code-review

name	code-review
description	[Code Quality] Use when evaluating review feedback, requesting targeted code-quality review, or verifying completion claims. Use when this capability is needed.

[BLOCKING] Execute skill steps in declared order. NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval. [BLOCKING] Before each step or sub-skill call, update task tracking: set in_progress when step starts, set completed when step ends. [BLOCKING] Every completed/skipped step MUST include brief evidence or explicit skip reason. [BLOCKING] If Task tools are unavailable, create and maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with the same status transitions.

Quick Summary

Goal: Ensure reviewed code is correct, easy to change, convention-aligned, and verification-backed before acceptance or handoff — via receiving feedback with verification (not performative agreement), requesting targeted systematic reviews through the code-reviewer subagent, and enforcing verification gates before completion claims.

Routing boundary: If the user asks to review current changes, uncommitted work, staged/unstaged diffs, or a branch-to-branch diff, use review-changes instead.

Shared engine (keep in sync): code-review and review-changes share the same review-protocol SYNC: blocks. Canonical source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md; policy: SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy. When you change a shared block in one skill, update the canonical file AND the sibling skill so the two never drift. The skills differ only in entry intent (explicit scope / feedback / completion-gate vs git diff) — not in review quality.

MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION Before reviewing, search for project-specific reference docs:

Coding standards — search: code-review-rules, coding-standards, style-guide, contributing Architecture — search: patterns-reference, architecture, adr Test conventions — search: integration-test-reference, test-guide, test-conventions Design system — search: design-system, design-tokens, component-library

Read found docs before reviewing. None found → rely on tech stack knowledge from file extensions/directory structure.

Workflow:

1. Create Review Report — Init plans/reports/code-review-{date}-{slug}.md
2. Phase 0: Blast Radius — Run graph analysis first if .code-graph/graph.db exists
3. Phase 0.3: Risk Detection — Detect dependency, migration, bus/event, API, security, config, and infra risks
4. Phase 0.5: Plan Compliance — Verify changed files and tests against active plan when present
5. Phase 0.7: Surface Detection — Classify files by language + directory semantics + change nature → route sub-agents; invoke /review-ui when frontend/UI files are present
6. Phase 1: File-by-File — Review each file, update report with correctness, convention, DRY, intent, test, and docs checks
7. Phase 2: Holistic — Re-read accumulated report, assess overall approach, architecture, duplication, and cross-boundary behavior
8. Phase 3: Final Result — Update report with overall assessment, critical issues, recommendations, docs staleness, and test gaps
9. Fix Loop: Validate → Fix → Full Re-Review — When findings exist, validate them first, fix only validated findings, then restart the full review after the fix cycle

Key Rules:

• Report-Driven: Build report incrementally; re-read for big picture
• Detect First: Run graph blast radius when available, then classify change types and file surfaces before any review
• Easy to Change for Code: Treat future change cost as the primary code-quality metric; DRY, SOLID, abstraction, and patterns are tools only when they reduce change amplification
• No Performative Agreement: Technical evaluation only ("You're right!" banned)
• Verification Gates: Evidence required before completion claims
• Review Current Diffs Elsewhere: Current changes, staged/unstaged diffs, and branch diffs belong to review-changes
• A clean review pass ENDS the review. Do not spend a fresh-context pass re-reviewing known findings before validation/fix; only re-review after fixes change the target.

Code Review

Three practices: receiving feedback with technical rigor, requesting systematic reviews via code-reviewer subagent, enforcing verification gates before completion claims.

Run python .claude/scripts/code_graph query tests_for <function> --json on changed functions to flag coverage gaps.

Review Mindset (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

Skeptical. Every claim needs traced proof file:line. Confidence >80% to act.

• NEVER accept code correctness at face value — trace call paths
• NEVER include finding without file:line evidence (grep results, read confirmations)
• ALWAYS question: "Does this actually work?" → trace it. "Is this all?" → grep cross-service
• ALWAYS verify side effects: check consumers + dependents before approving

First Principle — Easy to Change

The success metric of every coding decision is future change cost. DRY, SRP, abstraction, design patterns, naming, layering, tests — every technique exists to serve one goal: making the next change cheaper.

When evaluating code, a refactor, a test, or an abstraction, ask: does this make the next change cheaper or more expensive?

• Reject "best practices" that raise change cost (premature abstraction, speculative generality, leaky indirection, ceremony without payoff).
• Name the real enemies in findings: coupling, hidden state, duplicated knowledge, unclear intent, irreversible decisions exposed too early.
• Favor project-owned boundaries around external libraries, for example component/service input-output contracts, when they localize future library changes; reject pass-through wrappers that add ceremony without lowering change cost.
• A simpler design that is easy to change beats a sophisticated design that isn't.

Apply this lens before invoking any specific rule, pattern, or checklist below — if a downstream rule would raise change cost, this principle wins.

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Core Principles (ENFORCE ALL)

Principle	Rule
YAGNI	Flag code solving hypothetical problems (unused params, speculative interfaces)
KISS	Flag unnecessary complexity. "Is there a simpler way?"
DRY	Grep for similar/duplicate code. 3+ similar patterns → flag for extraction
Clean Code	Readable > clever. Names reveal intent. Functions do ONE thing. Nesting <=3. Methods <30 lines
Convention	MUST ATTENTION grep 3+ existing examples before flagging violations. Codebase convention wins over textbook
No Bugs	Trace logic paths. Verify edge cases (null, empty, boundary). Check error handling
Proof Required	Every claim backed by file:line evidence. Speculation is forbidden
Doc Staleness	Cross-ref changed files against related docs. Flag stale/missing updates

Technical correctness over social comfort. Verify before implementing. Evidence before claims.

Graph-Enhanced Review (RECOMMENDED if graph.db exists)

1. python .claude/scripts/code_graph graph-blast-radius --json — prioritize files by impact (most dependents first)
2. python .claude/scripts/code_graph query tests_for <function_name> --json — flag untested changed functions
3. python .claude/scripts/code_graph trace <file> --direction downstream --json — downstream impact (events, bus, cross-service)
4. python .claude/scripts/code_graph trace <file> --direction both --json — full flow context for controllers/commands/handlers
5. Wide blast radius (>20 impacted nodes) = high-risk. Flag in report.

Review Approach (Report-Driven Two-Phase — CRITICAL)

MANDATORY FIRST: Create Todo Tasks

Task	Status
[Review] Create report file	in_progress
[Review Phase 0] Run graph blast-radius if available	pending
[Review Phase 0.3] Detect high-risk change types	pending
[Review Phase 0.5] Plan compliance check (skip if no active plan)	pending
[Review Phase 0.7] Detect categories + route sub-agents	pending
[Review Phase 0.7b] /review-ui sub-review — skip if no frontend/UI files in changeset	pending
[Review Phase 1] File-by-file review + update report	pending
[Review Phase 2] Holistic assessment	pending
[Review Phase 3] Final findings, docs triage, and test sync findings	pending
[Review Fix Loop] Validate findings, fix validated issues, and full re-review if fixes are applied	pending
[Review Final] Consolidate all rounds	pending

Step 0: Create Report File

Create plans/reports/code-review-{date}-{slug}.md with Scope, Files to Review sections.

