| name | heavy-explore-first |
| description | Use at the start of non-trivial software tasks. Gather repo ground truth with batched reads and searches before planning or delegate_task. |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| author | CodeGraphTheory |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["heavy-coder","discovery","context","software-development"],"related_skills":["heavy-leaf-brief","heavy-team-default","plan","heavy-scope-router"]}} |
Heavy explore first
Overview
Swarms amplify wrong assumptions. Spend one coordinator turn on ground truth: layout, entrypoints, tests, and the failure signal. Batch independent read_file / search_files / terminal calls in parallel.
When to Use
- New repo or unfamiliar directory for the user task
- Bug reports with stack traces or UI glitches
- Before
team_coordinator.py or a wide delegate_task batch
Skip when:
- You already have exact
path:line and confirmed file contents this session
- Trivial one-file typo with file path given
Explore checklist
- Manifest -
pyproject.toml, package.json, go.mod, or Cargo.toml (project root).
- Agent rules -
AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, .hermes.md if present.
- Touch search -
search_files for symbols, error strings, feature flags.
- Tests - locate test tree and naming convention (
tests/, __tests__, *_test.go).
- Repro - run the smallest command that shows the bug or build failure; save output for leaf
context.
Done when: you can name root path, test command, and at least three relevant file paths without guessing.
Batching rule
Independent lookups belong in one assistant turn (parallel tool calls). Do not serialize reads that do not depend on each other.
Handoff
- Solo fix: proceed to
patch + heavy-ship-gate.
- Team fix: load
heavy-leaf-brief, run coordinator plan, then delegate.
Profile distribution repos
For Hermes profiles: read distribution.yaml, config.yaml, skills/*/SKILL.md names, and scripts/validate_distribution.py expectations before editing packaging or hooks.