| name | discover |
| description | Discover domain-specific skills and context before starting any coding or spec work. This is the mandatory first step for every task — no matter how trivial. Triggers on: any code change, spec change, implementation task, bug fix, refactor, feature work, or documentation update that touches component code or specs.
|
Discover Domain Skills
Before writing or changing anything, discover what skills and context are available for the domains you're about to work in.
When to Use
Every time. This skill is the entry point for all coding and spec work. Do not skip it, even for one-line fixes.
User Input
$ARGUMENTS
If provided, use the input to narrow which domains to check. Otherwise, infer from the task context.
Steps
1. Identify Relevant Domains
Map the work to one or more capability domains:
| Domain | When working on |
|---|
sessions | Session lifecycle, data model, API resources, messages, events |
control-plane | Operator, reconciliation, scheduling, runner provisioning |
agents | Agent model, runner, runtime registry, prompts |
integrations | MCP server, Gerrit, external services, feature flags |
frontend | UI components, pages, React Query hooks |
auth | OAuth, credentials, RBAC, tokens |
projects | Project management, settings, workspaces |
cli | TUI, acpctl commands |
specs | specs |
If unsure, check which specs/ subdirectories exist:
ls -d specs/*/
2. Visit Each Domain
For every relevant domain, cd into its spec directory and list available skills:
cd specs/{domain}
ls .claude/skills/ 2>/dev/null
ls skills/ 2>/dev/null
Read the SKILL.md of any discovered skill that looks relevant to the task at hand.
3. Load Domain Specs
While in the domain directory, check for specs that describe the desired state of what you're about to change:
ls *.spec.md 2>/dev/null
Read the relevant spec before implementing — code reconciles against specs, not the other way around.
4. Check Deployment Skills
If the work involves deployment, manifests, Docker builds, or cluster operations, check for deployment skills:
ls skills/deployments/ 2>/dev/null
Read the relevant SKILL.md — these contain environment config, prerequisites, and troubleshooting for deploying each component.
5. Check Standards
Load the standards for the component you're modifying:
ls specs/standards/*/
Pick the relevant domain (backend, frontend, control-plane, security, platform).
6. Report and Proceed
Summarize what you found:
- Which domains are involved
- Which domain skills were discovered (if any)
- Which specs describe the area being changed
- Which standards apply
Do not output irrelevant context. Be extremely brief, like:
I will use skills x and y for this task.
Then proceed with the task, using the discovered skills and context.
