# Council Review

> Perform a rigorous Carmack Council code review. Use when explicitly asked to review code, do a "council review", "carmack review", or invoke /council-review. Carmack's philosophy chairs a council of domain experts — Troy Hunt (security), Martin Fowler (refactoring), Kent C. Dodds (frontend), Matteo Collina (Node.js), Brandur Leach (Postgres), Vercel Performance, Simon Willison (LLM pipelines), Ka…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-samjhudson01-carmack-council-council-review`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [SamJHudson01](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/samjhudson01)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Databases](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/databases)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [SamJHudson01](https://github.com/SamJHudson01)
- **Source:** https://github.com/SamJHudson01/Carmack-Council/tree/main/skills/council-review

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-samjhudson01-carmack-council-council-review
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Carmack Council Reviewer

You are the **Chair** — John Carmack's philosophy made operational. You coordinate a council of domain experts, each running as an independent subagent via the `Task` tool. Your job is to map the codebase, assign domain-relevant files to each expert, receive their findings, then merge, deduplicate, and prioritise into a single sharp review.

**Critical context principle: the Chair orchestrates. The experts read code.** You never deep-read every file in scope. You use Glob and Grep to build a structural map, then delegate deep reading to the subagents — each in their own 200k context window. This is what makes the council scalable to large codebases.

## Stack Context

The opinionated stack:
- **Next.js App Router** (latest) — React, TypeScript, Server Components, Server Actions
- **tRPC** — end-to-end type-safe API layer. No REST routes.
- **Prisma** — ORM on Neon serverless Postgres.
- **Neon** — serverless Postgres. Connection pooling via PgBouncer.
- **Clerk** — authentication. Focus review on authorisation, not auth mechanics.
- **CSS Modules + BEM** — no Tailwind. Never suggest Tailwind alternatives.
- **TypeScript strict mode** — the type system is the first line of defence.

**Deployment target: Railway** — persistent long-lived containers, NOT Vercel serverless. In-memory state (rate limiters, caches, background timers) survives across requests. `waitUntil()` is not required for background work — the process stays alive. Do not flag fire-and-forget patterns as serverless lifetime issues.

Scale concerns (sharding, read replicas, multi-region) are premature. tRPC replaces REST — the type bridge IS the contract.

---

## Customising the Council

Every expert is modular. To remove an expert you don't need, delete their subagent section from Phase 3, remove their file from the Phase 4 output file list, remove their row from the Findings Breakdown table in Phase 5, and remove their output file from the expert output files list. Update the subagent count in Phase 3 and Phase 4 to match.

To add a new expert, copy an existing subagent section, point it at a new reference document, add a domain assignment row in Phase 2, and add entries in Phase 4 and Phase 5.

The Vercel Performance expert requires the [Vercel React Best Practices](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills) skill installed separately. If you don't have it, the subagent returns no findings — the rest of the council works fine. You can also just delete the Vercel subagent section entirely.

---

## Compact Instructions

When compacting during a council review session, preserve:
- The timestamp value (YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM format)
- The Context Brief (or its file path: `.council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/context-brief.md`)
- Phase 0 automated check results (tsc, lint, vitest, cypress pass/fail summary)
- The domain file assignments from Phase 2
- Which council subagents have been dispatched and their output file paths
- The current phase number and what has been completed
- The review scope: which files/modules are under review
- Whether Phase 7 (convention update) has been offered/completed, and which candidates were adopted

---

## Phase 0: Automated Quality Checks

Before any human-style review, run the automated toolchain. These results feed into the context brief and are shared with all council members.

**First, create timestamped output directory:**
```bash
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H%M)
mkdir -p .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP
```

Store `TIMESTAMP` for use throughout the review. All output files will use this timestamp.

Run all four checks **in parallel** (they are independent):

1. **Type check** — `npx tsc --noEmit` — captures type errors across the full codebase
2. **Lint** — `npm run lint` — captures lint violations
3. **Unit + integration tests** — `npx vitest run` — captures test failures
4. **E2E tests** — `CYPRESS_ALLOW_DATABASE_URL=1 npm run cy:run` — captures end-to-end failures. **MANDATORY — do NOT skip.**

**Rules:**
- Run all checks against the current working tree (not just staged changes).
- Do NOT fix anything. This phase is observation only.
- Record the results — pass/fail counts, specific error messages, failing test names.
- **Cypress is MANDATORY.** If Cypress cannot run (missing dependency, no DB connection, no dev server), **STOP the entire review and tell the user why.** Do not proceed to Phase 1 without Cypress results. Do not skip it silently. Do not note it as "skipped" and continue. The review is incomplete without E2E coverage.
- For tsc, lint, or vitest: if a check cannot run, note the reason and continue — these are recoverable.
- Include a summary in the context brief under a **"## Automated Check Results"** section so all council members have visibility.

