name: Colmena Self Dev
id: colmena-self-dev
source: private
description: >
  Iterative pattern for missions where the target codebase is the Colmena repo
  itself. Architect traces direction upstream (writes ARCHITECT_PLAN.md),
  colmena_developer executes, colmena_code_reviewer reviews in a cap-3 loop
  with LGTM via QPC ≥ 8.0 and architect escalation on no-convergence, and the
  centralized auditor closes the cycle with role-agnostic QPC evaluation that
  moves ELO for every participant. Scope is repo-wide so file tools can touch
  production code without per-call approval.
topology: iterative
communication: chain
when_to_use:
  - "Refactor or feature on the Colmena Rust workspace"
  - "Work that requires architectural judgement before coding"
  - "Changes that must stay zero-behavior-change or carry invariants"
  - "Missions where dev and reviewer should converge iteratively"
  - "Cross-crate work that benefits from a specialist Colmena dev"
when_not_to_use:
  - "Missions targeting repos other than Colmena"
  - "First-draft throwaway prototypes"
  - "Trivial one-file edits where one dev + auditor is enough"
  - "Broad parallel exploration (use fan-out-merge instead)"
pros:
  - "Architect upstream prevents random-walk implementation"
  - "Dev ↔ reviewer loop catches regressions before the auditor sees them"
  - "Workspace-wide scope eliminates per-file approval friction"
  - "ELO moves for architect, dev, and reviewer — not just dev"
  - "Role specialization (Colmena-aware) cuts onboarding per mission"
cons:
  - "Slower than code-review-cycle — adds architect stage + iteration loop"
  - "Higher token cost — three Opus roles + one Sonnet"
  - "Only valuable for Colmena-internal work; generic patterns fit elsewhere"
estimated_token_cost: high
estimated_agents: "4"
workspace_scope: repo-wide
roles_suggested:
  stage_1_lead: colmena_architect
  stage_2_worker: colmena_developer
  stage_3_reviewer: colmena_code_reviewer
  stage_4_judge: auditor
elo_lead_selection: false
