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Reading Strategy Overview

When to Use

Use this guide before any code-reading task — before the first Read or Grep call — to pick the strategy that matches the task type instead of applying a blanket "save tokens" rule.

Decision

Task type Default strategy Why
Targeted edit / fix Grep-first You know the symbol; partial reads are sufficient
Comprehensive understanding (doc, audit, review) Read every source + config file in full Partial reads miss methods, hooks, annotations, inheritance
Large open-ended exploration Dispatch a subagent Protects main context; subagent returns a summary

Pattern

Core principle — match strategy to task type, not blanket rules.

The "use offset/limit, avoid re-reading entire files" advice optimizes for targeted work. It is the wrong default for comprehensive understanding, where partial reads cause missed methods, classes, hooks, config, and cross-references.

Grep is a cross-reference tool, not a discovery tool. Use it to answer "who calls this?" — not "what exists?"

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Defaulting to grep for every task to save tokens → Right: Check which of the 3 task types applies first; grep is correct for Type A but wrong for Type B
  • Wrong: Re-reading the same file multiple times in a session → Right: Trust prior reads; use targeted re-reads only for specific sections you need to re-verify
  • Wrong: Treating the harness "save tokens" warning as a universal rule → Right: It flags wasteful patterns; thorough reads for documentation work are the correct cost

See Also