apex

name	apex
description	Run structured APEX implementation (Analyze, Plan, Execute, eXamine) with parallel agents, tests, adversarial review, and proof-backed verification. Use for features, bug fixes, or code changes that need disciplined execution and real-flow evidence.

Execute systematic implementation workflows using the APEX methodology with progressive step loading.

<quick_start>

/apex add authentication middleware           # Basic
/apex -a -s implement user registration       # Autonomous + save
/apex -a -x -s fix login bug                  # With adversarial review
/apex -a -v implement user dashboard          # With feature verification
/apex -a -m implement full auth system        # Agent Teams (parallel)
/apex -a -x -s -t -v add auth middleware      # Full workflow with tests + verify
/apex -a -pr add auth middleware              # With PR creation
/apex -r 01-auth-middleware                   # Resume previous task
/apex -e add auth middleware                  # Economy mode (save tokens)
/apex -i add auth middleware                  # Interactive flag config

</quick_start>

**Enable (lowercase ON) / Disable (UPPERCASE OFF):**

ON	OFF	Long	Description
-a	-A	--auto	Skip confirmations, auto-approve
-x	-X	--examine	Adversarial code review
-s	-S	--save	Save outputs to .claude/output/apex/
-t	-T	--test	Include test creation + runner
-v	-V	--verify	Prove the feature works through its real flow, with a screenshot of every observable step
-e	-E	--economy	No subagents, save tokens
-b	-B	--branch	Verify not on main, create branch
-pr	-PR	--pull-request	Create PR at end (enables -b)
-i		--interactive	Configure flags via menu
-k	-K	--tasks	Task breakdown with dependencies
-m	-M	--teams	Agent Teams parallel execution (enables -k)
-r		--resume	Resume from previous task ID

Parsing: Defaults from steps/step-00-init.md, flags override, remainder = {task_description}, ID = NN-kebab-case.

1. **Init** → Parse flags, setup state 2. **Analyze** → Context gathering (1-10 parallel agents) 3. **Plan** → File-by-file strategy + TaskList creation 4. **Tasks** → Task breakdown (if -k or -m) 5. **Execute** → Implementation (standard or Agent Teams if -m) 6. **Validate** → Typecheck, lint, tests 7. **Tests** → Create + run tests (if -t) 8. **Examine** → Adversarial review (if -x) - Security + Logic + Clean Code + Thermo-Nuclear maintainability audit in parallel 9. **Resolve** → Fix findings (if examine found issues) 10. **Verify** → Prove the feature works with end-to-end interaction and step-by-step visual evidence (if -v) 11. **Finish** → Create PR (if -pr)

<step_files>

Step	File	Purpose
00	steps/step-00-init.md	Parse flags, initialize state
00b	steps/step-00b-save.md	Setup save output structure (if -s)
00b	steps/step-00b-branch.md	Git branch setup (if -b)
00b	steps/step-00b-economy.md	Economy mode overrides (if -e)
00b	steps/step-00b-interactive.md	Interactive flag config (if -i)
01	steps/step-01-analyze.md	Smart context gathering
02	steps/step-02-plan.md	File-by-file plan + TaskList
02b	steps/step-02b-tasks.md	Task breakdown (if -k/-m)
03	steps/step-03-execute.md	Todo-driven implementation
03t	steps/step-03-execute-teams.md	Agent Team execution (if -m)
04	steps/step-04-validate.md	Self-check and validation
05	steps/step-05-examine.md	Adversarial code review
06	steps/step-06-resolve.md	Finding resolution
07	steps/step-07-tests.md	Test analysis and creation
08	steps/step-08-run-tests.md	Test runner loop
09	steps/step-09-finish.md	Create pull request
10	steps/step-10-verify.md	Prove the feature works through the real user flow

</step_files>

<state_variables>

Variable	Type	Set by
{task_description}	string	step-00
{feature_name}	string	step-00
{task_id}	string	step-00 / step-00b-save
{acceptance_criteria}	list	step-01
{auto_mode}	boolean	step-00
{examine_mode}	boolean	step-00
{save_mode}	boolean	step-00
{test_mode}	boolean	step-00
{verify_mode}	boolean	step-00
{economy_mode}	boolean	step-00
{branch_mode}	boolean	step-00
{pr_mode}	boolean	step-00
{tasks_mode}	boolean	step-00
{teams_mode}	boolean	step-00
{output_dir}	string	step-00b-save
{branch_name}	string	step-00b-branch

</state_variables>

<execution_rules>

• Load one step at a time (progressive loading)
• ULTRA THINK before major decisions
• Persist state variables across all steps
• Follow next_step directive at end of each step
• Save outputs if {save_mode} = true (each step appends to its file)
• Use parallel agents for independent exploration (step-01)
• Use online research intentionally: default harness tools for local code first, /Users/melvynx/.agents/skills/find-docs/SKILL.md for current technical docs, and /Users/melvynx/.agents/skills/exa-search/SKILL.md for broader web research or cited sources
• Treat -v as a proof gate: do not finish while the feature is merely believed or asserted to work; finish only after every acceptance criterion and observable flow step is proven with current evidence </execution_rules>

<entry_point> FIRST ACTION: Load steps/step-00-init.md </entry_point>