# Consult > Consult external models as READ-ONLY oracles — plan critique, code/implementation review, design analysis, diagnosis, second opinion. Fans out to all available providers by default (codex, claude, gemini, openai; a provider keyword narrows to one). Returns a panel of opinions and never edits the repo. The model may invoke it autonomously when a second opinion adds material value; model-initiated runs pin a free subscription CLI (codex/claude). - Skill: `jayteealao/consult` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jayteealao/consult` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jayteealao/consult/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: jayteealao (https://skillmd.com/u/jayteealao) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jayteealao/consult --- # External Output Boundary Apply the boundary rule in [_output-boundary.md](../wf/reference/_output-boundary.md) to every external-facing output this operation produces: translate workflow context to product language and leak-check before publishing. # What this is `consult` sends a question to one or more external AI models acting as **read-only oracles** and brings back their written opinions — a plan critique, a code or implementation review, a design trade-off analysis, a diagnosis, a second opinion. It is **advisory only**: the oracles can read and search the repo but **cannot edit, write, or run commands**. It writes no code and proposes no patch. The model **auto-invokes** this skill at the judgment points the `/wf` stages call out (plan, shape, design, review, verify/diagnosis, handoff) — not rarely, but whenever those stages' **objective** triggers fire. It is still never triggered by a hook or by serving — only by a deliberate model or user decision. The cost caution applies to *provider choice, not frequency*: a self-initiated run pins a **free** subscription CLI (`codex`/`claude`), which costs nothing per call, so fire it freely at the designated gates. "Sparing" governs only the **paid** REST oracles (`gemini`, `openai`, gateway models) — never fan those out unattended (see Step 0). # Step 0 — Resolve the request 1. **Cost safety (autonomous runs).** No consent flag gates `consult` — it runs on demand. But when YOU (the model) self-initiate a consult rather than the user typing `/consult` explicitly, **pin a free subscription CLI** — pass `codex` (or `claude`) as the provider so the run costs nothing per call. Never bare-fan-out (which hits the paid REST oracles per-token) on a self-initiated run; reserve the paid fan-out for an explicit user request that names a paid provider. 2. **Resolve providers (wf-style positional parse).** Look at the first token of `$ARGUMENTS`: - If it is a **provider keyword** (`codex`, `claude`, `gemini`, `openai`) or a `"/"` token (contains `/`, routed through the Vercel AI Gateway, e.g. `anthropic/claude-opus-4-8`, `openai/gpt-5.5`), **pin** that provider; the rest is the question. - Otherwise the whole of `$ARGUMENTS` is the question → **fan out** to all available providers (the default). Pass the resolved provider(s), if any, straight through to the runner; do not pre-filter on availability yourself — the runner reports which it skipped. 3. **Infer intent and target from the prose** (no flags, D15). From the question and the artifact in context, decide: - **intent**: review / critique / diagnose / compare / second-opinion — this shapes the prompt preamble, it is not a keyword. - **what to read**: a specific path (e.g. `.ai/workflows//04-plan.md`), a diff (`git diff`, `git diff ...HEAD`), or "the repo." Resolve the repo root (the git toplevel of the cwd). # Step 1 — Build the prompt Compose a single prompt and write it to `.ai/consult/.prompt.md` (create `.ai/consult/` if needed; these files are ephemeral and safe to delete — no hooks fire on them): - A short **preamble** for the inferred intent — e.g. *"You are a senior reviewer. Give a one-line VERDICT, then the key FINDINGS (most material first), then a RECOMMENDATION. Be specific and skeptical."* - The **question**, exact. - **Evidence handling (important):** the CLI oracles (`codex`, `claude`) run with `cwd=repoRoot` and read the live tree themselves — for them, a path/diff *pointer* is enough. The REST oracles (`gemini`, `openai`, gateway models) are **prompt-only** — they see nothing but this file. So when REST providers are in play, **inline the relevant file/diff content** into the prompt (fenced), within reason. One prompt file is sent to every provider; the CLI oracles simply have the extra ability to read beyond what you inlined. # Step 2 — Dispatch read-only (fan-out) Run the runner (`` resolves per [_host-invocation.md](../wf/reference/_host-invocation.md); the runner spawns the CLI oracles isolated + read-only, and calls the REST APIs; it caps parallelism and never writes): ```bash node "/scripts/dispatch.mjs" read-only [provider ...] ``` - Omit `[provider ...]` for the bare fan-out; pass the pinned provider(s) otherwise. - It prints one JSON object: `{ results: [{provider, ok, text, costUsd, usage, evidenceScope, error}], skipped: [{provider, reason}], bare }`. - When the question is about a workflow slug, set `SDLC_COST_SLUG=` and `SDLC_COST_KEY=` on the command. The runner then appends each provider's `usage` as an `external` row to `.ai/workflows//cost.jsonl` (see [_consult-triggers.md](../wf/reference/_consult-triggers.md)). Without the variable, no row is written. - Exit `0` = well-formed (per-provider failures are inside `results`); `2` = usage error. # Step 3 — Synthesize and embed Build the panel per [panel.md](panel.md): one entry per `ok` provider with its evidence-scope badge, one-line verdict, and key points; every `skipped` or failed provider named with its reason and, for `auth`, its `remedy`. When fewer providers returned than were requested, lead with the degradation (**Panel of 1** — treat it as one opinion, not a consensus); an `auth` failure is not an environmental wall, it is a login, and the dispatcher says which one. Add the consensus/divergence line, weighted by evidence scope. When the question targets a workflow artifact, write the panel as a `.NN-consult.html.fragment` next to it per panel.md. # Step 4 — Emit the result End with the machine-readable block, then a short narrative summary: ``` CONSULT_RESULT: providers: skipped: failed: # ok:false — kind ∈ auth|sandbox|not-found|unknown panel-size: # N < M ⇒ degraded; say so in the narrative too remedies: # actionable fixes for auth failures verdict: fragment: cost: ``` **Cost note.** A bare fan-out bills the REST oracles (`gemini`, `openai`, gateway models) per token on every invocation; the subscription CLIs cost nothing per call. To stay free, pin one: `/consult codex ` or `/consult claude `. To pin one paid model, name it: `/consult openai ` or `/consult / `.