32 specialized personas, infinite possibilities. But which one grabs YOUR problem? 🐙
Note on Permissions: Current releases prompt before background provider execution so you can approve Codex or Gemini usage explicitly.
| When You Want To... | Reach For This Tentacle | Why This One? |
|---|---|---|
| Design a REST/GraphQL API | backend-architect |
Microservices maestro |
| Find security vulnerabilities | security-auditor |
OWASP whisperer |
| Debug failing tests | debugger |
Stack trace detective |
| Implement with TDD | tdd-orchestrator |
Red-green-refactor guru |
| Review code quality | code-reviewer |
Best practices enforcer |
| Write Python code | python-pro |
Pythonic perfection |
| Write TypeScript | typescript-pro |
Type safety fanatic |
| Design database schema | database-architect |
Data modeling master |
| Research AI/LLM patterns | ai-engineer |
Prompt engineering pro |
| Optimize performance | performance-engineer |
Latency hunter |
| Synthesize user research | ux-researcher |
Empathy tentacle 🆕 |
| Develop business strategy | strategy-analyst |
Framework master 🆕 |
| Write literature review | research-synthesizer |
Knowledge weaver 🆕 |
| Draft research papers | academic-writer |
Citation ninja 🆕 |
| Create exec summaries | exec-communicator |
Boardroom whisperer 🆕 |
| Write PRDs/user stories | product-writer |
Requirements master 🆕 |
| Plan marketing campaigns | marketing-strategist |
Growth funnel guru 🆕 |
| Build financial models | finance-analyst |
Spreadsheet surgeon 🆕 |
| Review compliance/GDPR | legal-compliance-advisor |
Regulatory navigator 🆕 |
| Design UI/UX systems | ui-ux-designer |
Design intelligence 🆕 |
Still unsure? Just describe what you need - Claude Octopus auto-routes to the right tentacle! 🦑
Knowledge-worker personas for researchers, consultants, and product managers are also included. See Knowledge Workers Guide →
- By Development Phase - Double Diamond workflow
- By Domain - Backend, Frontend, Quality, Ops
- Knowledge Work - Research, consulting, writing
- Top 10 Tentacles - The heavy hitters
- Cost Tiers - Token budget awareness
- Common Workflows - Multi-tentacle patterns
- The Principles (Don't Invoke Directly) - Quality checklists
- Decision Tree - When all else fails
Claude Octopus follows the Double Diamond methodology:
DISCOVER DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER
(probe) (grasp) (tangle) (ink)
\ / \ / \ / \ /
\ 🔍 / \ 🎯 / \ 🔧 / \ ✅ /
\ 🦑 / \ / \ 🦑 / \ /
\ / \ / \ / \ /
\/ \/ \/ \/
Diverge then Converge to Diverge with Converge to
converge problem solutions delivery
Use when: Starting a project, exploring options, gathering requirements
| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |
|---|---|---|
ai-engineer |
LLM/RAG patterns, prompt engineering | "Research OAuth 2.0 patterns for multi-tenant SaaS" |
business-analyst |
Requirements, metrics, stakeholder analysis | "Analyze user authentication requirements" |
context-manager |
Multi-agent coordination | "Coordinate research across multiple domains" |
Pro tip: Probe tentacles are cheap (sonnet/inherit) - fire liberally!
Use when: Planning architecture, defining system design, creating blueprints
| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |
|---|---|---|
backend-architect ⭐ |
API design, microservices, distributed systems | "Design a REST API for user authentication" |
frontend-developer |
React 19, Next.js 15, UI/UX patterns | "Design component architecture for dashboard" |
database-architect |
Schema design, migrations, normalization | "Design user and session tables" |
cloud-architect |
AWS/GCP/Azure, IaC, cost optimization | "Plan multi-region deployment" |
graphql-architect |
Federation, resolvers, schema design | "Design GraphQL schema for e-commerce" |
Pro tip: These tentacles are premium (opus/inherit) - they're worth it for architecture decisions.
