gstack practice: complete workflow from installation to runthrough

Introduction

In Concept, we learned about the core positioning of gstack - a role-based skill set that turns Claude Code into a virtual engineering team, and its differentiated positioning in the AI programming tool ecosystem compared to GSD, Superpowers, Ralph and other solutions.

This practical article focuses on how to use: from installation and configuration to running through the complete workflow, helping you get started with gstack in 30 minutes.

Installation and configuration

Preconditions

• Claude Code is installed and available
• Git installed
• Bun v1.0+ installed (gstack is built on Bun)
• Windows users also need Node.js

Global installation (recommended, completed in 30 seconds)

git clone --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/garrytan/gstack.git ~/.claude/skills/gstack
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && ./setup

The installation script does three things:

1. Add gstack’s skill information to your CLAUDE.md file
2. Put all skill files into the skills directory
3. Install Playwright and the corresponding Chromium browser (for /browse and /qa)

Project-level installation (team sharing)

If you want team members to automatically obtain gstack after cloning the repository:

cp -Rf ~/.claude/skills/gstack .claude/skills/gstack
rm -rf .claude/skills/gstack/.git
cd .claude/skills/gstack && ./setup

###Multi-Agent support

gstack is not limited to Claude Code, and currently supports 10 AI programming Agents. ./setup automatically detects installed hosts by default:

./setup --host codex      # OpenAI Codex CLI
./setup --host opencode   # OpenCode
./setup --host cursor     # Cursor
./setup --host factory    # Factory Droid
./setup --host slate      # Slate
./setup --host kiro       # Kiro
./setup --host hermes     # Hermes
./setup --host gbrain     # GBrain（修改版）
./setup --host openclaw   # OpenClaw（通过 ACP 派发 Claude Code 会话）

The skill installation path of each host is in the shape of ~/.<agent>/skills/gstack-*/ and does not interfere with each other.

💡 Extra options for OpenClaw users: In addition to calling through ACP, OpenClaw can also directly install 4 native methodology skills (gstack-openclaw-office-hours, gstack-openclaw-ceo-review, gstack-openclaw-investigate, gstack-openclaw-retro) through ClawHub, which can be used conversationally without a Claude Code session.

Team Mode (Team Sharing + Automatic Updates, Recommended)

v1.x introduces Team Mode: each developer installs gstack globally, and the warehouse only records "we use gstack", and updates occur automatically:

(cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && ./setup --team) && \
~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-team-init required && \
git add .claude/ CLAUDE.md && git commit -m "require gstack for AI-assisted work"

Replacing required with optional is a "gentle reminder" rather than mandatory. Every time you start Claude Code, it will automatically run an update check (throttling once per hour, safe and silent if the network fails). There are no vendored files in the warehouse, and there is no version drift.

Update

cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && git pull && ./setup

Or use /gstack-upgrade directly in Claude Code.

Complete command reference

Sprint Process

Design

Review and Security

Testing and QA

Release and operation and maintenance

Review and learn

Security Protection

Tool integration

Standalone CLI（v0.19+）

In addition to the slash command, gstack also comes with a set of standalone CLIs (not run within the Claude Code session):

Configuration details

CLAUDE.md Add content

After installation, gstack will add a list and short description of all available skills to your CLAUDE.md. This lets Claude Code know which commands are available.

Skill directory structure

The main entrance is the top-level ~/.claude/skills/gstack/SKILL.md, each subcommand exists in the form of a flat directory, and the core is the SKILL.md file:

~/.claude/skills/gstack/
├── SKILL.md            # 主入口 skill
├── browse/             # 浏览器 daemon
├── qa/                 # QA 测试
├── review/             # 代码审查
├── ship/               # 发布流程
├── plan-ceo-review/    # CEO 审查
├── office-hours/       # 产品门诊
├── pair-agent/         # 跨 Agent 浏览器配对
├── open-gstack-browser/ # GStack Browser 启动器
├── setup-gbrain/       # GBrain 数据库一键上手
├── hosts/              # 10 个 host 配置（claude/codex/cursor/...）
├── bin/                # standalone CLI（gstack-model-benchmark 等）
└── ...                 # 当前 v1.x 共 50 个 skill 目录

You are free to modify any SKILL.md to customize the behavior - this is the advantage of "fork and customize".

Browse Daemon

Browse Daemon is a permanent Chromium instance. Key configuration:

• Port: Randomly selected 10000-60000, supports 10+ parallel workspaces
• Security: Only bind localhost, use bearer token authentication for each session
• Cookie: Use /setup-browser-cookies to import from Chrome/Arc/Brave/Edge

Practical workflow demonstration

The following demonstrates a typical gstack workflow. The commands and output are based on real cases in the documentation and videos.

💡 Note: The following output is a general example compiled based on research. Screenshots of specific projects will be added in the future based on actual practice.

Step 1: Product clinic

> /office-hours

[YC Office Hours] 6 forcing questions:
1. Who specifically needs this?
2. What do they do today without it?
3. Why is this urgent right now?
4. How will you know it works?
5. What happens if you do nothing?
6. What is the smallest version you can ship?

