Fresh Eyes
A readability read with no review apparatus. The other review skills load the
project's conventions and standards before they read a line; this one deliberately
does not. Its output is what a newcomer experiences, so the people who hold the
conventions can decide what to do about it.
Scope
- The dispatcher names the files. Read each named file whole, not the diff
hunks — a newcomer reads the file, and without a diff you cannot tell which
functions changed anyway. A narrower scope in the dispatch (one file, one
function, two versions of a function) overrides.
- No file list → ask. Never guess the scope from the directory tree, and never
run the diff yourself; you have no shell.
- One level of callee, on need. When a function cannot be understood without
opening something it calls, open that one thing, and record that you had to.
Do not keep following the chain — that you needed the chain is the finding.
- Test files are out of scope unless the dispatcher names them.
Set conventions aside
Instruction files for the project may have been shown to you before this skill.
They describe what the project wants. Your job is to report what a stranger
experiences, so:
- Do not open AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.local.md, standards notes, or memory.
- Do not cite a convention in a finding, for or against.
- Do not decide whether a pause is "allowed" by the project. Report it.
- Do not read commit messages, PR descriptions, or tests to learn what the author
meant. What the code says is all you have, which is the point.
How to read
For each function in scope, read it once, top to bottom, and write down each pause
as it happens, not after you have finished and understood everything. A pause is
any point where you stopped to work something out. The kinds that recur:
| Pause |
Example |
| A name whose value you had to trace to know what it holds |
stem holding Projects/deep, a whole path minus its extension |
| A loop, retry, bound, or branch whose reason is not stated where it sits |
a for loop up to 100 with no comment saying why it exists or what happens at 101 |
| A term used in a comment or name that you were never given |
"collision-free", "free name" |
| A comparison or guard you had to reason about to trust |
> 0 on the result of lastIndexOf |
| A manual computation where you wondered whether a built-in already does it |
splitting a file path with lastIndexOf(".") and two slice calls |
| A comment or name that promised something the code did not do |
a doc comment saying a fallback is not cached when the code caches it |
| A value built two different ways for the same purpose |
one branch interpolates a prefix, another joins it |
Boundary: a pause is something that stopped you, reading cold. If you only
notice a thing because you know a rule about it, that is not a pause.
What to record
Per function, in order:
- Each pause: the line, what stopped you, what you assumed or opened to get
past it, and one line on what would have helped — a comment, a name, a split.
A pointer, not a rewrite.
- A verdict: could you change this function safely from what you read? Yes or
no, one sentence why.
A function with no pauses is still listed, as read, so a clean report is
distinguishable from an unread one.
What not to do
- No edits. You have no Edit, Write, or shell tools; do not work around that.
- No severity beyond stopped (had to leave the line to continue) and
slowed (worked it out in place).
- No rewrites, no proposed diffs.
- No correctness hunting. If you trip over what looks like a bug, say so in one
line and move on; someone else owns that.
- No convention judgments, no test review.
Report format
Fresh eyes complete:
- Reviewed at: <SHA or "working tree">
- Files read: <list>
- Functions read: N (M with pauses)
- Callees opened to understand a function: <list or none>
Per function:
<file>:<function> — L<n> stopped: <what stopped me> · assumed: <…> · would help: <…>
<file>:<function> — L<n> slowed: <…> · assumed: <…> · would help: <…>
<file>:<function> — no pauses
Verdicts:
<function>: safe to change / not safe — <why>
When comparing two versions of a function, produce the per-function block for
each, then one line saying which version produced fewer and lighter pauses. Do not
pick a winner on any other basis.
Comment mode
None. This skill never posts to a PR. When it runs inside a pipeline, the
dispatcher owns what happens to the pauses, including any PR posting and its
attribution footer.
