/aide:synthesize — Synthesize Phase

Agent: This command is executed by the aide-strategist agent.

Read the intent spec's frontmatter and the brain's research, then fill in the .aide body sections (Context, Strategy, Good examples, Bad examples). This is a fresh strategist session — it did not run the research phase and carries no prior context.

Checklist

• Read the target .aide file. Confirm frontmatter is complete (scope, intent, outcomes.desired, outcomes.undesired). If frontmatter is missing or incomplete, stop and escalate back to /aide:spec
• Identify the domain from the intent. Search the brain for research notes filed under that domain (e.g., research/email-marketing/, research/local-seo/)
• If no brain is available, check for a co-located research.aide in the same folder as the intent spec
• If neither brain research nor research.aide exists, stop — research must run first via /aide:research
• Read all relevant research notes. Cross-reference findings against the intent's outcomes.desired and outcomes.undesired — the research serves the intent, not the other way around
• Fill ## Context — why this module exists, the domain-level problem, constraints that shape it. Write for a generalist engineer. No code. Do not restate context already carried by a parent .aide
• Fill ## Strategy — distill research into decisions. Each paragraph names a concrete choice (tactic, threshold, structural decision) and the reasoning or data that justifies it. Cite sources inline. Write in decision form, not description form. No code
• Fill ## Good examples — concrete domain output that illustrates success. Real output, not code. Pattern material for QA
• Fill ## Bad examples — the almost-right failures. Output that looks valid but violates intent. Recognizable failure modes, not enumeration
• Verify every strategy decision traces back to an outcomes.desired or guards against an outcomes.undesired. Cut anything that doesn't serve the intent
• Run aide_validate to check the completed spec for structural issues
• Hand off to /aide:plan — the architect is the next phase