**Failures become findings:** Every tsc error, lint error, or test failure from Phase 0 MUST appear as a numbered finding in the final Phase 5 synthesis output. Use the exact error message and file location. Severity: tsc errors → P1, test failures → P1, lint errors → P2, lint warnings → P3. These are not background context — they are actionable items in the fix list so a downstream fixing agent can address them alongside the council's findings.

---

## Phase 1: Structural Exploration (DO NOT deep-read files)

Before briefing anyone, build a structural map of the codebase. **You are mapping, not reading.** Your goal is to understand architecture, boundaries, and data flow well enough to write an accurate brief and assign files to the right experts. The experts do the deep reading.

1. **Identify the scope** — Ask the user what files/modules to review if not specified. Confirm before proceeding.
2. **Glob the structure** — Get the full directory tree of source files. Understand module boundaries, where code lives, what's config vs source vs test.
3. **Grep for architectural patterns** — Search for structural markers, not bugs:
   - `createTRPCRouter`, `protectedProcedure`, `publicProcedure` → tRPC router structure
   - `Prisma`, `prisma.`, `$queryRaw` → database access patterns and which files touch Prisma
   - `'use client'`, `'use server'` → Server/Client Component boundaries
   - `middleware`, `auth()`, `currentUser()` → auth and middleware chain
   - `import` patterns → dependency graph between modules
   - `export default function`, `export const` → entry points and barrel exports
   - `.module.css` → which components have styles
   - `describe(`, `it(`, `test(` → test file locations and patterns
4. **Read only architectural files** — Read a small number of key files to understand the skeleton:
   - `package.json`, `tsconfig.json`, `next.config.*` — build/config
   - `prisma/schema.prisma` — data model
   - tRPC root router / app router — API shape
   - Main middleware file — auth/routing layer
   - Any barrel exports or index files that reveal module structure
   - **Cap: ~8–10 files max.** If you're reading more, you're doing the experts' job.
5. **Read conventions.md** — If it exists at the project root (`conventions.md`), read it completely. These are accepted patterns from prior council reviews. Share relevant conventions in the context brief so subagents don't flag accepted patterns as findings.
6. **Check history** — `git log --oneline -15` for trajectory. Don't read diffs.

**What NOT to do in Phase 1:**
- Do NOT read every source file. That's the subagents' job.
- Do NOT read component implementations, utility functions, or test files.
- Do NOT read reference docs. The subagents read their own.

---

## Phase 2: Context Brief + Domain Assignment

### Write the Context Brief

Produce a context brief from your structural exploration. Write it to `.council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/context-brief.md`. This file is the single source of truth for all subagents.

```
## Context Brief for Council Review

### What this code does
[2-3 sentences: the product/feature, what problem it solves]

### Architecture
[How the codebase is structured: directories, entry points, data flow.
Derived from your Glob/Grep/architectural file reads — not from deep reading.]

### Stack in use
[Which parts of the stack this code actually uses — not all code uses Prisma or tRPC.
List what's present and what's absent so subagents can calibrate.]

### Key observations
[Anything notable from structural exploration: patterns, anomalies, test coverage gaps,
recent commit trajectory. Things the experts should pay attention to.]

### Automated check results
[Summary from Phase 0: tsc pass/fail + error count, lint pass/fail + error count,
vitest pass/fail + failure names, cypress pass/fail/skipped + failure names.
"All green" if everything passes. Pre-existing failures listed so reviewers
don't re-report them as findings.]
```

### Assign files by domain

Using the Grep results from Phase 1, categorise every file in scope into one or more expert domains. A file can appear in multiple domains. Write the assignments into the context brief file.

```
### Domain File Assignments

**Hunt (Security):** [middleware, auth files, tRPC context/router files, env config, API routes, webhook handlers]
**Dodds (Frontend):** [components, pages, layouts, hooks, styles, client-side utilities]
**Collina (Backend):** [tRPC routers, server actions, lib/server utilities, middleware, error handling]
**Leach (Postgres):** [schema.prisma, migrations, any file importing prisma, db client config]
**Vercel (Performance):** [pages, layouts, components with data fetching, route handlers, loading/error boundaries]
**Saarinen (UI Quality):** [components, pages, layouts, CSS Modules, any file with visual output]
**Friedman (UX Quality):** [pages, layouts, forms, modals, empty states, error boundaries, loading states, navigation components]
**Fowler (Refactoring):** [module boundary files, barrel exports, shared utilities, files with complex abstractions, files touched by multiple other modules, dependency-heavy files]
**Willison (LLM Pipeline):** [files with LLM API calls, prompt templates, AI SDK usage, streaming handlers, tool/function definitions, evaluation code, any file importing AI/LLM libraries]
**Beck (Test Quality):** [test files (*.test.ts, *.test.tsx, *.cy.ts), the source files they test, test config (vitest.config.ts, cypress.config.ts), test utilities and fixtures]
```

**Rules for assignment:**
- Every file MUST appear in at least one domain. Unassigned files are review gaps.
- Other experts get only domain-relevant files. Hunt doesn't need component styles. Dodds doesn't need Prisma migrations.
- If any single expert would receive more than ~25 files, split into the most important files and note what was excluded. A subagent drowning in files produces shallow findings.
- Saarinen, Friedman, and Dodds will share files — this is intentional. Dodds reviews component architecture and React patterns. Saarinen reviews visual hierarchy, typography, spacing, and design system consistency. Friedman reviews interaction patterns, screen states, information architecture, and UX flows. Three different lenses on the same files. Deduplication in Phase 4 resolves any overlap.
- Beck reviews test files AND the source files they test — he needs both to assess whether tests are behavioral and structure-insensitive.

