review-artifacts

name	review-artifacts
description	Open the artifacts relevant to a review (OpenSpec proposal, branch changes, or explicit paths) in VS Code, in a curated read-order, in the right worktree.
category	Workflow
tags	["review","vscode","openspec","worktree","manual-review"]
user_invocable	true
triggers	["review artifacts","open the proposal","open in vscode","open in vs code","show me the changes","review the change","open the change"]
requires	{"coordinator":{"required":[],"safety":[],"enriching":[]}}

Review Artifacts

Manual-review helper. Resolves the relevant files for a given review scope and opens them in VS Code in a single command — saving you from manually clicking through openspec/changes/<id>/, scrolling git status, or hunting through worktrees.

The skill is read-only. It does not modify files, run validators, or change git state. It exists to make the human review step faster.

Three review modes

Mode	Trigger	What gets opened
OpenSpec change-id	--change-id <id> (or auto-detected from openspec/<id> branch)	proposal.md → design.md → tasks.md → spec deltas → work-packages.yaml → contracts/ → implementation files from scope.write_allow
Git changes	--git-changes	Everything from git status --porcelain (uncommitted) + git diff --name-only main..HEAD (branch-local)
Explicit paths	--paths a b c	Pass-through

Auto-detect (no flag): if cwd is on an openspec/<id> branch AND openspec/changes/<id>/ exists, picks change-id mode; otherwise falls back to --git-changes.

Worktree handling

By default, the skill resolves paths against the cwd's git toplevel (git rev-parse --show-toplevel). That means:

• Invoking it from the main checkout → opens files from main checkout.
• Invoking it from inside a worktree (cd .git-worktrees/<id>/) → opens that worktree's files.

To review a different worktree from where you are, pass --worktree <change-id>. Resolution goes through skills/worktree/scripts/worktree.py list, with a fallback to the conventional .git-worktrees/<id>/ path.

Prerequisites

• VS Code installed
• code CLI on PATH. If missing: open VS Code → Cmd+Shift+P → "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH".
• Optional: a recent vitest/pytest run is irrelevant — this skill only reads the filesystem and git state.

Usage

# Most common: review the OpenSpec proposal you're about to approve
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --change-id add-kanban-viz-docker-e2e

# Auto-detect from current branch (no flag — picks change-id or git-changes)
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py

# Review everything you've changed on a feature branch
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --git-changes

# Compare against a non-main base branch
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --git-changes --base develop

# Pure proposal review — skip the implementation files
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --change-id add-foo --no-scope

# Review a worktree from elsewhere
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py \
    --change-id add-foo --worktree add-foo

# Explicit list — pass-through to `code`
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --paths file1.py docs/foo.md

# Preview what would be opened, without opening anything
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --change-id add-foo --dry-run

# Cap the tab count (default 40) — useful for very large changes
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --change-id huge-change --max 12

# Reuse the most-recently-active window instead of opening a new one
# (this SWITCHES that window's workspace folder — can displace open files)
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --change-id add-foo --reuse-window

Window behavior

By default the skill opens a new VS Code window (code -n) so your existing windows and open files are untouched. The skill is read-only on the filesystem AND on your VS Code session.

Pass --reuse-window to opt into the opposite behavior: VS Code's -r flag reuses the most-recently-active window and SWITCHES its workspace folder to the review root. That can displace files you had open in that window. Rarely what you want for a review, but useful when you're already in the right workspace and want the review tabs to land alongside what's open.

File ordering for OpenSpec review

When reviewing a proposal by change-id, files are opened in this deliberate read-order so the most important context lands in the leftmost tab:

1. proposal.md — Why + What Changes + What Doesn't + Alternatives. Reviewer reads this first.
2. design.md — Decisions (D1, D2, …). Read second to understand why this approach.
3. tasks.md — What's being committed to.
4. specs/**/*.md — The actual capability changes (the source-of-truth for what the system will guarantee).
5. work-packages.yaml — Operational details: locks, scope, verification steps. Lower-priority for human review.
6. contracts/README.md then contracts/**/*.json|*.yaml|*.md — schema artifacts if any.
7. Implementation files from each work-package's scope.write_allow — what actually changes on disk.

Tabs after step 6 are derived from work-packages.yaml's scope.write_allow patterns, expanded against the worktree root via glob. Patterns under openspec/changes/<id>/** are de-duplicated (already opened in steps 1–6).

Steps

1. Discover the workspace root

# Default: cwd's git toplevel
git rev-parse --show-toplevel

# Or: explicit --worktree resolution
python3 "<skill-base-dir>/../worktree/scripts/worktree.py" list --json

2. Discover the file list

Run the script. By default it auto-detects mode from the current branch.

python3 "<skill-base-dir>/scripts/open_artifacts.py" --change-id "$CHANGE_ID"

The script prints the curated file list to stderr before invoking code, so you can verify the discovery before VS Code opens.

3. (Optional) Preview without opening

python3 "<skill-base-dir>/scripts/open_artifacts.py" --change-id "$CHANGE_ID" --dry-run

Useful for verifying the auto-detect, --worktree resolution, or scope.write_allow glob expansion before actually opening 40 tabs.

4. Invoke

Without --dry-run, the script calls:

code -n <workspace-root> <file1> <file2> ...

VS Code opens a new window rooted at the workspace, with every file as a tab in that window. Your existing windows / open files are untouched. Pass --reuse-window to instead reuse the most-recently-active window (which switches its workspace folder — see "Window behavior" above).

Worked Example: review the proposal we just created

Assume you've just had Claude generate openspec/changes/add-kanban-viz-docker-e2e/. Three options to review it:

A. From the main checkout (or any cwd in the repo):

python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py \
    --change-id add-kanban-viz-docker-e2e

This opens (in order): proposal.md → design.md → tasks.md → specs/coordinator-kanban-viz/spec.md → work-packages.yaml → contracts/README.md → all implementation files from the work-package's scope.write_allow (docker-compose.yml, e2e_kanban.py, seed_kanban_board.py, Makefile, e2e.integration.test.tsx).

B. Pure proposal-doc review (no implementation files):

python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py \
    --change-id add-kanban-viz-docker-e2e --no-scope

Just the 6 proposal-level files (about half the tabs of option A).

C. Branch-state review (everything dirty + branch-local):

git checkout openspec/add-kanban-viz-docker-e2e   # if you're on a feature branch
python3 skills/review-artifacts/scripts/open_artifacts.py --git-changes

Shows files in modification order (uncommitted first, branch-local commits second).

Exit codes

• 0 — files opened (or dry-run completed)
• 1 — setup error: not in a git repo, no artifacts found for change-id, can't resolve worktree
• 127 — code CLI not found on PATH

Limitations

• YAML parsing is regex-based, not via PyYAML, to keep the script stdlib-only. It handles scope.write_allow: blocks reliably but won't expand &anchors/*aliases or complex YAML constructs. If scope.write_allow patterns are missed, fall back to --git-changes.
• No diff view: the skill opens files as plain tabs, not VS Code's three-pane diff. For comparing branch state, use Cmd+K Cmd+G inside VS Code, or code --diff <a> <b> directly.
• No remote worktrees: cloud-harness containers won't have a local code CLI. This skill is for local dev only.

Related Skills

• /explore-feature — discovers candidate proposals before drafting; complementary (this skill reviews what /plan-feature produces).
• /plan-feature — produces the artifacts this skill opens.
• /iterate-on-plan — the typical workflow after using this skill: open in VS Code → spot issues → invoke /iterate-on-plan <change-id> to refine.
• /parallel-review-plan — automated vendor-diverse review; this skill is the human equivalent.