Phase 0: Graph Blast Radius (FIRST WHEN AVAILABLE)

If .code-graph/graph.db exists, run graph impact analysis before reviewing:

• python .claude/scripts/code_graph graph-blast-radius --json or the project equivalent
• Record impacted files count, untested changed functions, and risk level in the report
• Prioritize high-impact files during Phase 1

If graph data is unavailable, record "Graph not available — skipping blast radius" and continue.

Phase 0.3: Detect High-Risk Change Types

Before file review, inspect the target diff or explicit file set for:

• Bugfix, failed verification, stale/incorrect final output, regression, or behavior-changing fix — require Debugger Trace: End -> Start, all feeder paths, hypothesis matrix, owning fix layer, and forward convergence proof; missing trace evidence is a High/Critical review finding
• Dependency upgrades — semver, breaking changes, advisories, peer compatibility
• Migrations or schema changes — rollback, lock/volume impact, zero-downtime deployment, idempotent backfill
• Bus events/messages — consumer existence, idempotency, retries, poison/dead-letter handling
• API contract changes — backward compatibility, caller alignment, auth, required response fields
• Security changes — enforcement coverage, privilege escalation, negative tests, duplicated permission strings
• Config/env changes — all environments covered, no secrets, fail-fast behavior, setup docs
• Infra changes — dev/prod parity, pinned versions, CI/CD permissions, reproducible builds

Create focused review tasks for every true signal and complete them before dimensional review.

Phase 0.5: Plan Compliance Check (CONDITIONAL)

If active plan context exists, verify scope, test evidence, and success criteria against the plan before file review; otherwise record the skip reason.

Goal Contract mapping (CONDITIONAL — when an active goal exists): Resolve the active Goal Contract per the goal-contract-satisfaction-loop protocol (active plan goal.md → plans/goals/{YYMMDD-HHmm}-{slug}/goal.md). When found, map the reviewed changes to the saved success criteria in the report — which criteria this changeset advances (with file:line evidence), which it leaves untouched, and any change serving NO saved criterion (flag as scope drift unless justified). Record No active goal — mapping skipped. when none exists; do NOT create a goal file from inside a review.

Phase 0.7: Detect Review Categories

Before any review — classify the changeset and route sub-agents:

Signal in changed files	Route to
Auth/permission/token/encryption files	security-auditor
Query files, caching, batch processing	performance-optimizer
Source code (logic, handlers, services)	code-reviewer
Frontend/UI files (components, templates, .html/.scss/.css, design-system)	/review-ui skill (see Phase 0.7b)
Docs, plans, specs, markdown	general-purpose
Mixed changeset with security/perf files	Spawn specialized sub-agent first, then code-reviewer

Phase 0.7b: Frontend/UI Sub-Review (CONDITIONAL — /review-ui)

If the changeset contains any frontend/UI files matching the project's configured UI patterns (components, templates, .html/.scss/.css, design-system tokens), invoke the /review-ui skill as a sub-review so UI-specific concerns are covered — long-content overflow (wrap vs ellipsis+tooltip), responsive multi-screen flex, flex-grow with min/max over fixed px, semantic z-index discipline (no raw numbers, no !important), and BEM classes on all template elements. Fold its findings into this report's Phase 3 results.

Skip (record reason) when no frontend/UI files are present in the changeset — log "Skipped Phase 0.7b — no frontend/UI files in changeset".

Phase 0.8: Derive Review Categories

Group changed files by: file language (extension), directory semantics (path), change nature (new entity, schema, config, UI, test).

For each category: name it, create sub-task, derive concerns using SYNC:category-review-thinking (first principles — NOT a fixed checklist).

Category list = Phase 1 work breakdown. Each category → own section in report.

Phase 1: File-by-File Review (Build Report)

For EACH file, immediately update report:

• File path, Change Summary, Purpose, Issues Found
• Convention check: Grep 3+ similar patterns — does new code follow existing convention?
• Correctness check: Trace logic — null, empty, boundary, error cases handled?
• DRY check: Grep for similar/duplicate code — does this logic exist elsewhere?
• Intention check: Does the change serve the stated purpose? Flag unrelated modifications
• Test check: Changed behavior has corresponding test/spec coverage or a documented gap
• Documentation check: Related docs/specs/READMEs still match the changed behavior

Phase 2: Holistic Review (Re-read Report)

After all files reviewed, re-read accumulated report:

• Technical Solution: Overall approach coherent as unified plan?
• Responsibility: Logic in LOWEST layer? Business logic not in controllers?
• Data ownership: Constants/config in model/entity, not controller/component?
• Duplication: Grep to verify — duplicated logic across changes?
• Architecture: Clean Architecture? Service boundaries respected?
• Plan Compliance: If active plan → check ## Plan Context: impl matches requirements, TCs have code evidence (not "TBD"), no requirement unaddressed
• Design Patterns: Pattern opportunities (switch→Strategy)? Anti-patterns (God Object, Copy-Paste, Circular Dep)? DRY via base classes?
• Cross-Boundary Behavior: Callers/callees aligned? API/event contracts consistent? New wiring reachable?
• Test Sync: Business logic changes have corresponding tests or explicit user-facing gap
• Translation Sync: Multilingual UI text changes have translation updates or explicit risk acceptance
• Bugfix Trace Completeness: If the diff is a bugfix or behavior-changing fix, the review report must state whether final-state trace, feeder paths, hypothesis matrix, owning fix layer, forward convergence proof, and tests/proof mapping are complete

MUST ATTENTION CHECK — Clean Code: YAGNI (unused params, speculative interfaces)? KISS (simpler exists)? Methods >30 lines or nesting >3?

MUST ATTENTION CHECK — Correctness: Null/empty/boundary handled? Error paths caught? Async race conditions? Trace happy + error paths.

Documentation Staleness Check:

For each changed file — grep file name/module across docs/ and AI tooling dirs. Changed behavior → flag stale doc (specific section + what changed). Flag the staleness only — never auto-fix docs here.

Common staleness patterns: count/limit changed → docs embedding that number | API/contract changed → API usage docs | hook/skill added/removed → catalogs/README | schema changed → entity reference docs.

Phase 3: Final Review Result

Update report: Overall Assessment, Critical Issues, High Priority, Architecture Recommendations, Documentation Staleness, Positive Observations.

If documentation staleness is detected, recommend docs-update and list exact stale sections; do not silently pass stale docs.

