---
name: michael-denyer-how
description: "Use for \"how does X work\", code walkthroughs before changing something, and placement / ownership / layering questions (\"where should this live\", \"which package owns this\", \"is this the right layer\"). Explains subsystem architecture, runtime flow, onboarding mental models. Use why for motivation."
license: "MIT"
metadata:
  decimalai-skill-id: "e0e88e2a-fe8a-410e-82e4-a011f77d29e7"
  decimalai-version-id: "bf752448-21fc-417c-95be-84887b0bbe60"
  decimalai-version: "5"
  decimalai-body-sha256: "195205dfef8e81e5f78ed7c052e6872a16a86d2b8a454ee065c21b28e94e574f"
  decimalai-name: "michael-denyer/how"
  decimalai-format: "1"
  decimalai-invocation: "model"
  decimalai-category: "coding"
  decimalai-source: "https://app.decimal.ai/s/michael-denyer-how@5/SKILL.md"
---
# How

On Codex, read the [platform mapping](../poteto-mode/references/codex-tools.md), including its per-skill notes, before following this skill.

On GitHub Copilot, read the [platform mapping](../poteto-mode/references/copilot-tools.md), including its per-skill notes, before following this skill.

Explore the codebase to answer "how does X work?" questions. Produce architectural explanations at the level of a senior engineer onboarding onto a subsystem, enough to build a working mental model, not so much that it reads like annotated source code.

Every spawn is a `Agent` subagent with `subagent_type: "general-purpose"` and `readonly: true`. Explorers use the `how explorer` line in `pstack-models.md` (default in [Models](#models)), and every explainer uses the `how explainer` line (default in [Models](#models)). Set `model` to that line's value, or to the default if the sheet or the line is missing. Leave `model` unset when the value is `auto` or `inherit-parent`. If the `Agent` tool rejects a slug, use the default and say so. If it rejects the default, use the closest valid slug of the same family from its error message.

## 1. Assess complexity

If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect.

- **Simple** (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): no explorers. Spawn one explainer that explores and explains in one pass, built from `references/explainer-prompt.md` without the explorer-findings section. Go to step 4.
- **Complex** (a subsystem spanning multiple files or services, a cross-cutting feature, a full architectural overview): go to step 2.

When in doubt, take the simple path.

## 2. Explore (complex only)

Decompose the question into 2 to 4 angles, each a distinct slice of the subsystem. Spawn all explorers in a single message, each with `references/explorer-prompt.md` and its angle filled in.

## 3. Synthesize (complex only)

Once all explorers have returned, spawn one explainer with `references/explainer-prompt.md` and every explorer's findings filled in.

## 4. Present

Present the explainer's output. Light edits for clarity or context from the conversation are fine. Do not substantially rewrite it.

## Output format

The explanation uses the sections defined in `references/explainer-prompt.md`, dropping any that do not apply: Overview, Key Concepts, How It Works, Where Things Live, Gotchas.

## Models

Role defaults, stamped from `plugins/pstack/models.json` (edit there, rerun `tools/generate.mjs`). A matching role line in the `pstack-models.md` override sheet overrides each at runtime; `/setup-pstack` writes it and lists its path per runtime.

- how explorer: `opus`
- how explainer: `opus`

## Reasoning effort

A role value in the override sheet may name a reasoning effort after its model, as in `opus @xhigh`. Levels on Claude Code: `low`, `medium`, `high`, `xhigh`, `max`. Which ones apply depends on the model. A value without `@` takes the sheet's `default effort` line, a level or `session`, and `session` when the sheet has no such line. `session` sets no effort, so the dispatch is the usual one. Strip the suffix before reading the model: `inherit-parent` or `auto` still omits `model` at every level, and a model name is passed as `model`. On Claude Code, a level picks the effort agent from the `subagent_type` you would otherwise use. `pstack:poteto-agent` becomes `subagent_type: "pstack:poteto-agent-<level>"`. `general-purpose`, or no `subagent_type`, becomes `subagent_type: "pstack:effort-<level>"`. The effort agents set only `effort`, so the model you pass still decides the model. On Codex, pass the level as `spawn_agent`'s `reasoning_effort` and keep the usual instructions.