An AI agentic skills framework for spec-driven development, built on the organizational model of mafia.
Gangsta Agents replaces open-ended Agile iteration with a directive, vertical hierarchy. A small team of highly specialized agents — each operating with autonomy within their Position — outperforms a large pool of general-purpose agents.
The Spec is Law. Code is an implementation detail validated against the specification. No shadow hotfixes.
The Informed Minority. Clear roles, clear hierarchy, clear accountability.
When you start a session, the framework bootstraps The Don — an orchestrator that analyzes your intent and routes to the appropriate skill. When you want to build something, it initiates a Heist: a 6-phase operational cycle.
| Phase | Skill | What Happens | Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Reconnaissance | gangsta:reconnaissance |
Intel gathering on codebase and requirements | Dossier |
| 2. The Grilling | gangsta:the-grilling |
Adversarial brainstorming via Multi-Agent Debate (Proposer vs Devils-Advocate, with you weighing in each round) | Consensus |
| 3. The Sit-Down | gangsta:the-sit-down |
Formal spec drafting. No code allowed. | Contract |
| 4. Resource Development | gangsta:resource-development |
Task decomposition into Work Packages and Execution Plan | Execution Plan |
| 5. Execution | gangsta:the-hit |
Parallel execution by Worker subagents with TDD enforcement | Completion |
| 6. The Delivery | gangsta:laundering |
Verification, integration, and Ledger update | Ledger |
Every phase gate requires your approval. You are the Don.
→ Full Heist Pipeline documentation
The default Heist pauses for Don approval at every phase gate. Autonomous Mode is an opt-in fast path that delegates per-phase gating to a don-proxy surrogate while preserving the Don's terminal authority.
| Aspect | Default Heist | Autonomous Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Per-phase approval | Don at each gate | gangsta:don-proxy |
| Sit-Down sign-off | Don signs Contract | don-proxy signs as pending-don-confirmation |
| Sit-Down review | Consigliere advisory | Dual-Veto — Consigliere AND don-proxy, either REJECT is terminal |
| Terminal authority | Don | Don, via /gangsta:go (sign), /gangsta:abort (reject), Consigliere veto |
| Constitutional Floor | N/A | Mandatory rejection of artifacts violating Omerta or Negative Constraints |
Slash commands:
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
/gangsta:heist <feature> |
Run Phases 1–4 (Reconnaissance → Grilling → Sit-Down → Resource-Development) autonomously. Produces don-proxy-signed Contract and Plan in pending-don-confirmation state. |
/gangsta:go [feature] |
Don signing event. Flips pending-don-confirmation → confirmed, then runs Phases 5–6 (the Hit + Laundering). Resolves the most recent Heist via docs/gangsta/.last-heist when feature is omitted. |
/gangsta:abort <feature> |
Rejects a pending Heist. Relocates docs/gangsta/<feature>/ to docs/gangsta/.aborted/<feature>-<timestamp>/ with an abort marker. Excluded from future ledger reads. |
Flags on /gangsta:heist:
--retries <1-10>(default3) — per-phase retry budget before escalation--rounds <1-7>(default3) — Grilling rounds;--rounds=1is the minimum-cost fast path--best-effort <bool>(defaulttrue) — continue past non-terminal failures with deviation reports
Lifecycle states for autonomous artifacts: pending-don-confirmation → confirmed (via /gangsta:go) or rejected (via /gangsta:abort). Constitutional Floor REJECTs are terminal in any phase and cannot be retried regardless of --best-effort.
Note: Autonomous Mode is positioned as a structured fast path, not a token-cost reduction. Mandatory adversarial Grilling is preserved — there is no flag to bypass it.
| Role | Function |
|---|---|
| Don (You) | Supreme authority. Approves all phase gates. |
| Consigliere | Impartial advisor. Security and architecture auditor. |
| Don-Proxy | Surrogate Don for autonomous mode. Bounded by the Constitutional Floor. |
| Underboss | COO. Task decomposition, resource allocation. |
| Crew Lead | Domain crew lead. Manages Workers per territory. |
| Worker | Stateless code executor. TDD enforced. |
| Associate | External tool/API proxy. |
→ Full Hierarchy documentation
The Gangsta Agents Family maintains institutional memory across all Heists:
- Insights — Successful reasoning pathways and creative solutions
- Fails — Documented failures with cognitive diagnoses and negative constraints
- Constitution — Accumulated commandments and prohibitions
| Skill | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Interrogation | Systematic debugging — find the rat before applying fixes |
| The Drill | TDD enforcement — no code without a failing test |
| Safehouse | Git worktrees — isolated operational bases |
| The Audit | Code review — the-inspector checks the work |
| Receiving Orders | Process feedback with rigor, not blind agreement |
| The Sweep | Verification — evidence before completion claims |
| Exit Strategy | Branch integration and cleanup |
→ Full Dev Skills documentation
Five non-negotiable laws govern all operations:
- Introduction Rule — No agent-to-agent communication without hierarchy mediation
- Rule of Availability — All state checkpointed to files
- Rule of Truth — Every claim cites its source. No invalid claims.
- Rule of Budget — Resource budgets tracked and enforced
- Spec is Law — Code contradicts spec → spec is revised first
/plugin marketplace add kucherenko/gangsta
/plugin install gangsta@gangstacopilot plugin marketplace add kucherenko/gangsta
copilot plugin install gangsta@gangsta-marketplaceTell OpenCode:
Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kucherenko/gangsta/refs/heads/master/.opencode/INSTALL.md
Tell Codex:
Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kucherenko/gangsta/refs/heads/master/.codex/INSTALL.md
gemini extensions install https://github.com/kucherenko/gangstaStart a new session and say:
"I want to build a new feature"
The agent should invoke Gangsta Agents skills automatically, starting with Reconnaissance.
MIT