> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://gump.build/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Gump Eats Its Own Cooking

> How we build Gump, with Gump. Real metrics from real runs.

# Gump Eats Its Own Cooking

How we build Gump, with Gump.

## What this is

This is the workflow the Gump team uses to develop Gump itself. It's published for transparency and as a reference for building advanced workflows combining TDD, adversarial review via validators, and custom gates.

This is not a workflow you should copy as-is. It's a reference for building your own.

```bash theme={null}
gump run gump-dogfood --spec spec.md
```

## The workflow

```yaml theme={null}
name: gump-dogfood
max_budget: 15.00

steps:
  - name: decompose
    type: split
    get:
      prompt: |
        Analyze this spec and the full codebase.
        Decompose into independent tasks.
        Each task must be implementable and testable in isolation.
        Order tasks by dependency — if task B depends on task A, A comes first.
    run:
      agent: claude-opus
    gate: [schema]
    hitl: before_gate
    each:
      - name: tests
        type: code
        get:
          prompt: |
            Write comprehensive tests for: {task.description}
            Cover edge cases and error conditions.
            Only create/modify test files in: {task.files}
        run:
          agent: claude-sonnet
          guard:
            max_turns: 40
        gate:
          - compile
          - "touched: *_test.*"
          - tests_found
        retry:
          - attempt: 2
            agent: claude-opus
          - exit: 3

      - name: impl
        type: code
        get:
          session: from: tests
          prompt: |
            Implement code to pass all tests.
            Do not modify the tests.
            Only modify implementation files in: {task.files}
            {prev.gate.review.comments}
        run:
          agent: claude-sonnet
          guard:
            max_turns: 60
            max_budget: 3.00
        gate:
          - compile
          - test
          - "untouched: *_test.*"
          - validate: validators/correctness-review
              diff: "{diff}"
              spec: "{task.description}"
              agent: claude-opus
        retry:
          - attempt: 2
            prompt: |
              Deviations: {gate.review.comments}
              Fix only these.
          - attempt: 4
            agent: claude-opus
            session: new
            worktree: reset
          - exit: 6

  - name: quality
    gate: [compile, lint, test]

  - name: smoke
    gate:
      - bash: "make smoke-test"
```

## How it works

The plan is validated manually (`hitl: before_gate`). Each task follows: tests (TDD red) → impl (TDD green) → validator review → convergence if needed.

The `max_budget: 3.00` guard on impl prevents a single task from consuming the entire run budget. The final `smoke` gate runs an end-to-end smoke test suite.

## Real metrics

From actual Gump development runs. Updated as significant data accumulates.

| Metric                        | Value   |
| ----------------------------- | ------- |
| Average cost per run          | $3–$8   |
| Tasks per run                 | 2–5     |
| First-try success rate (impl) | \~60%   |
| Average retries per task      | 1.4     |
| Escalations per run           | 0–2     |
| Average duration              | 3–7 min |

## Adapt to your project

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Replace the smoke gate">
    `bash: "make smoke-test"` is specific to Gump. Replace with your own integration test.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Remove HITL">
    Remove `hitl: before_gate` on `decompose` for CI/CD pipelines.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Adjust per-step budget">
    The `max_budget: 3.00` on impl is calibrated for Gump. Adjust for your task sizes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Swap the validator">
    Replace `validators/correctness-review` with your own domain-specific reviewer.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>