escoffier-labs/brigade/ultra-work-scout

ultra-work-scout

Use this skill when a task is important enough to scout before changing code, especially when the user asks for "ultra work", "scout this", "use scouts", "use subagents", or "really scope this out".

Mission

Turn a large request into a small number of parallel, bounded scouting jobs, then bring the results back into one implementation path. Scouts gather context and risks; they do not replace the main agent's ownership of the final change.

Default Scout Set

Start with the smallest set that can answer independent questions:

• Surface scout: find the public commands, docs, templates, and user-facing entry points that must change.
• Install scout: trace init, upgrade, profile, and default-install paths so new users get the intended behavior.
• Verification scout: identify focused tests, full checks, and existing flaky or environment-sensitive gates.

Only add more scouts when the work naturally splits into independent repos or subsystems.

Main Agent Loop

1. State the immediate local task you will keep yourself.
2. Assign scouts concrete questions with disjoint read or write scopes.
3. Keep moving on non-overlapping work while scouts run.
4. Integrate only findings you can verify in the current tree.
5. Run verification through Brigade:

brigade work verify run --target . --command "<test command>" --capture ultra-work-scout

If --capture is not available in the installed Brigade version, run:

brigade work verify run --target . --command "<test command>"
brigade outcome capture ultra-work-scout --run-id latest --kind skill

Boundaries

• Do not spawn scouts for tiny, single-file fixes.
• Do not let scouts mutate the same files unless you explicitly split ownership.
• Do not trust a scout's success claim without reading the diff or output that matters.
• Do not skip the final Brigade verify and outcome capture.

Output Contract

Finish with:

• Scout questions asked and what changed because of them.
• Files changed.
• Verification command and result.
• Any release blocker or follow-up that remains.