Arness Assess

Run a comprehensive technical assessment of the codebase against stored patterns, let the user prioritize findings, then orchestrate the full Arness pipeline (spec → plan → execute → test → ship) for multiple improvements in a single session.

This skill is a sequencer and decision-gate handler, like arn-planning. It MUST NOT duplicate sub-skill or agent logic. All pipeline work is done by the invoked skills and agents. This skill handles: scope selection, assessment orchestration, finding prioritization, multi-spec pipeline management, and progress display.

Prerequisites

Check for a ## Arness section in the project's CLAUDE.md. If missing, inform the user: "Arness is not configured for this project yet. Run /arn-assessing to get started — it will set everything up automatically." Do not proceed without it.

Additionally, verify that pattern files exist at the configured code-patterns path. At minimum, these must exist:

• code-patterns.md
• testing-patterns.md
• architecture.md

If any required pattern file is missing, inform the user: "Pattern documentation is incomplete. Run /arn-assessing which will generate pattern docs on first use."

Decision Gates

The skill pauses at exactly 7 gates. Steps marked (auto) flow without stopping.

Pipeline Overview

Arness Assess: scope → assess → prioritize → spec(s) → plan all → save all → [taskify+execute]×N → test → ship

Workflow

Step 0: Initialize

1. Read the project's CLAUDE.md and extract the ## Arness section.
2. Extract configuration fields:
   • Plans directory — where plans and project folders live
   • Specs directory — where specs and assessment reports are stored
   • Code patterns — path to pattern documentation directory
   • Docs directory — for documentation generation
   • Git — whether git is configured
   • GitHub/Platform — for shipping
3. Load pattern files from the configured code-patterns path:
   • code-patterns.md (required)
   • testing-patterns.md (required)
   • architecture.md (required)
   • ui-patterns.md (optional — sets has_ui_patterns = true)
   • security-patterns.md (optional — sets has_security_patterns = true)

Step 1: Detect Assessment State (Resumability)

Check for existing assessment artifacts:

If artifacts detected, ask: "It looks like you have an in-progress assessment. Resume from [stage], or start fresh?"

Step 2: Gate G1 — Scope Selection

Show progress:

Arness Assess: SCOPE → assess → prioritize → spec(s) → plan → save → execute → test → ship             ^^^^^

Even if the user triggered the skill with arguments (e.g., "assess the auth module"), confirm scope with AskUserQuestion:

"What would you like to assess?"

Options:

1. Assess entire codebase — Full review against all stored patterns
2. Assess specific area — Review a particular module, directory, or concern

If specific area: ask the user to describe the area (module name, directory path, or concern like "authentication" or "API layer").

Store the scope for agent invocations. Derive a scope name for the assessment file:

• Entire codebase → full-codebase
• Specific area → kebab-case of the area (e.g., auth-module, api-layer)

Step 3: Assessment

Show progress:

Arness Assess: scope → ASSESS → prioritize → spec(s) → plan → save → execute → test → ship                      ^^^^^^

Inform: "Running assessment agents against stored patterns..."

Read the assessment protocol:

Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/arn-code-assess/references/assessment-protocol.md

Agent invocations — launch all applicable agents in parallel:

Always invoke the arn-code-architect agent via the Task tool, passing the model from .arness/agent-models/code.md as the model parameter (see plugins/arn-code/skills/arn-code-ensure-config/references/ensure-config.md "Dispatch convention" for fallback). Context:

• The architect assessment prompt template from the protocol
• Codebase context: full content of code-patterns.md, testing-patterns.md, architecture.md
• Scope: the scope from G1

If has_ui_patterns is true, also invoke the arn-code-ux-specialist agent via the Task tool, passing the model from .arness/agent-models/code.md as the model parameter (see plugins/arn-code/skills/arn-code-ensure-config/references/ensure-config.md "Dispatch convention" for fallback). Context:

• The UX specialist assessment prompt template from the protocol
• Context: ui-patterns.md, architecture.md, code-patterns.md
• Scope from G1

If has_security_patterns is true, also invoke the arn-code-security-specialist agent via the Task tool, passing the model from .arness/agent-models/code.md as the model parameter (see plugins/arn-code/skills/arn-code-ensure-config/references/ensure-config.md "Dispatch convention" for fallback). Context:

• The security specialist assessment prompt template from the protocol
• Context: security-patterns.md, architecture.md, code-patterns.md
• Scope from G1

All applicable agents are invoked in parallel (single message, multiple Agent tool calls).

After all agents return:

Follow the merge, deduplication, ID assignment, and report generation procedures defined in the assessment protocol. Write the assessment report to <specs-dir>/ASSESSMENT_<scope-name>.md.

Present the findings to the user grouped by category with severity indicators.

If no findings: "Assessment found no significant deviations from stored patterns. Your codebase is in good shape!" — exit gracefully.

Step 4: Gate G2 — Prioritize

Show progress:

Arness Assess: scope → assess → PRIORITIZE → spec(s) → plan → save → execute → test → ship                                ^^^^^^^^^^

Ask: "These are the assessment findings. Ready to prioritize, or would you like to investigate any finding further?"

If the user wants to investigate: discuss the specific finding, read relevant files, provide more context. Return to this gate when done.

Present findings as a numbered list (grouped by severity: high first). Ask:

"Select which improvements to implement (comma-separated numbers, 'all', or 'all high'):"

After selection, proceed to G3.

Step 5: Gate G3 — Spec Strategy

Ask with AskUserQuestion:

"How should these improvements be organized into specifications?"

Options:

1. Bundle all into one spec — Single feature spec covering all selected improvements
2. Create separate specs — One spec per improvement
3. Let Arness suggest groupings — Group by affected mo