tomevault-io Verifying by Consensus
Overview
Dispatch N agents to independently review the same subject. Collate findings:
- Common (N/N): All agents found → act immediately
- Exclusive (<N/N): Some agents found → cross-check validates
Agent Count Heuristics
| Scope | Default N | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Single file change | 2 | Focused review, two perspectives sufficient |
| Multi-file feature | 2-3 | More surface area benefits from diversity |
| Architecture change | 3 | Different perspectives valuable |
| Security-sensitive | 3+ | Higher stakes warrant more eyes |
Override via args: --count 3 or --agents "Explore,Plan,code-agent"
Agent Selection
- Explicit args: If user provides
--agents, use those - Available plugins: Check for specialized agents (cipherpowers code-review-agent, etc.)
- Built-in agents: Use Claude's Explore, Plan agents with review prompts
- Fallback: N instances of same agent with different perspective prompts
Process
Announce: "I'm using the verifying-by-consensus skill to verify [subject]."
Phase 1: Dispatch
- Determine N (default 2, or from args)
- Select agents (from args, plugins, or built-ins)
- Start workflow:
rundown run runbooks/verify.runbook.md - Dispatch agents with StepId prefix in description:
Agent(description="1.1 - Review [subject]", prompt="...", subagent_type="...") Agent(description="1.2 - Review [subject]", prompt="...", subagent_type="...")
Hooks automate step binding:
| Manual command | Hook trigger | When |
|---|---|---|
rundown run --step 1.1 |
PostToolUse (Agent/Step) | StepId detected in description |
rundown run --agent {id} |
SubagentStart | Agent spawns |
Subagent protocol:
- Write findings to
.work/{date}-verify-{agentId}.md - Use
rd passorrd failto report the result
Phase 2: Collate
After all agents complete, dispatch collation:
- Read all N review files
- Compare findings across agents
- Categorize by consensus:
- Common (N/N): All agents found this issue
- Exclusive: Subcategorize by ratio (e.g., 2/3, 1/3)
- Write collation to
.work/{date}-verify-collated.md
Present immediately:
Collation complete.
## Common (N/N)
[Issues all agents found - can implement now]
## Exclusive
### (N-1)/N
[Issues most agents found]
### 1/N
[Issues one agent found]
Cross-check starting for exclusive findings...
Phase 3: Cross-Check
Dispatch cross-check agent to validate ALL exclusive findings:
- For each exclusive issue, verify against ground truth
- Mark as: VALIDATED | INVALIDATED | UNCERTAIN
- Write to
.work/{date}-verify-crosscheck.md
Present when complete:
Cross-check complete.
VALIDATED: X issues (should address)
INVALIDATED: X issues (can skip)
UNCERTAIN: X issues (user decides)
Phase 4: Complete
rundown complete
Output Files
All files saved to .work/:
{date}-verify-{agentId}.md- Individual reviews{date}-verify-collated.md- Collation report{date}-verify-crosscheck.md- Cross-check results
Templates
Review template: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/verify-review.md
Collation template: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/verify-collation.md
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