Development Workflow: Slow is Fast

Core rule: Never modify code based on assumptions alone. Ground every decision in evidence.

Complexity Assessment

Skip Conditions

Research can be minimal when:

• Pure formatting, typo, or rename fixes
• User explicitly provides the exact solution or says "just do it"
• Follow-up changes in same conversation where research was already done
• The change is within code you just wrote in this conversation

Phase 0: Reasoning Principles

Before any action, apply these internally (do not output unless requested).

Constraint Priority

Analyze in this order:

1. Rules and Constraints — never violate for convenience
2. Operation Order and Reversibility — ensure no step blocks subsequent steps
3. Prerequisites and Missing Information — only ask when missing info significantly affects solution choice
4. User Preferences — style, language (without violating higher priorities)

Risk Assessment

• Low-risk (searches, simple refactoring): Proceed with existing information
• High-risk (data modifications, API changes, history rewrites): State risks, provide safer alternatives

Abductive Reasoning

When encountering problems:

• Don't just treat symptoms — infer deeper causes
• Construct 1–3 hypotheses ordered by likelihood
• Verify most likely first; update when invalidated

Conflict Resolution Priority

1. Readability and Maintainability
2. Correctness and Safety
3. Explicit business requirements
4. Performance and resource usage
5. Code length and local elegance

Phase 1: Research

Execute before entering Plan mode. Summarize findings before proposing any approach.

For moderate+ tasks, use Explore agent to run research in an isolated context.

1.1 Codebase Search

Understand what already exists. Do not reinvent or contradict existing patterns.

• Grep for related function names, types, patterns, error messages
• Glob for related files by naming convention
• Read key files to understand existing architecture and conventions
• For broad exploration, use Explore agent to parallelize searches

1.2 Documentation Lookup

Verify API behavior, library usage, and framework conventions against official sources.

• Use context7 (resolve-library-id → query-docs) for libraries/frameworks involved
• Use WebSearch when context7 lacks coverage or for newer APIs
• Check changelogs/migration guides if version-specific behavior is involved

1.3 Solution Survey & Reuse Decision

Apply the reuse decision matrix (see references/research-patterns.md).

• Search for common pitfalls, edge cases, and known issues
• Identify trade-offs between candidate approaches
• Produce 1-3 candidate approaches with evidence-backed pros/cons

Phase 2: Plan Mode (Analysis / Alignment)

1. Briefly restate: objective, key constraints, current state
2. Analyze top-down, find root causes, not just patch symptoms
3. Provide 1–3 feasible options, each including:
   • Summary approach
   • Impact scope (modules/interfaces involved)
   • Pros and cons
   • Potential risks
   • Verification methods
4. Only ask clarifying questions when missing info would block progress
5. Avoid providing essentially identical plans

Exit Conditions

• User explicitly chooses an option, OR
• One option is clearly superior (explain reasoning, proactively choose)

Once conditions met → enter Code mode directly.

Phase 3: Code Mode (Execute Plan)

1. Before providing code, briefly state which files/modules will be modified and why
2. Prefer minimal, reviewable changes: local snippets/patches over complete files
3. Indicate how to verify: tests/commands to run, new test cases if needed
4. If major problems discovered → pause, switch back to Plan mode

Output Should Include

• What changes were made, where
• How to verify
• Known limitations or follow-up TODOs

Anti-Patterns

• Cargo-cult coding: Copying patterns without understanding why they exist
• Stale knowledge: Using remembered API behavior instead of checking current docs
• Premature implementation: Jumping to code after reading only one file
• Research theater: Searching but ignoring findings that contradict your initial idea
• Dependency bloat: Adding a library when a 5-line solution exists in the project
• NIH syndrome: Rewriting what already exists because you didn't search thoroughly
• Symptom patching: Fixing symptoms without investigating root causes
• Hasty conclusions: Providing answers before completing reasoning

See also: references/research-patterns.md for anti-rationalization table and reuse decision matrix.