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Get Started Free →Use this skill when running systematic quality discovery and issue detection. Runs modular probes adapted to the project's tech stack, presents findings interactively for user triage, and creates VCS issues for confirmed problems. Invoked standalone via /discovery or embedded in session-end.
| Test case | Without → With | Effect | Δ tokens | Δ turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| case-07 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 615% | 0% |
| case-09 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 265% | 0% |
| case-10 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 548% | 0% |
| case-11 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 439% | 0% |
| case-12 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 214% | 0% |
Two modes of operation:
/discovery [scope]): Full 6-phase flow with interactive triage (Phases 0-6)discovery-on-close: true): Phases 0-4 only, returns structured findings to session-end<!-- scope-enum SSOT (#762): this line is the canonical token list; the wiring test derives SCOPE_TOKENS from it. Add/remove tokens HERE first, the test guards the other surfaces. --> The scope argument accepts: all (default), code, infra, ui, arch, session, audit, vault, feature, or comma-separated like code,session.
Read skills/_shared/bootstrap-gate.md and execute the gate check. If the gate is CLOSED, invoke skills/bootstrap/SKILL.md and wait for completion before proceeding. If the gate is OPEN, continue to Phase 1.
<HARD-GATE> Do NOT proceed past Phase 0 if GATE_CLOSED. There is no bypass. Refer to skills/_shared/bootstrap-gate.md for the full HARD-GATE constraints. </HARD-GATE>
Read and parse Session Config per skills/_shared/config-reading.md. Store result as $CONFIG.
Discovery-relevant fields (parse these specifically):
discovery-on-close, discovery-probes, discovery-exclude-paths, discovery-severity-threshold, discovery-confidence-threshold, discovery-parallelismtest-command, typecheck-command, lint-commandpencil, vcs, cross-repos, stale-issue-daysDetect the project's tech stack via marker file checks. Use Glob and run checks in parallel:
| Marker File(s) | Activates | |---------------------------------------|-------------------------| | package.json | JS/TS probes | | tsconfig.json | TypeScript probes | | requirements.txt / pyproject.toml | Python probes | | Dockerfile / docker-compose.yml | Container probes | | vercel.json / .vercel/ | Vercel probes | | .github/workflows/ | GitHub CI probes | | .gitlab-ci.yml | GitLab CI probes | | supabase/ | Supabase probes | | next.config.* / nuxt.config.* | SSR probes | | tailwind.config.* | Tailwind probes | | Pencil in Session Config | design-drift probe | | .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock | harness-audit probe | | .vault.yaml OR Session Config vault-integration.enabled: true | vault probes | | package.json / requirements.txt / Cargo.toml AND Session Config slopcheck.enabled: true AND slopcheck.sources includes "discovery" | supply-chain probe (skills/discovery/probes-supply-chain.md) | | docs/ directory present AND Session Config docs-staleness.enabled: true | docs-staleness probe (skills/discovery/probes-docs.md) | | CLAUDE.md (or AGENTS.md on Codex CLI) or README.md present in repo root | ssot-code-diff probe (skills/discovery/probes-docs.md) — always active within the docs category, no Session Config gate |
discovery-probes is set in config, intersect with that listscope argument was passed, restrict to that categoryThe audit probe activates when bootstrap.lock is present OR when discovery-probes config explicitly lists audit.
The vault probe activates when .vault.yaml is present in the repo root OR when vault-integration.enabled: true in Session Config OR when discovery-probes config explicitly lists vault.
The feature probe activates ONLY when the scope argument includes feature OR when discovery-probes config explicitly lists feature. It never activates under bare all — feature discovery is an explicitly requested scan, and its interactive router (below) cannot run in embedded mode.
Default exclude paths (always apply):
node_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, coverage/Add any paths from discovery-exclude-paths in Session Config.
> VCS Reference: Detect the VCS platform per the "VCS Auto-Detection" section of the gitlab-ops skill.
Report: "Discovery: N] probes active across categories]. Stack: detected]. Threshold: severity]."
