Analyze Agent Overlap

Detects redundancy, overlap, and potential conflicts between AI coding assistant customization files.

Provider Folder Reference

This skill works across multiple AI coding assistant providers:

Provider Base Folder

GitHub Copilot .github/

Claude Code .claude/

Codex .codex/

OpenCode .config/opencode/

Throughout this document, <provider>/ represents your chosen provider's base folder.

When to Use

• Before creating a new agent, skill, prompt, or instruction

• When you suspect two agents are doing similar things

• To audit and consolidate your customization files

• When agent behaviors seem to conflict

Analysis Process

Step 1: Inventory Existing Items

Scan these locations (replace <provider>/ with actual folder):

• <provider>/agents/*.md

• All agent definitions (including .subagent.agent.md )

• <provider>/skills/*/SKILL.md

• All skill definitions

• <provider>/prompts/*.prompt.md

• All prompt templates

• <provider>/instructions/*.instructions.md

• All instruction files

For each item, extract:

• Name: The identifier

• Purpose: What problem it solves (from description)

• Domain: What areas/topics it covers

• Triggers: Keywords or scenarios that activate it

• User-Invokable: Whether it's a user-facing agent or sub-agent

Step 2: Compare Against Proposed Item

When analyzing a proposed new item, compare:

Direct Overlap Indicators:

• Same or very similar name

• Same primary purpose statement

• Identical target domain

• Overlapping trigger keywords (>50% match)

Partial Overlap Indicators:

• Related but distinct purposes

• Some shared expertise areas

• Similar but different trigger scenarios

• Complementary functionality

No Overlap Indicators:

• Different domains entirely

• Non-overlapping use cases

• Distinct trigger keywords

Step 3: Detect Conflicts

Look for these conflict types:

Behavioral Conflicts:

• Two agents giving contradictory guidance for same scenario

• Instructions that override each other for same file patterns

• Skills that produce incompatible outputs

Scope Conflicts:

• Multiple agents claiming the same use cases

• Overlapping applyTo patterns in instructions

• Ambiguous routing between similar agents

Naming Conflicts:

• Names too similar causing confusion

• Same name in different contexts

Overlap Severity Levels

🔴 Critical (Do Not Proceed)

• Exact duplicate of existing item

• Direct contradiction with existing guidance

• Name collision

80% purpose overlap

🟡 Warning (Needs Discussion)

• Significant overlap (50-80% shared purpose)

• Potential user confusion about which to use

• Overlapping triggers with different behaviors

• Partial scope conflict

🟢 Low Risk (Proceed with Awareness)

• Minor overlap (<50% shared concerns)

• Complementary purposes

• Clear differentiation possible

• Different trigger contexts

Resolution Strategies

When overlap is detected, consider:

Merge

Combine into single, more comprehensive item.

• Best when: Items serve nearly identical purpose

• Action: Create unified item, deprecate duplicates

Extend

Add new functionality to existing item.

• Best when: New need is subset of existing item's scope

• Action: Modify existing item, don't create new

Differentiate

Clarify boundaries between items.

• Best when: Items serve related but distinct needs

• Action: Update descriptions to make distinctions clear

Reference

Have one item delegate to another.

• Best when: Items have hierarchical relationship

• Action: Add handoff or reference in description

Supersede

Replace older item with improved version.

• Best when: New item is strictly better

• Action: Create new, mark old as deprecated

Output Format

Overlap Analysis: [Proposed Item Name]

Summary

Proposed Type: [Agent|Skill|Prompt|Instruction] Proposed Purpose: [Brief description] Overlap Level: None | Low | Medium | High | Critical Recommendation: Proceed | Modify | Merge | Reconsider

Comparison Matrix

Detailed Findings

High/Critical Overlap Items

[For each significant overlap:]

[Existing Item Name]

• Type: [type]
• Purpose: [their purpose]
• Overlap Areas: [specific shared concerns]
• Key Distinction: [how proposed differs]
• Resolution: [recommended action]

Potential Conflicts

[List any behavioral or scope conflicts]

Complementary Items

[Items that could work well alongside proposed]

Recommendations

1. [Primary recommendation with rationale]
2. [Secondary options if applicable]

Questions to Resolve

• [Clarifying questions that would help decision]

Example Analysis

Proposed: database-helper agent for SQL query assistance

Findings:

• dx12-terrain-engine-dev

• No overlap (different domain)

• agent-builder

• No overlap (different domain)

Result: ✅ Proceed - no conflicts detected

Proposed: code-reviewer agent for code review

Findings:

• Existing dx12-terrain-engine-dev mentions code quality

• Partial overlap in "review code" scenarios

Result: ⚠️ Warning - clarify scope boundaries

• Recommendation: code-reviewer for general review, dx12-terrain-engine-dev for DX12-specific review only