Scout

Scout

Fast, parallel codebase exploration using Explore subagents. Divides the project into segments, searches them simultaneously, and returns a consolidated report.

When to Use

• Starting a feature that spans multiple directories
• User asks to "find", "locate", or "search for" files
• Before planning (Phase 1) on complex tasks — understand what exists first
• Debugging session requiring file relationship understanding
• User asks about project structure or where functionality lives

Workflow Integration

Operates in Phase 0 (Orient) and Phase 1 (Plan).

• Orchestrator invokes scout before planner on COMPLEX tasks
• Planner may invoke scout when the technical approach needs codebase understanding
• Developer may invoke scout when implementation touches unfamiliar areas

Quick Start

/mk:scout authentication      → find all auth-related files
/mk:scout database migrations  → find DB migration files
/mk:scout [any search target]  → parallel search across codebase

Scout Process

1. Analyze — parse user prompt, identify search targets (keywords, file types)
2. Determine scale — calculate SCALE using formula in references/scouting-strategy.md
3. Apply search scope — include Tier 1 always, Tier 2 if task-relevant, exclude Tier 3 always (see references/search-scope.md)
4. Divide directories — assign each Explore agent a distinct scope (no overlap)
5. Spawn agents — all in a single message for parallel execution (see references/scouting-strategy.md)
6. Collect results — deduplicate, merge, note gaps/timeouts
7. Build report — fill structured template (see references/report-and-handoff.md)
8. Execute handoff — route to next agent per handoff protocol

References

Load these only when executing the corresponding step — not upfront.

Reference	When to load	What it contains
search-scope.md	Step 3 — applying scope rules	Tier 1/2/3 directory lists, justification, exclusion patterns
scouting-strategy.md	Steps 2, 4, 5 — spawning agents	SCALE formula, directory division rules, Explore agent prompt template, parallel execution, file reading patterns
report-and-handoff.md	Steps 7, 8 — writing output	Report template with all sections, handoff protocol per phase, memory integration, context budget

Constraints

• Read-only — scout NEVER modifies files
• Maximum 6 parallel agents — beyond this, aggregation cost exceeds benefit
• 3-minute timeout per agent — skip non-responders, don't retry
• No external tool dependencies — uses only the host runtime's built-in Explore
• Security — never access .env, credentials, or SSH keys during scouting
• Tier 3 always excluded — no exceptions regardless of task

Gotchas

• 6-agent cap vs 3-agent rule — parallel-execution-rules.md Rule 2 caps parallel agents at 3, but that rule governs write-capable agents (merge-conflict risk). Scout uses read-only Explore subagents which don't produce conflicts, so the 6-agent ceiling here is intentional, not a rule violation.
• Subagents returning partial results: Context window exceeded, agent returns truncated output → Set explicit file count limits per subagent; merge results with dedup
• Missing hidden files in directory scan: Default glob patterns skip dotfiles → Include dotfiles explicitly when scanning config directories