context-retrieval-looplisted

# Context Retrieval Loop Gather the right codebase context before making changes or spawning subagents. ## When to Use - Starting work in an unfamiliar area - Spawning a subagent that needs targeted file context - First search pass returned nothing useful ## The 3-Cycle Loop ### Cycle 1 — Broad Search ```bash rg "<primary-keyword>" --type ts --type js -l find . -name "*<keyword>*" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" ``` Stop here if 3+ directly relevant files found. ### Cycle 2 — Exact Source and Tests Read the most relevant files from Cycle 1. Then find: ```bash rg "<filename-stem>" --glob "*.test.*" --glob "*.spec.*" -l rg "import.*<module-name>" -l ``` Stop here if you can describe the change and its blast radius. ### Cycle 3 — Docs and Setup ```bash ls docs/ README.md AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md .claude/ 2>/dev/null rg "<keyword>" .env.example *.config.* 2>/dev/null ``` ## Stopping Conditions Stop when: 3+ high-relevance files understood, OR Cycle 3 complete, OR new cycles return only files already seen. ## Output ``` Context gathered: <file-path> — <one-line reason> Missing context (if any): <what is still unclear> ``` State gaps explicitly. Do not proceed with guesses when a known gap exists. ## Integration with Subagents Pass file paths to subagents, not file contents: ``` Relevant files: src/auth/tokens.ts, src/auth/session.ts, src/auth/tokens.test.ts ```