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# Step 3: Triage

## RULES

- YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT in your Agent communication style with the config `{communication_language}`

## INSTRUCTIONS

1. **Normalize** findings from all layers into a unified list where each finding has:
   - `id` -- sequential integer
   - `source` -- the `id` of the layer that produced the finding (e.g., `blind-hunter`), or merged sources joined with `+` (e.g., `blind-hunter+edge-case-hunter`)
   - `title` -- one-line summary
   - `detail` -- full description
   - `location` -- file and line reference (if available)

2. **Deduplicate.** Deduplicate only findings with the same claim and same required action. If two or more findings meet both conditions, merge them into one:
   - Use the most specific finding as the base (prefer findings with a precise location over prose-only findings).
   - Append any unique detail, reasoning, or location references from the other finding(s) into the surviving `detail` field.
   - Set `source` to the merged sources (e.g., `blind-hunter+edge-case-hunter`).

3. Then evaluate each remaining finding independently. Do not reject a finding because a related finding was rejected.

4. **Read the code before rating.** Before assigning severity, open the source at each finding's location and read enough surrounding code to judge reachability -- call sites, guards, and validation that live outside the diff hunk. Do not rate from the diff hunk alone. Severity reflects the real consequence at a real call site, not the worst theoretical reading.

5. **Assign severity** to each finding by consequence for the artifact's main consumer (software user, document reader, etc).
   Disregard any severity assigned by a reviewing subagent. Review subagents operate under by-design information asymmetry and do not have enough context to set final severity for this workflow.
   - `low` -- none or cosmetic
   - `medium` -- tolerable
   - `high` -- intolerable

6. **Route** each finding into exactly one triage bucket:
   - **decision_needed** -- There is an ambiguous choice that requires human input. The code cannot be correctly patched without knowing the user's intent. Only possible if `{review_mode}` = `"full"`.
   - **patch** -- Code issue that is fixable without human input. The correct fix is unambiguous.
   - **defer** -- Pre-existing issue not caused by the current change. Real but not actionable now.
   - **dismiss** -- Noise, false positive, or handled elsewhere.

   If `{review_mode}` = `"no-spec"` and a finding would otherwise be `decision_needed`, reclassify it as `patch` (if the fix is unambiguous) or `defer` (if not).

7. **Drop** all `dismiss` findings. Record the dismiss count for the summary.

8. If `{failed_layers}` is non-empty, report which layers failed before announcing results. If zero findings remain after dropping dismissed AND `{failed_layers}` is non-empty, warn the user that the review may be incomplete rather than announcing a clean review.

9. If zero findings remain after triage (all rejected or none raised): state "✅ Clean review — all layers passed." (Step 3 already warned if any review layers failed via `{failed_layers}`.)

## NEXT

Read fully and follow `./step-04-present.md`