Explore a codebase with parallel Haiku agents — clone, read, and document. Modes — --fast (1 agent), default (3), --deep (5). Use when user says "learn [repo]", "explore codebase", "study this repo", or shares a GitHub URL to study. Do NOT trigger for finding projects (use /trace), session mining (use /dig), or cloning for active development (use /incubate).
SKILL.md
/learn - Deep Dive Learning Pattern
Explore a codebase with 3 parallel Haiku agents → create organized documentation.
Usage
/learn [url] # Auto: clone via ghq, symlink origin/, then explore
/learn [slug] # Use slug from ψ/memory/slugs.yaml
/learn [repo-path] # Path to repo
/learn [repo-name] # Finds in ψ/learn/owner/repo
/learn --init # Restore all origins after git clone (like submodule init)
IMPORTANT FOR SUBAGENTS:
When spawning Haiku agents, you MUST give them TWO literal paths:
SOURCE_DIR (where to READ code) — the readlink-RESOLVED ghq path.
Never the origin/ symlink path. See ⚠️ below — this is not cosmetic.
DOCS_DIR (where to WRITE docs) - the parent directory, NOT inside origin/
⚠️ BUG 1 (writes): If you only give agents origin/ path, they cd into it and write there → files end up in WRONG repo!
⚠️ BUG 2 (reads — worse, and silent): The origin/ path is nested inside
this oracle repo (ROOT/ψ/learn/...). An agent handed that path reads the
target as a subdirectory of us and describes it as a variant of our repo. Measured
on mattpocock/skills (2026-08-16): the arm given the nested path produced 3
contaminated docs / 26 false claims; the arm given the resolved ghq path produced
zero. Same target, same minute, same model. Resolve it:
READ from: /home/user/ghq/github.com/acme-corp/cool-library/ ← resolved, NOT under ψ/
WRITE to: .../ψ/learn/acme-corp/cool-library/2026-02-04/1349_[FILENAME].md
Tell each agent: "Read from [SOURCE_DIR]. Write to [DOCS_DIR]/[TIME]_[FILENAME].md"
⚠️ MANDATORY: Isolation preamble (prepend to EVERY agent prompt)
Agents spawned here inherit this oracle repo'sCLAUDE.md as project
instructions. They will silently describe the target repo using our
vocabulary. Measured on mattpocock/skills (2026-08-16): 3 of 5 docs
contaminated, 26 false structural claims — including a doc that wrote
"(not in mattpocock/skills; reference from oracle-skills-cli CLAUDE.md)"
and then asserted the claim anyway. Detection is not containment. The
agent noticing the mismatch does not stop it shipping.
Prepend this verbatim to every agent prompt:
ISOLATION RULE — read before anything else.
You are running inside an unrelated repo whose CLAUDE.md is in your context.
Its conventions describe YOUR HOST, not the target you are analyzing.
Document ONLY what you can cite from a file under SOURCE_DIR.
Before writing any structural claim (build tooling, versioning scheme,
directory layout, curation/lifecycle model, CI gates), verify it with a
concrete check — `ls`, reading package.json, reading the config file.
If you cannot cite it, write "not present" — never substitute a mechanism
you know from elsewhere, and never describe the target as a variant of
another repo.
Do not soften this to "be careful." The failure mode is confident and
fluent; only a citation requirement catches it.
⚠️ Absent-referent rule (the biggest single cause)
A mandated section with no material in the target is what actually produces
contamination. TESTING.md was demanded for a repo with zero tests; the
agent correctly wrote "no test infrastructure" — then filled the rest of the
page with our CalVer, our bun run compile, our "public shelf". The two docs
whose topics were fully sourced from the target's README came back spotless.
So: every agent must be told the section may legitimately be empty.
If the target has little or nothing for your assigned topic, say so plainly
in one or two lines and STOP. A short accurate doc is correct output. Do NOT
pad, and do NOT reach for mechanisms from any other repo to fill the page.
⚠️ Never let SOURCE_DIR read as "inside us"
origin is a symlink living under our own ψ/, so the target's absolute
path is nested in ours. An agent given only that path modeled the target as
"this origin version" — an upstream variant of our repo — and inherited our
architecture wholesale. Resolve the symlink and hand agents the real path:
SOURCE_DIR="$(readlink "$ROOT/ψ/learn/$OWNER/$REPO/origin")" # → the ghq path
State the target's identity explicitly too: "You are analyzing the
independent repository OWNER/REPO, which has no relationship to the repo
you are running inside."
# Replace [URL] with actual URL
URL="[URL]"
ROOT="$(pwd)" # CRITICAL: Save current directory!
ghq get -u "$URL" && \
GHQ_ROOT=$(ghq root) && \
OWNER=$(echo "$URL" | sed -E 's|.*github.com/([^/]+)/.*|\1|') && \
REPO=$(echo "$URL" | sed -E 's|.*/([^/]+)(\.git)?$|\1|') && \
mkdir -p "$ROOT/ψ/learn/$OWNER/$REPO" && \
ln -sf "$GHQ_ROOT/github.com/$OWNER/$REPO" "$ROOT/ψ/learn/$OWNER/$REPO/origin" && \
echo "$OWNER/$REPO" >> "$ROOT/ψ/learn/.origins" && \
sort -u -o "$ROOT/ψ/learn/.origins" "$ROOT/ψ/learn/.origins" && \
echo "✓ Ready: $ROOT/ψ/learn/$OWNER/$REPO/origin → source"
Verify:
ls -la "$ROOT/ψ/learn/$OWNER/$REPO/"
Note: Grep tool doesn't follow symlinks — which is precisely why agents get the
resolvedSOURCE_DIR (readlink ... /origin) rather than the symlink path. On the
resolved ghq path, plain rg "pattern" "$SOURCE_DIR" works and no -L is needed.
