Explore Codebase

User request: $ARGUMENTS

Orchestrate codebase exploration agents to find all files relevant to a query, then synthesize into a unified reading list.

Loop: Determine thoroughness → [Quick/Medium: single agent → return] | [Thorough+: Create orchestration file → Decompose → Launch Wave 1 → Collect findings → Cross-reference → Evaluate gaps → [Gap-fill if needed] → Refresh context → Synthesize → Output]

Orchestration file (thorough+ only): /tmp/explore-orchestration-{topic-slug}-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}.md

You do NOT read source files - you orchestrate agents and synthesize their findings into a unified reading list. The main agent reads the files after you return.

Thoroughness Level

FIRST: Determine thoroughness before exploring. Parse from natural language or auto-select.

Auto-selection:

• Single entity lookup ("where is X?") → quick
• Single bounded feature/bug → medium
• Multi-area feature, interaction queries → thorough
• "comprehensive"/"all"/"architecture"/"audit" → very-thorough

Topic-slug format: Extract 2-4 key terms, lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens. Example: "authentication flow" → authentication-flow

State: **Thoroughness**: [level] — [reason] then proceed.

Quick / Medium Flow

1. Launch single agent

Task(subagent_type: "vibe-workflow:codebase-explorer", prompt: "$ARGUMENTS")

2. Return agent output directly

When agent returns, its output becomes your output. No synthesis needed.

Thorough / Very-Thorough Flow

Phase 1: Initial Setup

1.1 Get timestamp & create todo list

Run: date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S → for filename and timestamps

Starter todos (seeds - list grows during decomposition):

- [ ] Create orchestration file; done when file created
- [ ] Topic decomposition→log; done when angles identified
- [ ] (expand: agent assignments as decomposition reveals)
- [ ] Launch Wave 1 agents; done when all agents spawned
- [ ] Collect Agent 1→log; done when findings written
- [ ] Collect Agent 2→log; done when findings written
- [ ] (expand: more agents as needed)
- [ ] Cross-reference→log; done when duplicates/conflicts resolved
- [ ] Evaluate gaps→log; done when gaps classified
- [ ] (expand: gap-fill if continuing)
- [ ] Refresh: read full orchestration file
- [ ] Synthesize→unified reading list; done when all files deduplicated + prioritized

Critical todos (never skip):

• →log after EACH agent completion
• Refresh: ALWAYS before synthesis

1.2 Create orchestration file

Path: /tmp/explore-orchestration-{topic-slug}-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}.md

# Codebase Exploration Orchestration: {topic}
Timestamp: {YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}
Thoroughness: {level}

## Exploration Query
{Original query}

## Topic Decomposition
- Core topic: {main thing to find}
- Angles to explore: (populated in Phase 2)
- Expected agent count: {based on level}

## Agent Assignments
(populated in Phase 2)

## Agent Status
(updated as agents complete)

## Collected Findings
(populated as agents return - includes OVERVIEW and FILES TO READ from each)

## Cross-Reference Analysis
(populated after all agents return)

## Gap Evaluation
(populated after cross-reference)

## Unified Reading List
(populated in synthesis)

Phase 2: Decompose & Assign

2.1 Decompose into orthogonal angles

Standard angles for codebase exploration:

Decomposition rules:

• thorough: 2-3 angles (usually Implementation + Usage + Tests)
• very-thorough: 3-4 angles (all four)
• Each angle gets explicit boundaries to prevent overlap

Orthogonality check: Before assigning agents, verify no two angles would naturally search the same files.

2.2 Plan agent assignments with boundaries

2.3 Expand todos for each agent

- [x] Topic decomposition→log; angles identified
- [ ] Agent 1: implementation angle; done when core files found
- [ ] Agent 2: usage angle; done when callers identified
- [ ] Agent 3: tests angle; done when test files found
- [ ] Launch Wave 1 agents (parallel); done when all spawned
- [ ] Collect Agent 1→log; done when findings written
- [ ] Collect Agent 2→log; done when findings written
- [ ] Collect Agent 3→log; done when findings written
- [ ] Cross-reference→log; done when duplicates/conflicts resolved
...

2.4 Update orchestration file

## Topic Decomposition
- Core topic: {topic}
- Angles identified:
  1. Implementation: {what this covers}
  2. Usage: {what this covers}
  3. Tests: {what this covers}

## Agent Assignments
| Agent | Angle | Prompt | Status |
|-------|-------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Implementation | "{prompt}" | Pending |
| 2 | Usage | "{prompt}" | Pending |
| 3 | Tests | "{prompt}" | Pending |

Phase 3: Launch Parallel Agents

3.1 Launch agents in single message

Use Task tool with subagent_type: "vibe-workflow:codebase-explorer" for each angle. Launch all agents in parallel (single message with multiple Task tool calls).

Agent prompt template:

{Specific exploration focus for this angle}

YOUR ASSIGNED SCOPE:
- {what to explore}
- {specific patterns or areas}

DO NOT EXPLORE (other agents cover these):
- {angles assigned to other agents}

Thoroughness within scope: medium

Example for "authentication" query (thorough):

Agent 1 (Implementation):

Find core authentication implementation files.

YOUR ASSIGNED SCOPE:
- Auth service/module files
- Token generation, validation logic
- Session management implementation
- Password hashing, credential verification

DO NOT EXPLORE (other agents cover these):
- Files that CALL auth (usage patterns)
- Test files
- Config files

Thoroughness within scope: medium

Agent 2 (Usage):

Find files that use/call authentication.