Validated Fix + Full Re-Review (MANDATORY when findings are fixed)

After Phase 3, do not spawn a fresh reviewer just to re-review the same finding set. First validate findings, then fix only validated findings. Because fixes change the review target, restart the full review after the fix cycle. If that restarted protocol uses sub-agents, construct each Agent call with the canonical template from SYNC:review-protocol-injection:

1. Copy Agent call shape from SYNC:review-protocol-injection verbatim
2. Embed full verbatim body of all 10 SYNC blocks: SYNC:evidence-based-reasoning, SYNC:bug-detection, SYNC:design-patterns-quality, SYNC:complexity-prevention, SYNC:logic-and-intention-review, SYNC:test-spec-verification, SYNC:fix-layer-accountability, SYNC:rationalization-prevention, SYNC:graph-assisted-investigation, SYNC:understand-code-first
3. Task: "Run a full fresh code-review pass over the current assigned scope after validated fixes were applied. Focus: cross-cutting concerns, interaction bugs, convention drift, missing pieces, subtle edge cases, logic errors, test spec gaps, and regressions introduced by the fixes."
4. Target Files: "use the explicit files, plan scope, or reviewer-provided target range"
5. Report: plans/reports/code-review-rerun{N}-{date}.md

After sub-agent returns:

1. Read report from plans/reports/code-review-rerun{N}-{date}.md
2. Integrate findings as ## Re-Review {N} Findings — DO NOT filter or override
3. If findings remain: validate the new finding set before any additional fixes
4. Repeat only after another fix cycle: restart the full review again after validated fixes are applied; if the same blocker repeats across 3 full invocations with no progress, escalate via AskUserQuestion

Clean Code Rules (MUST ATTENTION CHECK)

#	Rule	Details
1	No Magic Values	All literals → named constants
2	Type Annotations	Explicit parameter and return types on all functions
3	Single Responsibility	One concern per method/class. Event handlers/consumers: one handler = one concern. NEVER bundle — a framework event dispatcher can swallow handler exceptions silently
4	DRY	No duplication; extract shared logic
5	Naming	Specific (orderRecords not data), Verb+Noun methods, is/has/can/should booleans, no abbreviations
6	Performance	No O(n²) (use dictionary). Project in query (not load-all). ALWAYS paginate. Batch-by-IDs (not N+1)
7	Entity Indexes	Collections: index management methods. EF Core: composite indexes. Expression fields match index order. Text search → text indexes

Data Lifecycle Rules (MUST ATTENTION CHECK)

Decision test: "Delete the DB and start fresh — does this data still need to exist?" Yes → Seeder/fixture. No → Migration.

Type	Contains	NEVER contains
Seeder / Fixture	Default records, system config, reference data (idempotent — safe to run every startup)	Schema changes
Migration	Schema changes, column adds/removes, data transforms, index changes	Default records, permission seeds, system config

Apply project's language/framework conventions. Principle universal — implementation project-specific.

Legacy Pattern Compliance

When reviewing files with legacy and modern patterns:

1. Detect legacy signals — search project-config.json, package.json, or equivalent for "legacy", version flags, feature annotations
2. Read what "legacy" means — grep 3+ legacy files to understand pattern constraints vs. modern files
3. Derive compliance rules — what lifecycle/memory management differences exist between legacy/modern for this tech stack?
4. Apply tech stack knowledge to flag anti-patterns

NEVER assume any specific framework's lifecycle. Derive from codebase evidence.

When to Use This Skill

Practice	Triggers	MUST ATTENTION READ
Receiving Feedback	Review comments received, feedback unclear/questionable, conflicts with existing decisions	references/code-review-reception.md
Requesting Review	After each subagent task, major feature done, targeted review scope, after complex bug fix	references/requesting-code-review.md
Verification Gates	Before any completion claim, commit, push, or PR. ANY success/satisfaction statement	references/verification-before-completion.md

Quick Decision Tree

SITUATION?
│
├─ Received feedback
│  ├─ Unclear items? → STOP, ask for clarification first
│  ├─ From human partner? → Understand, then implement
│  └─ From external reviewer? → Verify technically before implementing
│
├─ Completed work
│  ├─ Major feature/task? → Request code-reviewer subagent review
│  └─ Before merge? → Request code-reviewer subagent review
│
└─ About to claim status
   ├─ Have fresh verification? → State claim WITH evidence
   └─ No fresh verification? → RUN verification command first

Receiving Feedback Protocol

Pattern: READ → UNDERSTAND → VERIFY → EVALUATE → RESPOND → IMPLEMENT

• NEVER use performative agreement ("You're right!", "Great point!", "Thanks for...")
• NEVER implement before verification
• MUST ATTENTION restate requirement, ask questions, or push back with technical reasoning
• MUST ATTENTION ask for clarification on ALL unclear items BEFORE starting
• MUST ATTENTION grep for usage before implementing suggested "proper" features (YAGNI check)

Source handling: Human partner → implement after understanding. External reviewer → verify technically, push back if wrong.

Full protocol: references/code-review-reception.md

Requesting Review Protocol

1. Get git SHAs: BASE_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD~1) and HEAD_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
2. Dispatch code-reviewer subagent with: WHAT_WAS_IMPLEMENTED, PLAN_OR_REQUIREMENTS, BASE_SHA, HEAD_SHA, DESCRIPTION
3. Act on feedback: Critical → fix immediately. Important → fix before proceeding. Minor → note for later.

Full protocol: references/requesting-code-review.md

Verification Gates Protocol

Iron Law: NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

Gate: IDENTIFY command → RUN it → READ output → VERIFY it confirms claim → THEN claim. Skip any step = lying.

Claim	Required Evidence
Tests pass	Test output shows 0 failures
Build succeeds	Build command exit 0
Bug fixed	Original symptom test passes
Requirements met	Line-by-line checklist verified

Red Flags — STOP: "should"/"probably"/"seems to", satisfaction before verification, committing without verification, trusting agent reports.

Full protocol: references/verification-before-completion.md

Related

• code-simplifier
• debug-investigate
• refactoring

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Systematic Review Protocol (10+ changed files)

For large changesets: categorize files by concern → fire parallel code-reviewer sub-agents per category → synchronize findings → holistic assessment. See review-changes/SKILL.md § "Systematic Review Protocol" for full 4-step protocol.

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Workflow Recommendation

MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS: If NOT already in a workflow, use AskUserQuestion to ask user:

1. Activate workflow-review-changes workflow (Recommended) — full review → validated fix cycle → re-review until clean
2. Execute /code-review directly — run standalone

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Architecture Boundary Check

For each changed file, verify no forbidden layer imports:

1. Read rules from docs/project-config.json → architectureRules.layerBoundaries
2. Determine layer — match file path against each rule's paths glob patterns
3. Scan imports — grep for the configured language's import/include statements
4. Check violations — import path contains forbidden layer name → violation
5. Exclude framework — skip files matching architectureRules.excludePatterns
6. BLOCK on violation — "BLOCKED: {layer} layer file {filePath} imports from {forbiddenLayer} ({importStatement})"

If architectureRules absent in project-config.json → skip silently.

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Phase 4: Why-Review Self-Validation Gate (MANDATORY when findings exist)

Purpose: Adversarial validation of own findings BEFORE handoff. Catches over-flagged Highs, false positives, and severity inflation at the source rather than letting them propagate downstream.

Trigger: Any finding produced (Critical, High, Medium, OR Low). Skip ONLY when the report's verdict is unconditional PASS with literally zero findings.

