solve-efficiently

Solve Efficiently

Optimize for a correct, verified outcome per unit of context. Never reduce tokens by skipping evidence; never add process a simple task does not need.

1. Frame the work

Before acting, name four things in one compact checkpoint: required outcome; request mode (answer, diagnose, change, or monitor); constraints and state that must be preserved; evidence that would prove completion. Mode rules:

• Answer: inspect enough evidence to respond; mutate nothing.
• Diagnose: isolate the cause; invoke diagnose-systematically when reproduction or causality is non-trivial. Do not implement unless asked — diagnosis stays investigation-only at every intensity.
• Change: implement, verify, hand off.
• Monitor: observe until the terminal condition or a real blocker.
• Mixed modes keep their order: diagnose before changing, then verify.

For a bounded technical decision with a supplied brief and primary sources: one evidence batch — read the brief, inspect only the named version-matched sources, preserve exact URLs and caveats, then separate verified facts, inference, recommendation, and uncertainty. Do not run generic discovery or test an implementation nobody requested.

2. Discover context progressively

Start with the cheapest source that narrows the next action:

1. Workspace instructions and repository state.
2. Search filenames, symbols, and exact error text.
3. Read only relevant sections; open complete files before editing them.
4. Expand through imports, callers, tests, or authoritative docs only as evidence requires.

High-value sequence: search exact identifiers → inspect matches and nearest behavioral tests → follow imports/callers only across the affected boundary → run a targeted check on the largest uncertainty → broaden after it passes.

Stop discovery when all hold: the affected boundary is identified; the change or answer is supported by current evidence; a meaningful verification target is known; further exploration is unlikely to change the next action.