/ouroboros:ouroboros-help
Full reference guide for Ouroboros power users.
Usage
ooo help
/ouroboros:ouroboros-help
What Is Ouroboros?
A specification-first workflow engine: it turns vague ideas into a validated
Seed (goal, constraints, acceptance criteria) before any code is written.
Interview → Seed → Execute → Evaluate
↑ ↓
└─── Evolutionary Loop ─────┘
Commands
Each ooo <name> is also the skill /ouroboros:<name>, except run, status,
config, and help, which are /ouroboros:ouroboros-<name>.
| Command | Purpose | Needs |
|---|
ooo / ooo welcome | First-touch onboarding | none |
ooo setup | Claude Code setup wizard | none |
ooo tutorial | Interactive hands-on learning | none |
ooo help | This reference | none |
ooo interview | Socratic interview that exposes hidden assumptions | MCP, in-session fallback |
ooo seed | Freeze interview results into a Seed | MCP, in-session fallback |
ooo auto | Goal to A-grade Seed, then execute and verify in the background | MCP |
ooo run | Execute a Seed and verify every acceptance criterion | MCP |
ooo evaluate | Mechanical checks, semantic review per criterion, consensus when uncertain | MCP, in-session fallback |
ooo evolve | Start or monitor an evolutionary loop across Seed generations | MCP |
ooo ralph | Server-owned loop until verified (ouroboros_ralph runs it as a background job) | MCP |
ooo unstuck | Five lateral thinking personas, single or debate | MCP |
ooo status | Session status and goal drift | MCP |
ooo qa | General-purpose QA verdict for any artifact | MCP, in-session fallback |
ooo pm | PM-focused interview and PRD | MCP |
ooo brownfield | Scan and manage brownfield repo defaults; find <topic> ranks registered repos | MCP |
ooo config | Settings GUI for per-stage agents and models | CLI |
ooo cancel | Cancel stuck or orphaned executions | CLI |
ooo resume-session | List in-flight sessions and re-attach commands | CLI |
ooo update | Check for updates and upgrade | CLI |
ooo publish | Publish a Seed as GitHub Issues | gh |
MCP = the Ouroboros MCP server, which the Claude marketplace plugin or a
supported host setup (ouroboros setup --runtime <runtime>) provides.
In-session fallback = runs advisory-only through a bundled agent when the
MCP server is unavailable. CLI = drives the ouroboros command.
Natural Language Triggers
In Claude Code these phrases route to a command without the ooo prefix:
| Phrase | Command |
|---|
| "interview me", "clarify requirements", "socratic interview" | ooo interview |
| "crystallize", "generate seed", "create seed", "freeze requirements" | ooo seed |
| "ouroboros run", "execute seed", "run seed", "run workflow" | ooo run |
| "evaluate this", "3-stage check", "verify execution" | ooo evaluate |
| "evolve", "evolutionary loop", "iterate until converged" | ooo evolve |
| "ralph", "don't stop", "must complete", "until it works", "keep going" | ooo ralph |
| "think sideways", "i'm stuck", "break through", "lateral thinking" | ooo unstuck |
| "am I drifting?", "drift check", "session status" | ooo status |
| "write prd", "pm interview", "product requirements", "create prd" | ooo pm |
| "qa check", "quality check" | ooo qa |
| "cancel execution", "stop job", "kill stuck", "abort execution" | ooo cancel |
| "update ouroboros", "upgrade ouroboros" | ooo update |
| "brownfield defaults", "brownfield scan" | ooo brownfield |
Agents
| Agent | Purpose |
|---|
ouroboros:socratic-interviewer | Exposes hidden assumptions through questioning |
ouroboros:ontologist | Finds root problems vs symptoms |
ouroboros:seed-architect | Crystallizes requirements into a Seed |
ouroboros:evaluator | Verifies results against acceptance criteria |
ouroboros:qa-judge | Renders QA verdicts for ooo qa |
ouroboros:contrarian | "Are we solving the wrong problem?" |
ouroboros:hacker | "Make it work first, elegance later" |
ouroboros:simplifier | "Cut scope to absolute minimum" |
ouroboros:researcher | "Stop coding, start investigating" |
ouroboros:architect | "Question the foundation, redesign if needed" |
The last five are the ooo unstuck personas. Other files in
src/ouroboros/agents/ are internal pipeline roles.
RFC #1392 State Breadcrumb Footer
End the final response with exactly one line ◆ <current state> → next: <recommended action>. Derive the state from live session state via ouroboros_session_status when available, otherwise from this skill's actual outcome. Never use a linear Step N of M footer; when the next step is a real choice, list 2-3 options.