Deepwork

Deepwork

Deepwork is an orchestrator workflow for heavy coding sessions. Use it only when the work is clearly large or high-risk: multiple dependent phases, cross-cutting architectural change, unsafe-to-partially-ship migration, or sustained coordination across several specialist lanes.

Do not infer Deepwork merely because a task touches multiple files. Do not use it for trivial edits, quick docs changes, simple bug fixes, or routine bounded features.

Core Contract

When deepwork is active, the orchestrator must manage the work as a scheduler, not as the default implementation worker.

Setup and Deepwork State

• create and maintain a local markdown progress file under .slim/deepwork/;
• save code/doc deliverables to project paths (e.g. src/, docs/); reserve .slim/deepwork/ strictly for progress files;

Deepwork File

Create a task-specific file such as:

.slim/deepwork/<short-task-slug>.md

Before creating this file—and before planning or delegation—inspect the existing .gitignore and .ignore. Add only missing entries and do not add duplicates:

# .gitignore
.slim/deepwork/

# .ignore
!.slim/deepwork/
!.slim/deepwork/**

These rules keep deepwork state git-local while allowing OpenCode to read it.

Do not follow a rigid template. Choose whatever markdown structure best fits the work. The file only needs to remain useful as persistent session state and should capture, as applicable:

• current goal and understanding;
• researched, factual context from @librarian to avoid oracle doing its own research;
• plan drafts, Oracle review budget/gates, and review notes;
• implementation phases and status;
• validation results;
• unresolved questions, blockers, and follow-ups.

Update this file after major decisions, accepted research, reviews, phase completions, validation results, and scope changes. Record accepted findings and reference local files by path rather than copying their contents.

Planning

• draft a plan before implementation;
• create a phased implementation/delegation plan;
• before dispatch, choose a small number of coherent implementation phases from the work's dependencies and natural delivery boundaries; do not split work merely to reduce an Oracle review's scope;
• before execution, define coherent delivery phases and make an @oracle review mandatory after each one; record the phase order, specialist ownership, gate order, and one-line gate rationale in the deepwork file; share a compact version with the user;
• before starting each phase, replace the OpenCode todo list with actionable delivery todos for that phase only;

Phase Execution

• before each implementation phase, decide the execution path: what can run in parallel, what must be sequential, which specialists to delegate to, and whether to split the same agent into multiple bounded lanes;

Scheduler Discipline

Use the scheduler model throughout:

• record task/session IDs and ownership boundaries;
• wait for hook-driven background completion before consuming background results;
• avoid blocking Orchestrator lane while background jobs run; if no independent work remains, stop briefly and let the completion event resume the workflow;
• do not advance to the next phase while relevant jobs are running or terminal results are unreconciled.

Phase Gate and Commit

• after each planned phase, run relevant validation, update the deepwork file, then request its planned @oracle gate before continuing;
• before its planned Oracle gate, record relevant accepted research and file references so Oracle reviews established context rather than repeating discovery;
• record the phase goal, changed paths, validation evidence, and the specific decision or risk to review in the deepwork file; provide this context to Oracle with the accepted research and file references;
• when the phase changes module boundaries, dependency direction, or file placement, run an @explorer structure scan in parallel with the Oracle gate;
• reconcile review findings, perform one bounded remediation pass for material issues, and validate that pass with focused evidence;
• create a focused commit when the phase is an independently valid delivery boundary before starting the next phase;

Oracle Re-Reviews

Every planned Oracle gate has one initial review and may have at most two re-reviews. Request a re-review only when the remediation materially changes the reviewed decision or risk, or when the original concern cannot be verified with focused evidence. Do not spend a re-review on a mechanical or already-verified change.

State the attempt in every Oracle prompt, for example:

Gate 2 — review attempt 2 of 3 (1 re-review remaining)

For re-reviews, tell Oracle to prioritize unresolved material findings, risks introduced by remediation, and whether prior findings are resolved. It must not reopen accepted, unchanged, or resolved concerns. When the two re-reviews are exhausted, record any remaining material risk or blocker in the deepwork file and ask the user whether to accept the risk, change scope, or authorize an exceptional additional review.

Designer Handoff Guardrail

When a deepwork phase includes @designer, treat the delivered UI/UX as accepted design intent for later phases. Record any important design decisions in the deepwork file before continuing.

After designer work:

• preserve layout, rhythm, hierarchy, motion, spacing, color, affordances, responsiveness, and component feel;
• review and improve user-facing copy with grounded, normal wording, but do not change visual structure or interaction intent;
• route follow-up visual, responsive, motion, hierarchy, polish, or component-feel changes back to @designer;
• use @fixer only for bounded mechanical follow-up that preserves the design exactly, such as wiring, tests, type fixes, or non-visual behavior changes;
• if design intent must change, record why in the deepwork file before changing it.

Completion

• finish with final validation and a concise summary.