Fires ONLY when the active scope set includes feature AND the skill is running standalone (coordinator context). In embedded mode (session-end dispatches discovery as an Explore subagent — AskUserQuestion is unavailable in subagents per .claude/rules/ask-via-tool.md AUQ-004), the router MUST NOT fire; proceed directly with the grounded scan as the non-interactive default.
Judgment-based PM work (opportunity framing, personas, market-sizing) deliberately stays OUT of the verified-findings pipeline (Epic #750) — this router is the fork point that keeps grounded, evidence-anchored discovery separate from open-ended product judgment.
When the gate above is satisfied, present exactly this AskUserQuestion (AUQ-003 shape) before proceeding to Phase 3:
AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "Scope `feature` was requested. How should this run handle feature discovery?",
header: "Feature Scope",
options: [
{ label: "Grounded scan (Recommended)", description: "Run the evidence-anchored feature probes (intent-drift, stubbed-dead-feature) on the probe→verify→triage rails." },
{ label: "Also judgment topics", description: "Grounded scan PLUS collect judgment-based product questions (opportunity framing, personas). A follow-up prompt after Phase 5 offers inline synthesis or hand-off to /brainstorm or /plan feature — judgment items never enter the verified-findings pipeline." },
{ label: "Route out", description: "No scan; hand off to /brainstorm (product ideation) or /grill (assumption stress-test) instead." },
{ label: "Skip", description: "Drop `feature` from this run's scope set." }
],
multiSelect: false
}]
})On user selection (every branch is explicit — do not fall through):
feature in the active scope set and continue to Phase 3 unchanged.feature in the active scope set and continue to Phase 3 unchanged for the grounded probes. Collect any judgment-based product questions (opportunity framing, personas, market-sizing) encountered during the scan as plain notes — do not route them through Phase 4 (Verification) or Phase 6 (Issue-Creation) at any point. AFTER Phase 5 triage completes, present a SECOND AskUserQuestion that forks how the collected topics are handled:AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "Judgment topics were collected alongside the grounded scan. How should they be handled?",
header: "Judgment Topics",
options: [
{ label: "Inline synthesis (Recommended)", description: "Sketch a lightweight OST/persona pass directly in the report's `### Judgment Topics (non-verified)` appendix — explicitly marked non-verified, no separate skill invocation needed." },
{ label: "Route to /brainstorm", description: "Hand the collected topics off as pre-filled context to /brainstorm for a full Socratic ideation dialogue." },
{ label: "Route to /plan feature", description: "Hand the collected topics off as pre-filled context to /plan feature for feature-PRD scoping." }
],
multiSelect: false
}]
})### Judgment Topics (non-verified) section to the discovery report. For each collected topic, write a brief candidate outcome/opportunity sketch (Teresa Torres OST framing) and, where a persona angle is evident, a one-line persona note — every line explicitly labeled (non-verified sketch). This is prose synthesis, never a probe finding.### Judgment Topics (non-verified) section, but render each topic as a one-line pointer plus the recommendation to invoke /brainstorm with the collected topic context pre-filled as its initial prompt. Do not auto-invoke /brainstorm — surface the recommendation and let the operator trigger it./brainstorm branch above, pointing at /plan feature with the collected topic context pre-filled instead.Invariant (PRD §4 Non-Goals) — holds across all three sub-branches above: judgment items are report-appendix ONLY — they MUST NOT become findings, MUST NOT pass through Phase 4 verification, and MUST NOT produce issues in Phase 6.
feature from the active scope set. Do NOT run the feature probes. Recommend the operator invoke /brainstorm or /grill after this run (name whichever fits the operator's question), then continue to Phase 3 with the remaining scopes — or, if feature was the ONLY requested scope, stop after reporting: "Feature scope routed out — no probes to run. Invoke /brainstorm or /grill directly."feature from the active scope set before Phase 3. If feature was the only requested scope, stop with: "Feature scope skipped — nothing to run."since_ref is provided)When since_ref is set (passed from the /discovery --since <git-ref> invocation):
changedFilesSince(since_ref) from scripts/lib/discovery/helpers.mjs.[] (no files changed since the ref), emit: No files changed since <since_ref>. Skipping discovery. and exit with status 0. Do NOT fall back to a full-repo scan.
changedFiles context to each probe agent below.Probe exemptions: The vault-staleness probe and the harness-audit probe are EXEMPT from --since filtering — they always scan the full repository because their analysis targets metadata (vault narrative staleness, bootstrap lock state) that is not file-diff-gated. This exemption is advisory: no code enforcement is applied in this wave. The probe agents will naturally read whole-repo state; the changedFiles context they receive from --since is informational and does not restrict their glob/grep scope.
