zoom-out

name	zoom-out
type	mode-shift
description	Use when orienting in an unfamiliar area: fans out parallel explorers across code, knowledge, and history, then synthesizes one orientation map.
user-invocable	true
model-invocable	true

Zoom Out

Load /qi-layer if it isn't already loaded.

Orient in an unfamiliar area by fanning out parallel explorers, each covering a different angle, then synthesizing their reports into one orientation map. A single explorer sees one slice; zoom-out covers code and knowledge and history at once, so the picture isn't skewed by one lens.

Use when starting in an unfamiliar subsystem, picking up someone else's work, or when the user says "orient me" / "what's the lay of the land here."

Fan Out

Spawn in parallel, each scoped to one angle and one question. Drain with meridian spawn wait.

• Code structure (@explorer): callers, dependencies, module boundaries, entry points, where behavior actually lives.
• Documented knowledge (@explorer over the KB, meridian context kb): what's been written about this area, including architecture, guides, synthesized research.
• Decision history (@session-miner): why it's shaped this way. Prior choices, rejected alternatives, constraints discovered. Skip when there's no relevant session history.
• Domain concepts (@explorer): the vocabulary in use (KB vocab pages, .context/CONTEXT.md, AGENTS.md).

Scope each prompt to its angle with concrete path or topic targets. Don't let one explorer cover two angles: the value is independent coverage.

Synthesize

Read the reports and produce one orientation map, not four stitched-together dumps:

• What this is: the area's purpose and boundaries, in two or three sentences.
• Structure: the modules and interfaces that matter and how they connect (a mermaid diagram if the shape is spatial).
• Why it's like this: the decisions and constraints that explain the current shape.
• Vocabulary: the terms needed to speak about it precisely.
• Open threads: gaps, debt, or unresolved questions the explorers surfaced.

When reports contradict each other, resolve it rather than listing both: code is ground truth; a doc that disagrees is stale (note it). Keep the map tight: the goal is a reader who can now navigate the area, not an exhaustive transcript.