git:20260304.efecb3c to git:20260305.404d100

2 added, 2 removed. Audit A to A.

# Claude Octopus Agent Catalog

- > *41 specialized tentacles, infinite possibilities. But which one grabs YOUR problem?* 🐙

+ > *39 specialized tentacles, infinite possibilities. But which one grabs YOUR problem?* 🐙

**Note on Permissions:** As of v7.13.0, you have full control over background agent execution. You will be prompted for permission before any background agent (e.g., Codex, Gemini) starts, ensuring cost transparency and control.

---

## TL;DR - Which Tentacle Do I Need?

| When You Want To... | Reach For This Tentacle | Why This One? |

|---------------------|-------------------------|---------------|

| Design a REST/GraphQL API | `backend-architect` | Microservices maestro |

| Find security vulnerabilities | `security-auditor` | OWASP whisperer |

| Debug failing tests | `debugger` | Stack trace detective |

| Implement with TDD | `tdd-orchestrator` | Red-green-refactor guru |

| Review code quality | `code-reviewer` | Best practices enforcer |

| Write Python code | `python-pro` | Pythonic perfection |

| Write TypeScript | `typescript-pro` | Type safety fanatic |

| Design database schema | `database-architect` | Data modeling master |

| Research AI/LLM patterns | `ai-engineer` | Prompt engineering pro |

| Optimize performance | `performance-engineer` | Latency hunter |

| Synthesize user research | `ux-researcher` | Empathy tentacle 🆕 |

| Develop business strategy | `strategy-analyst` | Framework master 🆕 |

| Write literature review | `research-synthesizer` | Knowledge weaver 🆕 |

| Draft research papers | `academic-writer` | Citation ninja 🆕 |

| Create exec summaries | `exec-communicator` | Boardroom whisperer 🆕 |

| Write PRDs/user stories | `product-writer` | Requirements master 🆕 |

| Plan marketing campaigns | `marketing-strategist` | Growth funnel guru 🆕 |

| Build financial models | `finance-analyst` | Spreadsheet surgeon 🆕 |

| Review compliance/GDPR | `legal-compliance-advisor` | Regulatory navigator 🆕 |

| Design UI/UX systems | `ui-ux-designer` | Design intelligence 🆕 |

**Still unsure?** Just describe what you need - Claude Octopus auto-routes to the right tentacle! 🦑

> 🆕 **New in v6.0:** Knowledge Worker agents for researchers, consultants, and product managers. [See Knowledge Workers Guide →](KNOWLEDGE-WORKERS.md)

---

## Table of Contents

1. [By Development Phase](#by-development-phase) - Double Diamond workflow

2. [By Domain](#by-domain) - Backend, Frontend, Quality, Ops

3. [Knowledge Work (v6.0)](#knowledge-work-v60) - Research, consulting, writing 🆕

4. [Top 10 Tentacles](#top-10-tentacles) - The heavy hitters

5. [Cost Tiers](#cost-tiers) - Token budget awareness

6. [Common Workflows](#common-workflows) - Multi-tentacle patterns

7. [The Principles (Don't Invoke Directly)](#the-principles-internal-use-only) - Quality checklists

8. [Decision Tree](#decision-tree) - When all else fails

---

## By Development Phase

Claude Octopus follows the **Double Diamond** methodology:

```

DISCOVER DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER

(probe) (grasp) (tangle) (ink)

\ / \ / \ / \ /

\ 🔍 / \ 🎯 / \ 🔧 / \ ✅ /

\ 🦑 / \ / \ 🦑 / \ /

\ / \ / \ / \ /

\/ \/ \/ \/

Diverge then Converge to Diverge with Converge to

converge problem solutions delivery

