Repository navigation
feat: Devil's Advocate (Challenger) agent charter template + auto-trigger #598
Description
Problem
Agents overstate findings and produce unchallenged analysis. In our squad, agents claimed 75-90% token savings when the real number was 20-55%. Without a challenger, wrong recommendations get implemented.
Proposal
Add an optional Challenger agent template to the framework:
- Charter template:
.squad/templates/agents/challenger.md— role is to verify claims, run counter-hypotheses, check math, flag confidence levels (Verified/Unverified/Contradicted) - Spawn integration: Coordinator can auto-spawn challenger before any architecture decision or when a claim exceeds a threshold (e.g., 'saves 75%')
- Iterative retrieval pattern: Max 3 investigation cycles, must cite evidence for every verdict
- Output format: Per-claim verdict table with evidence links
Prior Art
Field-tested as 'Q' agent across 200+ issues. Caught: inflated metrics, fabricated config references, wrong bottleneck assumptions. False positive rate ~15% (challenged things that were actually correct).
Deliverables
- Agent charter template
- Ceremony integration (auto-trigger before architecture decisions)
- Example spawn prompt in coordinator docs
Activity
[-]feat: Devil's Advocate (Challenger) agent template[/-][+]feat: Devil's Advocate (Challenger) agent charter template + auto-trigger[/+]tamirdresher commentedon Mar 24, 2026
Revision after checking main: The Reviewer Rejection Protocol already exists in squad.agent.md — that covers post-work review. What's missing is a pre-decision challenger pattern: auto-spawning a fact-checker before architecture decisions or when agents make claims with specific metrics. The charter template + ceremony auto-trigger are the gap. Narrowing scope to those.
feat(skills): add fact-checking skill\n\nAdds challenger/fact-checkin…
feat(agents): add challenger agent charter template\n\nGeneric Devil'…
feat: add Challenger (Devil's Advocate) agent template
feat(agents): add Challenger / Devil's Advocate agent template + fact…
bradygaster commentedon Mar 26, 2026
Resolved by #603 (merged). Challenger agent template + fact-checking skill are now available in templates/agents/challenger.md. Teams can adopt this pattern immediately.
fix: REPL UX fixes — 10 issues resolved with 52 new tests (github#608)
feat(agents): add Challenger / Devil's Advocate agent template + fact…
feat(agents): add Challenger / Devil's Advocate agent template + fact…
feat: APM integration — squad skill publish/install + apm.yml in init (…
feat(agents): add Challenger / Devil's Advocate agent template + fact…
feat: APM integration — squad skill publish/install + apm.yml in init (…