Gabe Help — Suite Entry Point

Purpose

Answer one question: "What should I do next with the Gabe Suite?"

Scan the current project environment, detect what's configured, what's missing, and where the user is in their workflow. Then recommend specific commands with reasoning.

Rendering note. Output templates in this spec wrapped in bare triple-backtick fences are spec-meta delimiters — render their contents as plain markdown at runtime. Dashboards, workflow recommendations, and tables display as markdown, not monospace code. See gabe-docs/SKILL.md § "Runtime output rendering convention".

This is NOT a man page. It reads the actual state and gives contextual advice.

Procedure

Step 1: Environment Scan

Check each probe silently. Do NOT run commands that modify anything.

Step 2: Classify Situation

Based on the scan, classify into one of these situations:

Multiple situations can be true simultaneously (e.g., "mid-work" + "deferred debt"). List all that apply, ordered by priority.

Step 3: Output

GABE HELP — [project name from BEHAVIOR.md or directory name]

┌─ Environment ───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Git repo:        ✅ [branch name]                    │
│ Changes:         [N files modified | clean]          │
│ Alignment:       ✅ Initialized (maturity: MVP)      │
│                  or ❌ Not initialized                │
│ User values:     ✅ N values | ❌ Not set up          │
│ Cognitive suit:  ✅ Spatial-Analogical | ❌ Default    │
│ Checkpoints:     ✅ N entries | ❌ No ledger           │
│ Deferred items:  ⚠️ N pending | ✅ None               │
│ GSD planning:    ✅ Phase N active | ❌ Not found      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Situation: [classified situation(s)]

Suggested next:

  1. /command — [why this, based on current state]
  2. /command — [why this]
  3. /command — [why this]

Recommendation Logic

New Machine (first-time setup)

1. /gabe-lens calibrate     — Find your cognitive suit (one-time, ~3 min)
2. /gabe-align init-user    — Set your universal values (one-time, ~5 min)
3. /gabe-align init [name]  — Initialize this project (if in a project)

Greenfield Project (new app, no .kdbp/)

1. /gabe-align deep "<idea>" — Stress the idea against values, scenarios, and AP1-AP13
2. /gabe-init [name]         — Create .kdbp/, hooks, behavior, values, and maturity baseline
3. /gabe-scope               — Turn the idea into SCOPE.md + ROADMAP.md
4. /gabe-plan "first slice"  — Write the first phase plan with explicit decisions
5. /gabe-next                — Start the phase loop

Reference: docs/workflows/greenfield.md.

Brownfield Project (existing codebase, no .kdbp/)

1. Read-only inventory       — Inspect layout, tests, CI, docs, git history, and risks before writing
2. /gabe-health              — Map structural hotspots and coupling before planning changes
3. /gabe-debt brief          — Capture evidence-backed decision debt and AP concerns
4. /gabe-init [name]         — Create a cautious KDBP baseline only after inventory
5. /gabe-scope               — Document current reality before proposing change phases

If .kdbp/ already exists in the brownfield repo, prefer /gabe-init update, /gabe-plan check, and /gabe-next instead of starting from scratch.

Reference: docs/workflows/brownfield.md.

Configured, Idle

1. /gabe-health             — Periodic check: has anything drifted?
2. /gabe-review deferred    — Any accumulated debt to address?
3. /gabe-align evolve       — Review value patterns from checkpoint history

Mid-Work (uncommitted changes)

1. /gabe-review             — Risk-price your current changes before committing
2. /gabe-review brief       — Quick confidence score if you want speed
3. /gabe-align shallow      — Quick values check on what you're about to ship

Pre-PR (branch ahead of main)

1. /gabe-review             — Full review with confidence score + triage
2. /gabe-push               — Push, create PR, watch CI, promote
3. /gabe-roast [perspective] [target] — Stress-test from a specific angle

Post-Commit (committed, not pushed)

