| 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.
