Parallel Investigation

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Debugging production incidents
• Slow API performance
• Multi-system integration failures
• Complex bugs where the root cause is unclear and multiple plausible theories exist

Example prompts

• “Use the parallel-investigation skill to coordinate parallel investigation threads to simultaneously explore multiple hypotheses or root causes…”
• “/parallel-investigation”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Problem Decomposition
2. 2Thread Assignment
3. 3Parallel Execution
4. 4Sync Points
5. 5Convergence

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d2e5c34. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Parallel Investigation loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 151 tokens; SKILL.md has 338 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~151

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from rohitg00/skillkit at commit d2e5c34, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© rohitg00). 338 words, ~1,449 tokens.

name

parallel-investigation

description

Coordinates parallel investigation threads to simultaneously explore multiple hypotheses or root causes across different system areas. Use when debugging production incidents, slow API performance, multi-system integration failures, or complex bugs where the root cause is unclear and multiple plausible theories exist; when serial troubleshooting is too slow; or when multiple investigators can divide root-cause analysis work. Provides structured phases for problem decomposition, thread assignment, sync points with Continue/Pivot/Converge decisions, and final report synthesis.

version

1.0.0

triggers

investigate in parallel, multiple approaches, divide investigation, complex problem, explore options

tags

collaboration, investigation, parallel, problem-solving

difficulty

advanced

estimatedTime

15

relatedSkills

debugging/root-cause-analysis, collaboration/handoff-protocols

Problem: API responses are slow

Investigation Threads:
├── Thread A: Database performance
│   └── Check slow queries, indexes, connection pool
├── Thread B: Application code
│   └── Profile endpoint handlers, check for N+1
├── Thread C: Infrastructure
│   └── Check CPU, memory, network latency
└── Thread D: External services
    └── Check third-party API response times

## Thread A: Database Performance
**Investigator:** [Name/Agent A]
**Duration:** 30 minutes
**Scope:**
- Query execution times
- Index utilization
- Connection pool metrics
**Report Format:** Summary + evidence

## Thread: [Name]
**Start:** [Time]

### Findings
- [Timestamp] [Finding]

### Evidence
- [Log/Metric/Screenshot]

### Preliminary Conclusion
[What this thread suggests about the problem]

Sync Point Agenda:
1. Each thread report (2 min each)
2. Discussion & correlation (5 min)
3. Decision: Continue, Pivot, or Converge (3 min)

[Thread A] [Status] Starting query analysis
[Thread B] [Finding] No N+1 patterns in user endpoint
[Thread A] [Finding] Slow query: SELECT * FROM orders WHERE...
[Thread C] [Dead End] CPU and memory within normal
[Thread A] [Hot Lead] Missing index on orders.user_id

## Thread A Summary

**Status:** Hot Lead
**Key Finding:** Missing index on orders.user_id
**Evidence:** Query taking 3.2s, explain shows full table scan
**Recommendation:** Likely root cause — suggest converge

0:00  Problem decomposition & thread assignment
0:15  Parallel investigation begins
0:45  Sync point #1 → Continue/Pivot/Converge decision
1:30  Sync point #2 (if continuing)
1:35  Final convergence & documentation

# Investigation: [Problem]

## Summary
[Brief description and resolution]

## Threads Explored

### Thread A: [Area]
- Investigator: [Name]
- Findings: [Summary]
- Outcome: [Lead / Dead End / Root Cause]

## Root Cause
[Detailed explanation of what was found]

## Evidence
- [Evidence 1]
- [Evidence 2]

## Resolution
[What was done to fix]

## Lessons Learned
- [Learning 1]

© rohitg00, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in packages/core/src/methodology/packs/collaboration/parallel-investigation of rohitg00/skillkit.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit d2e5c34