Dispatch probe agents IN PARALLEL using the Agent tool. Group by category (max $CONFIG['discovery-parallelism'] agents, default 5):
> Cursor IDE: No Agent() tool available. Run probes sequentially within the current session — one category at a time. Complete each category's analysis before moving to the next.
skills/discovery/probes-vault.md): invokes skills/discovery/probes/vault-staleness.mjs and skills/discovery/probes/vault-narrative-staleness.mjs directly via node. Each probe returns {findings, metrics, duration_ms}. The runner reports FINDING: blocks per finding and appends summary records to .orchestrator/metrics/vault-staleness.jsonl and vault-narrative-staleness.jsonl.skills/discovery/probes-supply-chain.md): invokes skills/discovery/probes/supply-chain-slopcheck.mjs directly via node. Gated: only activates when slopcheck.enabled: true AND "discovery" is in slopcheck.sources (Session Config). The probe returns {findings, summary}. SLOP findings surface as critical, ASSUMED as medium, LEGITIMATE packages generate no finding. See probes-supply-chain.md for invocation details and classification reference.skills/discovery/probes-docs.md): invokes skills/discovery/probes/docs-staleness.mjs AND skills/discovery/probes/ssot-code-diff.mjs directly via node. docs-staleness.mjs is gated: only activates when a docs/ directory exists AND docs-staleness.enabled: true (Session Config); it scans docs/*.md (root level) and docs/examples/*.md for filesystem-mtime staleness against the docs-staleness.thresholds.living threshold (default 90d) — docs/adr/ and docs/prd/ are deliberately excluded. ssot-code-diff.mjs is ungated (no Session Config key) — it always runs when CLAUDE.md or README.md is present, diffing hardcoded doc "count" claims (e.g. "(13 rules)") against the live code/filesystem value they describe. Both probes return {findings, metrics, duration_ms}. See probes-docs.md for invocation details and severity escalation.skills/discovery/probes-feature.md): intent-drift + stubbed-dead-feature + feature-request-cluster probes. The first two MUST carry file_path:line_number anchors that survive the Phase 4.2 re-read (±3 lines); feature-request-cluster instead anchors on a VCS issue-ID set and MUST carry verification_method: vcs-issue — see Phase 4.2's dual verification path below.Each agent receives:
probes-intro.md (confidence scoring reference) AND the category-specific probes-<category>.md file for this agent's category (include the actual grep commands/patterns in the prompt)since_ref was provided and changedFiles is non-empty: the changedFiles array (informational context for per-probe filtering — per-probe filtering enforcement is deferred to W3)FINDING:
probe: <probe_name>
category: <category>
severity: <critical|high|medium|low>
file_path: <absolute path>
line_number: <number>
matched_text: <exact text from tool output>
title: <short title for the finding>
description: <1-2 sentence description>
recommended_fix: <concrete fix suggestion>"If a probe's activation condition is not met, skip it with: SKIPPED: <probe_name> -- <reason>" "If a probe command fails, skip it with: FAILED: <probe_name> -- <error>" "Do NOT fabricate findings. Only report what tool output confirms."
CRITICAL: run_in_background: false for all agents.
Skip categories with no activated probes (don't dispatch empty agents).
After all probe agents complete:
Collect all FINDING: blocks from agent outputs into a unified findings list.
