How It Works

At session start, a hook injects the praxis:using-praxis skill. On every message, the agent:

1. Classifies scope and topology inline using the triage table — no extra skill call needed.
2. Announces the scope (and topology=multi-module if multi-repo) and loads required skills in parallel.
3. Follows the loaded skills literally, respecting <gate> markers.

Triage Announcement

Every response opens with a scope classification line:

praxis: scope=<x>, loading=<skills>                         # single-module (default)
praxis: scope=<x>, topology=multi-module, loading=<skills>  # multi-module

Scope	Signal	Skills loaded
vague	problem space undefined — can't say what to build	design
trivial	typo, rename, docs-only, ≤1 line, pure Q	none
small	one function, single file, ≤50 LOC	tdd
standard	feature or source-code change	design, plan, tdd, review
complex	new system, ≥5 tasks, parallel edits	design, plan, worktree, subagents, review, ship
debug	broken, regression, failing test	debug
onboard	existing project, no tech-spec	onboard

Core Lifecycle Gates

1. Spec Review Gate (design): After drafting a spec, Praxis inspects trigger conditions and dispatches parallel reviewers (spec-compliance, state-machine, cross-rule, cross-module, safety, implementability). The coordinator synthesizes findings critically before plan handoff.
2. 3D Quality Gate (tdd / review): Implementation cycles are evaluated against mechanical checks, convention adherence, design cohesion/coupling, and documentation coverage.
3. Model Tier Dispatch (subagents): Fan-out tasks designate a ROLE charter (implementer, spec-reviewer, quality-reviewer) and a capability tier (fast, balanced, strongest).
4. Living Documentation Sync (ship / archive): Staging specs merge into living docs (docs/tech-spec.md or docs/specs/*.md), CHANGELOG is updated, and staging files are cleaned up.

Example flows

Tiny fix

You:   fix the typo "teh" in README
Agent: scope=trivial → edit → done

Standard feature

You:   add OAuth login with GitHub
Agent: scope=standard → design (spec + spec review gate) → plan → tdd (quality check) → review → ship

Multi-module change

You:   add a shared checkout flow across api and web repos
Agent: scope=complex, topology=multi-module → design (coordinator spec) → plan → subagents per repo → ship