Commands Cheatsheet

Quick reference for every SNIPER v3 command. For detailed usage, see the commands reference.

Slash Commands

In v3, all work flows through five slash commands. The core engine (/sniper-flow) selects a protocol and drives agent teams through structured phases automatically.

Command	Purpose
`/sniper-flow`	Core execution engine -- runs any protocol
`/sniper-init`	Scaffold `.sniper/` directory and project config
`/sniper-learn`	Submit, review, or deprecate project learnings
`/sniper-review`	Manually trigger a quality gate review
`/sniper-status`	Show protocol progress and recent activity

`/sniper-flow`

The core protocol execution engine. Orchestrates agent teams through structured phases. Auto-detects the appropriate protocol from your request, or accepts an explicit --protocol flag.

Arguments:

Flag	Description
`--protocol <name>`	Run a specific protocol (`full`, `feature`, `patch`, `ingest`, `explore`, `refactor`, `hotfix`)
`--resume`	Resume from the last checkpoint
`--phase <name>`	Start from a specific phase (skips earlier phases)

Usage examples:

10 lines

/sniper-flow                        # Auto-detect protocol from request
/sniper-flow --protocol full        # Full lifecycle (discover -> define -> design -> solve -> implement -> review -> retro)
/sniper-flow --protocol feature     # Feature mini-lifecycle (define -> design -> solve -> implement -> review -> retro)
/sniper-flow --protocol patch       # Quick bug fix (implement -> review)
/sniper-flow --protocol ingest      # Reverse-engineer an existing codebase
/sniper-flow --protocol explore     # Exploratory analysis only
/sniper-flow --protocol refactor    # Code improvement (analyze -> implement -> review)
/sniper-flow --protocol hotfix      # Emergency fix, fastest path to production
/sniper-flow --resume               # Resume from last checkpoint
/sniper-flow --phase plan           # Jump to a specific phase

Auto-detection rules:

Scope	Protocol
New project (no source files)	`full`
Critical / urgent / production fix	`hotfix`
Bug fix or small change (< 5 files)	`patch`
New feature or enhancement (5--20 files)	`feature`
Major rework or multi-component change (20+ files)	`full`
Understand / document an existing codebase	`ingest`
Exploratory analysis or research	`explore`
Code improvement, no new features	`refactor`

`/sniper-learn`

Submit, review, or deprecate project learnings. Manages conventions, anti-patterns, and decisions in .sniper/memory/.

Usage:

/sniper-learn                       # Interactive — choose submit, review, or deprecate

Headless / CI/CD Execution

For non-interactive protocol execution in CI/CD pipelines, use the sniper run CLI command instead of a slash command. See Headless & CI/CD for details.

`/sniper-init`

Scaffold the .sniper/ directory, detect your project stack, and walk through interactive configuration.

Arguments:

Flag	Description
`--language <name>`	Primary language (auto-detected if omitted)

Creates:

Path	Contents
`.sniper/config.yaml`	Project configuration
`.sniper/checkpoints/`	Phase checkpoint storage
`.sniper/gates/`	Gate result storage
`.sniper/checklists/`	Quality gate checklists
`.claude/agents/`	Agent definitions
`.claude/settings.json`	Hooks and settings
`docs/`	Documentation directory
`CLAUDE.md`	Project instructions

`/sniper-review`

Manually trigger a quality gate review outside of the normal protocol flow.

Arguments:

Flag	Description
`--phase <name>`	Phase to review (defaults to current active phase)

Spawns a gate-reviewer agent, runs the phase checklist, and writes the result to .sniper/gates/. This does not advance the protocol -- it is a manual check only.

`/sniper-status`

Display project info, active protocol progress, and recent activity. Read-only -- never modifies any files.

Takes no arguments.

Protocols

Every protocol is a YAML state machine that defines a sequence of phases, agent assignments, spawn strategies, and quality gates. Use /sniper-flow --protocol <name> to run one explicitly, or let auto-detection choose for you.

