name: help
description: "Full reference guide for Ouroboros commands and agents"
/ouroboros:help
Full reference guide for Ouroboros power users.
Usage
ooo help
/ouroboros:help
What Is Ouroboros?
Ouroboros is a requirement crystallization engine for AI workflows. It transforms vague ideas into validated specifications through:
- Socratic Interview - Exposes hidden assumptions
- Seed Generation - Creates immutable specifications
- PAL Routing - Auto-escalates/descends model complexity
- Lateral Thinking - 5 personas to break stagnation
- 3-Stage Evaluation - Mechanical > Semantic > Consensus
All Commands
Core Commands
| Command |
Purpose |
Mode |
ooo |
Welcome + quick start |
Plugin |
ooo interview |
Socratic requirement clarification |
Plugin |
ooo seed |
Generate validated seed spec |
Plugin |
ooo run |
Execute seed workflow |
MCP |
ooo evaluate |
3-stage verification |
MCP |
ooo unstuck |
5 lateral thinking personas |
Plugin |
ooo status |
Session status + drift check |
MCP |
ooo resume-session |
List in-flight sessions and re-attach commands |
CLI |
ooo setup |
Installation wizard |
Plugin |
ooo config |
Settings GUI — per-stage agents & models (browser here, TUI in a terminal) |
CLI |
ooo welcome |
First-touch welcome guide |
Plugin |
ooo tutorial |
Interactive hands-on learning |
Plugin |
ooo help |
This reference guide |
Plugin |
ooo pm |
PM-focused interview + PRD generation |
MCP |
ooo qa |
General-purpose QA verdict for any artifact |
Plugin |
ooo cancel |
Cancel stuck or orphaned executions |
CLI |
ooo update |
Check for updates + upgrade to latest |
Plugin |
ooo brownfield |
Scan and manage brownfield repo defaults |
MCP |
ooo publish |
Publish Seed as GitHub Issues for teams |
Plugin |
Evolutionary Loop
| Command |
Purpose |
Mode |
ooo evolve |
Start/monitor evolutionary development loop |
MCP |
ooo ralph |
Client-driven loop until verified (uses background evolve_step jobs) |
Plugin + MCP |
Plugin = Works immediately after ooo setup.
MCP = Requires ooo setup (Python >= 3.12 auto-detected). Run setup once to unlock all features.
Natural Language Triggers
| Phrase |
Triggers |
| "interview me", "clarify requirements", "socratic interview" |
ooo interview |
| "crystallize", "generate seed", "create seed", "freeze requirements" |
ooo seed |
| "ouroboros run", "execute seed", "run seed", "run workflow" |
ooo run |
| "evaluate this", "3-stage check", "verify execution" |
ooo evaluate |
| "think sideways", "i'm stuck", "break through", "lateral thinking" |
ooo unstuck |
| "am I drifting?", "drift check", "session status" |
ooo status |
Utility Triggers
| Phrase |
Triggers |
| "write prd", "pm interview", "product requirements", "create prd" |
ooo pm |
| "qa check", "quality check" |
ooo qa |
| "cancel execution", "stop job", "kill stuck", "abort execution" |
ooo cancel |
| "in-flight sessions", "mcp disconnected", "lost Ouroboros execution" |
ooo resume-session |
| "update ouroboros", "upgrade ouroboros" |
ooo update |
| "open settings", "change model", "change agent", "configure backend" |
ooo config |
| "brownfield defaults", "brownfield scan" |
ooo brownfield |
| "publish to github", "create issues from seed", "seed to issues" |
ooo publish |
Loop Triggers
| Phrase |
Triggers |
| "ralph", "don't stop", "must complete", "until it works", "keep going" |
ooo ralph |
| "evolve", "evolutionary loop", "iterate until converged" |
ooo evolve |
Available Skills
Core Skills
| Skill |
Purpose |
Mode |
/ouroboros:welcome |
First-touch welcome experience |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:interview |
Socratic requirement clarification |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:seed |
Generate validated seed spec |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:run |
Execute seed workflow |
MCP |
/ouroboros:evaluate |
3-stage verification |
MCP |
/ouroboros:unstuck |
5 lateral thinking personas |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:status |
Session status + drift check |
MCP |
/ouroboros:resume-session |
List in-flight sessions and re-attach commands |
CLI |
/ouroboros:setup |
Installation wizard |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:tutorial |
Interactive hands-on learning |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:help |
This guide |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:pm |
PM-focused interview + PRD generation |
MCP |
/ouroboros:qa |
General-purpose QA verdict for any artifact |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:cancel |
Cancel stuck or orphaned executions |
CLI |
/ouroboros:update |
Check for updates + upgrade to latest |
Plugin |
/ouroboros:brownfield |
Scan and manage brownfield repo defaults |
MCP |
/ouroboros:publish |
Publish Seed as GitHub Issues for teams |
Plugin |
Loop Skills
| Skill |
Purpose |
Best For |
/ouroboros:ralph |
Client-driven loop over background evolve_step jobs |
"Don't stop", must complete |
/ouroboros:evolve |
Evolutionary ontology refinement |
Spec iteration until convergence |
Available Agents
| Agent |
Purpose |
ouroboros:socratic-interviewer |
Exposes hidden assumptions through questioning |
ouroboros:ontologist |
Finds root problems vs symptoms |
ouroboros:seed-architect |
Crystallizes requirements into seed specs |
ouroboros:evaluator |
Three-stage verification |
ouroboros:contrarian |
"Are we solving the wrong problem?" |
ouroboros:hacker |
"Make it work first, elegance later" |
ouroboros:simplifier |
"Cut scope to absolute minimum" |
ouroboros:researcher |
"Stop coding, start investigating" |
ouroboros:architect |
"Question the foundation, redesign if needed" |
Setup
After installing Ouroboros, run ooo setup once to register the MCP server.
This connects your runtime backend to the Ouroboros Python core and unlocks all features.
ooo setup # One-time setup (~1 minute)
By