How

Explore the codebase to answer "how does X work?" questions. Produce architectural explanations at the level of a senior engineer onboarding onto a subsystem, enough to build a working mental model, not so much that it reads like annotated source code.

Dispatch contract. Resolve every configured role through provider-dispatch.md. Values are provider-qualified descriptors; the parent chooses native versus external execution. Every lane runs in read-only mode. Explorers use the how explorer descriptor, and every explainer uses the how explainer descriptor. When the sheet lacks either line, use that role's role default. A native lane uses the parent subagent primitive; an external lane uses the launcher directly. On Codex, resolve remaining Claude tool names via codex-tools.md. Pick each subagent's effort for the job, per the Subagents section of the poteto-mode skill.

1. Assess complexity

If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect.

• Simple (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): no explorers. Dispatch one explainer that explores and explains in one pass, built from references/explainer-prompt.md without the explorer-findings section. Go to step 4.
• Complex (a subsystem spanning multiple files or services, a cross-cutting feature, a full architectural overview): go to step 2.

When in doubt, take the simple path.

2. Explore (complex only)

Decompose the question into 2 to 4 angles, each a distinct slice of the subsystem. Start all explorers in one fan-out phase, each with references/explorer-prompt.md and its angle filled in.