explore

name	explore
description	Time-boxed SENAR investigation before a task.
context	fork
effort	medium

/explore — Time-Bounded Exploration (SENAR Section 5.1)

Investigation without full task formality. When to use: Unfamiliar domain, multiple possible approaches, need to understand before planning.

Key rule: If exploration yields implementation work, a task SHALL be created before changes are committed.

Model hint (phase=research): simple, read-only discovery (where-is-X, symbol/pattern search, doc skim) runs fine on Haiku 4.5 — 10-20× cheaper. Escalate to Sonnet 4.6 only for deep, multi-source investigation. Rationale: docs/ru/research/model-routing-matrix.md.

Argument Dispatch

$ARGUMENTS = description of what to investigate

1. Start exploration via tausik_explore_start with title="What we're investigating" and time_limit=30 (integer, minutes, default 30). Use shorter for simple questions, longer for complex domains.

2. Announce:

   • What we're investigating
   • Time limit
   • What we hope to learn

3. Investigate:

   • Locate code via mcp__codebase-rag__search_code first — it returns ranked chunks, not full files, and is the cheapest way to find symbols/patterns. Use Grep only for known file paths or when RAG is empty/stale; use Read only when you already have an exact path.
   • Skim the chunks RAG returns, then Read the specific files that look relevant.
   • Try small experiments (do NOT write production code).
   • Document findings as you go in conversation.

4. Check time periodically via tausik_explore_current MCP tool. If over time limit — wrap up immediately.

5. End exploration with findings via tausik_explore_end with summary="What was discovered" and optionally create_task=true to auto-create a task from findings.

6. Document dead ends via tausik_dead_end with approach="What was tried", reason="Why it failed". Check existing: tausik_memory_list with type="dead_end".

7. Suggest next: "Findings recorded. Create a task with /plan or continue exploring."

$ARGUMENTS = "end"

End current exploration via tausik_explore_end with summary="Findings summary".

$ARGUMENTS = "status" or empty

Check current exploration via tausik_explore_current (no params).

Rules

• Time-bounded. Respect the time limit. When it's up, stop and summarize.
• No production code. Explorations are for learning, not implementing. Small experiments only.
• If it yields work → create task. Use --create-task or follow up with /plan.
• Document everything. Dead ends, findings, decisions — all captured.
• Cheap to start, cheap to end. Don't overthink the exploration scope.

Gotchas

• Only one active exploration at a time. End the current one before starting another.
• Explorations are not tasks — no plan steps, no QG-0, no AC. Just investigate and report.
• --create-task requires --summary — you can't create a task without explaining what you found.