Protocol:

1. Read own finalized report from plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md
2. Invoke /why-review skill with arg: validate findings in plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md — verify each finding has file:line proof, steel-man each rejected interpretation, and stress-test severity classifications
3. Read the validation verdict path returned by why-review, expected as plans/reports/why-review-validate-{date}.md
4. If why-review demotes/removes any finding: UPDATE own finalized report with revised severities, remove false positives, and add a ## Why-Review Validation Notes section citing what changed and why
5. If why-review confirms all findings: Append ## Why-Review Validation line to own report stating "All N findings re-validated against actual code; no severity changes."

Skip conditions (record explicit reason if skipping):

• Verdict is unconditional PASS with zero findings → log "Skipped — no findings to validate"
• Why-review skill itself is the active context (avoid recursion)

Why this exists: AI sub-agent reports inherit confirmation bias — the orchestrator absorbs severity claims as ground truth. The 2026-05-09 review incident produced 5 Highs; adversarial validation demoted 3 of them. Codify this as standard practice.

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Next Steps

MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS after completing, use AskUserQuestion:

• "/fix (Recommended)" — review found issues needing fixes
• "/watzup" — review clean, wrap up session
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

AI Agent Integrity Gate (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

Completion ≠ Correctness. Before reporting ANY work done:

1. Grep every removed name. Extraction/rename/delete → grep confirms 0 dangling refs across ALL file types.
2. Ask WHY before changing. Existing values intentional until proven otherwise.
3. Verify ALL outputs. One build passing ≠ all builds passing.
4. Evaluate pattern fit. Copying nearby code? Verify preconditions match — scope, lifetime, base class, constraints.
5. New artifact = wired artifact. Created something? Prove it's registered, imported, reachable by all consumers.

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[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.

Critical Purpose: Ensure quality — no flaws, bugs, missing updates, stale content. Verify code AND documentation.

External Memory: Complex work → write findings incrementally to plans/reports/ — prevents context loss, serves as deliverable.

Evidence Gate: MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION — every claim, finding, recommendation requires file:line proof + confidence % (>80% act, <80% verify first).

OOP & DRY: MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION — flag patterns extractable to base class/generic/helper. Same-suffix/lifecycle/responsibility classes MUST ATTENTION share common base. Apply idiomatic abstraction (base class, mixin, trait, protocol) for project's language. Verify linting/analyzer configured.

End-to-Start Debugger Trace — For non-trivial bugs, failed verification, regression fixes, behavior-changing code, or unclear code flow, start from the observed final state and walk backward before proposing a fix.

1. Frame 0: observed end state — Name the exact user-visible output, failing assertion, log line, persisted value, API response, rendered UI, or aggregate bucket. Record the reader/query/renderer that produced it with file:line evidence.
2. Walk backward one hop at a time — Trace final reader -> projection/cache/storage -> writer -> consumer/handler/job -> producer/caller -> original trigger. At every hop record: input, transformation, output, owner, and evidence.
3. Enumerate all feeder paths — Find every upstream producer/caller/event/job that can write into the final path, including retry, async, cache, background, and alternate UI/API paths. Mark each path verified, ruled out, or still unknown.
4. Build the hypothesis matrix — For each plausible cause, list evidence for, evidence against, how to reproduce/verify, blast radius, and status (primary, contributing, ruled out, latent). Do not fix until competing causes are explicitly resolved or bounded.
5. Choose the owning fix layer — Identify the invariant owner and the lowest shared point that protects all downstream consumers. A fix at the symptom site is rejected unless the symptom site owns the invariant.
6. Prove convergence forward — After choosing the fix, walk start -> end again and show how the corrected state reaches the observed final output. Map each root cause to a fix part and each fix part to a test/proof.

BLOCKED until: final state named · backward trace written · all feeder paths enumerated · hypothesis matrix completed · owning fix layer justified · forward convergence proof mapped to tests.

NEVER: Start at the first suspicious code path. Collapse multiple producers into one "flow". Treat duplicate symptoms as duplicate records without proving the read model. Skip ruled-out hypotheses.

Graph-Assisted Investigation — MANDATORY when .code-graph/graph.db exists.

HARD-GATE: MUST ATTENTION run at least ONE graph command on key files before concluding any investigation.

Pattern: Grep finds files → trace --direction both reveals full system flow → Grep verifies details

Task	Minimum Graph Action
Investigation/Scout	trace --direction both on 2-3 entry files
Fix/Debug	callers_of on buggy function + tests_for
Feature/Enhancement	connections on files to be modified
Code Review	tests_for on changed functions
Blast Radius	trace --direction downstream

CLI: python .claude/scripts/code_graph {command} --json. Use --node-mode file first (10-30x less noise), then --node-mode function for detail.

Category Review Thinking — For each category of changed files, think from first principles. Do NOT use a fixed checklist — derive concerns based on the category's domain.

Step 1: Understand the category's role What is this category responsible for? What are its invariants? Who are its consumers (callers, dependents, downstream systems)?

Step 2: Read project conventions for this category Grep 3+ existing similar files in this category. What patterns do they follow? What base classes/interfaces/abstractions do they use?

Step 3: Derive concerns from first principles Given the category's role and invariants, what could go wrong? Start from universal concerns, then expand with category-specific knowledge:

• Correctness: Does the change do what it claims? Are contracts maintained?
• Contracts: Does the change preserve consumer-facing behavior?
• Security: What trust assumptions does this category make? Are they still valid?
• Performance: Does the change introduce O(n²), unbounded queries, or unnecessary I/O?
• Maintainability: Does the change follow existing patterns? Does it introduce hidden coupling?
• Tests: Is the changed behavior observable and testable?
• Documentation: Does the change invalidate any existing docs or specs?

These are starting points — your domain knowledge of the tech stack should expand this list. Do NOT limit yourself to what's listed above.

Step 4: Create sub-tasks and execute with file:line evidence Convert derived concerns into concrete review tasks. Each task must produce file:line evidence. No findings without proof.

Examples of categories (illustrative — NOT exhaustive):

• Logic/domain files (business rules, handlers, services)
• Data/schema files (migrations, models, ORM definitions)
• API/contract files (controllers, routes, serializers, proto definitions)
• Configuration/environment files (env vars, feature flags, secrets)
• Infrastructure files (Dockerfiles, CI pipelines, manifests)
• UI/style files (components, templates, stylesheets)
• Test files (unit, integration, e2e)
• Documentation files (markdown, specs, ADRs)
• Security artifacts (auth middleware, permission definitions, crypto)
• Tooling/build files (build configs, linting rules, dependency manifests)

Sub-Agent Return Contract — When this skill spawns a sub-agent, the sub-agent MUST return ONLY this structure. Main agent reads only this summary — NEVER requests full sub-agent output inline.

## Sub-Agent Result: [skill-name]

Status: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ PARTIAL | ❌ FAIL
Confidence: [0-100]%

### Findings (Critical/High only — max 10 bullets)

- [severity] [file:line] [finding]

### Actions Taken

- [file changed] [what changed]

### Blockers (if any)

- [blocker description]

Full report: plans/reports/[skill-name]-[date]-[slug].md

Main agent reads Full report file ONLY when: (a) resolving a specific blocker, or (b) building a fix plan. Sub-agent writes full report incrementally (per SYNC:incremental-persistence) — not held in memory.

