claude-consult

Claude Consult

Get expert help from Claude specialist agents during implementation. Each agent has domain-specific skills pre-loaded and tools scoped to its role.

This is NOT a replacement for the review gates. The agent-loops skill defines formal code review (specialist-review) and test audit (diff-test-audit) gates that run after implementation. This skill is for asking questions during implementation — before you've written code, while you're writing it, or when you're stuck.

When to Use

• "How does this module work?" — before implementing
• "Does my approach match existing conventions?" — while implementing
• "Is this pattern secure?" — before committing to a design
• "Why is this test failing?" — when stuck
• "What do the testing standards say about X?" — before writing tests
• "Is this component accessible?" — during UI work

How to Invoke

claude -p --agent <agent-name> "<your question>"

All agents run headless (-p / print mode). They read the codebase, apply their loaded skills, and return an answer to stdout. Capture or pipe as needed:

# Direct invocation
claude -p --agent debugger "Why is test_auth_flow failing in src/auth/tests.py?"

# Capture to variable
ANSWER=$(claude -p --agent security-auditor "Is the input validation in src/api/handler.py safe?")

# Save to file
claude -p --agent architect-reviewer "Does adding a cache layer between api and db match the existing architecture?" > /tmp/arch-advice.md

Agent Roster

Codebase Understanding

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | search-specialist | Find where something is defined or called | codanna-codebase-intelligence | | architect-reviewer | Evaluate module boundaries and dependencies | system-design, api-design-patterns | | docs-architect | Understand existing documentation structure | documentation-production, code-explanation |

Code Quality & Patterns

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | code-reviewer | Check if code follows project conventions | code-quality-workflow, testing-anti-patterns, secure-coding-practices | | refiner | Get suggestions for improving code quality | code-quality-workflow | | rest-expert | Design or check REST API patterns | api-design-patterns |

Security

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | security-auditor | Full security review of a code path | owasp-top-10, secure-coding-practices, vibe-security, security-testing-patterns | | owasp-top10-expert | Check against OWASP Top 10 specifically | owasp-top-10, secure-coding-practices, vibe-security | | penetration-tester | Identify exploitable vulnerabilities | security-testing-patterns, owasp-top-10, threat-modeling-techniques | | jwt-expert | Review JWT/auth token handling | secure-coding-practices | | compliance-auditor | Check regulatory compliance | secure-coding-practices, owasp-top-10 |

Testing

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | test-automator | Plan test strategy or check coverage approach | test-review, python-testing-patterns, testing-anti-patterns | | vitest-expert | Vitest-specific test patterns | testing-anti-patterns |

Debugging

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | debugger | Investigate a test failure or error | systematic-debugging, root-cause-tracing |

Performance

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | performance-engineer | Find bottlenecks in code paths | workflow-performance, python-performance-optimization, react-performance-optimization | | frontend-optimizer | Optimize frontend bundle/rendering | react-performance-optimization, design-system-architecture | | performance-monitor | Set up or check monitoring/observability | workflow-performance |

Frontend & UI

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | ui-ux-designer | Review UI for usability and accessibility | ux-review, accessibility-audit, design-system-architecture | | component-architect | Design component APIs and composition | design-system-architecture, typescript-advanced-patterns | | interaction-designer | Review interaction patterns and states | ux-review, accessibility-audit | | state-architect | Choose or review state management approach | react-performance-optimization, typescript-advanced-patterns | | react-specialist | React-specific patterns and optimization | react-performance-optimization, typescript-advanced-patterns, testing-anti-patterns | | tailwind-expert | Tailwind styling and responsive design | design-system-architecture, accessibility-audit |

Language Specialists

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | python-pro | Python idioms, async, decorators | async-python-patterns, python-testing-patterns, python-performance-optimization | | rust-pro | Ownership, lifetimes, traits | test-driven-development | | typescript-pro | Advanced types and type safety | typescript-advanced-patterns, testing-anti-patterns | | javascript-pro | JS/Node.js async and cross-runtime | testing-anti-patterns, typescript-advanced-patterns | | sql-pro | Query optimization and schema design | database-design-patterns |

Infrastructure

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | cloud-architect | AWS/Azure/GCP architecture decisions | terraform-best-practices, kubernetes-deployment-patterns, gitops-workflows | | kubernetes-architect | K8s deployment and service mesh | kubernetes-deployment-patterns, kubernetes-security-policies, helm-chart-patterns, gitops-workflows | | terraform-specialist | IaC modules and state management | terraform-best-practices |

Data

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | database-admin | DB operations, backup, replication | database-design-patterns | | database-optimizer | Slow queries, indexing, N+1 problems | database-design-patterns | | postgres-expert | Postgres-specific schemas and migrations | database-design-patterns |

Documentation

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | mermaid-expert | Generate architecture/flow diagrams | documentation-production | | tutorial-engineer | Write tutorials and how-to guides | documentation-production, code-explanation | | technical-writer | Write clear technical documentation | documentation-production, code-explanation | | reference-builder | Generate API/config reference docs | documentation-production |

Coordination & Meta

| Agent | Use when you need to... | Skills loaded | |---|---|---| | orchestrator | Break down complex tasks | task-orchestration, dispatching-parallel-agents | | prompt-engineer | Craft or improve prompts for AI features | writing-skills | | learning-guide | Understand a concept or pattern | code-explanation |

Operating Rules

1. Consult, don't delegate implementation

These agents advise — they don't write your code. Read the answer, apply it yourself. The agent may suggest approaches, but you implement them.

2. Scope your questions

Bad: "Review everything in src/" Good: "Is the input validation in src/api/handler.py:45-60 safe against injection?"

Narrow questions get better answers and use fewer tokens.

3. Don't replace review gates

Consulting security-auditor during implementation doesn't skip the formal specialist-review gate afterward. The review gates exist for independent verification — consulting during implementation is for getting guidance early.

4. Use the cheapest agent that works

For factual lookups (where is X, what does the standard say), prefer search-specialist or the language-specific agents. Reserve security-auditor, debugger, and performance-engineer for questions that need deeper analysis.

5. One question per invocation

Each claude -p --agent call is a cold start. Don