New Schema Recommendation

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Getting things done (GTD) workflow

Created by David Allen, GTD is one of the world’s most well-known productivity systems. It’s a method that can help you systematically process tasks, emails, notes, ideas, and anything else that comes into your life.

The GTD process consists of five main steps:
Capture
Clarify
Organize
Review
Engage

The method also includes several different lists, which act as destinations for the information that comes into yourlife.
Inbox
Next Actions
Calendar
Waiting For
Someday/Maybe

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Task completed.

The enrichment comment has been posted on issue #706. Here's a summary of what was included:

• Codebase mapping: Showed how the 5 GTD steps (Capture, Clarify, Organize, Review, Engage) map to OpenSpec artifacts with a concrete schema.yaml example
• Relevant code references: Linked to the schema types, validation, resolution, CLI commands, and documentation files
• Immediate workaround: Showed how users can already create a GTD schema today using openspec schema init
• Related issues: Connected it to [Feature Request] Establish an official channel/registry for sharing custom artifact schemas #650 (schema registry), [Proposal/Enhancement] Hardcoded spec format prevents custom schemas from working #666 (custom schema limitations), and I have idea about spec #691
• Key considerations: Flagged the scope question (built-in vs. community), the cyclical nature of GTD vs. OpenSpec's DAG model, and template design needs

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Issue Enrichment

Codebase Context

This issue proposes a new GTD (Getting Things Done) workflow schema for OpenSpec. Here's how it maps to the existing schema system and what would be involved.

How Schemas Work in OpenSpec

OpenSpec schemas define a sequence of artifacts (documents) with dependencies between them. The built-in spec-driven schema (schemas/spec-driven/schema.yaml) follows a proposal → specs → design → tasks flow. A GTD schema would define its own artifact flow based on the GTD methodology.

Mapping GTD to OpenSpec Artifacts

The GTD steps (Capture, Clarify, Organize, Review, Engage) and lists (Inbox, Next Actions, Calendar, Waiting For, Someday/Maybe) could map to an OpenSpec schema like:

name: gtd
version: 1
description: Getting Things Done workflow - capture → clarify → organize → review → engage
artifacts:
  - id: inbox
    generates: inbox.md
    description: Capture all incoming items (tasks, ideas, emails, notes)
    template: inbox.md
    instruction: |
      Capture everything that needs attention...
    requires: []

  - id: clarify
    generates: clarify.md
    description: Process inbox items - determine actionable vs reference/trash
    template: clarify.md
    instruction: |
      For each inbox item, determine if it is actionable...
    requires: [inbox]

  - id: organize
    generates: "lists/**/*.md"
    description: Sort clarified items into Next Actions, Waiting For, Calendar, Someday/Maybe
    template: organize.md
    instruction: |
      Organize clarified items into the appropriate GTD lists...
    requires: [clarify]

  - id: review
    generates: review.md
    description: Weekly review of all lists and projects
    template: review.md
    instruction: |
      Review all active lists and projects...
    requires: [organize]

  - id: engage
    generates: engage.md
    description: Select and execute next actions based on context, time, and energy
    template: engage.md
    instruction: |
      Based on current context, available time, and energy level...
    requires: [review]

apply:
  requires: [engage]
  tracks: engage.md
  instruction: |
    Work through selected next actions, marking items complete as you go.

Relevant Code & Documentation

• Schema structure and validation: src/core/artifact-graph/types.ts — Zod schemas define the constraints (kebab-case names, no circular deps, at least 1 artifact)
• Schema parsing and cycle detection: src/core/artifact-graph/schema.ts
• Schema resolution (project → user → package): src/core/artifact-graph/resolver.ts
• Schema CLI commands (init, fork, validate): src/commands/schema.ts
• Customization guide: docs/customization.md (lines 94-273)
• Schema concepts: docs/concepts.md (lines 361-454)

How to Try This Today

Users can already create a GTD schema locally using:

# Create a new schema scaffold
openspec schema init gtd --description "Getting Things Done workflow" --artifacts "inbox,clarify,organize,review,engage"

# Validate it
openspec schema validate gtd

# Set as default for a project
openspec schema init gtd --default

This creates the directory structure at openspec/schemas/gtd/ with a schema.yaml and template files that can be customized.

Related Issues

• [Feature Request] Establish an official channel/registry for sharing custom artifact schemas #650 — [Feature Request] Establish an official channel/registry for sharing custom artifact schemas — directly relevant, as a GTD schema would be a strong candidate for a community schema registry
• [Proposal/Enhancement] Hardcoded spec format prevents custom schemas from working #666 — Hardcoded spec format prevents custom schemas from working — may affect custom schema usability
• I have idea about spec #691 — Idea about spec — another schema-related suggestion

Considerations

1. Scope: Should this be a built-in schema shipped with the package (in schemas/), or is it better suited as a community-contributed schema once a registry ([Feature Request] Establish an official channel/registry for sharing custom artifact schemas #650) exists?
2. GTD Adaptation: The GTD methodology is designed for personal productivity. The schema above maps the 5 steps linearly, but GTD in practice is cyclical (weekly reviews feed back into the inbox). OpenSpec's DAG-based dependency system doesn't natively support cycles — the schema would need to represent one pass through the workflow per change.
3. Template Design: The templates would need careful design to capture GTD-specific concepts (2-minute rule during Clarify, context tags for Next Actions, project vs. single-action distinction, etc.).

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