Nested Task Expansion Contract — For workflow-step invocation, the [Workflow] ... row is only a parent container; the child skill still creates visible phase tasks.

1. Call TaskList first. If a matching active parent workflow row exists, set nested=true and record parentTaskId; otherwise run standalone.
2. Create one task per declared phase before phase work. When nested, prefix subjects [N.M] $skill-name — phase.
3. When nested, link the parent with TaskUpdate(parentTaskId, addBlockedBy: [childIds]).
4. Orchestrators must pre-expand a child skill's phase list and link the workflow row before invoking that child skill or sub-agent.
5. Mark exactly one child in_progress before work and completed immediately after evidence is written.
6. Complete the parent only after all child tasks are completed or explicitly cancelled with reason.

Blocked until: TaskList done, child phases created, parent linked when nested, first child marked in_progress.

Project Reference Docs Gate — Run after task-tracking bootstrap and before target/source file reads, grep, edits, or analysis. Project docs override generic framework assumptions.

1. Identify scope: file types, domain area, and operation.
2. Required docs by trigger: always docs/project-reference/lessons.md; doc lookup docs-index-reference.md; review code-review-rules.md; backend/CQRS/API backend-patterns-reference.md; domain/entity domain-entities-reference.md; frontend/UI frontend-patterns-reference.md; styles/design scss-styling-guide.md + design-system/design-system-canonical.md; integration tests integration-test-reference.md; E2E e2e-test-reference.md; feature docs/specs feature-spec-reference.md + spec-system-reference.md + spec-principles.md; behavior/public-contract/spec-test-code sync workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md; derived spec index/ERD/reimplementation guides spec-system-reference.md + source Feature Specs under docs/specs/; architecture/new area project-structure-reference.md.
3. Read every required doc. If docs/project-config.json, the docs index, lessons.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or any task-required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run /project-init or the narrow lower-level route (/project-config, /docs-init, /scan-all, /scan --target=<key>, /claude-md-init) before ordinary project-specific work. If Codex mirrors or AGENTS.md are missing/stale, ask the user to run /sync-codex; do not auto-run it.
4. Before target work, state: Reference docs read: ... | Not applicable: ....

Ready when: scope evaluated, required docs checked/read or setup route completed, lessons.md confirmed, citation emitted.

Task Tracking & External Report Persistence — Bootstrap this before execution; then run project-reference doc prefetch before target/source work.

1. Create a small task breakdown before target file reads, grep, edits, or analysis. On context loss, inspect the current task list first.
2. Mark one task in_progress before work and completed immediately after evidence; never batch transitions.
3. For plan/review work, create plans/reports/{skill}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md before first finding.
4. Append findings after each file/section/decision and synthesize from the report file at the end.
5. Final output cites Full report: plans/reports/{filename}.

Blocked until: task breakdown exists, report path declared for plan/review work, first finding persisted before the next finding.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Sequential Thinking Protocol — Structured multi-step reasoning for complex/ambiguous work. Use when planning, reviewing, debugging, or refining ideas where one-shot reasoning is unsafe.

Trigger when: complex problem decomposition · adaptive plans needing revision · analysis with course correction · unclear/emerging scope · multi-step solutions · hypothesis-driven debugging · cross-cutting trade-off evaluation.

Format (explicit mode — visible thought trail):

1. Thought N/M: [aspect] — one aspect per thought, state assumptions/uncertainty
2. Thought N/M [REVISION of Thought K]: ... — when prior reasoning invalidated; state Original / Why revised / Impact
3. Thought N/M [BRANCH A from Thought K]: ... — explore alternative; converge with decision rationale
4. Thought N/M [HYPOTHESIS]: ... then [VERIFICATION]: ... — test before acting
5. Thought N/N [FINAL] — only when verified, all critical aspects addressed, confidence >80%

Mandatory closers: Confidence % stated · Assumptions listed · Open questions surfaced · Next action concrete.

Stop conditions: confidence <80% on any critical decision → escalate via AskUserQuestion · ≥3 revisions on same thought → re-frame the problem · branch count >3 → split into sub-task.

Implicit mode: apply methodology internally without visible markers when adding markers would clutter the response (routine work where reasoning aids accuracy).

Deep-dive: see /sequential-thinking skill (.claude/skills/sequential-thinking/SKILL.md) for worked examples (API design, debugging, architecture), advanced techniques (spiral refinement, hypothesis testing, convergence), and meta-strategies (uncertainty handling, revision cascades).

Evidence-Based Reasoning — Speculation is FORBIDDEN. Every claim needs proof.

1. Cite file:line, grep results, or framework docs for EVERY claim
2. Declare confidence: >80% act freely, 60-80% verify first, <60% DO NOT recommend
3. Cross-service validation required for architectural changes
4. "I don't have enough evidence" is valid and expected output

BLOCKED until: - [ ] Evidence file path (file:line) - [ ] Grep search performed - [ ] 3+ similar patterns found - [ ] Confidence level stated

Forbidden without proof: "obviously", "I think", "should be", "probably", "this is because" If incomplete → output: "Insufficient evidence. Verified: [...]. Not verified: [...]."

Design Patterns Quality — Priority checks for every code change:

1. DRY via OOP: Identify classes/modules with the same purpose, naming pattern, or lifecycle. Apply your knowledge of the project's language/framework to determine the idiomatic abstraction (base class, mixin, trait, protocol, decorator). 3+ similar patterns → extract to shared abstraction.
2. Right Responsibility: Logic in LOWEST layer (Entity > Domain Service > Application Service > Controller). Never business logic in controllers.
3. SOLID: Single responsibility (one reason to change). Open-closed (extend, don't modify). Liskov (subtypes substitutable). Interface segregation (small interfaces). Dependency inversion (depend on abstractions).
4. After extraction/move/rename: Grep ENTIRE scope for dangling references. Zero tolerance.
5. YAGNI gate: NEVER recommend patterns unless 3+ occurrences exist. Don't extract for hypothetical future use.

Anti-patterns to flag: God Object, Copy-Paste inheritance, Circular Dependency, Leaky Abstraction.

Serial Attention for Design Quality — Scan one quality dimension at a time (serial passes), not all concerns at once. — why: split attention misses violations that single-focus passes catch.

1. Identify applicable dimensions — Based on the code's language, domain, and patterns, determine which quality dimensions apply: DRY, SOLID principles (SRP/OCP/LSP/ISP/DIP), OOP idioms, cohesion/coupling, GRASP, Law of Demeter, CQRS invariants, etc. Your list is NOT fixed — derive from what the code actually does.
2. One focused pass per dimension — Dedicate single-focus attention to EACH dimension in sequence. Do NOT mix concerns across passes.
3. Threshold: 3+ similar patterns = MANDATORY extraction — Not optional suggestion. Flag as mandatory structural fix requiring action.
4. 2+ violations of same kind = structural finding — Report as "pattern problem" needing architectural resolution, not a list of individual instances.

