Iterative Retrieval

Solves the “context problem” in multi-agent workflows where subagents don’t know what context they need until they start working.

When to Activate

Spawning subagents that need codebase context they cannot predict upfront
Building multi-agent workflows where context is progressively refined
Encountering “context too large” or “missing context” failures in agent tasks
Designing RAG-like retrieval pipelines for code exploration
Optimizing token usage in agent orchestration

The Problem

Subagents are spawned with limited context. They don’t know:

Which files contain relevant code
What patterns exist in the codebase
What terminology the project uses

Standard approaches fail:

Send everything: Exceeds context limits
Send nothing: Agent lacks critical information
Guess what’s needed: Often wrong

The Solution: Iterative Retrieval

A 4-phase loop that progressively refines context:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                             │
│   ┌──────────┐      ┌──────────┐            │
│   │ DISPATCH │─────▶│ EVALUATE │            │
│   └──────────┘      └──────────┘            │
│        ▲                  │                 │
│        │                  ▼                 │
│   ┌──────────┐      ┌──────────┐            │
│   │   LOOP   │◀─────│  REFINE  │            │
│   └──────────┘      └──────────┘            │
│                                             │
│        Max 3 cycles, then proceed           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Practical Examples

Example 1: Bug Fix Context

Task: "Fix the authentication token expiry bug"

Cycle 1:
  DISPATCH: Search for "token", "auth", "expiry" in src/**
  EVALUATE: Found auth.ts (0.9), tokens.ts (0.8), user.ts (0.3)
  REFINE: Add "refresh", "jwt" keywords; exclude user.ts

Cycle 2:
  DISPATCH: Search refined terms
  EVALUATE: Found session-manager.ts (0.95), jwt-utils.ts (0.85)
  REFINE: Sufficient context (2 high-relevance files)

Result: auth.ts, tokens.ts, session-manager.ts, jwt-utils.ts

Example 2: Feature Implementation

Task: "Add rate limiting to API endpoints"

Cycle 1:
  DISPATCH: Search "rate", "limit", "api" in routes/**
  EVALUATE: No matches - codebase uses "throttle" terminology
  REFINE: Add "throttle", "middleware" keywords

Cycle 2:
  DISPATCH: Search refined terms
  EVALUATE: Found throttle.ts (0.9), middleware/index.ts (0.7)
  REFINE: Need router patterns

Cycle 3:
  DISPATCH: Search "router", "express" patterns
  EVALUATE: Found router-setup.ts (0.8)
  REFINE: Sufficient context

Result: throttle.ts, middleware/index.ts, router-setup.ts

Best Practices

Start broad, narrow progressively - Don’t over-specify initial queries
Learn codebase terminology - First cycle often reveals naming conventions
Track what’s missing - Explicit gap identification drives refinement
Stop at “good enough” - 3 high-relevance files beats 10 mediocre ones
Exclude confidently - Low-relevance files won’t become relevant

Iterative retrieval solves the cold-start problem in multi-agent workflows by progressively refining context through evaluation feedback.

Overview

Core Skills

Development Patterns

Language-Specific Skills

Advanced Skills

When to Activate

The Problem

The Solution: Iterative Retrieval

Practical Examples

Example 1: Bug Fix Context

Example 2: Feature Implementation

Best Practices

​When to Activate

​The Problem

​The Solution: Iterative Retrieval

​Practical Examples

​Example 1: Bug Fix Context

​Example 2: Feature Implementation

​Best Practices

When to Activate

The Problem

The Solution: Iterative Retrieval

Practical Examples

Example 1: Bug Fix Context

Example 2: Feature Implementation

Best Practices