explore

• Explicit user description of the problem
• Recent code or files providing technical context
• Stated constraints (budget, timeline, stack, team size)
• Prior approaches already ruled out
• Definition of "good enough" outcome

After problem confirmed, dispatch ONE research agent for broad enumeration

Agent names vary by environment; do not assume a specific agent exists

Inspect available subagents via the Agent tool's subagent_type parameter

Pick the available agent whose name/description best matches general research synthesis or broad information retrieval; if multiple candidates fit, prefer the most specific; if none fit, use the most general research-oriented agent available

Shallow agent instructions:

• Enumerate 3–5 candidate approaches only

• One short paragraph per approach — no deep evaluation

• Required output format:

  1. <Approach Name>
     <One-paragraph description — what it is, how it addresses the problem>
  
  2. <Approach Name>
     ...
  

• Cap response under 300 words

Present shallow-scan output to user verbatim before proceeding

• Which approaches to deep-dive (may pick multiple)
• Whether to add, remove, or reframe any approach

After approaches selected, dispatch the deep research one of two ways

Preferred — Workflow tool available:

• Invoke the bundled deep-dive workflow; it fans out one researcher per approach with structured pros/cons/fit:

  Workflow({
    scriptPath: "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/workflows/explore-deepdive.js",
    args: { problem, constraints, successCriteria, approaches: [{ name, description }] },
  })
  

• Surface the workflow's log() lines as progress

• Feed the returned approaches[] into consolidated-report

• Skip agent-selection and parallel-deep-dispatch — the workflow owns dispatch

Fallback — Workflow tool unavailable: use agent-selection then parallel-deep-dispatch below

• General synthesis, multi-source aggregation
• Fast targeted retrieval, known-solution space
• Quantitative datasets, benchmarks, numerical evidence
• Peer-reviewed or scientific evidence
• Emerging-tech trajectory, trend analysis

Send single message with multiple Agent tool calls (one per approach)

Each agent receives:

• Original confirmed problem statement
• The specific approach assigned to them
• All known constraints and success criteria
• Output format instruction (see below)
• "Do NOT post findings to any external system. Report in chat only."

Required deep agent output format:

Approach: <name>

Summary: <2-3 sentences>

Pros:
- <point>

Cons:
- <point>

Key Evidence / Citations:
- <source or concrete reference>

Fit Rating: <High / Medium / Low> — <one sentence rationale>

Cap each agent response under 500 words

| Approach | Pros | Cons | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|