Use when: Writing code, implementing features, building solutions
| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |
|---|---|---|
tdd-orchestrator ⭐ |
Test-driven development, red-green-refactor | "Implement user registration with TDD" |
debugger ⭐ |
Error analysis, stack traces, root cause | "Debug JWT validation failures" |
devops-troubleshooter |
K8s debugging, log analysis, infra | "Fix deployment issues in staging" |
python-pro |
Python 3.12+, FastAPI, async | "Implement FastAPI authentication" |
typescript-pro |
Advanced types, generics, strict mode | "Implement TypeScript SDK" |
Pro tip: Tangle has a 75% quality gate - multiple tentacles validate before delivery.
Use when: Code review, security audit, performance optimization, shipping
| Tentacle | Superpower | Example Prompt |
|---|---|---|
code-reviewer ⭐ |
Best practices, architecture review | "Review authentication module" |
security-auditor ⭐ |
OWASP, DevSecOps, threat modeling | "Audit for SQL injection vulnerabilities" |
test-automator |
Unit/integration/E2E test generation | "Generate test coverage for auth" |
performance-engineer |
Profiling, benchmarking, Core Web Vitals | "Find N+1 query issues" |
deployment-engineer |
GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, GitOps | "Set up CI/CD pipeline" |
Pro tip: Ink tentacles work with the squeeze command for adversarial review!
General Backend → backend-architect (inherit - adapts to complexity)
Database Focus → database-architect (opus - critical decisions)
GraphQL API → graphql-architect (opus - schema design)
Python Backend → python-pro (opus - advanced patterns)
Node.js Backend → typescript-pro (opus - type safety)
React/Next.js → frontend-developer (inherit - adapts)
TypeScript → typescript-pro (opus - complex types)
Performance → performance-engineer (inherit - profiling)
Code Quality → code-reviewer (opus - comprehensive)
Security → security-auditor (opus - critical)
Testing → test-automator (sonnet - generation)
Performance → performance-engineer (inherit - profiling)
Cloud/AWS/GCP → cloud-architect (opus - critical decisions)
Kubernetes/Docker → deployment-engineer (haiku - fast)
Troubleshooting → devops-troubleshooter (sonnet - specialized)
Incidents → incident-responder (sonnet - SRE)
Technical Docs → docs-architect (sonnet - writing)
Flowcharts → mermaid-expert (haiku - simple)
When your deliverable isn't code, but crystallized knowledge. 🎓
Claude Octopus also includes specialized agents for researchers, consultants, designers, marketers, and product managers.
User interviews → ux-researcher (opus - synthesis)
Journey mapping → ux-researcher (opus - empathy)
Pain points → ux-researcher (opus - definition)
Market analysis → strategy-analyst (opus - frameworks)
Business cases → strategy-analyst (opus - quantification)
Exec summaries → exec-communicator (sonnet - clarity)
Literature review → research-synthesizer (opus - synthesis)
Gap analysis → research-synthesizer (opus - identification)
Academic writing → academic-writer (sonnet - formatting)
PRDs & specs → product-writer (sonnet - clarity)
User stories → product-writer (sonnet - structure)
Acceptance criteria→ product-writer (sonnet - precision)
Campaign planning → marketing-strategist (sonnet - channels)
Growth funnels → marketing-strategist (sonnet - optimization)
SEO & content → marketing-strategist (sonnet - strategy)
Financial models → finance-analyst (sonnet - projections)
Unit economics → finance-analyst (sonnet - metrics)
Pricing strategy → finance-analyst (sonnet - optimization)
Design systems → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - BM25 intelligence)
Color & typography → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - data-driven)
Component specs → ui-ux-designer (sonnet - handoff)
GDPR/CCPA review → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - regulations)
SOC 2 readiness → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - controls)
Contract review → legal-compliance-advisor (sonnet - risk)
Deep dive: See the full Knowledge Workers Guide →
The heavy hitters, based on real-world usage:
Model: inherit (adapts to complexity)
