data-collection

Data Collection

Dev Stage: Scan Purpose: Locate, read, and summarize relevant files into a structured manifest without making design decisions. Loaded by: data-collector-specialist when ledger stage = Scan

When to Use

• At the start of any new task before planning or implementation begins
• When an agent needs targeted context from the codebase without reading files itself
• When the scope of a task is unclear and evidence must be gathered first

Procedure

1. Read the collection task from ## Handoff Payload in .github/.ai_ledger.md.
2. Use grep_search and file_search to locate relevant files without reading them yet.
3. Prioritize files most directly relevant to the task — read the most relevant first.
4. For each file read: record path, purpose, and relevant content (1–3 sentences max per file).
5. Stop when the requested context is collected OR the 10-file read limit is reached — whichever comes first. If more than 10 files appear relevant, categorize by directory/module and stop at the boundary.
6. Write collected context as a structured manifest to verification-artifacts/{task-id}-scan.md.
7. Append result summary to ledger Decisions Log.

Output

• verification-artifacts/{task-id}-scan.md — structured manifest: file paths, purposes, relevant excerpts
• No design conclusions, no recommendations, no architectural judgments