/explore

name: explore
description: Progressive codebase exploration: index, then signatures, then targeted reads only.
context: fork
agent: Explore

Explore the codebase in three layers, stopping at the first one that answers the question. Do not skip ahead to reading full files "to be safe" -- each layer is a decision point, not a formality.

**Layer 1 -- file index.** `Glob`/`find` only, zero file reads. Get the shape: directory layout, naming conventions, where the relevant area likely lives. Stop here if the task is now obvious (e.g. "add a field to this one struct" and you can see exactly which file that is).

**Layer 2 -- entry points and signatures.** `Grep` for the symbols, exports, and call sites that matter to the task. You're building a map of what calls what, not reading implementations yet. Stop here if you now know which functions/files the change touches and roughly how they fit together.

**Layer 3 -- targeted reads.** `Read` with `offset`/`limit` only for the files directly relevant to the upcoming change -- never a full-repo read sweep. If a file is large, read the section around the relevant symbol, not the whole thing.

After each layer, explicitly decide: enough context to proceed, or one more layer? Don't default to Layer 3 out of caution -- most tasks resolve at Layer 1 or 2.

Return a structured summary to the caller: what you found, which files/symbols matter, and your recommendation -- not the raw contents you read along the way. The raw reads stay in this forked context; only the summary crosses back.

**Before returning, cache the summary** so the next session doesn't re-derive it (best-effort -- if this fails in any way, skip it silently and return your summary as normal; it is a cache, never a deliverable):

deadeye notes-append explore <<'EOF'
<the question you were asked>
- <a file or symbol that matters, and why>
- recommendation: <one line>
EOF

Ten lines maximum. If `deadeye` isn't on PATH, retry once with `~/.deadeye/bin/deadeye`; if that also fails, move on.