4.1 KiB
Step 2: Walkthrough
Display: Orientation → [Walkthrough] → Detail Pass → Testing
Follow Global Step Rules in SKILL.md
- Organize by concern, not by file. A concern is a cohesive design intent — e.g., "input validation," "state management," "API contract." One file may appear under multiple concerns; one concern may span multiple files.
- The walkthrough activates design judgment, not correctness checking. Frame each concern as "here's what this change does and why" — the human evaluates whether it's the right approach for the system.
BUILD THE WALKTHROUGH
Identify Concerns
With Suggested Review Order (full-trail mode — the normal path, including when step-01 generated a trail):
- Read the Suggested Review Order stops from the spec (or from conversation context if generated by step-01 fallback).
- Resolve each stop to a file in the current repo. Output in
path:lineformat per the standing rule. - Read the diff to understand what each stop actually does.
- Group stops by concern. Stops that share a design intent belong together even if they're in different files. A stop may appear under multiple concerns if it serves multiple purposes.
Without Suggested Review Order (fallback when trail generation failed, e.g., git unavailable):
- Get the diff against the appropriate baseline (same rules as step 1).
- Identify concerns by reading the diff for cohesive design intents:
- Functional groupings — what user-facing behavior does each cluster of changes support?
- Architectural layers — does the change cross boundaries (API → service → data)?
- Design decisions — where did the author choose between alternatives?
- For each concern, identify the key code locations as
path:linestops.
Order for Comprehension
Sequence concerns top-down: start with the highest-level intent (the "what and why"), then drill into supporting implementation. Within each concern, order stops so each one builds on the previous. The reader should never encounter a reference to something they haven't seen yet.
If the change has a natural entry point (e.g., a new public API, a config change, a UI entry point), lead with it.
Write Each Concern
For each concern, produce:
- Heading — a short phrase naming the design intent (not a file name, not a module name).
- Why — 1–2 sentences: what problem this concern addresses, why this approach was chosen over alternatives. If the spec documents rejected alternatives, reference them here.
- Stops — each stop on its own line:
path:linefollowed by a brief phrase (not a sentence) describing what this location does for the concern. Keep framing under 15 words per stop.
Target 2–5 concerns for a typical change. A single-concern change is fine — don't invent groupings. A change with more than 7 concerns is a signal the scope may be too large, but present it anyway.
PRESENT
Output the full walkthrough as a single message with this structure:
Orientation → [Walkthrough] → Detail Pass → Testing
Then each concern group using this format:
### {Concern Heading}
{Why — 1–2 sentences}
- `path:line` — {brief framing}
- `path:line` — {brief framing}
- ...
End the message with:
---
Take your time — click through the stops, read the diff, trace the logic. While you are reviewing, you can:
- "run advanced elicitation on the error handling"
- "party mode on whether this schema migration is safe"
- or just ask anything
When you're ready, say **next** and I'll surface the highest-risk spots.
EARLY EXIT
If at any point the human signals they want to make a decision about this {change_type} (e.g., "let's ship it", "this needs a rethink", "I'm done reviewing", or anything suggesting they're ready to decide), confirm their intent:
- If they want to approve and ship → read fully and follow
./step-05-wrapup.md - If they want to reject and rework → read fully and follow
./step-05-wrapup.md - If you misread them → acknowledge and continue the current step.
NEXT
Default: read fully and follow ./step-03-detail-pass.md