architect

1# Architect
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3Sketch types, function signatures, class shapes, and module boundaries with `not implemented` bodies and pseudocode. Synthesize across multiple model perspectives, then fill in code against the chosen sketch.
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5## Start
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7Open a todolist with one entry per phase before starting.
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91. Ground
102. Sketch
113. Agree
124. Implement
135. Scrap
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15## Phase A: Ground the problem
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17Build a real mental model of every system the new code touches. Run the **how** skill over the relevant subsystems. Naming a file isn't grounding. Produce the architectural explanation `how` prescribes. If the design redefines ownership or layering, also run the **why** skill on the existing shape so the rationale becomes a constraint, not a guess.
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19Skip Phase A only when the work is genuinely greenfield with no surrounding system to integrate.
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21## Phase B: Sketch
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23Run the **arena** skill with the design-sketch task and the Phase A grounding artifacts. Pass `references/runner-prompt.md` as each runner's prompt.
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25Take the runners from the `architect runners` line in the pstack settings file (`~/.cursor/rules/pstack-models.mdc` in Cursor, `~/.claude/rules/pstack-models.md` in Claude Code, `~/.agents/pstack-models.md` in other harnesses), in place of the `arena runners` line. If the file or that line is missing, use `claude-opus-5-5-xhigh` and `grok-4.7-xhigh-fast`. Alias and rejected entries follow the runner rules in the **arena** skill's Phase A.
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