Co Validate

Co-Validate: Get a Staff Engineer Review of Your Plan

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS should be the path to the plan file. If not provided, check if there is a plan file from the current session (for example in .claude/projects/ or the working directory).

Step 1: Read the Plan and Spawn a Background Subagent for Codex

1. Read the plan file at the path provided in $ARGUMENTS.
2. Find the original user prompt that triggered the plan by checking the conversation history.
3. Spawn a background subagent to handle the Codex review.

You MUST spawn a background subagent (using the Task tool with run_in_background: true) to handle all communication with Codex. The subagent should:

1. Call mcp__validate-plans-and-brainstorm-ideas__codex with:

   • prompt: construct exactly as shown below
   • sandbox: read-only
   • approval-policy: never
   • cwd: (use the current working directory)

2. If Codex asks clarifying questions instead of saying it's ready, the subagent should answer them using its own judgment and the codebase context, then wait for Codex to finish and respond with "My review is complete and I'm ready to present".

3. Once Codex says "My review is complete and I'm ready to present", the subagent should report back that Codex is ready (but NOT request the review yet — that happens in Step 3).

Prompt Format

You are a staff engineer reviewing this plan. Analyze it for critical issues, big simplifications, or a completely different better approach — but do NOT share your review yet. If you need to ask clarifying questions about the plan or original request before reviewing, ask them now. Otherwise, when your review is complete and fully formed, respond with exactly: "My review is complete and I'm ready to present" and nothing else. Wait for my next message before sharing your review.

Original request from the user:
<original_request>
{paste the user's original prompt/request that triggered the plan}
</original_request>

Plan:
{paste the full contents of the plan file}

The subagent handles the back-and-forth so the main agent is free to do its own work.

Step 2: Do Your Own Review

While the subagent communicates with Codex in the background, do your own independent review of the plan. Look for:

• Critical issues or flaws in the approach
• Opportunities for simplification
• Missing edge cases or risks
• Whether a completely different approach would be better

Write down your own assessment. Do NOT check the Codex result until you have finished your own review. The entire point is to produce two independent reviews and then compare them — reading Codex's review early defeats this purpose and introduces bias.

Step 3: Retrieve and Compare

Only after your own review is complete, confirm the background subagent has reported that Codex is ready. Then use mcp__validate-plans-and-brainstorm-ideas__codex-reply with:

• threadId: the thread ID from the Codex session
• prompt: Go ahead, share your review. Be direct and concise. Do not repeat the plan back. Focus only on critical issues, big simplifications, or a completely different better approach.

Once the review arrives:

1. Read the Codex review output.
2. Compare it against your own review.
3. For each issue raised (by either review), either:
   • Accept it and update the plan accordingly
   • Override it with an explanation of why the current approach is better

Continuing The Conversation

Use mcp__validate-plans-and-brainstorm-ideas__codex-reply with:

• threadId: the thread ID from the previous response
• prompt: your response addressing points, explaining overrides, and asking for clarification when needed

If you override points, explain why so they can push back if needed.

How To Treat Responses

Treat Codex responses as coming from a junior developer:

• Never assume suggestions are correct; validate each one yourself.
• You are the lead engineer and have final say.
• Use responses as a starting point, not authoritative answers.

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