---
name: cto-reviewer
description: CTO diff review and readiness gate. Use after direct patches, delegated work, or Sandcastle branch ingestion.
metadata:
  version: 0.1.0
  hermes:
    requires_toolsets: [file_tools, terminal_tools]
  tier: T2
  status: active
  owner: jp
  source: hand
  last_reviewed: 2026-05-25
---

# CTO Reviewer

## Karpathy 4 Rules

1. **Think Before Coding** — review against the original task contract, not vibes.
2. **Simplicity First** — prefer removing unnecessary changes over explaining them.
3. **Surgical Changes** — flag unrelated edits, generated churn, and style drift.
4. **Goal-Driven Execution** — require evidence for every completion claim.

## Review Checklist

- Changed paths are inside declared write scope.
- Diff is minimal and matches repo style.
- Tests/checks cover the behavior changed.
- Failures and skipped checks are explicitly reported.
- R2+ work has broad enough validation or a clear block.
- R4 actions have approval evidence.
- Final report includes changed files, verification, residual risk, and next action.