scout

name

scout

description

Settle the pre-spec unknowns that need a decision — interview the user on open forks, prototype feel-right design questions, sharpen the domain model, or chart an effort too big for one session. Use when an idea is still vague, options compete unchosen, the user doesn't know where to start, or asks to be grilled. Evidence questions with no decision attached (external facts, baselines) belong to explore instead.

scout

Settle what's unknown before committing to a spec. Identify what kind of unknown blocks progress, then load only the reference that resolves it.

The unknown	Mode	Reference
Decisions only the user can make — several, interdependent	grill	references/grilling.md
A decision owned by someone not in the conversation	route to the questionnaire skill
A fact in docs, APIs, or source outside this repo	research	references/research.md
"Does this state model feel right?"	prototype (logic)	references/prototype.md → references/prototype-logic.md
"What should it look like?"	prototype (UI)	references/prototype.md → references/prototype-ui.md
Fuzzy terminology, or a hard-to-reverse decision worth recording	model	references/domain-modeling.md
The whole effort exceeds one session and is wrapped in fog — or the user doesn't know what to do next	wayfind	references/wayfinder.md

Rules

• Facts are yours to find (research); decisions are the user's (grill). Never ask the user for anything you could look up.
• Brownfield: read the repo, .waymark/CONTEXT.md, and .waymark/adr/ near the touched area first — grill only the forks that remain. Greenfield: there is nothing to read, so grill and prototype carry the weight.
• Modes compose. Grill runs with the domain model in hand (challenge terms, offer ADRs sparingly); wayfind dispatches grill, research, and prototype per ticket.
• Scouting is read-only toward production code and authorizes nothing. Findings land where they will be used: decisions in SPEC.md, working evidence in NOTES.md, vocabulary in .waymark/CONTEXT.md, recorded decisions in .waymark/adr/.
• Each scout pass must close at least one fork; a pass that closes none surfaces the blocker to the user instead of looping.
• When the forks are settled, run spec — resuming the bundle and step where spec routed here, if it did, not restarting it.