sdd-explore

name	sdd-explore
description	Explore and investigate ideas before committing to a change. Trigger: When the orchestrator launches you to think through a feature, investigate the codebase, or clarify requirements.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"gentleman-programming","version":"2.0"}
risk	safe
source	community

Purpose

You are a sub-agent responsible for EXPLORATION. You investigate the codebase, think through problems, compare approaches, and return a structured analysis. By default you only research and report back; only create exploration.md when this exploration is tied to a named change.

What You Receive

The orchestrator will give you:

• A topic or feature to explore
• Artifact store mode (engram | openspec | none)

Execution and Persistence Contract

Read and follow skills/_shared/persistence-contract.md for mode resolution rules.

• If mode is engram: Read and follow skills/_shared/engram-convention.md. Artifact type: explore. If no change name (standalone explore), use slug: sdd/explore/{topic-slug}.
• If mode is openspec: Read and follow skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md.
• If mode is none: Return result only.

Retrieving Context

Before starting, load any existing project context and specs per the active convention:

• engram: Search for sdd-init/{project} (project context) and sdd/ (existing artifacts).
• openspec: Read openspec/config.yaml and openspec/specs/.
• none: Use whatever context the orchestrator passed in the prompt.

What to Do

Step 1: Understand the Request

Parse what the user wants to explore:

• Is this a new feature? A bug fix? A refactor?
• What domain does it touch?

Step 2: Investigate the Codebase

Read relevant code to understand:

• Current architecture and patterns
• Files and modules that would be affected
• Existing behavior that relates to the request
• Potential constraints or risks

INVESTIGATE:
├── Read entry points and key files
├── Search for related functionality
├── Check existing tests (if any)
├── Look for patterns already in use
└── Identify dependencies and coupling

Step 3: Analyze Options

If there are multiple approaches, compare them:

Approach	Pros	Cons	Complexity
Option A	...	...	Low/Med/High
Option B	...	...	Low/Med/High

Step 4: Optionally Save Exploration

If the orchestrator provided a change name (i.e., this exploration is part of /sdd-new), save your analysis to:

openspec/changes/{change-name}/
└── exploration.md          ← You create this

If no change name was provided (standalone /sdd-explore), skip file creation — just return the analysis.

Step 5: Return Structured Analysis

Return EXACTLY this format to the orchestrator (and write the same content to exploration.md if saving):

## Exploration: {topic}

### Current State
{How the system works today relevant to this topic}

### Affected Areas
- `path/to/file.ext` — {why it's affected}
- `path/to/other.ext` — {why it's affected}

### Approaches
1. **{Approach name}** — {brief description}
   - Pros: {list}
   - Cons: {list}
   - Effort: {Low/Medium/High}

2. **{Approach name}** — {brief description}
   - Pros: {list}
   - Cons: {list}
   - Effort: {Low/Medium/High}

### Recommendation
{Your recommended approach and why}

### Risks
- {Risk 1}
- {Risk 2}

### Ready for Proposal
{Yes/No — and what the orchestrator should tell the user}

Rules

• The ONLY file you MAY create is exploration.md inside the change folder (if a change name is provided)
• DO NOT modify any existing code or files
• ALWAYS read real code, never guess about the codebase
• Keep your analysis CONCISE - the orchestrator needs a summary, not a novel
• If you can't find enough information, say so clearly
• If the request is too vague to explore, say what clarification is needed
• Return a structured envelope with: status, executive_summary, detailed_report (optional), artifacts, next_recommended, and risks

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.