/explore

description: "Multi-angle codebase exploration spawning 3-5 parallel agents for code structure, data flow, architecture patterns, and health assessment. Generates ASCII visualizations, import graphs, and design pattern detection with cross-session memory storage. Use when exploring a repo, discovering architecture, onboarding to a new codebase, or analyzing design patterns."
argument-hint: "[topic-or-feature] [--render=markdown|json-render|both] [--effort=low|medium|high]"
model: sonnet
effort: high
context: fork
user-invocable: true
name: explore
background: false
allowed-tools: [AskUserQuestion, Read, Write, Grep, Glob, Agent, TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskStop, mcp__memory__search_nodes, Bash, ToolSearch]

Auto-generated from skills/explore/SKILL.md

Source: https://github.com/yonatangross/orchestkit

Codebase Exploration

Multi-angle codebase exploration using 3-5 parallel agents.

🎯 Quick Start

/ork:explore authentication

> **Opus 5**: Exploration agents use native adaptive thinking for deeper pattern recognition across large codebases.

STEP -0.5: Effort-Aware Agent Scaling (CC 2.1.120+)

Read `$CLAUDE_EFFORT` to scale exploration depth before any other decision.

# CC 2.1.120+ env var; explicit --effort= overrides
EFFORT = os.environ.get("CLAUDE_EFFORT")
for token in "$ARGUMENTS".split():
    if token.startswith("--effort="):
        EFFORT = token.split("=", 1)[1]
EFFORT = EFFORT or "high"  # default

| Effort | Agent count | Phases | Time | |--------|-------------|--------|------| | `low` | 1 (structure-only) | 1, 2, 8 | ~1 min | | `medium` | 2 (structure + data flow) | 1, 2, 3 (subset), 8 | ~3 min | | `high` (default) | 4 (full parallel team) | 1–8 | ~6 min | | `xhigh` (Opus 5) | 5 (+ uncertainty pass on health scores) | 1–8 + caveats | ~8 min |

**Override gate:** if the user passes `--effort=high` explicitly while `$CLAUDE_EFFORT` is `low`, the flag wins. `/ork:doctor` warns when `xhigh` is requested without Opus 5.

STEP 0: Verify User Intent with AskUserQuestion

**BEFORE creating tasks**, clarify what the user wants to explore:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    "question": "What aspect do you want to explore?",
    "header": "Focus",
    "options": [
      {"label": "Full exploration (Recommended)", "description": "Code structure + data flow + architecture + health assessment"},
      {"label": "Quick scan", "description": "Find relevant files + structure, skip deep analysis"},
      {"label": "Data flow", "description": "Trace how data moves through the system"},
      {"label": "Architecture patterns", "description": "Identify design patterns and integrations"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
)

**Based on answer, adjust workflow:**

• **Full exploration**: All phases, all parallel agents
• **Quick scan**: Files + structure only (phases 1-2), skip health/deps/product — no deep agents
• **Data flow**: Focus phase 3 agents on data tracing
• **Architecture patterns**: Focus on backend-system-architect agent

STEP 0b: Select Orchestration Mode

MCP Probe

# memory is alwaysLoad in .mcp.json (CC 2.1.121+, #1541) — probe below kept as fallback for older CC:
ToolSearch(query="select:mcp__memory__search_nodes")
Write(".claude/chain/capabilities.json", { memory, timestamp })

if capabilities.memory:
  mcp__memory__search_nodes({ query: "architecture decisions for {path}" })
  # Enrich exploration with past decisions

Exploration Handoff

After exploration completes, write results for downstream skills:

Write(".claude/chain/exploration.json", JSON.stringify({
  "phase": "explore", "skill": "explore",
  "timestamp": now(), "status": "completed",
  "outputs": {
    "architecture_map": { ... },
    "patterns_found": ["repository", "service-layer"],
    "complexity_hotspots": ["src/auth/", "src/payments/"]
  }
}))

Choose **Agent Teams** (mesh) or **Task tool** (star):

1. Agent Teams mode (GA since CC 2.1.33) → **recommended for 4+ agents** 2. Task tool mode → **for quick/single-focus exploration** 3. `ORCHESTKIT_FORCE_TASK_TOOL=1` → **Task tool** (override)

| Aspect | Task Tool | Agent Teams | |--------|-----------|-------------| | Discovery sharing | Lead synthesizes after all complete | Explorers share discoveries as they go | | Cross-referencing | Lead connects dots | Data flow explorer alerts architecture explorer | | Cost | ~150K tokens | ~400K tokens | | Best for | Quick/focused searches | Deep full-codebase exploration |

> **Fallback:** If Agent Teams encounters issues, fall back to Task tool for remaining exploration.

> **Model cost (CC 2.1.198+):** the built-in Explore agent inherits the session model **capped at Opus** — it no longer runs on haiku. From a premium-model session (Opus, Fable), budget Explore fan-outs at Opus rates; there is no knob to pin the built-in Explore back to haiku. ork's own explorer agents can still pin a cheaper model via frontmatter.

🚨 Task Management (MANDATORY)

**BEFORE doing ANYTHING else, create tasks to show progress:**

# 1. Create main task IMMEDIATELY
TaskCreate(subject="Explore: {topic}", description="Deep codebase exploration for {topic}", activeForm="Exploring {topic}")

# 2. Create subtasks for each phase
TaskCreate(subject="Initial file search", activeForm="Searching files")                # id=2
TaskCreate(subject="Check knowledge graph", activeForm="Checking memory")              # id=3
TaskCreate(subject="Launch exploration agents", activeForm="Dispatching explorers")     # id=4
TaskCreate(subject="Assess code health (0-10)", activeForm="Assessing code health")    # id=5
TaskCreate(subject="Map dependency hotspots", activeForm="Mapping dependencies")       # id=6
TaskCreate(subject="Add product perspective", activeForm="Adding product context")     # id=7
TaskCreate(subject="Generate exploration report", activeForm="Generating report")      # id=8

# 3. Set dependencies for sequential phases
TaskUp