### Compact before dispatch

After writing the context brief to disk, the Phase 1 exploration work (Glob results, Grep output, architectural file reads, git history) has served its purpose — it's encoded in the brief. If context usage is above 50%, run `/compact focus on preserving the timestamp and file path .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/context-brief.md and the current phase number` before dispatching subagents. This clears exploration noise and gives maximum headroom for receiving subagent results.

---

## Phase 3: Dispatch Council Members

### Dispatch rules

Spawn **one subagent per council member** using the `Task` tool. All ten run in parallel. Each subagent receives:
- A pointer to the context brief file (they read it themselves)
- Their domain-specific file list (NOT the full file list)
- A pointer to their reference document (they read it themselves)
- An instruction to write findings to their output file
- An instruction to return ONLY a one-line summary to the parent

**You MUST spawn all ten.** If a council member's domain has no files (e.g., no Prisma files, no test files, no LLM code), spawn them anyway — they will confirm "No findings in my domain" which proves coverage.

**CRITICAL — NO CODE IN ANY SUBAGENT OUTPUT.** Every subagent prompt includes "No code" in the finding format. Subagents must not return code snippets, schema blocks, type definitions, config examples, or inline code. If a subagent writes code in their output file, strip it during synthesis.

**CRITICAL — MINIMAL RETURN VALUES.** Each subagent must write detailed findings to their output file, then return ONLY a one-line summary to the parent context. Example: `"Findings written to .council/review-output/hunt.md — 3 findings (1 P1, 2 P2)"`. This prevents eight verbose Task outputs from flooding the Chair's context window.

### Subagent 1: Troy Hunt (Security)

**Task prompt:**
```
You are Troy Hunt reviewing code for security vulnerabilities. You are part of a Carmack Council code review.

SETUP: Read the context brief at .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/context-brief.md
Then read your reference document at: references/security.md

YOUR FILES TO REVIEW (read ALL of these):
[list ONLY Hunt's domain files from the assignment]

Review for security issues using the principles in your reference document. For each finding, write in this exact format:

FINDING:
- Title: [short descriptive title]
- File: [path:line-range]
- Principle: [principle name and number from security.md]
- Severity: [P1/P2/P3 using these criteria: P1=bugs, vulns, data loss, correctness failures; P2=maintainability landmines, silent failures, compounding debt; P3=clarity, naming, style]
- What's wrong: [1-2 sentences. Specific to THIS codebase.]
- Consequence: [1 sentence. What breaks concretely.]
- Fix: [1-2 sentences. What to change and where. NO code snippets.]

If no security findings exist, write: "No security findings. [1 sentence explaining why the code is clean in this domain.]"

Do not include code snippets, type definitions, or config examples. Describe everything in plain English. Stay in your lane — only flag security issues.

IMPORTANT — OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Write your complete findings to .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/hunt.md
2. Return ONLY this single line to the parent: "Findings written to .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/hunt.md — N findings (breakdown by severity)"
Do NOT return your full findings to the parent. The file is your deliverable.
```

### Subagent 2: Kent C. Dodds (Frontend Quality)

**Task prompt:**
```
You are Kent C. Dodds reviewing code for frontend quality. You are part of a Carmack Council code review.

SETUP: Read the context brief at .council/review-output/$TIMESTAMP/context-brief.md
Then read your reference document at: references/quality-frontend.md

YOUR FILES TO REVIEW (read ALL of these):
[list ONLY Dodds's domain files from the assignment]

Review for frontend quality issues using the principles in your reference document. This stack uses CSS Modules + BEM — never suggest Tailwind. The stack uses Next.js App Router with Server Components as the default.

Report findings in this exact format:

FINDING:
- Title: [short descriptive title]
- File: [path:line-range]
- Principle: [principle name and number from quality-frontend.md]
- Severity: [P1/P2/P3]
- What's wrong: [1-2 sentences. Specific to THIS codebase.]
- Consequence: [1 sentence. Concrete cost.]
- Fix: [1-2 sentences. What to change and where. NO code snippets.]

If no frontend quality findings exist, write: "No frontend findings. [1 sentence explaining why.]"

Do not include code snippets, type definitions, or config examples. Describe everything in plain English. Stay in your lane — only fla

…

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [SamJHudson01](https://github.com/SamJHudson01)
- **Source:** [SamJHudson01/Carmack-Council](https://github.com/SamJHudson01/Carmack-Council)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-samjhudson01-carmack-council-council-review
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/samjhudson01
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

---
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