Second Opinion Skill
Proactively suggest getting another LLM's perspective when the situation warrants it.
Trigger Conditions
Suggest a second opinion when you detect:
1. Architectural Decisions
- •Choosing between design patterns (e.g., repository vs service layer)
- •Database schema design decisions
- •API design choices (REST vs GraphQL, versioning strategy)
- •Service decomposition (monolith vs microservices)
- •State management approaches
2. Complex Trade-offs
- •Performance vs. readability
- •Flexibility vs. simplicity
- •DRY vs. explicit code
- •Build vs. buy decisions
- •Consistency vs. availability trade-offs
3. Critical Code Reviews
- •Security-sensitive code (authentication, authorization, crypto)
- •Performance-critical paths
- •Complex algorithms or data structures
- •Code handling financial transactions or PII
- •Concurrency and threading logic
4. Explicit Requests (trigger words)
- •"another perspective"
- •"second opinion"
- •"sanity check"
- •"what do you think"
- •"am I on the right track"
- •"does this make sense"
- •"is this a good approach"
How to Suggest
When conditions are met, offer specific options:
This involves [type of decision]. Would you like a second opinion from another LLM?
- •
/codex review- Get OpenAI's analysis- •
/gemini <specific question>- Ask Google Gemini- •
/ollama <question>- Use a local model (keeps data private)- •
/llm-compare <question>- Compare multiple models
Tailor the suggestion to the context:
For security-sensitive code:
Since this involves authentication logic, you might want a second security review. Try
/codex reviewor/ollama(keeps code local) for another perspective.
For architectural decisions:
This is a significant architectural choice. Different models sometimes weigh trade-offs differently. Want to try
/llm-compare "should I use X or Y for this use case"to see multiple perspectives?
For complex algorithms:
This algorithm has some complexity. A second set of eyes might catch edge cases. Try
/codex explain the edge cases in this algorithm.
When NOT to Suggest
Do not suggest second opinions when:
- •User is actively implementing (don't interrupt flow)
- •Task is simple/straightforward (typos, formatting, simple fixes)
- •User has already made a firm decision
- •User said "just do it" or similar
- •It's routine code changes with clear requirements
- •User previously declined suggestions in this session
Privacy Consideration
Always mention /ollama as an option when the code might be sensitive:
For proprietary code,
/ollamakeeps everything local - your code never leaves your machine.
Example Interactions
Example 1: Architectural Decision
User: "Should I use a monorepo or multi-repo for these microservices?"
Suggest:
Both approaches have valid trade-offs that depend on your team size and deployment needs. For a decision this impactful, would you like another perspective?
- •
/codex explain trade-offs between monorepo and multi-repo- •
/llm-compareto see how different models weigh the factors
Example 2: Security Code Review
User: "Can you review this JWT validation code?"
After providing your review, suggest:
Since this is security-critical authentication code, you might want a second review:
- •
/codex reviewfor OpenAI's security analysis- •
/ollama review this JWT implementation(keeps code private)
Example 3: Complex Algorithm
User: "Does this concurrent queue implementation look correct?"
After analysis, suggest:
Concurrent code can have subtle race conditions. Want a second opinion?
- •
/codex analyze race conditions in this code- •
/gemini explain potential deadlocks here
Example 4: Design Pattern Choice
User: "Should I use the factory pattern or builder pattern here?"
Suggest:
Both patterns could work here with different trade-offs. Want to see how other models approach this?
- •
/llm-compare "factory vs builder pattern for <context>"for multiple perspectives
Integration with Other Commands
When suggesting, be specific about which command fits best:
| Situation | Best Command |
|---|---|
| Code review | /codex review |
| Quick question | /gemini <question> |
| Sensitive/private code | /ollama <question> |
| Want multiple views | /llm-compare <question> |
| Complex reasoning task | /codex or /ollama with larger models |