```

### 🔍 Probe Phase: Research & Discovery

**Use when:** Starting a project, exploring options, gathering requirements

| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |

|----------|------------|----------------|

| `ai-engineer` | LLM/RAG patterns, prompt engineering | "Research OAuth 2.0 patterns for multi-tenant SaaS" |

| `business-analyst` | Requirements, metrics, stakeholder analysis | "Analyze user authentication requirements" |

| `context-manager` | Multi-agent coordination | "Coordinate research across multiple domains" |

**Pro tip:** Probe tentacles are cheap (sonnet/inherit) - fire liberally!

---

### 🎯 Grasp Phase: Architecture & Design

**Use when:** Planning architecture, defining system design, creating blueprints

| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |

|----------|------------|----------------|

| `backend-architect` ⭐ | API design, microservices, distributed systems | "Design a REST API for user authentication" |

| `frontend-developer` | React 19, Next.js 15, UI/UX patterns | "Design component architecture for dashboard" |

| `database-architect` | Schema design, migrations, normalization | "Design user and session tables" |

| `cloud-architect` | AWS/GCP/Azure, IaC, cost optimization | "Plan multi-region deployment" |

| `graphql-architect` | Federation, resolvers, schema design | "Design GraphQL schema for e-commerce" |

**Pro tip:** These tentacles are premium (opus/inherit) - they're worth it for architecture decisions.

---

### 🔧 Tangle Phase: Development & Implementation

**Use when:** Writing code, implementing features, building solutions

| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |

|----------|------------|----------------|

| `tdd-orchestrator` ⭐ | Test-driven development, red-green-refactor | "Implement user registration with TDD" |

| `debugger` ⭐ | Error analysis, stack traces, root cause | "Debug JWT validation failures" |

| `devops-troubleshooter` | K8s debugging, log analysis, infra | "Fix deployment issues in staging" |

| `python-pro` | Python 3.12+, FastAPI, async | "Implement FastAPI authentication" |

| `typescript-pro` | Advanced types, generics, strict mode | "Implement TypeScript SDK" |

**Pro tip:** Tangle has a **75% quality gate** - multiple tentacles validate before delivery.

---

### ✅ Ink Phase: Review & Delivery

**Use when:** Code review, security audit, performance optimization, shipping

| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |

|----------|------------|----------------|

| `code-reviewer` ⭐ | Best practices, architecture review | "Review authentication module" |

| `security-auditor` ⭐ | OWASP, DevSecOps, threat modeling | "Audit for SQL injection vulnerabilities" |

| `test-automator` | Unit/integration/E2E test generation | "Generate test coverage for auth" |

| `performance-engineer` | Profiling, benchmarking, Core Web Vitals | "Find N+1 query issues" |

| `deployment-engineer` | GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, GitOps | "Set up CI/CD pipeline" |

**Pro tip:** Ink tentacles work with the `squeeze` command for adversarial review!

---

## By Domain

### Backend Development 🔌

```

General Backend → backend-architect (inherit - adapts to complexity)

Database Focus → database-architect (opus - critical decisions)

GraphQL API → graphql-architect (opus - schema design)

Python Backend → python-pro (opus - advanced patterns)

Node.js Backend → typescript-pro (opus - type safety)

```

### Frontend Development 🎨

```

React/Next.js → frontend-developer (inherit - adapts)

TypeScript → typescript-pro (opus - complex types)

Performance → performance-engineer (inherit - profiling)

```

### Quality & Security 🛡️

```

Code Quality → code-reviewer (opus - comprehensive)

Security → security-auditor (opus - critical)

Testing → test-automator (sonnet - generation)

Performance → performance-engineer (inherit - profiling)

```

### Operations & Infrastructure ⚙️

```

Cloud/AWS/GCP → cloud-architect (opus - critical decisions)

Kubernetes/Docker → deployment-engineer (haiku - fast)

Troubleshooting → devops-troubleshooter (sonnet - specialized)

Incidents → incident-responder (sonnet - SRE)

```

### Documentation & Diagrams 📚

```

Technical Docs → docs-architect (sonnet - writing)

Flowcharts → mermaid-expert (haiku - simple)

```

---

## Knowledge Work (v6.0)

> *When your deliverable isn't code, but crystallized knowledge.* 🎓

New in v6.0: Ten specialized agents for researchers, consultants, designers, marketers, and product managers.

