GStack
Framework by Garry Tan (Y Combinator CEO): 23+ role-based skills (slash commands mapped to decision-making perspectives). Roles: CEO, designer, engineering manager, QA lead, chief security officer, release engineer, technical writer, among others. Five mechanisms: Role Focus, Data Orchestration, Quality Tracking, 'Boil the Lake' principle, 'ELI16 mode'. Workflow: Think → Plan → Build → Review → Test → Ship → Reflect.
Strengths
- 23+ decision roles (CEO, EM, PM), built-in multi-perspective challenger
- ELI16 mode: simplifies technical explanations for non-tech, useful in team contexts
- Boil the Lake principle: identifies and reduces the most critical risks first
- 127.3k GitHub stars, fast adoption in the Y Combinator community and beyond
Limitations
- No auto-mode or state machine: each session starts fresh, little cross-session memory
- Decision-focused, not execution: does not replace GSD for autonomous dev tasks
- No /build skill, between planning and review, Claude reverts to default behavior
Best for
- Founders and PMs who want to challenge product decisions with multiple role perspectives
- Early-stage teams wanting a structured decision framework without operational complexity
- Solo developers looking to simulate a virtual board (CEO, EM, PM) to validate their roadmap