By name: variable-sword description: "Use Variable Sword when you know something needs to be cut but the attack pattern — narrow precision, wide sweep, or long reach — should be determined by the shape of the target at execution time."
Variable Sword
Choose the shape of the cut when the situation is clear but the right pattern is not.
Overview
Use Variable Sword when you know something needs to be cut but the attack pattern — narrow precision, wide sweep, or long reach — should be determined by the shape of the target at execution time.
This is the secondary Codex compatibility rendering of a metaphorical battle-chip pattern with a shipping-now execution model.
Canonical chip family: Variable Sword Codex shelf: Direct Fire and Breach Provider target: Codex compatibility surface.
When To Use
- The target is identified but its extent, depth, or blast radius varies depending on context you can only read at execution time.
- You need one tool that can perform a surgical fix, a broad refactor, or a cross-file sweep, and committing to one pattern prematurely would be wasteful.
- The cut is definitely happening — the only question is which configuration fits the terrain.
Workflow
- Read the target terrain and classify the required pattern: narrow, wide, or far-reaching.
- Lock in the configuration and execute the cut in a single committed motion.
- Confirm the chosen pattern matched the problem and did not overcut or undercut.
Deliverables
- A context-shaped edit whose pattern was determined by inspection, not assumption.
- A brief note identifying which pattern was selected and why.
Guardrails
- Do not use Variable Sword as an excuse to avoid committing to a specific pattern — classify, choose, and execute.
- If the terrain is genuinely unknown and cannot be read before the cut, switch to a recon chip first.
- Variable Sword is not a free pass to scope-creep a simple cut into a broad refactor.
Default Invocation
Use Variable Sword to inspect the target, choose the right cut pattern, and execute one committed edit whose shape matches the actual problem.