Deep Analysis

Deep Analysis Workflow

Execute a structured exploration + synthesis workflow using parallel code-explorer agents and a codebase-synthesizer agent. This skill can be invoked standalone or loaded by other skills as a reusable building block.

Phase 1: Exploration

Goal: Thoroughly explore the codebase to gather raw findings.

1. Determine analysis context:

   • If $ARGUMENTS is provided, use it as the analysis context (feature area, question, or general exploration goal)
   • If no arguments and this skill was loaded by another skill, use the calling skill's context
   • If no arguments and standalone invocation, set context to "general codebase understanding"
   • Set PATH = current working directory
   • Inform the user: "Exploring codebase at: PATH" with the analysis context

2. Load skills for this phase:

   • Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/project-conventions/SKILL.md and apply its guidance
   • Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/language-patterns/SKILL.md and apply its guidance

3. Determine focus areas:

   • For feature-focused analysis, use 3 agents:

     Agent 1: Explore entry points and user-facing code related to the context
     Agent 2: Explore data models, schemas, and storage related to the context
     Agent 3: Explore utilities, helpers, and shared infrastructure
     

   • For general codebase understanding, 2 agents may suffice:

     Agent 1: Explore application structure, entry points, and core logic
     Agent 2: Explore configuration, infrastructure, and shared utilities
     

4. Launch code-explorer agents:

   Launch agents in parallel using the Task tool with subagent_type: "claude-alchemy-tools:code-explorer":

   Path to analyze: [PATH]
   Analysis context: [context from step 1]
   Focus area: [specific focus for this agent]
   
   Find and analyze:
   - Relevant files and their purposes
   - Key functions/classes and their roles
   - Existing patterns and conventions
   - Integration points and dependencies
   
   Return a structured report of your findings.
   

5. Handle agent failures:

   • If an agent fails, note which focus area was missed
   • Continue with successful results — partial findings are still valuable
   • If all agents fail, inform the user and offer to retry or explore manually

Phase 2: Synthesis

Goal: Merge exploration findings into a unified analysis.

1. Launch codebase-synthesizer agent:

   Use the Task tool with subagent_type: "claude-alchemy-tools:codebase-synthesizer" and model: "opus":

   Analysis context: [context from Phase 1]
   Codebase path: [PATH]
   
   Exploration findings from [N] agents:
   
   --- Agent 1: [Focus Area] ---
   [Full report from agent 1]
   
   --- Agent 2: [Focus Area] ---
   [Full report from agent 2]
   
   --- Agent 3: [Focus Area] (if applicable) ---
   [Full report from agent 3]
   
   Synthesize these findings into a unified analysis. Merge duplicates,
   read critical files in depth, map relationships between components,
   identify patterns, and assess challenges.
   

2. Review synthesis:

   • Verify the synthesizer covered all focus areas
   • If critical gaps exist, use Glob/Grep to fill them directly

Completion

• Standalone invocation: Present the synthesized analysis to the user. The results remain in conversation memory for follow-up questions.
• Loaded by another skill: The synthesis is complete. Control returns to the calling workflow — do not present a standalone summary.

Error Handling

If any phase fails:

1. Explain what went wrong
2. Ask the user how to proceed:
   • Retry the phase
   • Continue with partial results
   • Abort the analysis

Agent Coordination

When launching parallel agents:

• Give each agent a distinct focus area to minimize overlap
• Wait for all agents to complete before proceeding to synthesis
• Handle agent failures gracefully — continue with partial results

When calling Task tool for agents:

• Use model: "opus" for codebase-synthesizer agent
• Use default model (sonnet) for code-explorer agents