/challenge — Stress-test the premise with The Contrarian

/challenge <target> spawns the Contrarian agent (Naqid) to adversarially challenge an idea before you commit build effort to it. It is the premise-level analog of /code-review (Rex), /security-review (Hakim), and /design-review (Tariq) — but where those review built artifacts and gate a merge, the Contrarian challenges whether the idea is right at all and is advisory-only: it never writes a marker, never blocks a gate. The call stays yours.

This is the operational tool for the "play devil's advocate" reflex — made a first-class, repeatable move instead of an ad-hoc prompt.

When to use it

• Before writing a spec or filing an epic — pressure-test the idea while it's cheap to change.
• Before a big technical decision (/decide) — surface the assumptions and the cheaper alternative.
• Before committing to a multi-step plan — find the load-bearing assumption that, if wrong, sinks the plan.
• Any time you catch yourself agreeing with an idea too easily — that's exactly when an adversary earns its keep.

Usage

/challenge add a second database to handle reporting load
/challenge #345
/challenge projects/apexbrain/prd.md
/challenge the plan

The argument is free-form. Step 1 normalises it into a concrete target for the agent.

Process

1. Resolve the target

Classify the argument:

Argument shape	Target the agent receives
#N or owner/repo#N	The ticket — instruct the agent to gh issue view <N> and challenge it.
A path ending .md (or under projects/, docs/, prds/, designs/) that exists	The document — the agent reads it and challenges it.
the plan / this plan	The most recent multi-step plan presented in the conversation — pass it inline to the agent.
Anything else (free text)	An idea stated in the conversation — pass the idea text (plus relevant conversation context) inline to the agent.

If the argument is empty, ask: What should I challenge? An idea, a ticket #N, a doc path, or "the plan"?

2. Spawn the Contrarian

Invoke the agent via the Agent tool with subagent_type: contrarian, handing it the resolved target plus enough context to ground itself (the idea text / ticket ref / doc path). Instruct it to follow its steelman-first method and return its structured output. The agent is read-only; it will not modify anything.

Agent(subagent_type: "contrarian", prompt: "Challenge the following <idea|ticket|doc|plan>: <resolved target + context>. Steelman it first, then work the full challenge lens, and return your structured verdict.")

3. Relay the verdict

Present the agent's structured output verbatim (Steelman · Hidden assumptions · Failure modes · Strongest objections · Cheaper alternatives · What would have to be true · Verdict). Do not soften or editorialise it — the value is the unfiltered adversarial read.

Then, in one line, note the next move the verdict implies — e.g. "Verdict: reconsider — the cheaper alternative (a read replica) likely gets 80% of the value; want me to spec that instead?" — and let the operator decide. Never auto-act on a reconsider; surface it and stop.

Rules

1. Advisory only. This skill never writes an approval marker, never runs a merge, never blocks a gate. It produces an opinion, full stop.
2. One target per invocation. Challenging two unrelated things at once muddies the verdict — run it twice.
3. Relay, don't dilute. Present the Contrarian's objections as-is. If you disagree, say so as a separate note; don't edit the agent's verdict.
4. The call stays human. A reconsider verdict is input, not a stop order. Surface it and let the operator choose.
5. Not a substitute for the gates. The Contrarian challenges the premise; Rex / Hakim / Tariq still review the built artifact. Passing a challenge is not passing review.

Glossary

Term	Definition
The Contrarian (Naqid)	The advisory agent that steelmans then adversarially challenges an idea/decision.
Steelman	Stating the strongest honest version of an argument before critiquing it.
Premise-level review	Challenging whether/what to build, as opposed to reviewing how it was built.

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Part of ApexYard — multi-project SDLC framework for Claude Code · MIT.