For EACH finding, use the verification path matching how the finding is anchored:
Default path — file-anchored findings (no verification_method field, or verification_method: file-line):
file_path:line_number using the Read toolmatched_text appears at or near that line (+/-3 lines tolerance)VCS-issue-anchored findings (verification_method: vcs-issue) — e.g. feature-request-cluster, whose findings anchor on a set of issue IDs rather than a file location:
Location set, verify it via the VCS CLI — syntax reference: skills/gitlab-ops/SKILL.md § "Common CLI Commands" (glab issue view <IID> / gh issue view <NUMBER>); do not duplicate the CLI syntax herestate != closed)Location set; if EVERY issue in the set is gone/closed, discard the finding entirely with note "false positive -- all referenced issues closed/removed since detection"For each verified finding, assign a confidence score (0-100) based on three factors:
| Factor | Low (+0) | Medium (+10) | High (+20) | |--------|----------|-------------|------------| | Pattern specificity | Generic match (URL, TODO) | Moderate (orphaned annotation, magic number) | Specific (API key regex, eval(), SQL injection) | | File context | Test fixture, example, seed data, docs | Utility, config, scripts | Production source, API handler, middleware | | Historical signal | Previously dismissed as false positive | No prior data (first occurrence) | Recurring issue (confirmed in learnings.jsonl) |
Scoring rules:
critical get a minimum confidence of 70 — they are NEVER auto-deferredThreshold: Read discovery-confidence-threshold from Session Config (default: 60). If not configured, use 60.
Annotate each finding with its confidence score for Phase 5 presentation.
Two findings are duplicates if:
file_path ANDKeep the higher severity finding. Merge descriptions.
discovery-severity-threshold from Session Config.discovery-confidence-threshold (default: 60). Log filtered-out findings: "Auto-dismissed N low-confidence findings (below threshold T]). Use discovery-confidence-threshold: 0 to see all."Group remaining findings by category for Phase 5 presentation.
If in embedded mode (called from session-end): STOP HERE. Return structured findings to the caller using this schema:
Embedded mode return schema:
json{ "findings": [ {"probe": "string", "category": "string", "severity": "critical|high|medium|low", "confidence": 0-100, "file": "string", "line": number, "description": "string", "recommendation": "string"} ], "stats": { "probes_run": number, "findings_raw": number, "findings_verified": number, "false_positives": number, "user_dismissed": 0, "issues_created": 0, "by_category": {"<category>": {"findings": number, "actioned": 0}} } }
Present both as structured data in your final output. Do not proceed to Phase 5.
Before auto-defer and before presenting any findings for triage, load the persistent discovery triage state and filter findings through it:
loadTriageState() from scripts/lib/discovery/triage-state.mjs (uses default path .orchestrator/metrics/discovery-triage.jsonl). Returns an empty Map if the file does not exist — no error.filterFindings({ findings: verifiedFindings, stateMap }) to partition findings into three buckets:toShow — state is open, reopened, or no prior state entry (new findings — present for user triage)suppressed — state is dismissed or accepted-as-known (skip silently)tracked — state is promoted-to-#NNN (issue already filed; show as informational) Triage state: [N suppressed] suppressed (dismissed/accepted-as-known), [N tracked] tracked in existing issues. Presenting [N toShow] findings. Omit the banner entirely if all three counts are zero (first run).
tracked findings as informational lines in the summary — NOT as interactive triage items: [INFO] Finding "<title>" (<file_path>) is tracked in #<issue_id> — not re-triaged.
toShow findings. The suppressed bucket requires no user interaction..orchestrator/metrics/discovery-triage.jsonl via appendTriageEntry() from triage-state.mjs:{ fingerprint, state: 'promoted-to-#<issue_id>', issue_id: <N>, timestamp, session_id }{ fingerprint, state: 'dismissed', user_decision: '<reason>', timestamp, session_id }{ fingerprint, state: 'open', ... } entry per finding (so they re-appear next run if not yet promoted)Before presenting findings for triage, separate by confidence threshold:
"Auto-deferred N] low-confidence findings (score < threshold]). Review with /discovery --include-deferred."
Present findings using AskUserQuestion -- NEVER plain text options. On Codex CLI where AskUserQuestion is unavailable, present as numbered Markdown lists.
