Claude PhD Panel Plugin
Academic expert perspectives for any codebase. Seven specialized review commands that analyze your project from different research domain viewpoints.
Commands
| Command | Role | What it reviews |
|---|
/cs | Computer Science PhD | Algorithm complexity, data structures, concurrency correctness |
/db | Database Theory PhD | Schema normalization, query optimization, consistency models |
/stats | Statistics PhD | A/B test design, metric validity, statistical significance |
/ds | Data Science PhD | ML pipelines, feature engineering, model evaluation |
/dist-sys | Distributed Systems PhD | Consensus, fault tolerance, partition handling |
/pl | PL Theory PhD | Type safety, abstraction design, error handling patterns |
/sec | Security & Cryptography PhD | Primitive selection, protocol safety, key management, side channels |
Utility commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|
/config | Manage ~/.claude/claude-phd-panel.json — show, init, or read a setting |
/audit | Verify all command files conform to plugin conventions |
Installation
/plugin marketplace add JFK/claude-phd-panel-plugin
/plugin install claude-phd-panel
Usage
Review mode
Run any command to get a full academic review:
/claude-phd-panel:cs # Full CS review of current repo
/claude-phd-panel:cs owner/repo # Analyze a specific repo
/claude-phd-panel:db schema # Focus on schema design
/claude-phd-panel:stats metrics # Focus on metrics/experiments
Question mode
Ask any PhD a direct question — they'll answer from their academic perspective, grounded in your actual codebase:
/claude-phd-panel:cs Is this sorting approach optimal for our data size?
/claude-phd-panel:db Should we denormalize this table for read performance?
/claude-phd-panel:stats Is our A/B test sample size sufficient?
/claude-phd-panel:ds Is there data leakage in our feature pipeline?
/claude-phd-panel:dist-sys Can this service handle network partitions?
/claude-phd-panel:pl Should we use generics here or concrete types?
/claude-phd-panel:sec Is HS256 safe for our JWT use case?
Language configuration
Configure the output language for all PhD commands:
/claude-phd-panel:config init # Create ~/.claude/claude-phd-panel.json
Edit language to your preferred ISO 639-1 code (ja, zh, ko, etc.):
{
"language": "ja"
}
All review output and Q&A responses will be in your chosen language.
Code blocks, file paths, and structural headings stay in English for tool compatibility.
Cross-referencing with C-Suite
Run PhD Panel commands alongside Claude C-Suite commands in the same session for executive + academic perspectives:
/claude-c-suite:cto # CTO flags DB performance concern
/claude-phd-panel:db # DB PhD validates with academic rigor
Worked example: validating a CTO concern with academic rigor
A typical session combining both plugins:
-
CTO flags an issue — /claude-c-suite:cto reports that the user
profile endpoint is slow under load and recommends caching:
"Profile reads dominate p95 latency. Consider Redis caching with a
5-minute TTL. Severity: High."
-
DB PhD validates the diagnosis — /claude-phd-panel:db Is caching the right fix here, or is the underlying query the problem? reads the actual
schema and queries, then responds:
"The users table is missing an index on (org_id, last_active_at),
which forces a sequential scan on every profile read. Caching would mask
the problem but not fix it — and would introduce staleness for a workload
that has strong read-your-writes expectations. Recommend adding the
composite index first; reassess caching only if p95 is still high."
-
CS PhD checks the algorithmic side — /claude-phd-panel:cs notices
the handler also does an O(n²) merge of friend lists in application code
and flags it as a separate, larger issue.
-
CEO synthesizes — /claude-c-suite:ceo combines all three findings:
index first (cheap, correct), then refactor the merge (medium effort,
bigger win), defer caching (don't mask root causes).
The pattern: C-Suite identifies what to worry about; PhD Panel proves
whether the proposed fix is actually the right one.
Related plugins
- claude-c-suite-plugin — Executive perspectives (CEO/CTO/CSO/CFO/CMO/CLO/etc.) for code review. C-Suite commands automatically incorporate PhD Panel findings when run in the same session.
- expert-craft-plugin — Create your own custom domain experts via interactive dialogue. Pairs naturally with PhD Panel and C-Suite for project-specific reviews.
Design Principles
