
Use when about to implement any feature, build any component, or make any behavioral change — requires design exploration and user approval before implementation
Use when PDF documents need to be indexed into nx store for semantic search
Use when facing multi-step development work that needs decomposition into tasks, before writing any implementation code
Use when architectural decisions, implementations, or documentation need deep constructive critique against specs or evidence
Use when creating new nx plugin skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skill quality before committing
Use when surveying the plan library's runtime metrics to propose plans for promotion to a higher scope — advisory-only; dispatches the plan-promote-propose meta-seed (no lifecycle ops — those ship in RDR-079)
Use when inspecting plan runtime metrics or enumerating dimension-registry usage — dispatches plan_match with dimensions={verb:plan-inspect}; strategy:default reports per-plan metrics, strategy:dimensions reports registry usage counts
Use when unsure which agent to use for a task, or when coordinating work across multiple agents in a pipeline
Use when implementation is complete and test coverage needs verification, before merge or pull request
Use when an RDR is done — close it with optional post-mortem, bead status gate, and T3 archival
Use when debugging a failing code path (intentionally flat — Serena handles symbol navigation) — tries the debug plan library first for per-file authoring context and summarises design intent, falls through to /nx:query if nothing matches
Use when critiquing / auditing / reviewing a change set against decision history — tries the review plan library first (catalog lookup → decision-evolution traversal → extract → compare), falls through to /nx:query if nothing matches
Use when starting a new research-design-review document to think through a technical decision
Use when an RDR appears complete and needs finalization validation — structural, assumption, and AI critique checks
Use when synthesising across prose and code corpora or ranking candidates by a criterion — tries the analyze plan library first (search prose + code → reference-chain traversal → rank → generate), falls through to /nx:query if nothing matches
Use when complex features need architectural design before implementation, or when system design decisions span multiple modules
Use when working with catalog entries, resolving tumblers, creating links, understanding what's linked to a file, or seeding link context for the auto-linker. Covers resolve, link, context, and seed operations.
Use when exploring an unfamiliar codebase, onboarding to a project, or needing to understand module structure before making changes
Use when code changes are ready for quality, security, or best practices review, before committing or creating a pull request
Use when a plan has been approved and implementation work is ready to begin, before writing production code
Use when authoring or auditing documentation against existing coverage — tries the document plan library first (search prose follow_links=cites + search code → documentation-for traversal → compare), falls through to /nx:query if nothing matches
Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup
Use when starting feature work that needs isolation from current workspace or before executing implementation plans - creates isolated git worktrees with smart directory selection and safety verification
Use when validated findings need to be consolidated in nx T3 knowledge store.
Use when running nx commands for search, memory, knowledge storage, or indexing — or when unsure which nx subcommand to use
Use when a plan needs validation before implementation — catches gaps and codebase misalignment.
Use when answering any analytical question over nx knowledge collections. This is the canonical entry point; direct search/query calls for analytical questions are an anti-pattern.
Use when adding, tracking, or verifying structured research findings for an active RDR
Use when needing detailed information about a specific RDR including content, research findings, and linked beads
Use when doing design / architecture / planning work that walks from prose (RDRs, docs, knowledge) into the modules implementing a concept
Use when navigating code by symbol — finding definitions, all callers, type hierarchies, renaming safely, or editing a method body without reading the whole file. Use instead of Grep for any symbol-level task.
Use when receiving any code review feedback, before implementing any suggestion - requires technical rigor and verification, not performative agreement or blind implementation
Use when controlling interactive CLI applications, debugging with pdb/gdb/jshell, spawning Claude Code instances, or working with REPLs and long-running processes
Use when surface-level analysis is insufficient and problems require hypothesis-driven investigation across multiple system components
Use when auditing a project's RDR lifecycle for silent-scope-reduction frequency, or when inspecting or managing scheduled periodic audits
Use when needing to see all RDRs in the project with their status, type, and priority
Use when starting any conversation or task — establishes that nx skills must be checked before every response, including clarifying questions. If a skill plausibly applies, invoke it.
Use when tests fail, exceptions occur, or behavior is non-deterministic, especially after 2+ failed manual fix attempts
Use when a coordinator bead's inter-bead composition needs verification before downstream beads begin
Use when beads need enrichment with execution context — file paths, code patterns, constraints, test commands.
Use when authoring a new plan template from scratch — dispatches the plan-author meta-seed which surveys prior art, the plan-authoring guide, and the dimension registry before drafting a candidate plan_json
Use when starting any retrieval task — the gate that tries plan_match first, executes via plan_run if a match clears the threshold, and falls through to /nx:query only on a miss
Use when a gated RDR returned PASSED and you want to officially accept it for implementation
Use when researching unfamiliar topics, comparing technology approaches, or building comprehensive understanding from multiple sources