Verifying by Consensus
Overview
Dispatch N agents to independently review the same subject. Collate findings:
- •Common (N/N): All agents found → act immediately
- •Exclusive (<N/N): Some agents found → cross-check validates
Agent Count Heuristics
| Scope | Default N | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Single file change | 2 | Focused review, two perspectives sufficient |
| Multi-file feature | 2-3 | More surface area benefits from diversity |
| Architecture change | 3 | Different perspectives valuable |
| Security-sensitive | 3+ | Higher stakes warrant more eyes |
Override via args: --count 3 or --agents "Explore,Plan,code-agent"
Agent Selection
- •Explicit args: If user provides
--agents, use those - •Available plugins: Check for specialized agents (cipherpowers code-review-agent, etc.)
- •Built-in agents: Use Claude's Explore, Plan agents with review prompts
- •Fallback: N instances of same agent with different perspective prompts
Process
Announce: "I'm using the verifying-by-consensus skill to verify [subject]."
Phase 1: Dispatch
- •Determine N (default 2, or from args)
- •Select agents (from args, plugins, or built-ins)
- •Start workflow:
rundown run runbooks/verify.runbook.md - •Dispatch agents with StepId prefix in description:
code
Step(description="1.1 - Review [subject]", prompt="...", subagent_type="...") Step(description="1.2 - Review [subject]", prompt="...", subagent_type="...")
Hooks automate step binding:
| Manual command | Hook trigger | When |
|---|---|---|
rundown run --step 1.1 | PostToolUse (Step) | StepId detected in description |
rundown run --agent {id} | SubagentStart | Agent spawns |
Subagent protocol:
- •Write findings to
.work/{date}-verify-{agentId}.md - •End response with
STATUS: PASSorSTATUS: FAIL
Phase 2: Collate
After all agents complete, dispatch collation:
- •Read all N review files
- •Compare findings across agents
- •Categorize by consensus:
- •Common (N/N): All agents found this issue
- •Exclusive: Subcategorize by ratio (e.g., 2/3, 1/3)
- •Write collation to
.work/{date}-verify-collated.md
Present immediately:
code
Collation complete. ## Common (N/N) [Issues all agents found - can implement now] ## Exclusive ### (N-1)/N [Issues most agents found] ### 1/N [Issues one agent found] Cross-check starting for exclusive findings...
Phase 3: Cross-Check
Dispatch cross-check agent to validate ALL exclusive findings:
- •For each exclusive issue, verify against ground truth
- •Mark as: VALIDATED | INVALIDATED | UNCERTAIN
- •Write to
.work/{date}-verify-crosscheck.md
Present when complete:
code
Cross-check complete. VALIDATED: X issues (should address) INVALIDATED: X issues (can skip) UNCERTAIN: X issues (user decides)
Phase 4: Complete
bash
rundown complete
Output Files
All files saved to .work/:
- •
{date}-verify-{agentId}.md- Individual reviews - •
{date}-verify-collated.md- Collation report - •
{date}-verify-crosscheck.md- Cross-check results
Templates
Review template: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}templates/verify-review.md
Collation template: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}templates/verify-collation.md