critique

critique — Claude Code Driver binding

This file is the thin Claude Code binding for the critique operation, shipped by the livespec-driver-claude Driver plugin (plugin name livespec, so the surface stays /livespec:*). The complete harness-neutral driving prose is livespec CORE's artifact at <core-root>/prose/critique.md. FIRST resolve <core-root> (next section), THEN read that prose file in full, then execute it end-to-end, binding its harness-neutral vocabulary to this runtime as follows.

Resolving livespec core (<core-root>)

This Driver plugin ships ONLY bindings. The harness-neutral prose and the reference spec-side CLIs ship with livespec core — the livespec plugin from the thewoolleyman/livespec marketplace, which must be installed alongside this Driver. The plugin-root placeholder of THIS plugin resolves to the Driver's own root, which carries no prose/ and no scripts/ — NEVER use it for core paths. Resolve <core-root> once, in this order:

1. If the LIVESPEC_CORE_PLUGIN_ROOT environment variable is set and non-empty, use its value (explicit override; covers nonstandard dev setups, e.g. driving a sibling checkout's core).
2. If <project-root>/.claude-plugin/prose/critique.md exists — the governed project IS the livespec core repo itself (--plugin-dir . dev mode / dogfooding) — use <project-root>/.claude-plugin.
3. Otherwise use the installed livespec@livespec plugin's flattened cache root, read from ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json.

Canonical Bash form (<project-root> defaults to the cwd):

LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT="$LIVESPEC_CORE_PLUGIN_ROOT"
if [ -z "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT" ] && [ -d "./.claude-plugin/prose" ]; then
  LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT="$(pwd)/.claude-plugin"
fi
if [ -z "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT" ]; then
  LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT="$(python3 -c 'import json, pathlib; entries = json.loads((pathlib.Path.home() / ".claude" / "plugins" / "installed_plugins.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))["plugins"]["livespec@livespec"]; print(entries[0]["installPath"])' 2>/dev/null || true)"
fi
if [ -z "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT" ] || [ ! -d "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/prose" ]; then
  echo "livespec core not found. Install it first:" >&2
  echo "  claude plugin marketplace add thewoolleyman/livespec" >&2
  echo "  claude plugin install livespec@livespec" >&2
  exit 1
fi
echo "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT"

If resolution fails, STOP and surface those install instructions to the user instead of improvising paths.

Config-named CLI dispatch

Per livespec core's contract (its contracts.md §"Spec-side CLI contract"), every spec-side operation is named in the governed project's .livespec.jsonc under spec_clis.critique as an argv-form array, pre-populated with core's reference default and individually overridable. To "run the critique CLI named in config":

1. Read <project-root>/.livespec.jsonc (JSONC — tolerate // comments). If the file, the spec_clis section, or the spec_clis.critique key is absent, use core's reference default argv: python3 <core-root>/scripts/bin/critique.py.
2. If the configured argv contains the literal plugin-root substitution token (the CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT placeholder, written as a $-brace expansion in config), expand it to <core-root> — core's schema defines that token as "the installed livespec plugin root", which is CORE's root, never this Driver's.
3. Append the operation's flags and invoke via the Bash tool.

With the default config this collapses to:

python3 "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/scripts/bin/critique.py" --findings-json <path> [--author <id>] [--spec-target <path>] [--project-root <path>]

Runtime bindings

• "run the critique CLI named in config" / "invoke the critique CLI" — dispatch per §"Config-named CLI dispatch" above; with the default config:

  python3 "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/scripts/bin/critique.py" --findings-json <path> [--author <id>] [--spec-target <path>] [--project-root <path>]
  

• "run the template-resolution CLI" — via the Bash tool:

  python3 "$LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/scripts/bin/resolve_template.py"
  

• "ask the user" / "confirm with the user" / "surface" / "narrate" — conversational turns in this session (the AskUserQuestion tool or plain narration, as appropriate).

• "read <file>" — the Read tool. "write <file>" — the Write tool.

• "the revise / propose-change operation" — the /livespec:revise, /livespec:propose-change skills in this Driver plugin.

• "the doctor prose (prose/doctor.md)" — read $LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/prose/doctor.md and follow it (the LLM-driven post-step phase runs under this Driver plugin's doctor binding).

• "core's livespec/schemas/ package" — resolves at runtime to $LIVESPEC_CORE_ROOT/scripts/livespec/schemas/.