Vibe Skill

Purpose: Is this code ready to ship?

Three steps:

1. Complexity analysis — Find hotspots (radon, gocyclo)
2. Bug hunt audit — Systematic sweep for concrete bugs
3. Council validation — Multi-model judgment

Quick Start

$vibe                                    # validates recent changes
$vibe recent                             # same as above
$vibe src/auth/                          # validates specific path
$vibe --quick recent                     # fast inline check, no agent spawning
$vibe --deep recent                      # 3 judges instead of 2
$vibe --sweep recent                     # deep audit: per-file explorers + council
$vibe --mixed recent                     # cross-vendor (Claude + Codex)
$vibe --preset=security-audit src/auth/  # security-focused review
$vibe --explorers=2 recent               # judges with explorer sub-agents
$vibe --debate recent                    # two-round adversarial review

Execution Steps

Project reviewer config: If

.agents/reviewer-config.md

reviewers

plan_reviewers

skip_reviewers

$council

Crank Checkpoint Detection

Before scanning for changed files via git diff, check if a crank checkpoint exists:

if [ -f .agents/vibe-context/latest-crank-wave.json ]; then
    echo "Crank checkpoint found — using files_changed from checkpoint"
    FILES_CHANGED=$(jq -r '.files_changed[]' .agents/vibe-context/latest-crank-wave.json 2>/dev/null)
    WAVE_COUNT=$(jq -r '.wave' .agents/vibe-context/latest-crank-wave.json 2>/dev/null)
    echo "Wave $WAVE_COUNT checkpoint: $(echo "$FILES_CHANGED" | wc -l | tr -d ' ') files changed"
fi

When a crank checkpoint is available, use its

files_changed

git diff

Step 1: Determine Target

If target provided: Use it directly.

If no target or "recent": Auto-detect from git:

# Check recent commits
git diff --name-only HEAD~3 2>/dev/null | head -20

If nothing found, ask user.

Pre-flight: If no files found: Return immediately with: "PASS (no changes to review) — no modified files detected." Do NOT spawn agents for empty file lists.

Step 1.5: Fast Path (--quick mode)

If

--quick

Why: Steps 2.5 and 2a–2f add 30–90 seconds of pre-processing that mainly feed multi-judge council packets. In --quick mode (single inline agent), those inputs are not worth the cost, but test-pyramid and product-context checks still shape the inline review meaningfully.

Step 2: Run Complexity Analysis

Detect language and run appropriate tool:

For Python:

# Check if radon is available
mkdir -p .agents/council
echo "$(date -Iseconds) preflight: checking radon" >> .agents/council/preflight.log
if ! which radon >> .agents/council/preflight.log 2>&1; then
  echo "⚠️ COMPLEXITY SKIPPED: radon not installed (pip install radon)"
  # Record in report that complexity was skipped
else
  # Run cyclomatic complexity
  radon cc <path> -a -s 2>/dev/null | head -30
  # Run maintainability index
  radon mi <path> -s 2>/dev/null | head -30
fi

For Go:

# Check if gocyclo is available
echo "$(date -Iseconds) preflight: checking gocyclo" >> .agents/council/preflight.log
if ! which gocyclo >> .agents/council/preflight.log 2>&1; then
  echo "⚠️ COMPLEXITY SKIPPED: gocyclo not installed (go install github.com/fzipp/gocyclo/cmd/gocyclo@latest)"
  # Record in report that complexity was skipped
else
  # Run complexity analysis
  gocyclo -over 10 <path> 2>/dev/null | head -30
fi

For other languages: Skip complexity with explicit note: "⚠️ COMPLEXITY SKIPPED: No analyzer for <language>"

Interpret results:

Include complexity findings in council context.