YOUR ASSIGNED SCOPE:
- Route handlers that require auth
- Middleware that checks auth
- Services that depend on auth context
- Integration points with auth

DO NOT EXPLORE (other agents cover these):
- Core auth implementation files
- Test files
- Config files

Thoroughness within scope: medium

Agent 3 (Tests):

Find authentication test files.

YOUR ASSIGNED SCOPE:
- Unit tests for auth
- Integration tests for auth flows
- Test fixtures and mocks for auth
- E2E tests involving authentication

DO NOT EXPLORE (other agents cover these):
- Core auth implementation
- Files that use auth
- Config files

Thoroughness within scope: medium

3.2 Update orchestration file after EACH agent completes

After EACH agent returns, immediately write findings:

## Collected Findings

### Agent 1: Implementation
**Status**: Complete
**Files Found**: {count}

#### OVERVIEW (from agent)
{paste agent's overview}

#### FILES TO READ (from agent)
MUST READ:
- {paste agent's must-read list}

SHOULD READ:
- {paste agent's should-read list}

REFERENCE:
- {paste agent's reference list}

#### OUT OF SCOPE (from agent)
- {paste any out-of-scope discoveries}

---

### Agent 2: Usage
...

Mark the write-to-log todo complete after each write.

Phase 4: Cross-Reference & Evaluate Gaps

4.1 Analyze findings across agents

After ALL agents complete, analyze for:

• Duplicates: Same file in multiple agents' lists
• Overlapping ranges: Same file with different line ranges
• Out-of-scope discoveries: Items agents noted but didn't pursue
• Coverage gaps: Obvious areas no agent covered
• Priority conflicts: Same file at different priority levels

4.2 Update orchestration file with cross-reference

## Cross-Reference Analysis

### Duplicates Found
- {file}: appeared in Agent 1 (MUST READ) and Agent 3 (SHOULD READ) → keep MUST READ
- {file}: appeared in Agent 1 (:50-100) and Agent 2 (:80-150) → merge to :50-150

### Out-of-Scope Discoveries (need follow-up?)
- Agent 1 noted: {discovery} → excluded because: {reason}
- Agent 2 noted: {discovery} → excluded because: {reason}

### Coverage Check
- [ ] Core entry points covered?
- [ ] Error handling paths covered?
- [ ] Configuration dependencies identified?
- [ ] Test coverage visible?

### Gaps Identified
- {Gap 1}: {why it's a gap}
- {Gap 2}: {why it's a gap}

4.3 Evaluate gaps

## Gap Evaluation

### Gaps Requiring Follow-up
- [ ] {Gap}: {specific - e.g., "No agent explored error handling paths"}

### Gaps to Note (don't pursue)
- {Gap}: {why minor - e.g., "Logging files not critical for understanding topic"}

### Decision
- Gaps requiring follow-up: {count}
- **Action**: {LAUNCH GAP-FILL | PROCEED TO SYNTHESIS}

Gap-fill rules:

• thorough: only for obvious critical gaps (missing core area)
• very-thorough: for any identified gaps
• Maximum 1-2 gap-fill agents

4.4 Launch gap-fill (if needed)

Gap-fill prompt:

Fill exploration gap: {specific gap}

Context from initial exploration:
- Already found: {summary of files from initial agents}
- Gap identified: {what's missing}

Focus narrowly on this gap. Don't re-explore already-covered areas.

Thoroughness: medium

After gap-fill agents return, write findings to orchestration file and update cross-reference.

Phase 5: Synthesize Unified Reading List

5.1 Refresh context (MANDATORY)

CRITICAL: Read the FULL orchestration file using Read tool to restore ALL agent findings into context.

- [x] Refresh context: read full orchestration file  ← Must complete BEFORE synthesis
- [ ] Synthesize unified reading list

Why this matters: By this point, findings from multiple agents have been written to the file. Context degradation means details may have faded. Reading the full file brings all findings into recent context.

5.2 Generate unified reading list

Only after completing 5.1 - synthesize all agent findings:

## OVERVIEW

[Merged overview combining insights from all agents. 150-400 words.
Describe: file organization, relationships between areas, entry points, data flow.
Synthesize structural knowledge from all angles explored.]

## FILES TO READ

MUST READ:
- path/file.ext:lines - [reason]
...

SHOULD READ:
- path/file.ext:lines - [reason]
...

REFERENCE:
- path/file.ext - [reason]
...

## EXPLORATION SUMMARY

| Angle | Agent | Files Found | Key Discovery |
|-------|-------|-------------|---------------|
| Implementation | 1 | N | {1-liner} |
| Usage | 2 | N | {1-liner} |
| Tests | 3 | N | {1-liner} |
| Gap-fill | 4 | N | {1-liner} |

**Gaps noted but not explored**: {list or "none"}

---
Orchestration file: {path}

Deduplication rules:

• Same file from multiple agents → keep highest priority, note "(multiple agents)"
• Overlapping line ranges → merge into single range (union)
• Conflicting priorities → use higher priority (MUST > SHOULD > REFERENCE)

5.3 Mark all todos complete

Key Principles

Log Pattern Summary:

1. Create orchestration file at start
2. Add write-to-log todos after each agent collection
3. Write findings after EVERY agent returns
4. "Refresh context: read full orchestration file" todo before synthesis
5. Read FULL file before synthesis (restores all context)

Never Do

• Read source files yourself (you synthesize agent findings, not file contents)
• Skip write-to-log todos (every agent completion must be written)
• Synthesize without completing "Refresh context" todo first
• Launch agents sequentially when they could be parallel
• Skip cross-reference step for thorough+
• Launch unbounded gap-fill waves
• Let agents explore overlapping areas