Step 4 — Inspect files and diffs
Read what the agent changed, run validation, and decide whether the work is acceptable before finishing the loop.
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The harness has been editing files on disk inside the project root. Step 4 is the human check: read the diff, run your usual validation, and form an opinion about whether step 5 should merge or sacrifice the work.
What "inspect" means in Coven
Coven does not own diffs or test runners — it owns the session (a PTY-backed harness invocation and its event log). File changes are just regular edits in your working tree, observable through git, your editor, or CastCodes' file browser. Coven's contribution is making it obvious which session produced which changes.
The agent's edits land in your source files. The session record and event log stay under ~/.coven/ (or $COVEN_HOME) — they're not committed.
Worktree isolation is a CastCodes feature
If you launched the session into a per-lane git worktree (the CastCodes default for parallel agent lanes — see the "Git worktree isolation per agent lane" roadmap row), the changes live in that worktree, not in your main checkout. Step 5 will help you decide what to do with the lane.
The flow
Open the diff
TODO: CastCodes UI — exact path to the diff view. Is it a pane sibling to the agent pane, a dedicated tab, or an overlay? Document keyboard shortcuts (next file / hunk).
From the CLI, the usual git status / git diff work in the session's worktree:
git status
git diff --stat
git diff path/to/changed-fileValidate
Run your tests, type checker, linter — whatever you would run before any other commit. Coven does not run these for you.
npm test
npm run typecheck
npm run lintTODO: CastCodes UI — is there a "Run validation" button on the pane that runs configured scripts? If so, document the configuration source (package.json scripts? a CastCodes-specific file?).
Re-engage the agent (optional)
If the agent missed something, you can send input to the same session — see Step 3 → Send input. For a more significant follow-up, launch a new session from step 2 with a refined prompt and let it pick up the worktree state.
Form a verdict
You're now ready to decide between the four explicit outcomes in step 5: merge, PR, archive, or sacrifice.
CLI equivalent
# Find the worktree associated with this session (if launched into one)
coven sessions show <session-id>
# Replay output later if needed
coven rejoin <session-id> --replay
# View the full event log
coven sessions log <session-id>Next
Continue to Step 5 — Finish the loop. Every session ends explicitly.
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