gather-context

name	gather-context
description	Build comprehensive understanding of a problem by gathering context from GitHub issues, codebase exploration, git history, and linked references. Use when starting work on an issue or investigating a problem.

Gather Context: Build Understanding Before Acting

Gather comprehensive context about a problem before proposing solutions. Practice Chesterton's Fence: understand why things exist before changing them.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS

Pre-computed Context

Git root: !`git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || echo "NOT A GIT REPO"`
Remote: !`git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null || echo "no remote"`
Has gh: !`command -v gh 2>/dev/null && echo "yes" || echo "no"`

Constraints

• Never use git -C <path> — it rewrites the command prefix, breaking allowed-tools pattern matching.
• This skill is read-only. Do not modify files, create branches, or make commits.
• Gather context proportional to the problem size. A typo fix doesn't need 3 Explore agents.

Instructions

1. Determine Context Scope

Assess what kind of investigation is needed based on $ARGUMENTS:

Input	Scope
Issue ref (#123) with clear, narrow body	Light — fetch issue, quick codebase scan
Issue ref with broad/vague body or multiple comments	Full — fetch issue + parallel exploration + history
Problem description (no issue)	Full — explore codebase, search history

2. Fetch the Issue (if applicable)

If $ARGUMENTS is an issue reference:

gh issue view <number> --json number,title,body,labels,comments,assignees,milestone,projectItems

Extract:

• Goal: What needs to change and why
• Labels: What labels are applied and what they indicate about priority, readiness, type, and scope
• Comments: Additional requirements, discussion, decisions
• Linked references: Other issues, PRs, URLs mentioned in body/comments

If comments reference other issues, fetch those too:

gh issue view <linked-number> --json number,title,body,labels

3. Explore in Parallel

Spawn Explore agents based on scope. Each agent gets a specific focus — don't duplicate work across agents.

Light scope (1 agent):

• Find files and functions relevant to the issue using keywords from the title/body

Full scope (up to 3 agents):

Agent	Focus	Approach
Codebase	Find relevant code	Use issue keywords, file paths from body, area labels. Search for related functions, types, tests. Trace call paths if the issue mentions specific behavior.
History	Understand prior work	git log --all --grep="<keywords>" for related commits. git log --follow <file> for files mentioned in the issue. Check for reverted commits or abandoned PRs. Look at who last touched the relevant code and what they changed.
Related	Gather linked context	Fetch linked issues/PRs. If the issue references external docs or URLs, use WebFetch to gather them. Check if similar issues were filed and closed before.

Only spawn the Related agent if there are actual linked references to follow.

4. Synthesize Findings

Produce a structured summary. This is the output other skills (like /think and /plan) will consume.

Problem Statement

• What needs to change (from issue body + comments)
• Why it needs to change (motivation, who's affected)
• What "done" looks like (acceptance criteria, if stated)

Relevant Code

• File paths and line ranges
• Key functions, types, or patterns involved
• How the current code works (trace the relevant path)

Prior Art

• Previous attempts (commits, PRs, reverted changes)
• Related issues (open or closed)
• Relevant discussion or decisions from comments

Constraints

• Project conventions (from CLAUDE.md, if it exists)
• Testing requirements (test suite location, patterns)
• Platform considerations (OS-specific behavior, templates)

Open Questions

• Gaps in the issue specification
• Ambiguities that need human clarification
• Assumptions that should be validated

Present findings concisely. Link to specific files and line numbers so the next phase can act on them directly.