Complexity Prevention (Ousterhout) — MANDATORY. Measure code by cost of change: one business change should map to one code change. Flag ALL of the following in review:

1. Change amplification — small business change forces edits in >3 places → structural flaw. Count edit sites for a plausible future change (add variant, add field, add authorization). >3 = reject.
2. Cognitive load — reader must hold too much context to safely modify. Flag deep inheritance, long parameter lists, boolean traps, implicit ordering dependencies.
3. Cross-cutting duplication at entry points — logging, error handling, validation, auth, transactions reimplemented per controller/handler/route. Lift to middleware / interceptor / filter / decorator / aspect.
4. Leaked implementation technology — repos returning IQueryable/QuerySet/Criteria/raw cursors/ORM entities to callers. Return finished results + intent-revealing methods (GetActiveVipUsers() not Query()).
5. Type-switch scattering — switch/if-chains on enum/discriminator in >1 place. New variant = new file, not N edits. One factory/registry switch at the boundary OK; scattered switches = reject.
6. Anemic models — domain objects with only getters/setters, logic floats in services. Move invariants/behavior onto the object (order.Checkout(), not order.Status = ...).
7. Primitive obsession — raw string/int/decimal for account numbers, emails, money, percentages, date ranges, with re-validation at every entry. Wrap in value objects / records / structs that validate once at construction.
8. Inline cross-cutting concerns — authorization/tenant isolation/audit/sanitization hand-written at top of every handler. Flag intent with declarative markers (@RequirePermission("Order.Delete")), enforce once centrally.
9. Shallow modules — tiny class, big interface (many public methods, many flags, many ctor params) wrapping little logic. A module is deep when a small interface hides a lot of implementation. If interface ≈ implementation cost to learn → inline.
10. Missing base class for repeated component/handler lifecycle — 3+ forms/CRUD handlers/list views reimplementing loading/dirty/submit/pagination → extract to base class / hook / composable / mixin / trait.

Validated-Finding Fix + Full Re-Review Loop — Re-review is triggered by a validated finding fix cycle, not by a round number. Review purpose: review → validate findings → fix validated findings → full re-review until a complete review pass finds no issues. A clean review ENDS the loop — no further rounds required.

Round 1: Main-session review. Read target files, build understanding, note issues. Output findings + verdict (PASS / FAIL).

Decision after Round 1:

• No issues found (PASS, zero findings) → review ENDS. Do NOT spawn a fresh sub-agent for confirmation.
• Issues found (FAIL, or any non-zero findings) → run the active review skill's findings-validation gate first; for review skills the default gate is /why-review --validate-findings <report-path>, fix only validated findings, then restart the full review protocol from the beginning with a fresh task breakdown.

Fresh full re-review after every fix cycle: Re-run the whole review protocol over the current full target. When sub-agents are part of that protocol, spawn NEW Agent calls — never reuse prior agents. Reviewers re-read ALL files from scratch with ZERO memory of prior rounds. See SYNC:fresh-context-review for the spawn mechanism and SYNC:review-protocol-injection for the canonical Agent prompt template. Each fresh full review must catch:

• Cross-cutting concerns missed in the prior round
• Interaction bugs between changed files
• Convention drift (new code vs existing patterns)
• Missing pieces that should exist but don't
• Subtle edge cases the prior round rationalized away
• Regressions introduced by the fixes themselves

Loop termination: After each full re-review, repeat the same decision: clean → END; issues → validate findings → fix → restart from the first review phase. Continue until a complete review pass finds zero issues. If the same validated finding repeats for 3 full invocations with no progress, or a fix requires product/owner input, escalate via AskUserQuestion.

Rules:

• A clean Round 1 ENDS the review — no mandatory Round 2
• NEVER fix unvalidated findings; validate first using the caller's validation gate
• NEVER skip the full re-review after a fix cycle (every fix invalidates the prior verdict)
• NEVER reuse a sub-agent across rounds — every iteration that uses sub-agents spawns NEW Agent calls
• Main agent READS sub-agent reports but MUST NOT filter, reinterpret, or override findings

Fresh Context Re-Review — Eliminate orchestrator confirmation bias after fixes by restarting the full review with isolated sub-agents where applicable.

Why: The main agent knows what it (or /cook) just fixed and rationalizes findings accordingly. A fresh sub-agent has ZERO memory, re-reads from scratch, and catches what the main agent dismissed. Sub-agent bias is mitigated by (1) fresh context, (2) verbatim protocol injection, (3) main agent not filtering the report.

When: ONLY after a validated-finding fix cycle. A review round that finds zero issues ENDS the loop — do NOT spawn a confirmation sub-agent. A review round that finds issues triggers: validate findings → fix → full review restart from the first phase.

How:

1. Start a NEW full review invocation/task breakdown; when that protocol calls for agents, spawn NEW Agent tool calls — use code-reviewer subagent_type for code reviews, general-purpose for plan/doc/artifact reviews
2. Inject ALL required review protocols VERBATIM into the prompt — see SYNC:review-protocol-injection for the full list and template. Never reference protocols by file path; AI compliance drops behind file-read indirection (see SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy)
3. Sub-agent re-reads ALL target files from scratch via its own tool calls — never pass file contents inline in the prompt
4. Sub-agent writes structured report to plans/reports/{review-type}-round{N}-{date}.md
5. Main agent reads the report, integrates findings into its own report, DOES NOT override or filter

Rules:

• SKIP fresh sub-agent when the prior full review found zero issues (no fixes = nothing new to verify)
• NEVER skip the full review restart after a fix cycle — every fix invalidates the prior verdict
• NEVER reuse a sub-agent across rounds — every fresh round spawns a NEW Agent call
• Continue until a complete full review pass has zero findings; if the same blocker repeats 3 times with no progress, escalate via AskUserQuestion
• Track iteration count and repeated blockers in conversation context (session-scoped, no persistent files)

Review Protocol Injection — Every fresh sub-agent review prompt MUST embed 10 protocol blocks VERBATIM. The template below has ALL 10 bodies already expanded inline. Copy the template wholesale into the Agent call's prompt field at runtime, replacing only the {placeholders} in Task / Round / Reference Docs / Target Files / Output sections with context-specific values. Do NOT touch the embedded protocol sections.

Why inline expansion: Placeholder markers would force file-read indirection at runtime. AI compliance drops significantly behind indirection (see SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy). Therefore the template carries all 10 protocol bodies pre-embedded.

Subagent Type Selection

• code-reviewer — for code reviews (reviewing source files, git diffs, implementation)
• general-purpose — for plan / doc / artifact reviews (reviewing markdown plans, docs, specs)

Canonical Agent Call Template (Copy Verbatim)

Agent({
  description: "Fresh Round {N} review",
  subagent_type: "code-reviewer",
  prompt: `
## Task
{review-specific task — e.g., "Review all uncommitted changes for code quality" | "Review plan files under {plan-dir}" | "Review integration tests in {path}"}

## Round
Round {N}. You have ZERO memory of prior rounds. Re-read all target files from scratch via your own tool calls. Do NOT trust anything from the main agent beyond this prompt.