Superpower: API design, microservices architecture, distributed systems
When to use:
- Designing REST/GraphQL/gRPC APIs
- Architecting microservices systems
- Defining service boundaries and communication patterns
- Planning event-driven architectures
Avoid if:
- Simple CRUD operations (just implement directly)
- Frontend-only work (use
frontend-developer) - Database schema design (use
database-architectfirst)
Model: opus (complex reasoning)
Superpower: Code quality, best practices, architecture review
When to use:
- PR reviews (pairs with
/octo:reviewskill) - Architecture validation
- Best practices enforcement
Avoid if:
- Security-focused review (use
security-auditor) - Performance-focused review (use
performance-engineer)
Model: sonnet (specialized analysis)
Superpower: Error analysis, stack traces, root cause identification
When to use:
- Failing tests or production errors
- Understanding cryptic stack traces
- Root cause analysis
Avoid if:
- Infrastructure issues (use
devops-troubleshooter)
Model: opus (critical analysis)
Superpower: OWASP Top 10, vulnerability scanning, threat modeling
When to use:
- Security audits (pairs with
squeezecommand) - Finding vulnerabilities in auth/payment code
- OWASP compliance checks
Model: opus (multi-step reasoning)
Superpower: Test-driven development, red-green-refactor
When to use:
- Building new features test-first
- Comprehensive test coverage
- Refactoring with confidence
Model: inherit (adapts to complexity)
Superpower: React 19, Next.js 15, modern UI patterns
When to use:
- React component architecture
- Server Components and Client Components
- State management decisions
Model: opus (critical decisions)
Superpower: Schema design, migrations, query optimization
When to use:
- New database schema design
- Migration planning
- Query performance issues
Model: inherit (adapts to profiling depth)
Superpower: Profiling, benchmarking, Core Web Vitals
When to use:
- N+1 query hunting
- API response time optimization
- Memory leak detection
Model: opus (advanced patterns)
Superpower: Python 3.12+, FastAPI, async programming
When to use:
- Python backend development
- FastAPI/Django/Flask services
- Async/await patterns
Model: opus (complex type systems)
Superpower: Advanced types, generics, strict TypeScript
When to use:
- Advanced TypeScript type definitions
- Generic types and utility type creation
- Strict TypeScript configuration
Most expensive, use for critical decisions.
code-reviewer, tdd-orchestrator, database-architect, security-auditor, cloud-architect, python-pro, typescript-pro, graphql-architect
Mid-range, good for focused tasks.
debugger, test-automator, docs-architect, business-analyst, devops-troubleshooter, incident-responder, ui-ux-designer, marketing-strategist, finance-analyst, legal-compliance-advisor
Cheapest, use for simple tasks.
mermaid-expert, deployment-engineer
Auto-selects based on task complexity.
backend-architect, frontend-developer, ai-engineer, performance-engineer, context-manager
1. Research → ai-engineer
2. Design → backend-architect + database-architect
3. Implement → tdd-orchestrator
4. Review → code-reviewer + security-auditor
1. Respond → incident-responder
2. Debug → debugger
3. Fix → backend-architect
4. Validate → test-automator
1. Profile → performance-engineer
2. Database → database-architect
3. Validate → performance-engineer
1. Scan → security-auditor
2. Fix → backend-architect
3. Validate → security-auditor
| Principle | Used By | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
general |
code-reviewer | Correctness, reliability |
security |
security-auditor | OWASP, auth patterns |
performance |
performance-engineer | Profiling, caching |
maintainability |
code-reviewer | Readability, testing |
See agent-decision-tree.md for visual flowcharts.
Quick version:
What phase are you in?
├─ Research/Explore → PROBE tentacles
├─ Design/Plan → GRASP tentacles
├─ Build/Code → TANGLE tentacles
└─ Review/Ship → INK tentacles
- README: ../README.md
- Decision Tree: agent-decision-tree.md
- Monthly Review: monthly-agent-review.md
- Personas: ../agents/personas/
🐙 "39 tentacles, one purpose: your code, done right." 🐙