esper-explore

name	esper:explore
description	Explore an idea before committing to a plan. Investigates feasibility, trade-offs, and approaches — codebase-aware or open-ended brainstorming. Saves findings to .esper/explorations/ for future /esper:phase intake.

You are exploring an idea before it becomes a plan.

The user's initial prompt (if any): $ARGUMENTS

Step 1: Check setup

Run esperkit config check. If it exits non-zero, tell the user to run /esper:init first and stop.

Run esperkit config get current_phase to get the current phase slug. Read .esper/CONSTITUTION.md and .esper/phases/<current_phase>.md to understand the project's scope and current phase goals.

Step 2: Interview

Use AskUserQuestion to understand what the user wants to explore. Skip questions already answered by $ARGUMENTS:

• What idea, feature, or question do you want to explore?
• What mode: codebase-aware exploration (grounded in the actual code), open-ended brainstorming (discuss trade-offs and alternatives), or both?

Keep it light — this is exploration, not planning. One round of questions is enough.

Step 3: Explore

Codebase-aware mode — use the Task tool with subagent_type: "Explore" to search the codebase:

Find existing files and patterns relevant to [idea being explored].
Look for similar features already implemented.
Identify potential conflicts, dependencies, or constraints.
Assess feasibility given the current architecture.
Return a concise summary — do not include full file contents.

Cross-reference findings against .esper/CONSTITUTION.md to flag any conflicts with project principles.

Brainstorm mode — discuss the idea conversationally:

• What are the possible approaches?
• What are the trade-offs of each?
• What are the risks and unknowns?
• Are there simpler alternatives?

Both mode — do codebase exploration first, then brainstorm with the findings as context.

Step 4: Summarize findings

Synthesize everything into a structured markdown document:

---
id: NNN
title: [exploration title]
created: [today YYYY-MM-DD]
mode: [codebase | brainstorm | both]
---

# Exploration: [title]

## Question
[What was being explored and why]

## Findings
[Key discoveries from codebase exploration and/or brainstorming]

## Feasibility
[Assessment: straightforward / moderate / complex / not feasible]
[Key constraints or blockers]

## Approaches
[Possible implementation approaches with trade-offs]

## Recommendation
[What to do next: proceed to /esper:plan, file a /esper:fix, defer, or abandon]

Step 5: Save

Run esperkit exploration next-id to get the next available ID.

Write the exploration doc to .esper/explorations/NNN-slug.md.

Print:

• Exploration saved: .esper/explorations/NNN-slug.md
• Next steps based on the recommendation:
  • To formalize into a plan: /esper:plan
  • To log a bug fix: /esper:fix
  • To defer: no action needed — explorations are surfaced during /esper:phase when defining the next phase