gof-command

One-line summary

Encapsulate a request as an object — separating who triggers the action from what gets done — so requests can be parameterized, queued, logged, undone, or composed.

When to use this skill

• An invoker (UI button, scheduler, queue handler) must trigger actions but should not know what they do.
• Operations need to be queued, scheduled, retried, or logged.
• Undo/redo functionality: each command knows how to execute and how to unexecute itself.
• Building a macro recorder — a command that holds a list of commands and runs them in sequence.
• Decoupling the timing of "what should happen" from "when it actually happens".

When NOT to use this skill

• A direct method call is sufficient and there's no decoupling need.
• The "command" is a single function with no arguments and no lifecycle — that's just a function reference.
• The system already has a job queue / message bus that handles this concern.

Core content