### 🎯 UX Research

```

User interviews → ux-researcher (opus - synthesis)

Journey mapping → ux-researcher (opus - empathy)

Pain points → ux-researcher (opus - definition)

```

### 📊 Strategy & Consulting

```

Market analysis → strategy-analyst (opus - frameworks)

Business cases → strategy-analyst (opus - quantification)

Exec summaries → exec-communicator (sonnet - clarity)

```

### 📚 Academic & Research

```

Literature review → research-synthesizer (opus - synthesis)

Gap analysis → research-synthesizer (opus - identification)

Academic writing → academic-writer (sonnet - formatting)

```

### 📋 Product Management

```

PRDs & specs → product-writer (sonnet - clarity)

User stories → product-writer (sonnet - structure)

Acceptance criteria→ product-writer (sonnet - precision)

```

### 📣 Marketing & Growth

```

Campaign planning → marketing-strategist (sonnet - channels)

Growth funnels → marketing-strategist (sonnet - optimization)

SEO & content → marketing-strategist (sonnet - strategy)

```

### 💰 Finance & Pricing

```

Financial models → finance-analyst (sonnet - projections)

Unit economics → finance-analyst (sonnet - metrics)

Pricing strategy → finance-analyst (sonnet - optimization)

```

### 🎨 UI/UX Design

```

Design systems → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - BM25 intelligence)

Color & typography → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - data-driven)

Component specs → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - handoff)

```

### ⚖️ Legal & Compliance

```

GDPR/CCPA review → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - regulations)

SOC 2 readiness → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - controls)

Contract review → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - risk)

```

**Deep dive:** See the full [Knowledge Workers Guide →](KNOWLEDGE-WORKERS.md)

---

## Top 10 Tentacles

The heavy hitters, based on real-world usage:

### 1. 🏗️ backend-architect

**Model:** inherit (adapts to complexity)

**Superpower:** API design, microservices architecture, distributed systems

**When to use:**

- Designing REST/GraphQL/gRPC APIs

- Architecting microservices systems

- Defining service boundaries and communication patterns

- Planning event-driven architectures

**Avoid if:**

- Simple CRUD operations (just implement directly)

- Frontend-only work (use `frontend-developer`)

- Database schema design (use `database-architect` first)

---

### 2. 🔍 code-reviewer

**Model:** opus (complex reasoning)

**Superpower:** Code quality, best practices, architecture review

**When to use:**

- PR reviews (pairs with `/octo:review` skill)

- Architecture validation

- Best practices enforcement

**Avoid if:**

- Security-focused review (use `security-auditor`)

- Performance-focused review (use `performance-engineer`)

---

### 3. 🐛 debugger

**Model:** sonnet (specialized analysis)

**Superpower:** Error analysis, stack traces, root cause identification

**When to use:**

- Failing tests or production errors

- Understanding cryptic stack traces

- Root cause analysis

**Avoid if:**

- Infrastructure issues (use `devops-troubleshooter`)

---

### 4. 🛡️ security-auditor

**Model:** opus (critical analysis)

**Superpower:** OWASP Top 10, vulnerability scanning, threat modeling

**When to use:**

- Security audits (pairs with `squeeze` command)