→ Design doc generated

Don’t rush to write code, first let AI torture your ideas from the perspective of YC Office Hours.

Step 2: Multi-role review plan

> /autoplan

[CEO Review] Finding the 10-star product...
[Design Review] Rating dimensions 0-10...
[Eng Review] Locking architecture + edge cases...

→ Fully reviewed plan ready

/autoplan automatically runs three rounds of CEO → Design → Engineering reviews to produce a complete post-review plan.

Step 3: Coding implementation

Code normally according to the approved plan. You can use the standard Claude Code conversation.

Step 4: Multi-expert code review

> /review

Dispatching 7 specialist reviewers...
- Testing coverage ✓
- Maintainability ✓
- Security: Found 1 issue (auto-fixing)
- Performance ✓
- Data migration ✓
- API contract ✓
- Red team: No vulnerabilities found

→ Review complete, 1 auto-fix applied

Step 5: Browser QA

> /qa

Opening headless browser...
Testing user flows:
- Login flow ✓
- Dashboard load ✓
- Form submission: Bug found → fixing → re-testing ✓
- Image upload ✓

→ 4 flows tested, 1 bug fixed, regression test generated

Step 6: Publish

> /ship

Syncing with main...
Running tests: 42 passed, 0 failed
Reviewing diff: 3 files changed
Updating VERSION: 1.2.0 → 1.3.0
Creating PR: "Add screenshot feature"

→ PR #47 created, ready for merge

Practical Tips and Community Experience

Garry Tan’s suggestion

ETHOS.md from gstack, three core principles:

1. Boil the Lake: AI makes completeness almost free—always do complete things and don’t take shortcuts
2. Search Before Building: Search first, understand first, and then start after three-layer knowledge verification
3. User Sovereignty: AI recommendation, you decide. Even if both AI models agree, your judgment still takes precedence

The README of gstack begins with a quote from Karpathy - this is also the starting point for Garry Tan himself to explain why he wants to build gstack:

Positive community experiences

• /office-hours for YC applications: Multiple S26 applicants on Reddit r/ycombinator reported that using gstack’s office hours to stress test their application materials is very effective.
• Security audit found real vulnerabilities: There was CTO feedback /review discovered an XSS vulnerability that the team was not aware of.
• /browse Real browser testing: Recognized by the community (including critics) as a "truly technical contribution"

Common pitfalls

• Frequent permission prompts: Some users reported that "permission prompts have to be approved every 30 seconds, making it impossible to sleep." It is recommended to configure appropriate automatic approval rules in Claude Code settings
• High Token consumption: Characterized prompts will increase context consumption. If you are cost-sensitive, you can selectively use the skills you need most
• Agent Loop: There are cases on HN where users reported that the agent got stuck in a 70-minute loop. It is recommended to set reasonable timeouts and checkpoints
• Not for everyone: Experienced developers may feel that most skills are unnecessary wrappers. gstack is more suitable for independent founders and small teams rather than teams with mature engineering processes

Frequently Asked Questions and Best Practices

**Q: Can gstack and Superpowers be used at the same time? **

Yes. The two complement each other - Superpowers is good at process discipline and TDD assurance, and gstack is good at product thinking and multi-role reviews. Many teams use Superpowers for daily coding discipline and gstack for product planning and QA.

**Q: Is Token expensive? **

Higher than native Claude Code. Each skill's role prompt occupies the context window. But if your time is worth more than the token fee, this is usually a good deal.

**Q: What type of projects is it suitable for? **

Best suited for full-process product development – from idea to launch. If you just fix bugs or make small features, native Claude Code is enough. The value of gstack is maximized in the "complete process".

**Q: How to customize skill? **

Each skill is a SKILL.md file. Just edit it directly:

1. Find the skill directory: ~/.claude/skills/gstack/<skill-name>/
2. Edit SKILL.md
3. Rerun ./setup

The community recommends forking the repository and customizing it instead of directly modifying the global installation.

Best Practices

1. First /office-hours then code: Make it a habit to do product clinics before writing any code
2. Make good use of /browse verification: Don’t just look at the code, let AI really "see" your application
3. Periodic /retro: Maintain visibility into code quality and work pace
4. Gradual Adoption: No need to use all skills at once. Starting from /office-hours + /review + /ship
5. Fork customization: If you encounter an inappropriate prompt, change it directly. This is the advantage of open source

Summary

The core value of gstack does not lie in how powerful a specific skill is, but in that it provides a structured AI collaboration mode - through role switching, you can get different types of AI assistance at different stages. First review the product direction from the CEO's perspective, then review the architecture with the rigor of an engineering manager, and finally verify the results with QA's real browser.

Next, you can try installing it yourself and start your first gstack project from /office-hours.

Extended reading:

• gstack Concepts — Understand gstack’s core concepts and tool ecological positioning
• GSD Practical — A practical guide to another structured AI programming solution
• Claude Skills Practical Chapter — Understand the creation mechanism of Skills