Step 2.3: Load Domain-Specific Checklists

Detect code patterns in the target files and load matching domain-specific checklists from

standards/references/

sql-safety-checklist.md

database/sql

sqlalchemy

prisma

activerecord

gorm

knex

llm-trust-boundary-checklist.md

anthropic

openai

google.generativeai

*llm*

*prompt*

*completion*

race-condition-checklist.md

threading

asyncio

multiprocessing

sync.Mutex

concurrent.futures

codex-skill.md

skills-codex/

*codex*SKILL.md

convert.sh

skills-codex-overrides/

For each matched checklist, load it by reading the file and include relevant items in the council packet as

context.domain_checklists

Skip silently if no patterns match. This step runs in both

--quick

Step 2.4: Compiled Prevention Check

Before reading

.agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl

.agents/pre-mortem-checks/*.md

.agents/planning-rules/*.md

Use the tracked contracts in

docs/contracts/finding-compiler.md

docs/contracts/finding-registry.md

• prefer compiled pre-mortem checks and planning rules first
• rank by severity,

  applicable_when

  overlap, language overlap, changed-file overlap, and literal target-text overlap
• keep the ranking order consistent with

  $plan

  and

  $pre-mortem

  ; do not invent a separate review-only heuristic
• cap at top 5 findings / compiled files
• if compiled outputs are missing, incomplete, or fewer than the matched finding set, fall back to

  .agents/findings/registry.jsonl

• fail open:
  • missing compiled directory or registry -> skip silently
  • empty compiled directory or registry -> skip silently
  • malformed line -> warn and ignore that line
  • unreadable file -> warn once and continue without findings

Include matched entries in the council packet as

known_risks

• id

• pattern

• detection_question

• checklist_item

Step 2.5: Prior Findings Check

Skip if

--quick

Read

.agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl

severity=high

context.prior_findings

Treat these high-severity queue items as part of the same ranked packet used earlier in discovery/plan/pre-mortem. The review stage should inherit and refine prior findings context, not restart retrieval from scratch.

# Count unconsumed high-severity items
if [ -f .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl ] && command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
  prior_count=$(jq -s '[.[] | select(.consumed == false) | .items[] | select(.severity == "high")] | length' \
    .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
  if [ "$prior_count" -gt 0 ]; then
    echo "Prior findings: $prior_count unconsumed high-severity items from next-work.jsonl"
    jq -s '[.[] | select(.consumed == false) | .items[] | select(.severity == "high")]' \
      .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null
  fi
fi

If unconsumed high-severity items are found, include them in the council packet context:

"prior_findings": {
  "source": ".agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl",
  "count": 3,
  "items": [/* array of high-severity unconsumed items */]
}

Skip conditions:

• --quick

  mode → skip

• .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl

  does not exist → skip silently

• jq

  not on PATH → skip silently
• No unconsumed high-severity items found → skip (do not add empty

  prior_findings

  to packet)

Step 2a: Run Constraint Tests

Skip if

--quick

If the project has constraint tests, run them before council:

# Check if constraint tests exist
if [ -d "internal/constraints" ] && ls internal/constraints/*_test.go &>/dev/null; then
  echo "Running constraint tests..."
  go test ./internal/constraints/ -run TestConstraint -v 2>&1
  # If FAIL → include failures in council context as CRITICAL findings
  # If PASS → note "N constraint tests passed" in report
fi

Why: Constraint tests catch mechanical violations (ghost references, TOCTOU races, dead code at entry points) that council judges miss.

Include constraint test results in the council packet context. Failed constraint tests are CRITICAL findings that override council PASS verdict.

Step 2b: Metadata Verification Checklist (MANDATORY)

Skip if

--quick

Run mechanical checks BEFORE council — catches errors LLMs estimate instead of measure:

1. File existence — every path in

   git diff --name-only HEAD~3

   must exist on disk
2. Line counts — if a file claims "N lines", verify with

   wc -l

3. Cross-references — internal markdown links resolve to existing files
4. Diagram sanity — files with >3 ASCII boxes should have matching labels

Include failures in council packet as

context.metadata_failures

Step 2d: Codex Review (opt-in via

--mixed

)

Skip unless

--mixed

--quick

Codex review is opt-in because it adds 30–60s latency and token cost. Users explicitly request cross-vendor input with

--mixed

echo "$(date -Iseconds) preflight: checking codex" >> .agents/council/preflight.log
if which codex >> .agents/council/preflight.log 2>&1; then
  codex review --uncommitted > .agents/council/codex-review-pre.md 2>&1 && \
    echo "Codex review complete — output at .agents/council/codex-review-pre.md" || \
    echo "Codex review skipped (failed)"
else
  echo "Codex review skipped (CLI not found)"
fi

If output exists, summarize and include in council packet (cap at 2000 chars to prevent context bloat):

"codex_review": {
  "source": "codex review --uncommitted",
  "content": "<first 2000 chars of .agents/council/codex-review-pre.md>"
}

IMPORTANT: The raw codex review can be 50k+ chars. Including the full text in every judge's packet multiplies token cost by N judges. Truncate to the first 2000 chars (covers the summary and top findings). Judges can read the full file from disk if they need more detail.

