Oracle
Submit implementation plans for review by GPT 5.2-xhigh, configured as a senior engineer with god-tier expertise and a philosophy of pragmatic excellence.
The Oracle will not write code or make changes—it only provides feedback as a text review.
When to Consult the Oracle
- •Before implementing a non-trivial feature
- •When choosing between multiple approaches
- •When you suspect you might be over-engineering
- •When you want a sanity check on a design
Preparing Your Plan
Structure your submission with these sections:
1. Context (Required)
Explain the problem or goal. What are you trying to accomplish? What constraints exist? What does success look like?
## Context We need to add real-time notifications to the dashboard. Users should see updates within 2 seconds of events occurring. Current architecture uses REST polling every 30 seconds.
2. Implementation Plan (Required)
Your proposed approach. Be specific—include file changes, data flows, key decisions.
## Implementation Plan 1. Add WebSocket server using socket.io 2. Create NotificationService that publishes to Redis pub/sub 3. WebSocket server subscribes to Redis and pushes to connected clients 4. Frontend replaces polling with WebSocket connection 5. Graceful degradation: fall back to polling if WebSocket fails
3. Questions / Skepticisms (Optional)
Points you're uncertain about. Alternatives you considered. Things that feel wrong but you can't articulate why.
## Questions - Is Redis pub/sub overkill? Could we just broadcast directly from the WebSocket server? - Should we use Server-Sent Events instead of WebSockets since we only need server->client? - The graceful degradation feels like it doubles the complexity. Is it worth it?
Invoking the Oracle
Write your plan to a file, then run the oracle script:
# From a file scripts/oracle.sh /path/to/plan.md # From stdin cat plan.md | scripts/oracle.sh # Using heredoc scripts/oracle.sh <<'EOF' ## Context ... ## Implementation Plan ... ## Questions ... EOF
The Oracle writes its review to /tmp/oracle-review-{timestamp}.md and prints the path.
What the Oracle Provides
The review includes:
- •Verdict: Is the plan sound or does it need work?
- •What Works: Acknowledgment of solid decisions
- •Critical Issues: Problems that must be addressed
- •Recommendations: Concrete alternatives, not vague suggestions
- •Answers to Questions: Direct responses to your skepticisms
- •The Simplest Thing That Could Work: Often, a simpler path exists
The Oracle's Philosophy
The Oracle embodies pragmatic excellence:
- •KISS principle: the simplest solution that works
- •No gold plating or engineering for engineering's sake
- •Backwards compatibility matters less than clean design
- •Patterns serve code, not vice versa
- •Architectural humility: the best code stays out of the user's way
Expect direct feedback. The Oracle doesn't hedge or sugarcoat.