# PROP: Adopt wshobson/agents Patterns -- 3-Tier Model Strategy + Progressive Disclosure Skills

## Source
- **URL**: https://github.com/wshobson/agents (30.2k stars)
- **URL**: https://github.com/wshobson/agents/blob/main/docs/architecture.md
- **URL**: https://github.com/wshobson/agents/blob/main/docs/plugins.md
- **URL**: https://github.com/wshobson/agents/blob/main/docs/agent-skills.md
- **Author**: Seth Hobson (wshobson)
- **Date**: 2026-03 (latest update)

## Summary
wshobson/agents is the most successful Claude Code plugin ecosystem (30.2k stars, 112 agents, 72 plugins, 146 skills). Three patterns are directly portable to iEvo: (1) 3-tier model strategy that maps task complexity to model cost, (2) progressive disclosure for skills (3-tier loading to minimize tokens), (3) plugin-based agent organization (each domain is an isolated plugin with agents + commands + skills).

## Relevance to iEvo
iEvo already has agents and skills in the marketplace. What it lacks is: (a) a model tiering strategy (agents currently specify exact model names), (b) progressive disclosure for skills (everything is loaded at once), (c) domain-organized plugin structure. These three patterns are low-effort, high-impact improvements.

## Proposed Change

### 1. Three-Tier Model Strategy
Add `tier` field to agent YAML frontmatter:

```yaml
---
name: architect
description: Decomposes requirements into implementation plans
tier: 2  # 1=critical, 2=complex, 3=fast
---
```

Tier-to-model mapping in `.ievo/manifest.yaml`:
```yaml
model_tiers:
  1: opus      # Critical: architecture, security, code review
  2: sonnet    # Complex: reasoning, orchestration
  3: haiku     # Fast: code gen, docs, simple ops
```

Users override mapping per-project. Agent definitions stay abstract.

### 2. Progressive Disclosure for Skills
Skills currently load entirely. Adopt 3-tier loading:

```
skills/
  evo/
    metadata.yaml    # Tier 1: always in context (name, description, activation)
    instructions.md  # Tier 2: loaded when skill is activated
    resources/       # Tier 3: loaded on explicit request
      examples/
      templates/
```

Hook into Claude Code's skill loading: only metadata.yaml enters context by default. Instructions load when `/evo` is invoked. Resources load when the skill requests them.

### 3. Plugin Organization (from existing PROP-2026-03-04-plugin-system)
Adopt wshobson's directory structure for the marketplace:

```
marketplace/
  sdd-pipeline/         # Plugin: spec-driven development
    plugin.yaml
    agents/
      spec-writer.md
      architect.md
      coder.md
    skills/
      req/
      backlog/
  devops/                # Plugin: DevOps agents
    plugin.yaml
    agents/
      docker-pro.md
    skills/
      ci-cd-patterns/
```

### Key Differences from wshobson
- wshobson is Claude Code-only. iEvo is multi-provider.
- wshobson uses model names directly (opus, sonnet, haiku). iEvo uses abstract tiers mapped per-project.
- wshobson's plugins are .md files. iEvo plugins are Python packages (via pluggy).
- wshobson has no pipeline engine. iEvo has SDD pipeline.

## Affected Components
- Modified: agent .md frontmatter schema (add `tier` field)
- Modified: `src/ievo/marketplace/registry.yaml` (add tier per agent)
- Modified: `src/ievo/core/config.py` (model_tiers in manifest)
- Modified: skill loading in agent definitions
- New: `src/ievo/core/skills.py` (progressive disclosure loader)

## Scores
- Applicability: 5/5
- Effort: low (tier field + mapping), medium (progressive disclosure)
- Impact: quality (right model for right task), speed (fewer tokens), UX (cost optimization)