Include confidence scores in the presentation:
[CRITICAL] (confidence: 85) hardcoded-values: API key found in src/config.ts:42
[HIGH] (confidence: 72) security-basics: eval() usage in src/utils/parser.ts:18
[MEDIUM] (confidence: 61) orphaned-annotations: TODO without issue in src/lib/auth.ts:55Present a findings overview table:
## Discovery Results
Probes run: [N] | Findings verified: [N] | False positives discarded: [N]
| Category | Critical | High | Medium | Low | Total |
|----------|----------|------|--------|-----|-------|
| Code | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Infra | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| UI | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Arch | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Session | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Audit | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Vault | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Feature | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |For each Critical or High finding, use AskUserQuestion (on Codex CLI where AskUserQuestion is unavailable, present as numbered Markdown lists):
AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "<finding title>\n\n<file_path>:<line_number>\n```\n<matched_text with +/-3 lines context>\n```\n\n<description>\n\nRecommended fix: <recommended_fix>",
header: "<severity>",
options: [
{ label: "Create issue (<severity>)", description: "Create a priority::<severity> issue for this finding" },
{ label: "Adjust priority", description: "Create issue with different priority" },
{ label: "Dismiss -- intentional", description: "This is by design, skip" },
{ label: "Dismiss -- false positive", description: "Detection was wrong, skip" }
]
}]
})If user selects "Adjust priority", ask which priority with another AskUserQuestion. On Codex CLI where AskUserQuestion is unavailable, present as numbered Markdown lists.
Group remaining findings by category. For each category with medium/low findings (on Codex CLI where AskUserQuestion is unavailable, present as numbered Markdown lists):
AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "[N] medium/low findings in [category]:\n\n1. [title] -- [file_path]:[line] ([severity])\n2. [title] -- [file_path]:[line] ([severity])\n...",
header: "[Category]",
options: [
{ label: "Accept all (Recommended)", description: "Create issues for all [N] findings" },
{ label: "Review individually", description: "Walk through each finding one by one" },
{ label: "Dismiss all", description: "Skip all medium/low findings in this category" }
]
}]
})If "Review individually" selected, walk through each like Step 2.
Before creating any issues (on Codex CLI where AskUserQuestion is unavailable, present as numbered Markdown lists):
AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "Ready to create [N] issues?\n\n- [X] critical\n- [Y] high\n- [Z] medium\n- [W] low",
header: "Confirm",
options: [
{ label: "Create all [N] issues", description: "Proceed with issue creation" },
{ label: "Review list first", description: "Show full list before creating" },
{ label: "Cancel", description: "Do not create any issues" }
]
}]
})> VCS Reference: Detect the VCS platform per the "VCS Auto-Detection" section of the gitlab-ops skill. > Use CLI commands per the "Common CLI Commands" section.
For each approved finding:
issue-templates.mdtype:discovery + priority::<level> + area:<inferred from category/filepath> + status:readyglab issue create --title "[Discovery] <title>" --label "type:discovery,priority::<level>,area:<area>,status:ready" --description "<body>"gh issue create --title "[Discovery] <title>" --label "type:discovery,priority::<level>,area:<area>,status:ready" --body "<body>"When the active scope included feature AND at least one verified feature finding was approved into an issue, insert an Opportunity Solution Tree (OST) section between ### Created Issues and ### Dismissed Findings (shown below). This section is feature-scope-only — every other category keeps the flat ### Created Issues table as its sole findings view, unchanged.
## Discovery Report
### Summary
- Probes run: [N] across [categories]
- Raw findings: [N]
- Verified: [N] (false positives discarded: [M])
- User approved: [N]
- Issues created: [N]
### Created Issues
| # | Title | Priority | Area | Probe |
|---|-------|----------|------|-------|
| <IID> | <title> | <priority> | <area> | <probe> |
### Opportunity Solution Tree (feature scope only)
> Present ONLY when the active scope included `feature` and at least one verified feature finding was approved. Group the approved feature findings under a Teresa Torres OST hierarchy: **outcome** (the user/business result the product is steering toward) -> **opportunity** (the observed gap or unmet need the finding surfaces) -> **solution** (the finding itself — the created issue). Infer outcome/opportunity from the finding's probe + description; never fabricate a hierarchy level with no evidentiary basis — when the outcome is genuinely unclear, write "Outcome: (unclassified)" rather than guessing.