1. /gabe-push               — Push, create PR, watch CI
2. /gabe-review             — Double-check before shipping (if not done yet)
3. /gabe-assess bf [feature] — Quick impact check on what you're about to ship

Deferred Debt (pending deferred items)

1. /gabe-review deferred    — See the backlog with confidence cost per item
2. /gabe-review fix         — Fix all deferred items in one pass
3. /gabe-health             — Check if deferred items cluster in fragile areas

Post-Milestone

1. /gabe-health             — Full analysis: gods, churn, coupling, bugs, scope
2. /gabe-align evolve       — Review value patterns, graduate or tighten
3. /gabe-review deferred    — Clear any accumulated debt before next milestone

Behavior Rules

1. Read-only. gabe-help never modifies files, creates directories, or writes output files. It only reads and recommends.
2. Fast. The scan should take < 5 seconds. Don't read file contents unless needed (e.g., maturity from BEHAVIOR.md frontmatter, suit from profile).
3. No redundancy. If the user just ran /gabe-review, don't suggest /gabe-review again. Check the conversation context.
4. Honest gaps. If something isn't set up, say so directly. Don't hedge with "you might want to consider." Say: "Not initialized. For greenfield, run /gabe-align deep then /gabe-init; for brownfield, follow docs/workflows/brownfield.md first."
5. Max 5 suggestions. More than 5 is noise. Pick the highest-value actions for the current state.
6. Show the full suite on request. If the user asks "what tools are available?" or similar, show the complete list:

The Gabe Suite — 20 command wrappers, 11 skills:

| Tool | Command | What it does |
|------|---------|-------------|
| gabe-help | /gabe-help | You are here. Context-aware guide. |
| gabe-align | /gabe-align [mode] | Alignment guardian — values check + auto-checkpoint |
| gabe-assess | /gabe-assess [change] | Change impact — blast radius, maturity scope, prerequisites |
| gabe-commit | /gabe-commit [msg] | Commit quality gate — deterministic checks, triage |
| gabe-debt | /gabe-debt [brief\|dry-run\|target] | Architecture decision-debt scan with AP evidence citations |
| gabe-execute | /gabe-execute | Execute the current PLAN.md phase |
| gabe-health | /gabe-health [focus] | Codebase structural health — gods, churn, coupling, bugs |
| gabe-init | /gabe-init [name] | Project setup — .kdbp/, hooks, project type, maturity |
| gabe-lens | /gabe-lens [concept] | Cognitive translation — analogies, maps, constraint boxes |
| gabe-mockup | /gabe-mockup [mode] | Mockup, React Storybook, and design-ref workflows |
| gabe-next | /gabe-next | Zero-logic router for the current phase state |
| gabe-plan | /gabe-plan [goal] | KDBP planning + per-phase tier decision |
| gabe-push | /gabe-push | Push, create PR, watch CI, branch promotion |
| gabe-review | /gabe-review [target] | Code review with risk pricing + confidence score + triage |
| gabe-roast | /gabe-roast [perspective] [target] | Adversarial gap review from a specific viewpoint |
| gabe-scope | /gabe-scope | Scope authoring into SCOPE.md + ROADMAP.md |
| gabe-scope-addition | /gabe-scope-addition | Additive scope evolution |
| gabe-scope-change | /gabe-scope-change | Route a scope change to addition or pivot |
| gabe-scope-pivot | /gabe-scope-pivot | Direction-changing scope rewrite |
| gabe-teach | /gabe-teach | Consolidate architect-level knowledge |

Installed workflow docs:

• docs/workflows/README.md — quick chooser.
• docs/workflows/greenfield.md — new app from idea to first phase.
• docs/workflows/brownfield.md — existing codebase adoption.
• docs/suite-state-audit.md — current inventory, install state, and known gaps.

Skills installed behind those commands: gabe-align, gabe-arch, gabe-assess, gabe-debt, gabe-docs, gabe-health, gabe-help, gabe-lens, gabe-mockup, gabe-review, gabe-roast.

Integration