Pair Programming Skill

Launch a pair programming session where a second AI agent watches your work and provides real-time feedback on bugs, security issues, and missed edge cases.

Commands

• •/pair or /pair start - Start with default backend (opus)
• •/pair opus - Start with Claude Opus as pair (Task tool)
• •/pair codex - Start with Codex as pair (background CLI)
• •/pair stop - End the current session
• •/pair status - Check if pairing is active

Starting a Session

When the user invokes /pair:

Step 1: Generate Session ID

SESSION_ID=$(openssl rand -hex 4)
echo "Session ID: $SESSION_ID"

Step 2: Start the Bridge Server

SESSION_ID="$SESSION_ID" pair-bridge start

Verify it started:

SESSION_ID="$SESSION_ID" pair-bridge status

Step 3: Spawn the Pair Agent

Determine the backend from the command (default is opus):

• •/pair or /pair opus → Use Task tool
• •/pair codex → Use Bash background process

For Opus (default): Use Task Tool

Spawn the pair agent using the Task tool with these parameters:

• •subagent_type: "general-purpose"
• •model: "opus"
• •run_in_background: true
• •prompt: The pair programmer prompt below

Pair Programmer Prompt for Task Tool:

You are a pair programmer watching another Claude agent work. Your job is to catch bugs, security issues, and missed edge cases.

## Connection
Session ID: {SESSION_ID}
Socket: /tmp/claude-pair-{SESSION_ID}.sock

## Your Loop

Run this continuously:

1. Wait for activity:
   ```bash
   SESSION_ID="{SESSION_ID}" pair-bridge wait $LAST_SEEN

This blocks until the main agent does something. Start with LAST_SEEN=0.

1. •

   Parse the JSON response - it contains tool calls with:

   • •tool: Which tool was used (Edit, Bash, Read, etc.)
   • •input: The tool's parameters
   • •output_summary: First 2KB of output
   • •sequence: Incrementing ID (use as next LAST_SEEN)
2. •

   Analyze for issues:

   • •Bugs or logic errors
   • •Security vulnerabilities
   • •Missed edge cases
   • •Breaking API changes
   • •Missing test updates
3. •

   If you spot an issue, emit feedback:

   bash

   SESSION_ID="{SESSION_ID}" pair-bridge emit feedback '{"severity":"high","message":"Description","context":{"file":"path.ts","line":42}}'
   

4. •

   Update LAST_SEEN and loop back to step 1.

Severity Levels

• •high: Stop and fix now (security, data loss, breaking changes)
• •medium: Fix soon (missing error handling, test gaps)
• •low: Consider later (minor style issues)

Guidelines

• •Stay quiet on routine operations
• •Quality over quantity - one good catch beats ten nitpicks
• •Ask questions if intent is unclear
• •Focus on what the main agent might miss

Begin watching now.

#### For Codex: Use Bash Background Process

Spawn Codex as a background process:

```bash
codex --quiet "You are a pair programmer. Session: {SESSION_ID}. Run: while true; do ACTIVITY=\$(SESSION_ID={SESSION_ID} pair-bridge wait \$LAST_SEEN); # analyze and emit feedback; done" &
CODEX_PID=$!
echo "Codex pair agent started with PID: $CODEX_PID"

Store the PID for later cleanup.

Step 4: Confirm to User

Tell the user:

• •Session ID
• •Which backend is running
• •That their pair will provide feedback as they work

Stopping a Session

When the user says /pair stop:

1. •

   Stop the bridge server:

   bash

   SESSION_ID="$SESSION_ID" pair-bridge stop
   

2. •

   If using Codex, kill the background process:

   bash

   kill $CODEX_PID 2>/dev/null
   

3. •

   Summarize the session (activity count, feedback given)

Checking Status

When the user says /pair status:

SESSION_ID="$SESSION_ID" pair-bridge status

Report:

• •Whether pairing is active
• •Session uptime
• •Activity count
• •Pending feedback count

How Feedback Appears

The hooks handle feedback injection automatically:

• •pair-emit-activity.sh (PostToolUse): Sends your tool calls to the bridge
• •pair-check-feedback.sh (PreToolUse): Shows pair feedback before your next action

When the pair spots an issue, you'll see:

<pair-feedback>
PAIR PROGRAMMER FEEDBACK:
This SQL query concatenates user input - use parameterized queries
Location: src/db/queries.ts:45
SEVERITY: HIGH - Address before continuing
</pair-feedback>

Example Session

User: /pair

Agent: Starting pair programming session...
  Session ID: a1b2c3d4
  Bridge: /tmp/claude-pair-a1b2c3d4.sock
  Backend: opus (Task tool)

[Spawns background Task with pair programmer prompt]

Pair programming active! I'll work on your task while my pair watches for issues.

User: Refactor the auth module to use JWT

Agent: [Reads files, makes edits...]

<pair-feedback>
PAIR PROGRAMMER FEEDBACK:
You removed the rate limiting check - this protected against brute force attacks.
Location: src/auth/login.ts:45
SEVERITY: HIGH - Address before continuing
</pair-feedback>

Agent: Good catch from my pair! Let me restore that rate limiting...

User: /pair stop

Agent: Ending pair programming session...
  Duration: 12 minutes
  Tool calls observed: 34
  Feedback provided: 2 (1 high, 1 medium)

Session ended.