- Finding vulnerabilities in auth/payment code

- OWASP compliance checks

---

### 5. 🧪 tdd-orchestrator

**Model:** opus (multi-step reasoning)

**Superpower:** Test-driven development, red-green-refactor

**When to use:**

- Building new features test-first

- Comprehensive test coverage

- Refactoring with confidence

---

### 6. 🎨 frontend-developer

**Model:** inherit (adapts to complexity)

**Superpower:** React 19, Next.js 15, modern UI patterns

**When to use:**

- React component architecture

- Server Components and Client Components

- State management decisions

---

### 7. 🗃️ database-architect

**Model:** opus (critical decisions)

**Superpower:** Schema design, migrations, query optimization

**When to use:**

- New database schema design

- Migration planning

- Query performance issues

---

### 8. ⚡ performance-engineer

**Model:** inherit (adapts to profiling depth)

**Superpower:** Profiling, benchmarking, Core Web Vitals

**When to use:**

- N+1 query hunting

- API response time optimization

- Memory leak detection

---

### 9. 🐍 python-pro

**Model:** opus (advanced patterns)

**Superpower:** Python 3.12+, FastAPI, async programming

**When to use:**

- Python backend development

- FastAPI/Django/Flask services

- Async/await patterns

---

### 10. 📘 typescript-pro

**Model:** opus (complex type systems)

**Superpower:** Advanced types, generics, strict TypeScript

**When to use:**

- Advanced TypeScript type definitions

- Generic types and utility type creation

- Strict TypeScript configuration

---

## Cost Tiers

### 💎 Premium (Opus)

Most expensive, use for critical decisions.

`code-reviewer`, `tdd-orchestrator`, `database-architect`, `security-auditor`, `cloud-architect`, `python-pro`, `typescript-pro`, `graphql-architect`

### 💰 Standard (Sonnet)

Mid-range, good for focused tasks.

`debugger`, `test-automator`, `docs-architect`, `business-analyst`, `devops-troubleshooter`, `incident-responder`, `ui-ux-designer`, `marketing-strategist`, `finance-analyst`, `legal-compliance-advisor`

### 💵 Trivial (Haiku)

Cheapest, use for simple tasks.

`mermaid-expert`, `deployment-engineer`

### 🔄 Adaptive (Inherit)

Auto-selects based on task complexity.

`backend-architect`, `frontend-developer`, `ai-engineer`, `performance-engineer`, `context-manager`

---

## Common Workflows

### 🚀 New Feature Development

```

1. Research → ai-engineer

2. Design → backend-architect + database-architect

3. Implement → tdd-orchestrator

4. Review → code-reviewer + security-auditor

```

### 🔥 Production Bug Fix

```

1. Respond → incident-responder

2. Debug → debugger

3. Fix → backend-architect

4. Validate → test-automator

```

### ⚡ Performance Optimization

```

1. Profile → performance-engineer

2. Database → database-architect

3. Validate → performance-engineer

```

### 🛡️ Security Audit

```

1. Scan → security-auditor

2. Fix → backend-architect

3. Validate → security-auditor

```

---

## The Principles (Internal Use Only)

⚠️ **Don't invoke these directly!** They're quality checklists used BY other tentacles.

| Principle | Used By | Purpose |

|-----------|---------|---------|

| `general` | code-reviewer | Correctness, reliability |

| `security` | security-auditor | OWASP, auth patterns |

| `performance` | performance-engineer | Profiling, caching |

| `maintainability` | code-reviewer | Readability, testing |

---

## Decision Tree

See [agent-decision-tree.md](agent-decision-tree.md) for visual flowcharts.

**Quick version:**

```

What phase are you in?

├─ Research/Explore → PROBE tentacles

├─ Design/Plan → GRASP tentacles

├─ Build/Code → TANGLE tentacles

└─ Review/Ship → INK tentacles

```

---

## Quick Links

- **README:** [../README.md](../README.md)

- **Decision Tree:** [agent-decision-tree.md](agent-decision-tree.md)

- **Monthly Review:** [monthly-agent-review.md](monthly-agent-review.md)

- **Personas:** [../agents/personas/](../agents/personas/)

---

- 🐙 "35 tentacles, one purpose: your code, done right." 🐙

+ 🐙 "39 tentacles, one purpose: your code, done right." 🐙