Set up pstack
In this page you install the plugin, pick which models pstack uses, and run your first task. Setup is one command plus a short conversation.
Install the plugin
In a Cursor chat, run:
/add-plugin pstack
Cursor confirms the plugin is installed.
Pick your models
Run:
/setup-pstack
/setup-pstack detects the models you have access to, asks for a reasoning budget, shows you each role (code delegates, judgment, the review panels), and asks what you want. Answer the questions. It writes ~/.cursor/rules/pstack-models.mdc, a small rule every pstack skill reads.
The defaults run at xhigh reasoning, the same as the large budget. unlimited lifts each model to its highest tier, up to max. Opus goes to max. Grok tops out at xhigh, so it stays there. medium and small lower the reasoning and spend fewer tokens.
You only override what you care about. A role with no line in the rule keeps the skill's default. To restore a default, delete that role's line. A rerun of /setup-pstack keeps any role whose model differs from the default. When a default changes, a rule written before the change still pins the old default, so delete those role lines, or delete the file, then run /setup-pstack again.
You might be wondering what happens if you use Auto. Set a role to inherit-parent or auto and pstack omits the subagent model field, so the subagent inherits your parent chat model. Both values mean the same thing, and neither is a model slug. For a panel role the value is a list, and one subagent runs per entry, so the list length sets the panel size. Setup also configures swarm workers, the default model for every /swarm worker unless a race names a model for each arm.
Accept the verification offer, or don't
At the end of setup, /setup-pstack looks for a way to prove app behavior in your project, either a verify-* skill or an existing harness. If it finds neither, it offers once to generate one with /create-verification-skill.
Say yes and it writes .cursor/skills/verify-<app>/, a project-local skill that teaches agents to drive your app the way a user does. It proves the skill works once before handing it over. Say no and setup moves on. You can run /create-verification-skill yourself any time. Verify and ship covers it in depth.
If you're new to pstack, say yes. An agent that can check its own work keeps going until the check passes. An agent that can't hands every result back to you to check by hand. Of everything in this guide, the verification skill pays off the most.
After setup, start a new chat. The model rule applies to new sessions.
Keep the cost in check
pstack spends extra tokens on subagents and review panels. That's the price of the rigor. To spend fewer:
- Rerun
/setup-pstackand pick a smaller reasoning budget or cheaper models. A strong model in the main chat with cheaper, faster models in the code roles is a good split. - Set a role to
autoorinherit-parentso it runs on the chat's own model. - Shorten a panel list. Each entry runs one subagent.
- Save
/poteto-modefor work that needs rigor. A small, obvious edit doesn't.
Run your first task
Pick something real but small, and describe it the way you'd describe it to a colleague:
/poteto-mode add a --json flag to this command. text output stays byte-identical. verify both.
Watch the todo list. Its first items are the matched playbook's steps copied in, the Feature playbook for this prompt. If /poteto-mode skips a step, the step stays in the list with skip: <reason>, so you can see what it chose not to do.
From here you can type normal follow-ups. To keep /poteto-mode on for the whole chat, pick it from the / menu with Option+Enter (Mac) or Alt+Enter (Windows) instead of Enter. That makes it a Custom Mode, which stays in context on every turn until you exit it. Custom Modes are available in the Agents Window and the CLI. Plain Enter attaches the skill to one message, and it fades as the chat moves on.