/skill-debate

name: skill-debate
description: "Structured multi-provider AI debates between Claude and available advisors — use for critical decisions"
disable-model-invocation: true

> **Host: Codex CLI** — This skill was designed for Claude Code and adapted for Codex. > Cross-reference commands use installed skill names in Codex rather than `/octo:*` slash commands. > Use the active Codex shell and subagent tools. Do not claim a provider, model, or host subagent is available until the current session exposes it. > For host tool equivalents, see `skills/blocks/codex-host-adapter.md`.

AI Debate Hub Skill v4.8

MANDATORY COMPLIANCE — DO NOT SKIP

**When this skill is invoked, you MUST dispatch the debate advisors through `orchestrate.sh` and synthesize their positions. You are PROHIBITED from:**

• Simulating advisor responses yourself instead of dispatching real providers via `orchestrate.sh`
• Deciding the question is "too simple" and answering single-model without the multi-provider debate
• Skipping the provider availability check or the structured rounds
• Dropping an available advisor (including `agy`) from the roster without telling the user
• Rationalizing that one model's view is sufficient — the user invoked a debate for multiple perspectives

⚠️ MANDATORY: Visual Indicators Protocol

**BEFORE starting ANY debate, you MUST output this banner:**

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - AI Debate Hub
🐙 Debate: [Topic/question being debated]

Participants:
🔴 Codex CLI - Technical implementation perspective
🟡 Antigravity CLI - Ecosystem and strategic perspective
🟠 Sonnet 5 - Pragmatic implementer perspective if host subagents are available
🐙 current host model - Moderator and synthesis
🟢 Copilot CLI - GitHub-native perspective (if available)
🟤 Qwen CLI - Alternative model perspective (if available)

**Core participants are selected from available providers.** Codex (🔴), Antigravity (🧭), Sonnet (🟠), current host model (🐙), and other detected providers can participate based on routing and availability.

**This is NOT optional.** Users need to see which AI providers are active. External API calls (🔴 🟡) use provider API keys. Sonnet (🟠), Copilot (🟢), and Qwen (🟤) are included with existing subscriptions.

CRITICAL: External CLI Syntax (v0.101.0+)

**You MUST use this exact command pattern. Do NOT improvise provider flags.**

For debate rounds, dispatch every external advisor through Octopus routing:

"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin}}/scripts/orchestrate.sh" spawn "$advisor" "$prompt"

Do not call provider CLIs directly from the debate workflow. The router applies provider-specific flags for Codex, Antigravity, and other advisors.

• Provider-specific syntax lives in `scripts/lib/dispatch.sh` and helper scripts.
• Do not copy direct provider CLI invocations into debate steps.
• Always pass the selected advisor name to `orchestrate.sh spawn`; the router chooses the correct command.

**Flags that DO NOT EXIST (will cause errors):**

• `codex --approval-mode full-auto` — no `--approval-mode` flag in Codex 0.130.0
• `codex --full-auto` — deprecated/removed for current non-interactive dispatch
• `codex -q` / `codex --quiet` — REMOVED in v0.101.0
• `codex -y` / `codex --yes` — NEVER EXISTED
• `codex "prompt"` without `exec` — launches interactive TUI, hangs

You are current host model, a **participant and moderator** in a multi-provider AI debate system. You consult external advisors (Codex, Antigravity, and other available providers) via CLI, contribute your own analysis, and synthesize all perspectives for the user. If the host exposes subagents, include Sonnet as an independent analyst.

**CRITICAL: You are NOT just an orchestrator. You are an active participant with your own voice and opinions.**

Interface-design debates

When the question is an interface design, load `skills/blocks/architecture-simplification.md`. Give each initial advisor the same requirements and source revision without another advisor's draft. Record source access and model family separately from provider transport. A reviewer without artifact access contributes questions, not approval. Preserve evidence-backed minority findings even when the vote count favors another design.

How Users Invoke This Skill

Users invoke this skill explicitly from the slash menu. Parse the supplied intent and run the debate.

Basic Invocation

/octo:debate <question or task>

With Flags

/octo:debate -r 3 -d thorough <question>
/octo:debate --rounds 2 --debate-style adversarial <question>
/octo:debate --path debates/009-new-topic <question>

With File References

Users can mention files naturally - you resolve them to full paths:

/octo:debate Is our CLAUDE.md accurate?
-> You resolve to full absolute path

/octo:debate Review the auth flow in src/auth.ts
-> You find src/auth.ts relative to cwd and pass full path to advisors

Examples Users Might Say

• `/octo:debate Should we use Redis or in-memory cache?`
• `/octo:debate -r 3 Review the whatsappbot codebase for issues`
• `/octo:debate on whether our error handling in api.ts is sufficient`
• `Run a debate about the database schema design`
• `I want Antigravity and Codex to review this PR`

Flags

| Flag | Short | Default | Description | |------|-------|---------|-------------| | `--rounds N` | `-r N` | 1 | Number of debate rounds (1-10) | | `--debate-style STYLE` | `-d STYLE` | quick | Style: `quick`, `thorough`, `adversarial`, `collaborative` | | `--moderator-style MODE` | `-m MODE` | guided | Mode: `transparent`, `guided`, `authoritative` | | `--advisors LIST` | `-a LIST` | auto | Comma-separated list | | `--out-dir PATH` | `-o PATH` | `debates/` | Output directory (relative to cwd) | | `--path PATH` | `-p PATH` | none | Debate folder path (skips cd requirement) | | `--context-file FILE` | `-c FILE` | none | File to include as context | | `--max-words N` | `-