(Historical: an oracle hit this symlink friction, switched to the direct path for
unrelated reasons, and accidentally produced the only uncontaminated run — see BUG 2.)
Then resolve path:
# Find by name (searches origin symlinks)
find ψ/learn -name "origin" -type l | xargs -I{} dirname {} | grep -i "$INPUT" | head -1
Scope
For external repos: Clone with script first, then explore via origin/For local projects (in specs/, ψ/lib/): Read directly
Step 1: Detect Mode & Calculate Paths
Check arguments for --fast or --deep:
--fast → Single overview agent
--deep → 5 parallel agents
(neither) → 3 parallel agents (default)
Calculate ACTUAL paths (replace variables with real values):
TODAY = YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-02-04)
TIME = HHMM (e.g., 1349)
REPO_DIR = [ROOT]/ψ/learn/[OWNER]/[REPO]/
DOCS_DIR = [ROOT]/ψ/learn/[OWNER]/[REPO]/[TODAY]/ ← date folder
SOURCE_DIR = $(readlink [ROOT]/ψ/learn/[OWNER]/[REPO]/origin) ← RESOLVED ghq path.
Never pass the ψ/-nested symlink path to an agent (see BUG 2 above).
FILE_PREFIX = [TIME]_ ← time prefix for files
Example:
- ROOT = /home/user/ghq/github.com/my-org/my-oracle
- OWNER = acme-corp
- REPO = cool-library
- TODAY = 2026-02-04, TIME = 1349
- DOCS_DIR = .../ψ/learn/acme-corp/cool-library/2026-02-04/
- Files: 1349_ARCHITECTURE.md, 1349_CODE-SNIPPETS.md, etc.
⚠️ CRITICAL: Create symlink AND date folder FIRST, then spawn agents!
Run the clone + symlink script in Step 0 FIRST
Capture TIME: date +%H%M (e.g., 1349)
Create the date folder: mkdir -p "$DOCS_DIR"
Capture DOCS_DIR, SOURCE_DIR, and TIME as literal values
THEN spawn agents with paths including TIME prefix
Multiple runs same day? Each run gets unique TIME prefix → no overwrites.
Mode: --fast (1 agent)
Single Agent: Quick Overview
Prompt the agent with (use LITERAL paths, not variables!):
You are exploring a codebase.
READ source code from: [SOURCE_DIR]
WRITE your output to: [DOCS_DIR]/[TIME]_OVERVIEW.md
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Write to DOCS_DIR (the date folder), NOT inside origin/!
Analyze:
- What is this project? (1 sentence)
- Key files to look at
- How to use it (install + basic example)
- Notable patterns or tech
Skip to Step 2 after agent completes.
Mode: Default (3 agents)
Launch 3 agents in parallel. Each prompt must include (use LITERAL paths!):
READ source code from: [SOURCE_DIR]
WRITE your output to: [DOCS_DIR]/[TIME]_[filename].md
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Write to DOCS_DIR (the date folder), NOT inside origin/!
Agent 1: Architecture Explorer → [TIME]_ARCHITECTURE.md
Launch 5 agents in parallel. Each prompt must include (use LITERAL paths!):
READ source code from: [SOURCE_DIR]
WRITE your output to: [DOCS_DIR]/[TIME]_[filename].md
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Write to DOCS_DIR (the date folder), NOT inside origin/!
Agent 1: Architecture Explorer → [TIME]_ARCHITECTURE.md
Agent 5: API & Integration Surface → [TIME]_API-SURFACE.md
Public API documentation
Extension points / hooks
Integration patterns
Plugin/middleware architecture
Skip to Step 2 after all agents complete.
Step 1.9: Contamination check (REQUIRED — before the hub file)
Agents that leak are fluent and confident; you cannot spot it by reading. Grep
for our distinctive vocabulary appearing in docs about their repo:
# Terms distinctive to THIS oracle repo. A hit means the doc is describing us.
rg -n --stats "src/skills|split-brain|bun run compile|public shelf|CalVer|G-SKLL|zombie|lefthook" \
"$DOCS_DIR"/${TIME}_*.md
Any hit → verify that specific claim against the target before trusting the
doc. Cheap structural checks settle most of them instantly:
ls -d "$SOURCE_DIR/src" 2>&1 # does the vault exist?
python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('$SOURCE_DIR/package.json')).get('scripts'))"
If a doc is contaminated, prepend a correction banner naming each false
claim and its verified reality — do not silently delete, and do not just
warn generically. Check every doc: a partial pass leaves a poisoned file
looking clean by omission (this happened — TESTING.md was missed on the
first pass and read as verified for 25 minutes).
