/reconcile
SMARTS arbitration — reconcile architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions; every variance resolved by an explicit, user-attributed choice.
$ npx -y skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --agent claude-codeHow it fires
How this command gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
- Fires itselfClaude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.
- You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
- Slash command
/reconcile
Context preview
What this command does when you run it.
SMARTS arbitration — reconcile architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions; every variance resolved by an explicit, user-attributed choice.
Command definition
reconcile.mddescription: SMARTS arbitration — reconcile architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions; every variance resolved by an explicit, user-attributed choice.
argument-hint: (none) | "<ADR-id | artifact | scope>"
{{CMD:reconcile}} — architectural arbitration
Reconciles the project's architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions, or challenges a specific ADR that is wrong, stale, or in conflict with another. Presents SMARTS analyses and recommendations but never arbitrates — every variance is resolved by an explicit user choice recorded in the decision log with user attribution. With no argument it runs a full reconciliation pass; an argument scopes it to a named ADR, conflict, or artifact.
Routes to
The `decision-variance` skill (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/skills/decision-variance/SKILL.md`). It locates the three architectural artifacts by exact filename — `01-architecture-breakdown.md`, `02-phased-build-plan.md`, `03-task-backlog.md` (under `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/plans/`) — and indexes the append-only decision log at `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/decisions/decision-log.md`. It MAY dispatch the `decision-challenger` agent (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/decision-challenger.md`) to stress-test an in-scope ADR — optional, not forced. Each variance ends in one of three user-chosen outcomes:
1. **Ratify** — the existing decision stands; the SMARTS analysis and re-affirmation are logged. 2. **Supersede** — a new decision is recorded by appending a log entry whose `Supersedes:` references the prior one; a replacement ADR is authored via `{{CMD:adr}}`. 3. **Surface as `[CONFIRM-NN]`** — unresolvable now; a numbered placeholder is added to `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/open-questions.md`.
When NOT to use
- Author a brand-new ADR with no prior conflict → `{{CMD:adr}}`.
- Check ADR health (aged, unchallenged, unresolved CONFIRM-NN) → `{{CMD:adr-status}}`.
- A general architectural discussion without recording a decision → `{{CMD:btw}}`.
- A rule conflict between project docs and code → `{{CMD:conflict}}`.
- Routine git text-merge conflicts — this is architectural reconciliation, not merge resolution.
Hard gate
MUST NOT record an arbitration decision without an explicit user choice; decline "you decide" / "use your best judgment" with a structural refusal (the only delegation is the user verbatim accepting the recommendation, logged as such in `Decided by:`). MUST match the three artifacts by exact filename. The decision log is append-only — MUST NOT edit or rebuild a prior entry; supersede by appending. MUST NOT modify the artifacts, scaffold, or code to "fix" a variance. MUST NOT author an ADR as the disposition of a routine finding — ADRs are authored only via `{{CMD:adr}}` with user attribution.
Read more
description: SMARTS arbitration — reconcile architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions; every variance resolved by an explicit, user-attributed choice. argument-hint: (none) | "<ADR-id | artifact | scope>"
{{CMD:reconcile}} — architectural arbitration
Reconciles the project's architectural artifacts against the scaffold and prior decisions, or challenges a specific ADR that is wrong, stale, or in conflict with another. Presents SMARTS analyses and recommendations but never arbitrates — every variance is resolved by an explicit user choice recorded in the decision log with user attribution. With no argument it runs a full reconciliation pass; an argument scopes it to a named ADR, conflict, or artifact.
Routes to
The `decision-variance` skill (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/skills/decision-variance/SKILL.md`). It locates the three architectural artifacts by exact filename — `01-architecture-breakdown.md`, `02-phased-build-plan.md`, `03-task-backlog.md` (under `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/plans/`) — and indexes the append-only decision log at `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/decisions/decision-log.md`. It MAY dispatch the `decision-challenger` agent (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/decision-challenger.md`) to stress-test an in-scope ADR — optional, not forced. Each variance ends in one of three user-chosen outcomes:
1. **Ratify** — the existing decision stands; the SMARTS analysis and re-affirmation are logged. 2. **Supersede** — a new decision is recorded by appending a log entry whose `Supersedes:` references the prior one; a replacement ADR is authored via `{{CMD:adr}}`. 3. **Surface as `[CONFIRM-NN]`** — unresolvable now; a numbered placeholder is added to `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/open-questions.md`.
When NOT to use
- Author a brand-new ADR with no prior conflict → `{{CMD:adr}}`.
- Check ADR health (aged, unchallenged, unresolved CONFIRM-NN) → `{{CMD:adr-status}}`.
- A general architectural discussion without recording a decision → `{{CMD:btw}}`.
- A rule conflict between project docs and code → `{{CMD:conflict}}`.
- Routine git text-merge conflicts — this is architectural reconciliation, not merge resolution.
Hard gate
MUST NOT record an arbitration decision without an explicit user choice; decline "you decide" / "use your best judgment" with a structural refusal (the only delegation is the user verbatim accepting the recommendation, logged as such in `Decided by:`). MUST match the three artifacts by exact filename. The decision log is append-only — MUST NOT edit or rebuild a prior entry; supersede by appending. MUST NOT modify the artifacts, scaffold, or code to "fix" a variance. MUST NOT author an ADR as the disposition of a routine finding — ADRs are authored only via `{{CMD:adr}}` with user attribution.
When you can't trust yourself with your code base, trust Arbiter.
Repo: arbiterForge/codeArbiter
Other commands on codearbiter.
- /add-dep
Vet a new or changed third-party dependency for license, provenance, and supply-chain risk before any install runs.
Open command - /adr-status
Report the health of Architecture Decision Records — aged, unchallenged, supersession candidates, unresolved CONFIRM-NN. Read-only.
Open command - /adr
Author a numbered, dated, user-attributed Architecture Decision Record under .codearbiter/decisions/.
Open command - /arbiter
Exit maintainer dev mode — restore orchestration, remove the dev marker, log the exit.
Open command - /audit
Assemble the governance record for a range — commits, overrides, ADRs, sprint auto-decisions, open questions, checkpoint findings — into one dated audit packet. Read-only.
Open command - /btw
Lightweight Q&A about the project — answer from context and return, no routing, no state change.
Open command