This gives council judges a Codex-generated review as pre-existing context — cheap, fast, diff-focused. It does NOT replace council judgment; it augments it.

Skip conditions:

• --mixed

  not passed → skip (opt-in only)
• Codex CLI not on PATH → skip silently

• codex review

  fails → skip silently, proceed with council only
• No uncommitted changes → skip (nothing to review)

Step 2e: Search Knowledge Flywheel

Skip if

--quick

if command -v ao &>/dev/null; then
    ao search "code review findings <target>" 2>/dev/null | head -10
fi

Apply retrieved knowledge (mandatory when results returned):

If ao returns prior code review patterns, do NOT just load them as passive context. For each returned item:

1. Check: does this learning apply to the code under review? (answer yes/no)
2. If yes: include it as a

   known_risk

   in your review — state the pattern, what to look for, and whether the code exhibits it
3. Cite the learning by filename in your review output when it influences a finding

After applying, record the citation:

ao metrics cite "<learning-path>" --type applied 2>/dev/null || true

Skip silently if ao is unavailable or returns no results.

Step 2f: Bug Hunt or Deep Audit Sweep

Skip if

--quick

Path A — Deep Audit Sweep (

--deep

--sweep

Read

references/deep-audit-protocol.md

1. Chunk target files into batches of 3–5 (by line count — see protocol for rules)
2. Dispatch up to 8 Explore agents in parallel, each with a mandatory 8-category checklist per file
3. Merge all explorer findings into a sweep manifest at

   .agents/council/sweep-manifest.md

4. Include sweep manifest in council packet (judges shift to adjudication mode — see Step 4)

Why: Generalist judges exhibit satisfaction bias — they stop at ~10 findings regardless of actual issue count. Per-file explorers with category checklists eliminate this bias and find 3x more issues in a single pass.

Path B — Lightweight Bug Hunt (default, no

--deep

--sweep

Run a proactive bug hunt on the target files before council review:

$bug-hunt --audit <target>

If bug-hunt produces findings, include them in the council packet as

context.bug_hunt

"bug_hunt": {
  "source": "$bug-hunt --audit",
  "findings_count": 3,
  "high": 1,
  "medium": 1,
  "low": 1,
  "summary": "<first 2000 chars of bug hunt report>"
}

Why: Bug hunt catches concrete line-level bugs (resource leaks, truncation errors, dead code) that council judges — reviewing holistically — often miss.

Skip conditions (both paths):

• --quick

  mode → skip (fast path)
• No source files in target → skip (nothing to audit)
• Target is non-code (pure docs/config) → skip

Test Pyramid Inventory

Assess test coverage against the test pyramid standard (see the standards skill).

Read

skills/vibe/references/test-pyramid-weighting.md

Test Pyramid Weighting: Weight test coverage by level: L0–L1 at 1x, L2 at 3x, L3+ at 5x. Unit-only coverage is a WARN signal, not a PASS. See

references/test-pyramid-weighting.md

1. Identify changed modules from git diff

2. Check L0-L3 coverage for each changed module

3. Check BF4 (chaos) for boundary-touching code

4. Compute weighted pyramid score for changed code paths:

   Formula:

   weighted_score = (L0_count x 1 + L1_count x 1 + L2_count x 3 + L3_count x 5 + L4_count x 5) / max_possible
   

   Where

   max_possible = total_test_count x 5

   (the score if every test were L3+).