## Protocols (follow VERBATIM — these are non-negotiable)

### Evidence-Based Reasoning
Speculation is FORBIDDEN. Every claim needs proof.
1. Cite file:line, grep results, or framework docs for EVERY claim
2. Declare confidence: >80% act freely, 60-80% verify first, <60% DO NOT recommend
3. Cross-service validation required for architectural changes
4. "I don't have enough evidence" is valid and expected output
BLOCKED until: Evidence file path (file:line) provided; Grep search performed; 3+ similar patterns found; Confidence level stated.
Forbidden without proof: "obviously", "I think", "should be", "probably", "this is because".
If incomplete → output: "Insufficient evidence. Verified: [...]. Not verified: [...]."

### Bug Detection
MUST check categories 1-4 for EVERY review. Never skip.
1. Null Safety: Can params/returns be null? Are they guarded? Optional chaining gaps? .find() returns checked?
2. Boundary Conditions: Off-by-one (< vs <=)? Empty collections handled? Zero/negative values? Max limits?
3. Error Handling: Try-catch scope correct? Silent swallowed exceptions? Error types specific? Cleanup in finally?
4. Resource Management: Connections/streams closed? Subscriptions unsubscribed on destroy? Timers cleared? Memory bounded?
5. Concurrency (if async): Missing await? Race conditions on shared state? Stale closures? Retry storms?
6. Stack-Specific: Check the configured language/runtime pitfalls and framework-specific failure modes discovered from local code.
Classify: CRITICAL (crash/corrupt) → FAIL | HIGH (incorrect behavior) → FAIL | MEDIUM (edge case) → WARN | LOW (defensive) → INFO.

### Design Patterns Quality
Priority checks for every code change:
1. DRY via OOP: Same-suffix classes (*Entity, *Dto, *Service) MUST share base class. 3+ similar patterns → extract to shared abstraction.
2. Right Responsibility: Logic in LOWEST layer (Entity > Domain Service > Application Service > Controller). Never business logic in controllers.
3. SOLID: Single responsibility (one reason to change). Open-closed (extend, don't modify). Liskov (subtypes substitutable). Interface segregation (small interfaces). Dependency inversion (depend on abstractions).
4. After extraction/move/rename: Grep ENTIRE scope for dangling references. Zero tolerance.
5. YAGNI gate: NEVER recommend patterns unless 3+ occurrences exist. Don't extract for hypothetical future use.
Anti-patterns to flag: God Object, Copy-Paste inheritance, Circular Dependency, Leaky Abstraction.

### Logic & Intention Review
Verify WHAT code does matches WHY it was changed.
1. Change Intention Check: Every changed file MUST serve the stated purpose. Flag unrelated changes as scope creep.
2. Happy Path Trace: Walk through one complete success scenario through changed code.
3. Error Path Trace: Walk through one failure/edge case scenario through changed code.
4. Acceptance Mapping: If plan context available, map every acceptance criterion to a code change.
5. Tests Verify Intent: For test/spec changes, verify tests name the protected business rule or invariant and would fail if that intent breaks.
6. Migration Test Exclusion: Do not write tests for migration code. Schema/data migrations are one-time execution paths, not core application logic.
NEVER mark review PASS without completing both traces (happy + error path).

### Test Spec Verification
Map changed code to test specifications.
1. Identify the project's test/spec format from existing docs, test-case files, BDD feature files, or spec folders.
2. Every changed code path MUST map to a corresponding test case/spec (or flag as "needs test case").
3. New functions/endpoints/handlers → flag for test spec creation.
4. Migration files are excluded from test/spec creation; schema/data migrations are one-time execution paths, not core application logic.
5. If spec evidence fields exist, verify they point to actual code (file:line, not stale references).
6. Verify each meaningful test case names the business intent/invariant; flag behavior-only cases that only mirror implementation details.
7. Auth/data changes → verify corresponding authorization and data-state test cases exist.
8. If no specs exist for a changed path → log the gap and recommend the project's test-spec workflow.
NEVER skip test mapping. Untested code paths are the #1 source of production bugs.

### Behavioral Delta Matrix
MANDATORY for any bugfix review. Produce input-state × pre-fix × post-fix × delta table BEFORE writing verdict.
- Minimum 3 rows; include at least one row OUTSIDE the original bug report.
- Any "REGRESSION" delta → review returns FAIL until a preservation test is added.
- Narrative descriptions do NOT substitute for the matrix.
Example rows (external-record sync fix):
| Input                 | Pre-fix | Post-fix                  | Delta      |
| --------------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | ---------- |
| Record exists (valid) | Reused  | Always recreated → orphan | REGRESSION |
| Record missing (404)  | Error   | Recreated                 | Fixed      |

### Fix-Layer Accountability
NEVER fix at the crash site. Trace the full flow, fix at the owning layer. The crash site is a SYMPTOM, not the cause.
MANDATORY before ANY fix:
1. Trace full data flow — Map the complete path from data origin to crash site across ALL layers (storage → backend → API → frontend → UI). Identify where bad state ENTERS, not where it CRASHES.
2. Identify the invariant owner — Which layer's contract guarantees this value is valid? Fix at the LOWEST layer that owns the invariant, not the highest layer that consumes it.
3. One fix, maximum protection — If fix requires touching 3+ files with defensive checks, you are at the wrong layer — go lower.
4. Verify no bypass paths — Confirm all data flows through the fix point. Check for direct construction skipping factories, clone/spread without re-validation, raw data not wrapped in domain models, mutations outside the model layer.
BLOCKED until: Full data flow traced (origin → crash); Invariant owner identified with file:line evidence; All access sites audited (grep count); Fix layer justified (lowest layer that protects most consumers).
Anti-patterns (REJECT): "Fix it where it crashes" (crash site ≠ cause site, trace upstream); "Add defensive checks at every consumer" (scattered defense = wrong layer); "Both fix is safer" (pick ONE authoritative layer).

### Rationalization Prevention
AI skips steps via these evasions. Recognize and reject:
- "Too simple for a plan" → Simple + wrong assumptions = wasted time. Plan anyway.
- "I'll test after" → RED before GREEN. Write/verify test first.
- "Already searched" → Show grep evidence with file:line. No proof = no search.
- "Just do it" → Still need TaskCreate. Skip depth, never skip tracking.
- "Just a small fix" → Small fix in wrong location cascades. Verify file:line first.
- "Code is self-explanatory" → Future readers need evidence trail. Document anyway.
- "Combine steps to save time" → Combined steps dilute focus. Each step has distinct purpose.

### Graph-Assisted Investigation
MANDATORY when .code-graph/graph.db exists.
HARD-GATE: MUST run at least ONE graph command on key files before concluding any investigation.
Pattern: Grep finds files → trace --direction both reveals full system flow → Grep verifies details.
- Investigation/Scout: trace --direction both on 2-3 entry files
- Fix/Debug: callers_of on buggy function + tests_for
- Feature/Enhancement: connections on files to be modified
- Code Review: tests_for on changed functions
- Blast Radius: trace --direction downstream
CLI: python .claude/scripts/code_graph {command} --json. Use --node-mode file first (10-30x less noise), then --node-mode function for detail.

