Launch research agents to understand a codebase before planning changes. Use when starting a new feature, fixing bugs, or refactoring. Creates workflow artifacts in `.claude/workflows/NNN-slug/`. Triggers on /epic:explore or when user wants to explore/understand codebase structure, patterns, or implementation details before making changes.
Limited to specific tools
Additional assets for this skill
This skill is limited to using the following tools:
references/codebase-template.mdreferences/docs-template.mdreferences/state-template.mdname: epic-explore
description: Launch research agents to understand a codebase before planning changes. Use when starting a new feature, fixing bugs, or refactoring. Creates workflow artifacts in .claude/workflows/NNN-slug/. Triggers on /epic:explore or when user wants to explore/understand codebase structure, patterns, or implementation details before making changes.
allowed-tools:
Research phase of the Explore-Plan-Implement workflow. Launch background agents to document codebase structure and (optionally) external documentation.
1. Parse feature description
2. Determine research scope (codebase only vs. codebase + docs)
3. Create workflow directory: .claude/workflows/NNN-slug/
4. Launch agent(s) in background
5. Wait for completion with TaskOutput
6. Update state.md
7. Present summary
Launch BOTH agents when feature:
Launch ONLY codebase-explorer when:
If unclear: Ask user to choose scope.
Always use run_in_background: true. Launch parallel when both needed.
Task tool:
subagent_type: epic:codebase-explorer
run_in_background: true
prompt: |
Explore codebase for: [feature]
Output to: .claude/workflows/[NNN-slug]/codebase-research.md
Template: references/codebase-template.md
Task tool:
subagent_type: epic:docs-researcher
run_in_background: true
prompt: |
Research docs for: [feature]
Output to: .claude/workflows/[NNN-slug]/docs-research.md
Template: references/docs-template.md
Create .claude/workflows/[NNN-slug]/state.md after launching agents. See references/state-template.md for structure.
Track:
TaskOutput with block: true for each agent✓ Explore Phase Complete
Feature: [description]
Directory: .claude/workflows/[NNN-slug]/
Research Scope: [codebase only | full]
Research Artifacts:
- codebase-research.md ([X] files documented)
- docs-research.md ([Y] sources) ← if applicable
Next: Review artifacts, then run /epic:plan
references/codebase-template.md - Output template for codebase-explorerreferences/docs-template.md - Output template for docs-researcherreferences/state-template.md - Workflow state tracking format