   Count tests at each level for changed code paths:

   • L0: Build/compile checks (weight 1)
   • L1: Unit tests (weight 1)
   • L2: Integration tests (weight 3)
   • L3: E2E/system tests (weight 5)
   • L4: Smoke/fresh-context tests (weight 5)

   Interpretation:

   • weighted_score >= 0.6

     — strong pyramid, L2+ tests present

   • 0.3 <= weighted_score < 0.6

     — acceptable, but recommend more integration tests

   • weighted_score < 0.3

     AND all tests are L0-L1 only — WARN: unit-only test coverage (feeds into vibe verdict as a WARN signal, not a separate gate)

   Include in vibe report output:

   ## Test Pyramid Score
   | Level | Count | Weight | Contribution |
   |-------|-------|--------|--------------|
   | L0    | 2     | 1x     | 2            |
   | L1    | 8     | 1x     | 8            |
   | L2    | 0     | 3x     | 0            |
   | L3    | 0     | 5x     | 0            |
   | L4    | 0     | 5x     | 0            |
   | **Total** | **10** | | **10 / 50 = 0.20** |
   WARN: weighted_score 0.20 < 0.3 and all tests are L0-L1 only
   

5. Include

   test_pyramid

   context in review output with score data:

   "test_pyramid": {
     "weighted_score": 0.20,
     "score_breakdown": {"L0": 2, "L1": 8, "L2": 0, "L3": 0, "L4": 0},
     "max_possible": 50,
     "warn_unit_only": true,
     "satisfaction_score": 0.20,
     "satisfaction_source": "test-pyramid-weighted"
   }
   

Satisfaction exposure: The

weighted_score

satisfaction_score

Verdict rules:

• weighted_score < 0.3

  AND all tests L0-L1 only — WARN: unit-only coverage
• Missing L1 on feature code — WARN
• Missing BF4 on boundary code — WARN (advisory, not blocking)
• All levels covered with

  weighted_score >= 0.6

  — no mention needed

When coverage gaps are found, run

$test <module>

Step 2g: Check for Product Context

Skip if

--quick

developer-experience

if [ -f PRODUCT.md ]; then
  # PRODUCT.md exists — include developer-experience perspectives
fi

When

PRODUCT.md

--preset

1. Read

   PRODUCT.md

   content and include in the council packet via

   context.files

2. In

   --quick

   mode, keep the review inline and require the reviewer to assess api-clarity, error-experience, and discoverability directly from

   PRODUCT.md

   .
3. In non-quick modes, add a single consolidated

   developer-experience

   perspective to the council invocation:
   • With spec:

     $council --preset=code-review --perspectives="developer-experience" validate <target>

     (3 judges: 2 code-review + 1 DX)
   • Without spec:

     $council --perspectives="developer-experience" validate <target>

     (3 judges: 2 independent + 1 DX) The DX judge covers api-clarity, error-experience, and discoverability in a single review.
4. With

   --deep

   : adds 1 more judge per mode (4 judges total).

When

PRODUCT.md

--preset

When

PRODUCT.md

Tip: Create

PRODUCT.md

from

docs/PRODUCT-TEMPLATE.md

to enable developer-experience-aware code review.

Step 3: Load the Spec (New)

Skip if

--quick

Before invoking council, try to find the relevant spec/bead:

1. If target looks like a bead ID (e.g.,

   na-0042

   ):

   bd show <id>

   to get the spec
2. Search for plan doc:

   ls .agents/plans/ | grep <target-keyword>

3. Check git log:

   git log --oneline | head -10

   to find the relevant bead reference

If a spec is found, include it in the council packet's

context.spec

{
  "spec": {
    "source": "bead na-0042",
    "content": "<the spec/bead description text>"
  }
}

Step 3.5: Load Suppressions

Before invoking council, load the default suppression list from

references/vibe-suppressions.md

.agents/vibe-suppressions.jsonl

Step 3.6: Load Pre-Mortem Predictions (Correlation)

When a pre-mortem report exists for the current epic, load prediction IDs for downstream correlation:

# Find the most recent pre-mortem report
PM_REPORT=$(ls -t .agents/council/*pre-mortem*.md 2>/dev/null | head -1)
if [ -n "$PM_REPORT" ]; then
  # Extract prediction IDs from frontmatter
  PREDICTION_IDS=$(sed -n '/^prediction_ids:/,/^[^ -]/p' "$PM_REPORT" | grep '^\s*-' | sed 's/^\s*- //')
fi

For each vibe finding, check if it matches a pre-mortem prediction:

• Match found: Tag finding with

  predicted_by: pm-YYYYMMDD-NNN

• No match: Tag finding with

  predicted_by: none

  (surprise issue)

Include the prediction correlation in the vibe report's findings table. This feeds the post-mortem's Prediction Accuracy section. Skip silently if no pre-mortem report exists.

Step 4: Run Council Validation

With spec found — use code-review preset:

$council --preset=code-review validate <target>

• error-paths

  : Trace every error handling path. What's uncaught? What fails silently?

• api-surface

  : Review every public interface. Is the contract clear? Breaking changes?

• spec-compliance

  : Compare implementation against the spec. What's missing? What diverges?

The spec content is injected into the council packet context so the

spec-compliance

Without spec — 2 independent judges (no perspectives):

$council validate <target>

2 independent judges (no perspective labels). Use

--deep

--quick

--mixed

Council receives:

• Files to review
• Complexity hotspots (from Step 2)
• Git diff context
• Spec content (when found, in

  context.spec

  )
• Sweep manifest (when

  --deep

  or

  --sweep

  , in

  context.sweep_manifest

  — judges shift to adjudication mode, see

  references/deep-audit-protocol.md

  )

All council flags pass through:

--quick

--mixed

--preset=<name>

--explorers=N

--debate

$council

Step 5: Council Checks

Each judge reviews for:

Step 6: Interpret Verdict

Step 7: Write Vibe Report

Write to:

.agents/council/YYYY-MM-DD-vibe-<target>.md

date +%Y-%m-%d

---
id: council-YYYY-MM-DD-vibe-<target-slug>
type: council
date: YYYY-MM-DD
---

# Vibe Report: <Target>

**Files Reviewed:** <count>

## Complexity Analysis

**Status:** ✅ Completed | ⚠️ Skipped (<reason>)

| File | Score | Rating | Notes |
|------|-------|--------|-------|
| src/auth.py | 15 | C | Consider breaking up |
| src/utils.py | 4 | A | Good |

**Hotspots:** <list files with C or worse>
**Skipped reason:** <if skipped, explain why - e.g., "radon not installed">

## Council Verdict: PASS / WARN / FAIL

| Judge | Verdict | Key Finding |
|-------|---------|-------------|
| Error-Paths | ... | ... (with spec — code-review preset) |
| API-Surface | ... | ... (with spec — code-review preset) |
| Spec-Compliance | ... | ... (with spec — code-review preset) |
| Judge 1 | ... | ... (no spec — 2 independent judges) |
| Judge 2 | ... | ... (no spec — 2 independent judges) |
| Judge 3 | ... | ... (no spec — 2 independent judges) |

## Shared Findings
- ...

## CRITICAL Findings (blocks ship)
- ... (findings that indicate correctness, security, or data-safety issues)

## INFORMATIONAL Findings (include in PR body)
- ... (style suggestions, minor improvements, suppressed/downgraded items)

## Concerns Raised
- ...

## All Findings

> Included when `--deep` or `--sweep` produces a sweep manifest. Lists ALL findings
> from explorer sweep + council adjudication. Grouped by category if >20 findings.

| # | File | Line | Category | Severity | Description | Source |
|---|------|------|----------|----------|-------------|--------|
| 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | sweep / council |

## Recommendation
<council recommendation>

## Decision

[ ] SHIP - Complexity acceptable, council passed
[ ] FIX - Address concerns before shipping
[ ] REFACTOR - High complexity, needs rework

Step 8: Report to User

Tell the user:

1. Complexity hotspots (if any)
2. Council verdict (PASS/WARN/FAIL)
3. Key concerns
4. Location of vibe report

For performance-sensitive code, run

$perf profile <target>

Step 9: Record Ratchet Progress

After council verdict:

1. If verdict is PASS or WARN:
   • Run:

     ao ratchet record vibe --output "<report-path>" 2>/dev/null || true

   • Suggest: "Run $post-mortem to capture learnings and complete the cycle."
2. If verdict is FAIL:
   • Do NOT record ratchet progress.
   • Extract ALL findings from the council report for structured retry context (group by category if >20):

     Read the council report. For each finding, format as:
     FINDING: <description> | FIX: <fix or recommendation> | REF: <ref or location>
     
     Fallback for v1 findings (no fix/why/ref fields):
       fix = finding.fix || finding.recommendation || "No fix specified"
       ref = finding.ref || finding.location || "No reference"
     

   • Tell user to fix issues and re-run $vibe, including the formatted findings as actionable guidance.

Step 9.5: Feed Findings to Flywheel

If verdict is WARN or FAIL, persist reusable findings to

.agents/findings/registry.jsonl

Registry write rules:

• persist only reusable issues that should change future review or implementation behavior
• require

  dedup_key

  , provenance,

  pattern

  ,

  detection_question

  ,

  checklist_item

  ,

  applicable_when

  , and

  confidence

• applicable_when

  must use the controlled vocabulary from the finding-registry contract
• append or merge by

  dedup_key

• use the contract's temp-file-plus-rename atomic write rule

If a broader prose summary still helps, also write the existing anti-pattern learning file to

.agents/learnings/YYYY-MM-DD-vibe-<target>.md

After the registry update, if

hooks/finding-compiler.sh

bash hooks/finding-compiler.sh --quiet 2>/dev/null || true

This keeps the same-session post-mortem path synchronized with the latest reusable findings.

session-end-maintenance.sh

Step 10: Test Bead Cleanup

After validation completes, clean up stale test beads (

bd list --status=open | grep -iE "test bead|test quest"

bd close

bd

Integration with Workflow

$implement issue-123
    │
    ▼
(coding, quick lint/test as you go)
    │
    ▼
$vibe                      ← You are here
    │
    ├── Complexity analysis (find hotspots)
    ├── Bug hunt audit (find concrete bugs)
    └── Council validation (multi-model judgment)
    │
    ├── PASS → ship it
    ├── WARN → review, then ship or fix
    └── FAIL → fix, re-run $vibe

Examples

User says: "Run a quick validation on the latest changes."

Do:

$vibe recent

Validate Recent Changes

$vibe recent

Runs complexity on recent changes, then council reviews.

Validate Specific Directory

$vibe src/auth/

Complexity + council on auth directory.

Deep Review

$vibe --deep recent

Complexity + 3 judges for thorough review.

Cross-Vendor Consensus

$vibe --mixed recent

Complexity + Claude + Codex judges.

See

references/examples.md

Troubleshooting

pip install radon

go install github.com/fzipp/gocyclo/cmd/gocyclo@latest

.agents/council/<timestamp>-vibe-*.md

--mixed

--mixed

$vibe src/auth/

.agents/plans/

--deep

See Also

• ../council/SKILL.md

  — Multi-model validation council

• ../complexity/SKILL.md

  — Standalone complexity analysis

• ../bug-hunt/SKILL.md

  — Proactive code audit and bug investigation
• test — Test generation and coverage analysis
• perf — Performance profiling and benchmarking

• .agents/specs/conflict-resolution-algorithm.md

  — Conflict resolution between agent findings

Reference Documents

• references/verification-report.md
• references/write-time-quality.md
• references/deep-audit-protocol.md
• references/examples.md
• references/go-patterns.md
• references/go-standards.md
• references/json-standards.md
• references/markdown-standards.md
• references/patterns.md
• references/python-standards.md
• references/report-format.md
• references/rust-standards.md
• references/shell-standards.md
• references/typescript-standards.md
• references/vibe-coding.md
• references/test-pyramid-weighting.md
• references/vibe-suppressions.md
• references/yaml-standards.md

Local Resources

references/

• references/deep-audit-protocol.md
• references/examples.md
• references/go-patterns.md
• references/go-standards.md
• references/json-standards.md
• references/markdown-standards.md
• references/patterns.md
• references/python-standards.md
• references/report-format.md
• references/rust-standards.md
• references/shell-standards.md
• references/typescript-standards.md
• references/vibe-coding.md
• references/test-pyramid-weighting.md
• references/vibe-suppressions.md
• references/yaml-standards.md

scripts/

• scripts/prescan.sh

• scripts/validate.sh