Octocode Engineer

Use this skill to understand, review, or change code without guessing. This file is the router; detailed playbooks live in references/. Read the smallest set of references the scenario needs.

0. Transport default: CLI first

Default to the Octocode CLI quick commands (search, pr, unzip, clone, cache fetch). Use search --search path for file discovery, search --tree for structure, search --content-view exact|compact|symbols for reads, search --pattern/--rule --lang <lang> for structural code search, search --op <semantic-op> for LSP semantics, search --target repositories for repo discovery, search --target packages for package lookup, search --target commits for history, search --target artifacts for binary/archive inspection, and search --target diff for file diffs. If octocode is not installed, use npx octocode <cmd>. Use MCP tools only when the host provides them and the CLI is unavailable.

Hard rules:

• Prefer --json whenever another step depends on returned paths, refs, line numbers, or pagination.
• Read octocode tools <name> --scheme before every raw-tool call. Quick-command flags and raw-tool fields differ.
• Use octocode search --scheme / search --explain before relying on OQL for partial targets.
• For dead-code, reachability, or drift sweeps, start with search target:"research" as a broad candidate pass, then prove with LSP/AST/exact reads.
• Treat snippets as leads. Prove with search --match-string --content-view exact, AST, LSP, history, or tests.
• Follow returned next.*, pagination, char offsets, match/file pages. Never invent offsets or paths.
• Keep ≥2 plausible explanations alive for ambiguous bugs until evidence eliminates one.
• Reflect before final output: weakest claim, strongest counter, whether one cheap command changes the answer.

1. Reference routing