### Understand Code First
HARD-GATE: Do NOT write, plan, or fix until you READ existing code.
1. Search 3+ similar patterns (grep/glob) — cite file:line evidence.
2. Read existing files in target area — understand structure, base classes, conventions.
3. Run python .claude/scripts/code_graph trace <file> --direction both --json when .code-graph/graph.db exists.
4. Map dependencies via connections or callers_of — know what depends on your target.
5. Write investigation to .ai/workspace/analysis/ for non-trivial tasks (3+ files).
6. Re-read analysis file before implementing — never work from memory alone.
7. NEVER invent new patterns when existing ones work — match exactly or document deviation.
BLOCKED until: Read target files; Grep 3+ patterns; Graph trace (if graph.db exists); Assumptions verified with evidence.

## Reference Docs (READ before reviewing)
- docs/project-reference/code-review-rules.md
- {skill-specific reference docs — e.g., integration-test-reference.md for integration-test-review; backend-patterns-reference.md for backend reviews; frontend-patterns-reference.md for frontend reviews}

## Target Files
{explicit file list OR "run git diff to see uncommitted changes" OR "read all files under {plan-dir}"}

## Output
Write a structured report to plans/reports/{review-type}-round{N}-{date}.md with sections:
- Status: PASS | FAIL
- Issue Count: {number}
- Critical Issues (with file:line evidence)
- High Priority Issues (with file:line evidence)
- Medium / Low Issues
- Cross-cutting findings

Return the report path and status to the main agent.
Every finding MUST have file:line evidence. Speculation is forbidden.
`
})

Rules

• DO copy the template wholesale — including all 10 embedded protocol sections
• DO replace only the {placeholders} in Task / Round / Reference Docs / Target Files / Output sections with context-specific content
• DO choose code-reviewer subagent_type for code reviews and general-purpose for plan / doc / artifact reviews
• DO NOT paraphrase, summarize, or skip any protocol section
• DO NOT pass file contents inline — the sub-agent reads via its own tool calls so it has a fresh context
• DO NOT reference protocols by file path or tag name — the bodies are already embedded above
• DO NOT introduce placeholder markers for the protocols — they must stay literally expanded

Rationalization Prevention — AI skips steps via these evasions. Recognize and reject:

Evasion	Rebuttal
"Too simple for a plan"	Simple + wrong assumptions = wasted time. Plan anyway.
"I'll test after"	RED before GREEN. Write/verify test first.
"Already searched"	Show grep evidence with file:line. No proof = no search.
"Just do it"	Still need TaskCreate. Skip depth, never skip tracking.
"Just a small fix"	Small fix in wrong location cascades. Verify file:line first.
"Code is self-explanatory"	Future readers need evidence trail. Document anyway.
"Combine steps to save time"	Combined steps dilute focus. Each step has distinct purpose.

Logic & Intention Review — Verify WHAT code does matches WHY it was changed.

1. Change Intention Check: Every changed file MUST ATTENTION serve the stated purpose. Flag unrelated changes as scope creep.
2. Happy Path Trace: Walk through one complete success scenario through changed code
3. Error Path Trace: Walk through one failure/edge case scenario through changed code
4. Acceptance Mapping: If plan context available, map every acceptance criterion to a code change
5. Tests Verify Intent: For test/spec changes, verify tests name the protected business rule or invariant and would fail if that intent breaks.
6. Migration Test Exclusion: Do not write tests for migration code. Schema/data migrations are one-time execution paths, not core application logic.

NEVER mark review PASS without completing both traces (happy + error path).

Bug Detection — MUST ATTENTION check categories 1-4 for EVERY review. Never skip.

1. Null Safety: Can params/returns be null? Are they guarded? Optional chaining gaps? .find() returns checked?
2. Boundary Conditions: Off-by-one (< vs <=)? Empty collections handled? Zero/negative values? Max limits?
3. Error Handling: Try-catch scope correct? Silent swallowed exceptions? Error types specific? Cleanup in finally?
4. Resource Management: Connections/streams closed? Subscriptions unsubscribed on destroy? Timers cleared? Memory bounded?
5. Concurrency (if async): Missing await? Race conditions on shared state? Stale closures? Retry storms?
6. Language-Idiomatic Traps: Apply your knowledge of idiomatic pitfalls for the languages/runtimes present in the changed files. Do NOT enumerate a fixed list — derive from the actual tech stack.

Classify: CRITICAL (crash/corrupt) → FAIL | HIGH (incorrect behavior) → FAIL | MEDIUM (edge case) → WARN | LOW (defensive) → INFO

Test Spec Verification — Map changed code to test specifications.

1. Identify the project's test/spec format from existing docs, test-case files, BDD feature files, or spec folders.
2. Every changed code path MUST ATTENTION map to a corresponding test case/spec (or flag as "needs test case")
3. New functions/endpoints/handlers → flag for test spec creation
4. Migration files are excluded from TC/test creation; schema/data migrations are one-time execution paths, not core application logic.
5. If spec evidence fields exist, verify they point to actual code (file:line, not stale references)
6. Verify each meaningful test case names the business intent/invariant; flag behavior-only cases that only mirror implementation details.
7. Auth/data changes → verify corresponding authorization and data-state test cases exist.
8. If no specs exist for a changed path → log the gap and recommend the project's test-spec workflow.

NEVER skip test mapping. Untested code paths are the #1 source of production bugs.

Fix-Layer Accountability — NEVER fix at the crash site. Trace the full flow, fix at the owning layer.

AI default behavior: see error at Place A → fix Place A. This is WRONG. The crash site is a SYMPTOM, not the cause.

MANDATORY before ANY fix:

1. Trace full data flow — Map the complete path from data origin to crash site across ALL layers (storage → backend → API → frontend → UI). Identify where the bad state ENTERS, not where it CRASHES.
2. Identify the invariant owner — Which layer's contract guarantees this value is valid? That layer is responsible. Fix at the LOWEST layer that owns the invariant — not the highest layer that consumes it.
3. One fix, maximum protection — Ask: "If I fix here, does it protect ALL downstream consumers with ONE change?" If fix requires touching 3+ files with defensive checks, you are at the wrong layer — go lower.
4. Verify no bypass paths — Confirm all data flows through the fix point. Check for: direct construction skipping factories, clone/spread without re-validation, raw data not wrapped in domain models, mutations outside the model layer.

BLOCKED until: - [ ] Full data flow traced (origin → crash) - [ ] Invariant owner identified with file:line evidence - [ ] All access sites audited (grep count) - [ ] Fix layer justified (lowest layer that protects most consumers)

Anti-patterns (REJECT these):

• "Fix it where it crashes" — Crash site ≠ cause site. Trace upstream.
• "Add defensive checks at every consumer" — Scattered defense = wrong layer. One authoritative fix > many scattered guards.
• "Both fix is safer" — Pick ONE authoritative layer. Redundant checks across layers send mixed signals about who owns the invariant.

Source/test drift check. For coding, fix, debug, investigation, test, or review work: when source behavior changes, inspect affected unit/integration/E2E tests and decide from evidence whether tests should change to match intended behavior or the source change is an unintended bug to fix. Do not write tests for migration code; schema/data migrations are one-time execution paths, not core application logic.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly.