + gitignore checks:
node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" commit "docs: update state" --files .planning/STATE.md
# Load config via state load (returns JSON):
INIT=$(node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" state load)
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi
# commit_docs is available in the JSON output
# Or use init commands which include commit_docs:
INIT=$(node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" init execute-phase "1")
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi
# commit_docs is included in all init command outputs
```
**Auto-detection:** If `.planning/` is gitignored, `commit_docs` is automatically `false` regardless of config.json. This prevents git errors when users have `.planning/` in `.gitignore`.
**Commit via CLI (handles checks automatically):**
```bash
node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" commit "docs: update state" --files .planning/STATE.md
```
The CLI checks `commit_docs` config and gitignore status internally - no manual conditionals needed.
**When `search_gitignored: false` (default):**
- Standard rg behavior (respects .gitignore)
- Direct path searches work: `rg "pattern" .planning/` finds files
- Broad searches skip gitignored: `rg "pattern"` skips `.planning/`
**When `search_gitignored: true`:**
- Add `--no-ignore` to broad rg searches that should include `.planning/`
- Only needed when searching entire repo and expecting `.planning/` matches
**Note:** Most GSD operations use direct file reads or explicit paths, which work regardless of gitignore status.
To use uncommitted mode:
1. **Set config:**
```json
"planning": {
"commit_docs": false,
"search_gitignored": true
}
```
2. **Add to .gitignore:**
```
.planning/
```
3. **Existing tracked files:** If `.planning/` was previously tracked:
```bash
git rm -r --cached .planning/
git commit -m "chore: stop tracking planning docs"
```
4. **Branch merges:** When using `branching_strategy: phase` or `milestone`, the `complete-milestone` workflow automatically strips `.planning/` files from staging before merge commits when `commit_docs: false`.
**Branching Strategies:**
| Strategy | When branch created | Branch scope | Merge point |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- |
| `none` | Never | N/A | N/A |
| `phase` | At `execute-phase` start | Single phase | User merges after phase |
| `milestone` | At first `execute-phase` of milestone | Entire milestone | At `complete-milestone` |
**When `git.branching_strategy: "none"` (default):**
- All work commits to current branch
- Standard GSD behavior
**When `git.branching_strategy: "phase"`:**
- `execute-phase` creates/switches to a branch before execution
- Branch name from `phase_branch_template` (e.g., `gsd/phase-03-authentication`)
- All plan commits go to that branch
- User merges branches manually after phase completion
- `complete-milestone` offers to merge all phase branches
**When `git.branching_strategy: "milestone"`:**
- First `execute-phase` of milestone creates the milestone branch
- Branch name from `milestone_branch_template` (e.g., `gsd/v1.0-mvp`)
- All phases in milestone commit to same branch
- `complete-milestone` offers to merge milestone branch to main
**Template variables:**
| Variable | Available in | Description |
| ------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| `{phase}` | phase_branch_template | Zero-padded phase number (e.g., "03") |
| `{slug}` | Both | Lowercase, hyphenated name |
| `{milestone}` | milestone_branch_template | Milestone version (e.g., "v1.0") |
**Checking the config:**
Use `init execute-phase` which returns all config as JSON:
```bash
INIT=$(node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" init execute-phase "1")
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi
# JSON output includes: branching_strategy, phase_branch_template, milestone_branch_template
```
Or use `state load` for the config values:
```bash
INIT=$(node ".pi/gsd/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" state load)
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi
# Parse branching_strategy, phase_branch_template, milestone_branch_template from JSON
```
**Branch creation:**
```bash
# For phase strategy
if [ "$BRANCHING_STRATEGY" = "phase" ]; then
PHASE_SLUG=$(echo "$PHASE_NAME" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]/-/g' | sed 's/--*/-/g' | sed 's/^-//;s/-$//')
BRANCH_NAME=$(echo "$PHASE_BRANCH_TEMPLATE" | sed "s/{phase}/$PADDED_PHASE/g" | sed "s/{slug}/$PHASE_SLUG/g")
git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$BRANCH_NAME"
fi
# For milestone strategy
if [ "$BRANCHING_STRATEGY" = "milestone" ]; then
MILESTONE_SLUG=$(echo "$MILESTONE_NAME" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]/-/g' | sed 's/--*/-/g' | sed 's/^-//;s/-$//')
BRANCH_NAME=$(echo "$MILESTONE_BRANCH_TEMPLATE" | sed "s/{milestone}/$MILESTONE_VERSION/g" | sed "s/{slug}/$MILESTONE_SLUG/g")
git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$BRANCH_NAME"
fi
```
**Merge options at complete-milestone:**
| Option | Git command | Result |
| -------------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Squash merge (recommended) | `git merge --squash` | Single clean commit per branch |
| Merge with history | `git merge --no-ff` | Preserves all individual commits |
| Delete without merging | `git branch -D` | Discard branch work |
| Keep branches | (none) | Manual handling later |
Squash merge is recommended - keeps main branch history clean while preserving the full development history in the branch (until deleted).
**Use cases:**
| Strategy | Best for |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `none` | Solo development, simple projects |
| `phase` | Code review per phase, granular rollback, team collaboration |
| `milestone` | Release branches, staging environments, PR per version |