discovery

Discovery Skill

Invocation Modes

Two modes of operation:

• Standalone (/discovery [scope]): Full 6-phase flow with interactive triage (Phases 0-6)
• Embedded (from session-end when discovery-on-close: true): Phases 0-4 only, returns structured findings to session-end

The scope argument accepts: all (default), code, infra, ui, arch, session, audit, vault, or comma-separated like code,session.

Phase 0: Bootstrap Gate

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.

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.

Phase 1: Read Session Config

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
• test-command, typecheck-command, lint-command
• pencil, vcs, cross-repos, stale-issue-days

Phase 2: Stack Detection & Probe Activation

Detect 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

Build Activation Set

1. Start with all probes whose marker files are present
2. If discovery-probes is set in config, intersect with that list
3. If a scope argument was passed, restrict to that category
4. Remove probes whose activation conditions are not met

The 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.

Exclude Paths

Default exclude paths (always apply):

• node_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, coverage/

Add any paths from discovery-exclude-paths in Session Config.

VCS Detection

VCS Reference: Detect the VCS platform per the "VCS Auto-Detection" section of the gitlab-ops skill.

Status Report

Report: "Discovery: [N] probes active across [categories]. Stack: [detected]. Threshold: [severity]."

Phase 3: Probe Execution

Dispatch probe agents IN PARALLEL using the Agent tool. Group by category (max 5 agents):

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.

• Code probes agent: Runs all activated code probes (hardcoded-values, orphaned-annotations, dead-code, ai-slop, type-safety-gaps, test-coverage-gaps, test-anti-patterns, security-basics)
• Infra probes agent: Runs all activated infra probes
• UI probes agent: Runs all activated UI probes
• Arch probes agent: Runs all activated arch probes
• Session probes agent: Runs all activated session probes
• Audit probes agent: Runs harness-audit probe
• Vault probes (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.

Each agent receives:

• The probe definitions from 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)
• The exclude paths list
• The project root path
• Tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash (read-only -- no Edit/Write)
• Instruction: "Run each probe. For each finding, output EXACTLY this format:"

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> -- " "If a probe command fails, skip it with: FAILED: <probe_name> -- " "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).

Phase 4: Verification & Scoring

After all probe agents complete:

4.1 Parse Findings

Collect all FINDING: blocks from agent outputs into a unified findings list.

4.2 Verification Pass

For EACH finding:

1. Read the file at file_path:line_number using the Read tool
2. Confirm matched_text appears at or near that line (+/-3 lines tolerance)
3. If NOT confirmed, discard with note "false positive -- text not found at reported location"
4. Report: "Verification: N confirmed, M discarded as false positives"

4.2a Confidence Scoring

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:

1. Start at 40 (baseline)
2. Add each factor's score (+0/+10/+20)
3. Clamp to 0-100 range
4. Critical severity override: findings with severity critical get a minimum confidence of 70 — they are NEVER auto-deferred

Threshold: 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.

4.3 Deduplication

Two findings are duplicates if:

• Same file_path AND
• Overlapping line range (+/-5 lines) AND
• Different probes

Keep the higher severity finding. Merge descriptions.

4.4 Apply Thresholds

1. Severity filter: Remove findings below discovery-severity-threshold from Session Config.
2. Confidence filter: Remove findings with confidence score below 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."

4.5 Group by Category

Group remaining findings by category for Phase 5 presentation.

4.6 Embedded Mode Exit

If in embedded mode (called from session-end): STOP HERE. Return structured findings to the caller using this schema:

Embedded mode return schema:

{
  "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.

Phase 5: Interactive Triage (Standalone Mode Only)

5.0 Auto-Defer Low-Confidence Findings

Before presenting findings for triage, separate by confidence threshold:

1. Findings with confidence >= threshold → present for interactive triage (below)
2. Findings with confidence < threshold → auto-defer with summary: "Auto-deferred [N] low-confidence findings (score < [threshold]). Review with /discovery --include-deferred."
3. List auto-deferred findings in a collapsed section (not interactive — informational only)

5.1 Present High-Confidence Findings

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:55

Step 1: Summary

Present 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  | ...      | ...  | ...    | ... | ...   |

Step 2: Critical + High Findings -- Review Individually

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.

Step 3: Medium + Low Findings -- Review Batched

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.

Step 4: Batch Confirmation

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" }
    ]
  }]
})

Phase 6: Issue Creation & Report

6.1 Issue Creation

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:

1. Format using the Discovery Finding Issue Template from issue-templates.md
2. Determine labels: type:discovery + priority:<level> + area:<inferred from category/filepath> + status:ready
3. Create issue via VCS CLI:
   • GitLab: glab issue create --title "[Discovery] <title>" --label "type:discovery,priority:<level>,area:<area>,status:ready" --description "<body>"
   • GitHub: gh issue create --title "[Discovery] <title>" --label "type:discovery,priority:<level>,area:<area>,status:ready" --body "<body>"
4. Brief pause (1s) between creations for rate limiting

6.2 Final Report

## 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> |

### Dismissed Findings
- [N] dismissed as intentional
- [M] dismissed as false positive

### Recommendations
- [suggestions based on finding patterns]

Critical Rules

• NEVER fabricate findings -- every finding must come from tool output with verifiable evidence
• NEVER create issues without user approval (standalone mode)
• ALWAYS verify findings by re-reading the file at the reported line (Phase 4)
• ALWAYS use AskUserQuestion for triage decisions -- never plain text options (On Codex CLI, use numbered lists as AskUserQuestion is not available)
• ALWAYS reference gitlab-ops for VCS operations -- never duplicate CLI logic inline
• If a probe command fails or tool is unavailable, skip gracefully, continue with others
• If in embedded mode, stop after Phase 4, return findings as structured data
• Respect discovery-severity-threshold -- filter before presenting to user
• Default exclude paths always apply: node_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, coverage/

Phase 7: Capture Discovery Stats (Standalone Mode Only)

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:

1. Count totals from the triage results:

   • probes_run: number of probes that were activated and executed
   • findings_raw: total findings before verification
   • findings_verified: findings that passed Phase 4.2 verification
   • false_positives: findings discarded during verification
   • user_dismissed: findings the user declined during Phase 5 triage
   • issues_created: issues created in Phase 6
   • by_category: per-category breakdown of findings and actioned items

2. Report stats summary:

   Discovery stats: [probes_run] probes, [findings_raw] raw → [findings_verified] verified ([false_positives] false positives). User dismissed [user_dismissed]. Created [issues_created] issues.
   

3. These stats are available for session-end to include in sessions.jsonl under the discovery_stats field. The discovery skill does NOT write to sessions.jsonl directly — session-end handles that.

Anti-Patterns

• DO NOT report findings without verifying them first — false positives erode user trust faster than missed issues
• DO NOT skip the interactive triage phase — auto-creating issues for unconfirmed findings creates noise
• DO NOT run probes outside the configured scope — if the user asked for code scope, don't scan infrastructure
• DO NOT present findings without evidence (file path, line number, actual content) — assertions without proof are useless
• DO NOT write to sessions.jsonl directly — session-end handles metrics persistence