Assay

Overview

All subagent dispatches use disk-mediated dispatch. See shared/dispatch-convention.md for the full protocol.

Evaluate competing approaches against codebase constraints. Returns a structured Assay Report with a recommendation, alternatives with kill criteria, and confidence scoring. Evidence-grounded — recommendations cite specific file:line references, not generic best practices.

Skill type: Rigid — follow exactly, no shortcuts.

Models:

• Evaluator agent: Opus (synthesis/judgment work needs the best model)
• Orchestrator: runs on whatever model the session uses

Announce at start: "I'm using the assay skill to evaluate competing approaches."

Name origin: In metallurgy, an assay tests raw material to determine its quality and composition before committing it to the forge.