# Phase Context Template
Template for `.planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-CONTEXT.md` - captures implementation decisions for a phase.
**Purpose:** Document decisions that downstream agents need. Researcher uses this to know WHAT to investigate. Planner uses this to know WHAT choices are locked vs flexible.
**Key principle:** Categories are NOT predefined. They emerge from what was actually discussed for THIS phase. A CLI phase has CLI-relevant sections, a UI phase has UI-relevant sections.
**Downstream consumers:**
- `gsd-phase-researcher` — Reads decisions to focus research (e.g., "card layout" → research card component patterns)
- `gsd-planner` — Reads decisions to create specific tasks (e.g., "infinite scroll" → task includes virtualization)
---
## File Template
```markdown
# Phase [X]: [Name] - Context
**Gathered:** [date]
**Status:** Ready for planning
## Phase Boundary
[Clear statement of what this phase delivers — the scope anchor. This comes from ROADMAP.md and is fixed. Discussion clarifies implementation within this boundary.]
## Implementation Decisions
### [Area 1 that was discussed]
- [Specific decision made]
- [Another decision if applicable]
### [Area 2 that was discussed]
- [Specific decision made]
### [Area 3 that was discussed]
- [Specific decision made]
### Claude's Discretion
[Areas where user explicitly said "you decide" — Claude has flexibility here during planning/implementation]
## Specific Ideas
[Any particular references, examples, or "I want it like X" moments from discussion. Product references, specific behaviors, interaction patterns.]
[If none: "No specific requirements — open to standard approaches"]
## Deferred Ideas
[Ideas that came up during discussion but belong in other phases. Captured here so they're not lost, but explicitly out of scope for this phase.]
[If none: "None — discussion stayed within phase scope"]
---
*Phase: XX-name*
*Context gathered: [date]*
```
**Example 1: Visual feature (Post Feed)**
```markdown
# Phase 3: Post Feed - Context
**Gathered:** 2025-01-20
**Status:** Ready for planning
## Phase Boundary
Display posts from followed users in a scrollable feed. Users can view posts and see engagement counts. Creating posts and interactions are separate phases.
## Implementation Decisions
### Layout style
- Card-based layout, not timeline or list
- Each card shows: author avatar, name, timestamp, full post content, reaction counts
- Cards have subtle shadows, rounded corners — modern feel
### Loading behavior
- Infinite scroll, not pagination
- Pull-to-refresh on mobile
- New posts indicator at top ("3 new posts") rather than auto-inserting
### Empty state
- Friendly illustration + "Follow people to see posts here"
- Suggest 3-5 accounts to follow based on interests
### Claude's Discretion
- Loading skeleton design
- Exact spacing and typography
- Error state handling
## Specific Ideas
- "I like how Twitter shows the new posts indicator without disrupting your scroll position"
- Cards should feel like Linear's issue cards — clean, not cluttered
## Deferred Ideas
- Commenting on posts — Phase 5
- Bookmarking posts — add to backlog
---
*Phase: 03-post-feed*
*Context gathered: 2025-01-20*
```
**Example 2: CLI tool (Database backup)**
```markdown
# Phase 2: Backup Command - Context
**Gathered:** 2025-01-20
**Status:** Ready for planning
## Phase Boundary
CLI command to backup database to local file or S3. Supports full and incremental backups. Restore command is a separate phase.
## Implementation Decisions
### Output format
- JSON for programmatic use, table format for humans
- Default to table, --json flag for JSON
- Verbose mode (-v) shows progress, silent by default
### Flag design
- Short flags for common options: -o (output), -v (verbose), -f (force)
- Long flags for clarity: --incremental, --compress, --encrypt
- Required: database connection string (positional or --db)
### Error recovery
- Retry 3 times on network failure, then fail with clear message
- --no-retry flag to fail fast
- Partial backups are deleted on failure (no corrupt files)
### Claude's Discretion
- Exact progress bar implementation
- Compression algorithm choice
- Temp file handling
## Specific Ideas
- "I want it to feel like pg_dump — familiar to database people"
- Should work in CI pipelines (exit codes, no interactive prompts)
## Deferred Ideas
- Scheduled backups — separate phase
- Backup rotation/retention — add to backlog
---
*Phase: 02-backup-command*
*Context gathered: 2025-01-20*
```
**Example 3: Organization task (Photo library)**
```markdown
# Phase 1: Photo Organization - Context
**Gathered:** 2025-01-20
**Status:** Ready for planning
## Phase Boundary
Organize existing photo library into structured folders. Handle duplicates and apply consistent naming. Tagging and search are separate phases.
## Implementation Decisions
### Grouping criteria
- Primary grouping by year, then by month
- Events detected by time clustering (photos within 2 hours = same event)
- Event folders named by date + location if available
### Duplicate handling
- Keep highest resolution version
- Move duplicates to _duplicates folder (don't delete)
- Log all duplicate decisions for review
### Naming convention
- Format: YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_originalname.ext
- Preserve original filename as suffix for searchability
- Handle name collisions with incrementing suffix
### Claude's Discretion
- Exact clustering algorithm
- How to handle photos with no EXIF data
- Folder emoji usage
## Specific Ideas
- "I want to be able to find photos by roughly when they were taken"
- Don't delete anything — worst case, move to a review folder
## Deferred Ideas
- Face detection grouping — future phase
- Cloud sync — out of scope for now
---
*Phase: 01-photo-organization*
*Context gathered: 2025-01-20*
```
**This template captures DECISIONS for downstream agents.**
The output should answer: "What does the researcher need to investigate? What choices are locked for the planner?"
**Good content (concrete decisions):**
- "Card-based layout, not timeline"
- "Retry 3 times on network failure, then fail"
- "Group by year, then by month"
- "JSON for programmatic use, table for humans"
**Bad content (too vague):**
- "Should feel modern and clean"
- "Good user experience"
- "Fast and responsive"
- "Easy to use"
**Sections explained:**
- **Domain** — The scope anchor. Copied/derived from ROADMAP.md. Fixed boundary.
- **Decisions** — Organized by areas discussed (NOT predefined categories). Section headers come from the actual discussion — "Layout style", "Flag design", "Grouping criteria", etc.
- **Claude's Discretion** — Explicit acknowledgment of what Claude can decide during implementation.
- **Specifics** — Product references, examples, "like X but..." statements.
- **Deferred** — Ideas captured but explicitly out of scope. Prevents scope creep while preserving good ideas.
**After creation:**
- File lives in phase directory: `.planning/phases/XX-name/{phase}-CONTEXT.md`
- `gsd-phase-researcher` uses decisions to focus investigation
- `gsd-planner` uses decisions + research to create executable tasks
- Downstream agents should NOT need to ask the user again about captured decisions