discover

name	discover
description	Use before defining a feature or epic to gather context, research options, and challenge scope assumptions.

Discover

Usage

Invoke as fiddle:discover <topic> [--skip-docs] [--skip-challenge].

Gather project context, research the ecosystem, and challenge scope assumptions before defining a solution.

ARGUMENTS: {ARGS}

Configuration

Parse from {ARGS}:

Flag	Default	Description
--skip-docs	false	Skip discover-docs — go straight to research and challenge
--skip-challenge	false	Skip the challenge step after scope confirmation

Config File

Config: see skills/orchestrate/SKILL.md for the schema. This skill reads providers.phases.discover (the provider list for this phase), the providers.<name>.command and .flags declarations for each provider named there, and providers.timeout.

Steps

Step 1: Docs Discovery

Skip if --skip-docs was set.

Invoke discover-docs to gather project context and identify gaps: Use the fiddle:discover-docs skill with <topic>.

This reads existing docs, CLAUDE.md, beans, and relevant source files. It produces a structured summary of what exists, what's relevant, and what gaps remain.

User Research Context

After discover-docs, check for user research artifacts:

• Persona files in docs/product/personas/ — if they exist, load them. Note which personas are relevant to the topic being discovered.
• Latest insight summary in docs/product/insights/ — if it exists, load it. Surface any themes or open questions relevant to the topic.

If these artifacts exist, include relevant findings when presenting the discovery summary. If they don't exist, skip silently.

Step 2: External Research

If providers are configured (default: codex):

Read hooks/dispatch-provider.sh for collection rules. For each provider, dispatch via:

hooks/dispatch-provider.sh <provider> \
  --role "Research analyst" \
  --topic "<topic>" \
  --instructions "Research: ecosystem patterns, prior art, implementation approaches, potential pitfalls. Be specific and cite concrete examples."

Run provider dispatches in parallel when the harness supports it; otherwise run them sequentially. Collect results in attended mode.

If no provider CLI is available, skip and proceed with the current harness's internal knowledge only.

Step 3: Challenge Scope

Skip if --skip-challenge was set.

Invoke the challenge skill to confirm scope and stress-test assumptions: Use the fiddle:challenge skill with --phase discover.

This opens by synthesizing findings and confirming scope with the user, then walks the decision tree on assumptions and constraints — resolving every branch before moving forward. It self-serves answers from the codebase and only asks the user about genuine ambiguity.