Protocol Summary

Protocol	Phases	Auto Retro	Use Case
`full`	discover → define → design → solve → implement → review → retro	Yes	New projects, major reworks
`feature`	define → design → solve → implement → review → retro	Yes	New features (5--20 files)
`patch`	implement → review	No	Bug fixes, small changes
`ingest`	scan → document → extract	No	Reverse-engineer existing codebases
`explore`	discover	No	Research and analysis
`refactor`	analyze → implement → review → retro	Yes	Code improvement, no new features
`hotfix`	implement	No	Critical production fixes

`full`

Complete project lifecycle from discovery through retrospective.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
discover	analyst	single	discover	No	`docs/discovery-brief.md`, `docs/codebase-overview.md`
define	product-manager	single	define	Yes	`docs/prd.md`
design	architect	single	design	Yes	`docs/architecture.md`
solve	product-manager	single	solve	Yes	`docs/stories/`
implement	fullstack-dev, qa-engineer	team	implement	No	Source code, test files
review	code-reviewer	single	review	Yes	`docs/review-report.md`
retro	retro-analyst	single	—	No	`.sniper/memory/` updates

`feature`

Incremental feature -- define, design, solve, implement, review, and retro.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
define	product-manager	single	define	Yes	`docs/prd.md`
design	architect	single	design	Yes	`docs/architecture.md`
solve	product-manager	single	solve	Yes	`docs/stories/`
implement	fullstack-dev, qa-engineer	team	implement	No	Source code, test files
review	code-reviewer	single	review	Yes	`docs/review-report.md`
retro	retro-analyst	single	—	No	`.sniper/memory/` updates

`patch`

Quick fix -- implement and review only.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
implement	fullstack-dev	single	implement	No	Source code, test files
review	code-reviewer	single	review	Yes	`docs/review-report.md`

`ingest`

Codebase ingestion -- scan, document, and extract conventions.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
scan	analyst	single	ingest-scan	No	`docs/codebase-overview.md`
document	analyst	single	ingest-document	No	`docs/spec.md`
extract	analyst	single	ingest-extract	No	`.sniper/conventions.yaml`

`explore`

Exploratory analysis -- research and document findings.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
discover	analyst	single	discover	No	`docs/spec.md`, `docs/codebase-overview.md`

`refactor`

Code improvement -- analyze, refactor, and review.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
analyze	analyst	single	refactor-analyze	No	`docs/spec.md`
implement	fullstack-dev	single	implement	No	Source code, test files
review	code-reviewer	single	review	Yes	`docs/review-report.md`

`hotfix`

Critical fix -- fastest path to production. Single phase, non-blocking gate.

Phase	Agents	Spawn	Gate	Human Approval	Key Outputs
implement	fullstack-dev	single	implement (non-blocking)	No	Source code, test files

CLI Subcommands

The sniper binary provides project scaffolding, management, and CI/CD support.

Core

Command	Description
`sniper init`	Interactive project initialization (scaffolds `.sniper/`)
`sniper status`	Show project status and protocol progress
`sniper migrate`	Migrate v2 config to v3 format

Protocol Execution

Command	Description
`sniper run <protocol>`	Run a protocol headlessly
`sniper run <protocol> --auto-approve`	Auto-approve all gates
`sniper run <protocol> --output <format>`	Output format: `json`, `yaml`, `text`
`sniper run <protocol> --timeout <minutes>`	Set execution timeout
`sniper protocol create <name>`	Create a custom protocol YAML
`sniper protocol list`	List built-in and custom protocols
`sniper protocol validate <name>`	Validate a custom protocol

Plugins and Packs

Command	Description
`sniper plugin install <package>`	Install a language plugin or domain pack
`sniper plugin remove <name>`	Remove a plugin
`sniper plugin list`	List installed plugins
`sniper marketplace search <query>`	Search for plugins and packs

Project Management

Command	Description
`sniper dashboard`	Open the project dashboard
`sniper revert`	Revert changes from a protocol phase using checkpointed commits
`sniper signal`	Record a learning signal for agent memory
`sniper sphere`	Manage project spheres (bounded contexts)
`sniper workspace init [name]`	Initialize a multi-repo workspace
`sniper knowledge`	Manage domain knowledge sources

TIP

See the Headless & CI/CD guide for integrating sniper run into your pipelines.

Commands Cheatsheet ​

Slash Commands ​

/sniper-flow ​

/sniper-learn ​

/sniper-init ​

/sniper-review ​

/sniper-status ​

Protocols ​

Protocol Summary ​

full ​

feature ​

patch ​

ingest ​

explore ​

refactor ​

hotfix ​

CLI Subcommands ​

Core ​

Protocol Execution ​

Plugins and Packs ​

Project Management ​

Commands Cheatsheet

Slash Commands

`/sniper-flow`

`/sniper-learn`

`/sniper-init`

`/sniper-review`

`/sniper-status`

Protocols

Protocol Summary

`full`

`feature`

`patch`

`ingest`

`explore`

`refactor`

`hotfix`

CLI Subcommands

Core

Protocol Execution

Plugins and Packs

Project Management