| name | architect |
| description | Use before building any non-trivial feature — when a prompt would otherwise make the agent guess at data models, API shape, auth, state, or module boundaries that haven't been decided yet. Use when you catch yourself about to "just start coding" something with real structure. |
architect
Overview
The most expensive bug is a structural decision made by guessing mid-build. architect forces the open decisions into the light before any code, so the agent builds against a plan instead of inventing one halfway through.
Run it in plan mode (no edits) before any complex feature.
When to use
- A feature touches data models, API routes, auth, state, or cross-module boundaries.
- You're unsure how some part "should" work — that uncertainty is exactly what the agent will silently guess.
- Anything you'd regret refactoring three days later.
Skip for: pure styling, copy changes, a one-file utility — anything with no real design decision.
Process
- Load context. Read the project's context files (overview, architecture, code-standards, build-plan, library-docs). The plan must fit what already exists.
- Surface the unmade decisions. List every choice this feature needs that hasn't been made — schema, ownership, error paths, edge cases, library usage, where logic lives.
- Interview one question at a time. Ask the single highest-leverage open question, wait for the answer, then ask the next. Never batch — batched questions get skimmed and half-answered.
- Stop at contradictions. If an answer conflicts with the architecture, say so and resolve it before continuing.
- Emit a plan. Produce an ordered, reviewable implementation plan: files to touch, decisions locked, the build sequence. No code yet.
Output
A plan the human approves before implementation begins. This plan IS the contract the later review step checks against.
Common mistakes
- Asking five questions in one message → five shallow answers. One at a time.
- A plan that ignores the existing architecture → read context first.
- Writing code "to figure it out" → that's the failure this prevents. Plan mode only.