1---2name: fresh-eyes3description: Read code as someone who has never seen the codebase — no conventions, no history, no attachment — and report every place a newcomer pauses: a name that had to be traced, a loop or branch with no stated reason, a term never introduced, a comparison that had to be reasoned about, a comment that promised something the code did not do. Report only; never edits. Use when asked to "read this as a stranger", "fresh eyes on this", "would a newcomer understand this", or to compare two candidate versions of a function on readability. NOT for: convention compliance (use code-quality), correctness or bug hunting (use pr-review / bug-check), or test review (use test-audit).4---56# Fresh Eyes78A readability read with no review apparatus. The other review skills load the9project's conventions and standards before they read a line; this one deliberately10does not. Its output is what a newcomer experiences, so the people who hold the11conventions can decide what to do about it.1213## Scope1415- **The dispatcher names the files.** Read each named file **whole**, not the diff16 hunks — a newcomer reads the file, and without a diff you cannot tell which17 functions changed anyway. A narrower scope in the dispatch (one file, one18 function, two versions of a function) overrides.19- **No file list → ask.** Never guess the scope from the directory tree, and never20 run the diff yourself; you have no shell.21- **One level of callee, on need.** When a function cannot be understood without22 opening something it calls, open that one thing, and record that you had to.23 Do not keep following the chain — that you needed the chain is the finding.24- **Test files are out of scope** unless the dispatcher names them.2526## Set conventions aside2728Instruction files for the project may have been shown to you before this skill.29They describe what the project wants. Your job is to report what a stranger30experiences, so:3132- Do not open AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.local.md, standards notes, or memory.33- Do not cite a convention in a finding, for or against.34- Do not decide whether a pause is "allowed" by the project. Report it.35- Do not read commit messages, PR descriptions, or tests to learn what the author36 meant. What the code says is all you have, which is the point.3738## How to read3940For each function in scope, read it once, top to bottom, and write down each pause41**as it happens**, not after you have finished and understood everything. A pause is42any point where you stopped to work something out. The kinds that recur:4344| Pause | Example |45| --- | --- |46| A name whose value you had to trace to know what it holds | `stem` holding `Projects/deep`, a whole path minus its extension |47| A loop, retry, bound, or branch whose reason is not stated where it sits | a `for` loop up to 100 with no comment saying why it exists or what happens at 101 |48| A term used in a comment or name that you were never given | "collision-free", "free name" |49| A comparison or guard you had to reason about to trust | `> 0` on the result of `lastIndexOf` |50| A manual computation where you wondered whether a built-in already does it | splitting a file path with `lastIndexOf(".")` and two `slice` calls |51| A comment or name that promised something the code did not do | a doc comment saying a fallback is not cached when the code caches it |52| A value built two different ways for the same purpose | one branch interpolates a prefix, another joins it |5354Boundary: a pause is something that stopped **you**, reading cold. If you only55notice a thing because you know a rule about it, that is not a pause.5657## What to record5859Per function, in order:60611. **Each pause:** the line, what stopped you, what you assumed or opened to get62 past it, and one line on what would have helped — a comment, a name, a split.63 A pointer, not a rewrite.642. **A verdict:** could you change this function safely from what you read? Yes or65 no, one sentence why.6667A function with **no pauses is still listed**, as read, so a clean report is68distinguishable from an unread one.6970## What not to do7172- No edits. You have no Edit, Write, or shell tools; do not work around that.73- No severity beyond **stopped** (had to leave the line to continue) and74 **slowed** (worked it out in place).75- No rewrites, no proposed diffs.76- No correctness hunting. If you trip over what looks like a bug, say so in one77 line and move on; someone else owns that.78- No convention judgments, no test review.7980## Report format8182```83Fresh eyes complete:84- Reviewed at: <SHA or "working tree">85- Files read: <list>86- Functions read: N (M with pauses)87- Callees opened to understand a function: <list or none>8889Per function:90<file>:<function> — L<n> stopped: <what stopped me> · assumed: <…> · would help: <…>91<file>:<function> — L<n> slowed: <…> · assumed: <…> · would help: <…>92<file>:<function> — no pauses9394Verdicts:95<function>: safe to change / not safe — <why>96```9798When comparing two versions of a function, produce the per-function block for99each, then one line saying which version produced fewer and lighter pauses. Do not100pick a winner on any other basis.101102## Comment mode103104None. This skill never posts to a PR. When it runs inside a pipeline, the105dispatcher owns what happens to the pauses, including any PR posting and its106attribution footer.
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