Example:
Outcome: Reduce time-to-first-value for new users
Opportunity: Onboarding drops users before they reach the "aha" moment (intent-drift: docs claim auto-provisioning, code path is manual)
Solution: #182 -- Implement auto-provisioning of default workspace
Opportunity: Users repeatedly request the same missing capability without a tracked epic
Solution: #191, #204, #211 -- feature-request-cluster: "CSV export" cluster (3 issues, no epic)
### Dismissed Findings
- [N] dismissed as intentional
- [M] dismissed as false positive
### Recommendations
- [suggestions based on finding patterns]discovery-severity-threshold -- filter before presenting to usernode_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, coverage/> This phase runs only in standalone mode. Embedded mode returns findings to the caller.
After Phase 6 (Issue Creation) completes, prepare discovery statistics for session metrics:
probes_run: number of probes that were activated and executedfindings_raw: total findings before verificationfindings_verified: findings that passed Phase 4.2 verificationfalse_positives: findings discarded during verificationuser_dismissed: findings the user declined during Phase 5 triageissues_created: issues created in Phase 6by_category: per-category breakdown of findings and actioned items Discovery stats: [probes_run] probes, [findings_raw] raw → [findings_verified] verified ([false_positives] false positives). User dismissed [user_dismissed]. Created [issues_created] issues.
sessions.jsonl under the discovery_stats field. The discovery skill does NOT write to sessions.jsonl directly — session-end handles that.Persistent triage state prevents re-presenting the same finding on every /discovery run. State is stored in an append-only JSONL file and keyed by a stable fingerprint.
Location: .orchestrator/metrics/discovery-triage.jsonl (gitignored via .orchestrator/metrics/*.jsonl pattern — machine-local, never committed)
Format: One JSON object per line:
json{"fingerprint":"aabb1122ccdd3344","state":"dismissed","user_decision":"intentional — debug log","timestamp":"2026-05-17T10:00:00.000Z","session_id":"deep-2"} {"fingerprint":"eeff5566aabb7788","state":"promoted-to-#119","issue_id":119,"timestamp":"2026-05-17T10:01:00.000Z","session_id":"deep-2"}
computeFingerprint({probe, file, severity, ruleId}) → 16-char hex (sha256 prefix).
line_number is intentionally excluded — it drifts on refactoring without the underlying issue changing. A finding is considered "the same" as long as the probe, file path, severity, and ruleId match.
| State | Meaning | |---|---| | open | Actively needs triage or was explicitly marked for re-review | | dismissed | User dismissed as intentional or false positive — suppressed on future runs | | accepted-as-known | Known issue, accepted without creating a VCS issue — suppressed on future runs | | reopened | Previously suppressed but re-surfaced by user decision — shown again | | promoted-to-#NNN | VCS issue created; shown informational ("tracked in #NNN") on future runs |
On each /discovery run, Phase 5 loads the state file and partitions findings before presenting them:
open or reopened → shown for triagedismissed or accepted-as-known → suppressed (silent — no user interaction needed)promoted-to-#NNN → informational line only ("tracked in #NNN")A suppressed finding re-appears only if its fingerprint changes — i.e., the probe, file path, severity, or ruleId changes. No TTL on dismissed state.
scripts/lib/discovery/triage-state.mjs — pure ESM, Node stdlib only. Exports:
computeFingerprint({probe, file, severity, ruleId}): stringloadTriageState(stateFilePath?): Promise<Map<fingerprint, entry>>appendTriageEntry(stateFilePath, entry): Promise<void>filterFindings({findings, stateMap}): {toShow, suppressed, tracked}code scope, don't scan infrastructuresessions.jsonl directly — session-end handles metrics persistenceOther measured skills in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.