Grill

Step 3: Research Phase (Shark-delegated)

Before starting the interview, spawn research remoras to build a fact base from the codebase. This prevents slow, serial exploration during the interview.

1. Identify research axes: From the user's plan, extract 3-5 independent research questions that the codebase can answer. Examples:

   • What does the current implementation look like?
   • What modules/files will this plan touch?
   • Are there existing patterns or conventions relevant to this design?
   • What are the dependency boundaries and integration points?
   • Are there tests covering the areas that will change?

2. Spawn research remoras: Spawn one remora per research axis, all in a single message with parallel tool calls using run_in_background: true.

// All research remoras spawned concurrently via adapter collect()
collect([
  {
    task: "Explore the codebase to answer: {research question 1}. Repo root: {cwd}. Return a concise factual summary (under 300 words). Do NOT make recommendations — just report what you find.",
    name: "xavier research: {short label}",
    subagent_type: "Explore"
  },
  // ... one entry per research question
])

3. Collect results: As each remora completes, record its findings. Once all have reported, compile a Research Brief — a structured summary of codebase facts organized by research axis. Keep it under 500 words total.

4. Show the research brief to the user: Present the brief before starting the interview so the user and Xavier share the same factual ground.

Step 4: Interview Phase

With the research brief as shared context, interview the user one question at a time:

1. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one
2. For each question, provide your recommended answer — grounded in the research brief when applicable
3. If a question reveals a gap the research phase didn't cover, explore the codebase inline before asking
4. Do not batch questions — ask one, wait for the answer, then proceed to the next
5. After each answer, decide whether to drill deeper into that branch or move to the next