Challenge
Apply structured provocation patterns to force reconsideration of current work or upcoming intentions.
Target: $ARGUMENTS
Critical constraint
The interviewer (this skill, running in the main conversation) DELIVERS the queue. It NEVER
regenerates findings in the main context. Regenerating brings anchoring back through the side
door and destroys the benefit of the fresh-context generator. All finding generation happens in
deep's sub-agent or, for forward/anchor/verify/framing, in the protocol execution itself
— never re-derived afterward from parent-conversation reasoning.
Dispatch
Parse first word of $ARGUMENTS as subcommand. No recognized subcommand → route.
| Subcommand |
Generator |
Delivery |
Protocol |
route (default) |
none |
≤5 lines, 0 sub-agent |
Read protocols/route.md → execute |
forward |
main context, 5 patterns |
interactive walk |
Read protocols/forward.md → execute |
anchor |
main context, 4 patterns |
interactive walk |
Read protocols/anchor.md → execute |
verify |
main context, 3 patterns |
interactive walk |
Read protocols/verify.md → execute |
framing |
main context, 2 patterns |
interactive walk |
Read protocols/framing.md → execute |
deep |
fresh sub-agent, 9 patterns |
interactive walk, top-N |
see below |
deep --report |
fresh sub-agent, 9 patterns |
batch report (legacy escape hatch) |
see below |
/challenge <free-text description> with no matching subcommand keyword is route, not an error
and not a menu — route is the default entry point.
Deep Subcommand
Spawn ONE sub-agent via the Agent tool:
- subagent_type:
dstoic:devil-advocate:devil-advocate
- prompt: target description + relevant file paths to read
- The agent executes all 9 patterns IN SEQUENCE (anchor: Gatekeeper, Reset, Alternative
Approaches, Pre-mortem · verify: Proof Demand, CoVe, Fact Check List · framing: Socratic,
Steelman) inside its own fresh context — not 9 parallel agents, one agent running 9 steps.
- It returns a structured queue (
reference.md §Queue Schema), not a batch report.
- DO NOT pass parent conversation reasoning into the prompt — fresh context, uncontaminated by
the anchoring already present in the main conversation, is the entire point.
deep (no flag): walk the returned queue per reference.md §Interactive Delivery.
deep --report: skip the walk, emit the queue as a batch Challenge Report instead — legacy
fire-and-forget escape hatch for callers who cannot sustain a turn-by-turn exchange.
Thinking Transparency (applies to all subcommands)
For every item, make reasoning explicit:
- Observation: What specifically in the target triggered this item
- Technique: Named pattern (e.g., Gatekeeper, CoVe, Steelman) and family
(anchor/verify/framing) — cite mechanism from
reference.md pattern catalog
- Reasoning: Why this observation matters — what cognitive bias or error it reveals
- Confidence: High/Medium/Low, and what evidence supports that rating
Output
Delivery mechanics (fact-resolution order, ranking, cap, one-question-per-turn format, gate,
final report) are canonical in reference.md §Interactive Delivery. Queue shape is canonical in
reference.md §Queue Schema. Pattern catalog and Challenge Report format also live in
reference.md. All subcommands cite these, none redefine them.
1---2name: challenge3description: Challenge, push back, play devil's advocate on AI output or intentions. Use when: challenge this, are you sure, push back, prove it, what if you're wrong, devil's advocate, stress test, poke holes, second opinion, sanity check, too confident, really?, question this decision, avant de commencer, je veux faire X, aide-moi à décider. Modes: route (default — any invocation whose first word isn't a recognized subcommand, including a free-text description), forward (before starting), anchor (committed too fast), verify (facts wrong?), framing (wrong problem?), deep (full devil's advocate in fresh context).4---56# Challenge78Apply structured provocation patterns to force reconsideration of current work or upcoming intentions.910**Target:** **$ARGUMENTS**1112## Critical constraint1314The interviewer (this skill, running in the main conversation) DELIVERS the queue. It NEVER15regenerates findings in the main context. Regenerating brings anchoring back through the side16door and destroys the benefit of the fresh-context generator. All finding generation happens in17`deep`'s sub-agent or, for `forward`/`anchor`/`verify`/`framing`, in the protocol execution itself18— never re-derived afterward from parent-conversation reasoning.1920## Dispatch2122Parse first word of $ARGUMENTS as subcommand. No recognized subcommand → `route`.2324| Subcommand | Generator | Delivery | Protocol |25|---|---|---|---|26| `route` (default) | none | ≤5 lines, 0 sub-agent | Read `protocols/route.md` → execute |27| `forward` | main context, 5 patterns | interactive walk | Read `protocols/forward.md` → execute |28| `anchor` | main context, 4 patterns | interactive walk | Read `protocols/anchor.md` → execute |29| `verify` | main context, 3 patterns | interactive walk | Read `protocols/verify.md` → execute |30| `framing` | main context, 2 patterns | interactive walk | Read `protocols/framing.md` → execute |31| `deep` | fresh sub-agent, 9 patterns | interactive walk, top-N | see below |32| `deep --report` | fresh sub-agent, 9 patterns | batch report (legacy escape hatch) | see below |3334`/challenge <free-text description>` with no matching subcommand keyword is `route`, not an error35and not a menu — `route` is the default entry point.3637## Deep Subcommand3839Spawn ONE sub-agent via the Agent tool:40- subagent_type: `dstoic:devil-advocate:devil-advocate`41- prompt: target description + relevant file paths to read42- The agent executes all 9 patterns IN SEQUENCE (anchor: Gatekeeper, Reset, Alternative43 Approaches, Pre-mortem · verify: Proof Demand, CoVe, Fact Check List · framing: Socratic,44 Steelman) inside its own fresh context — not 9 parallel agents, one agent running 9 steps.45- It returns a structured queue (`reference.md` §Queue Schema), not a batch report.46- DO NOT pass parent conversation reasoning into the prompt — fresh context, uncontaminated by47 the anchoring already present in the main conversation, is the entire point.4849`deep` (no flag): walk the returned queue per `reference.md` §Interactive Delivery.50`deep --report`: skip the walk, emit the queue as a batch Challenge Report instead — legacy51fire-and-forget escape hatch for callers who cannot sustain a turn-by-turn exchange.5253## Thinking Transparency (applies to all subcommands)5455For every item, make reasoning explicit:56571. **Observation**: What specifically in the target triggered this item582. **Technique**: Named pattern (e.g., Gatekeeper, CoVe, Steelman) and family59 (anchor/verify/framing) — cite mechanism from `reference.md` pattern catalog603. **Reasoning**: Why this observation matters — what cognitive bias or error it reveals614. **Confidence**: High/Medium/Low, and what evidence supports that rating6263## Output6465Delivery mechanics (fact-resolution order, ranking, cap, one-question-per-turn format, gate,66final report) are canonical in `reference.md` §Interactive Delivery. Queue shape is canonical in67`reference.md` §Queue Schema. Pattern catalog and Challenge Report format also live in68`reference.md`. All subcommands cite these, none redefine them.