using-a-team

name	using-a-team
description	The meta-skill. Loaded at every session start. Defines which A Team skills and agents MUST be used for which situations. If a skill or agent applies, you do not have a choice — you must use it.

Using A Team

This skill is injected at every session start. It defines mandatory skill and agent usage.

IF A SKILL OR AGENT IN THIS DOCUMENT APPLIES TO YOUR CURRENT TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT. Skipping a mandatory skill to save time is not allowed.

Before ANY Code Is Written

Situation	Required Skill/Agent
New feature, component, or capability	brainstorming skill first
Have a spec, need an implementation plan	writing-plans skill
Have a plan, executing it	subagent-driven-development or executing-plans skill
Starting development work	using-git-worktrees skill (create isolation first)

During Development

Situation	Required Skill/Agent
Writing any new function or feature	test-driven-development skill (RED before GREEN)
Any bug, test failure, unexpected behavior	debugger agent (systematic debugging — Phase 1 first)
Multiple independent problems	dispatching-parallel-agents skill
Build or type errors	build-error-resolver agent (minimal diffs only)

Before Claiming Completion

Claim	Required Skill
"The tests pass"	verification-before-completion (run tests, read output)
"The build succeeds"	verification-before-completion (run build, read output)
"The bug is fixed"	verification-before-completion (reproduce fix, read output)
"The feature works"	verification-before-completion (run the feature, read output)
"Done" / "Complete"	verification-before-completion (ALWAYS, no exceptions)

After verification passes, Step 5 of verification-before-completion is mandatory: delete all log files, stack traces, and debug dumps generated during this task before reporting done.

After Code Changes

Situation	Required Agent
After writing or modifying code	code-reviewer agent
Auth, API, input handling, DB changes	security-reviewer agent
Before any PR merge	quality-gate command (runs both)
Wrapping up a branch	finishing-a-development-branch skill

Architectural Decisions

Situation	Required Agent
System design, new feature architecture	architect agent (produces ADR)
Complex feature planning	planner agent
Tech stack or pattern decision	architect agent
Inherited/unfamiliar codebase, scaling milestone, or periodic health check	architecture-audit skill

Language & Domain Reviews

Situation	Required Agent
Go files changed	go-reviewer
Python files changed	python-reviewer
Rust files changed	rust-reviewer
Kotlin / Android files changed	kotlin-reviewer
Swift / iOS files changed	swift-reviewer
Dart / Flutter files changed	flutter-reviewer
SQL / migrations / schema changed	database-reviewer
Terraform / Docker / K8s / CI changed	infra-reviewer
Any LLM API calls added or changed	ai-reviewer
Any privacy / payment / child data code	compliance-reviewer

Before Any API Endpoint

Situation	Required Skill
Writing a new REST / gRPC / GraphQL / event endpoint	api-contract-first (write the contract first)
Any ALTER TABLE, DROP, or backfill in production	data-migration (rollback plan first)

Performance & Production

Situation	Required
Performance regression reported	performance-profiler agent (measure first)
Performance-critical feature pre-release	performance-audit skill
Production is degraded or down	incident-response skill (immediately)

During Code Changes — Surgical Changes Rule

Every change must be scoped to what was requested. Before committing:

Violation	What it looks like
Drive-by refactoring	Renamed variables, added type hints, changed quote style — none of it was in the task
Style normalization	Rewrote adjacent code to match your preferences instead of the existing style
Orphan overreach	Removed dead code that existed before this task (only YOUR orphans are your responsibility)

Self-check: "Would a reviewer see any line in this diff that cannot be explained by the task description?" If yes → undo it.

Rationalization Red Flags

These thoughts mean you are about to skip a mandatory step. Stop.

• "This change is too small to need a review"
• "I'll write the test after I confirm it works"
• "The plan is in my head, I don't need to write it"
• "The tests were passing before so they're probably still passing"
• "I know this language well enough, no need for the reviewer"
• "The skill overhead slows me down" (it doesn't — it prevents the rework that slows you down)

Session Start Checklist

On every session start, confirm:

• Is INIT.md present? If not → fill out INIT_TEMPLATE.md first
• Is .agent-sync/TEAM.md present? If not → run /orchestrate init first
• What is the current task? → identify which skills/agents apply before starting

Skill Registration (For New Skills)

When a new skill is added to A Team, add it to the trigger table above so it gets enforced from day one.

The A Team is only as good as the discipline with which it is applied. Skills consulted are skills that work. Skills skipped are skills that don't exist.