Consult a stronger model mid-task for a second opinion before committing to an approach, when stuck, or before declaring a non-trivial task done — the fast-executor + strong-advisor pattern, implemented with the Agent and Workflow tools (Claude Code does not expose Anthropic's raw API advisor tool). Use when running on a cheaper/faster model for mechanical work and a hard design/architecture/risk decision needs a stronger check, or when authoring a Workflow script that should get expert review partway through instead of only at the end.
Use when the user says "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "use caveman", "less tokens", or "be brief", invokes /caveman, or when token efficiency is requested. Switches responses to an ultra-compressed terse style (multiple intensity levels available, ~75% token reduction) while preserving full technical accuracy.
Use right after being corrected on something a CLAUDE.md file should already have told you, when explicitly asked to review CLAUDE.md, or periodically after a session with a lot of back-and-forth — reviews THIS conversation for friction and proposes a bounded CLAUDE.md edit. A lightweight, single-session complement to skill-tuning-loop (which mines many sessions and validates a proposal against held-out cases before surfacing it — reach for that instead when the ask is "make this systematic," not "check right now"). Own version of the dx plugin's `/dx:review-claudemd`.
Generate a solution, evaluate it against explicit pass/fail criteria, refine using the feedback, repeat until it passes or a round cap is hit. Use for tasks with a clear, checkable bar and demonstrable value from iteration — a bug fix that must pass a test suite, code that must satisfy a lint/style rubric, a document that must meet stated requirements. Distinct from advisor-checkpoint (one strategic consult before committing) — this is a convergence loop against a concrete standard.
Use when PR checks fail, CI is red, or GitHub Actions workflows break - systematically inspects failing checks via gh CLI, pulls logs, checks for flakiness and scopes the breaking commit, scopes external checks, then creates fix plan using existing plan skill
Write a structured handoff document before a session ends, before a context-heavy interruption (SSH/tmux disconnect, context running low, a worktree being handed to another worker or agent), or when explicitly asked for a handoff — captures progress, what worked/failed, and the exact next step so a fresh session can resume without re-deriving context. Own version of the dx plugin's `/dx:handoff`.
Run a large batch of independent work items (a fleet-wide harvest, a multi-repo sync-down, an overnight backlog) as a persistent coordinator loop instead of one item at a time. Use when there are enough independent units of work that dispatch-review-merge would otherwise repeat many times in a row, or when the batch should keep making progress across a heartbeat interval instead of stalling until the next message.
Use when you need to find code, a pattern, or a past implementation across GitHub repos — including private ones you have access to — not just the current working directory. grep/Glob only reach the checked-out repo; this reaches everywhere `gh` is authenticated for. Own version of the dx plugin's `/dx:private-github-search`.