> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.n3wth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Elephant-Goldfish

> Get a fresh perspective on a design, diagnosis, or code change in Codex.

The Elephant is the working session. It keeps the project context and makes changes. The Goldfish is a fresh reviewer. It sees the evidence needed for one question, without inheriting the working conversation.

Use it when you want a second look at a design, a separate diagnosis, or a review of a specific change.

## Install version 0.1.0

The release is available as a [source bundle](https://n3wth.com/downloads/elephant-goldfish-0.1.0.zip). A public plugin directory listing is not yet available.

1. Download and extract the bundle.
2. In Codex, use the plugin-creator skill to register the extracted `elephant-goldfish` directory in your personal marketplace and install it. Supply the actual local path. Ask it to preserve the bundled instructions and version `0.1.0`.
3. Start a new chat and select Elephant-Goldfish.

Independent checks require a Codex host that can start fresh subagents. If that capability is unavailable, the plugin reports the limitation. A second persona in the same conversation does not count as an independent review.

## Try a review

Open the repository you want to review and ask:

```text theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
Use Elephant-Goldfish to review only my staged changes.
Do not edit files.
```

The workflow pins the staged change, asks a fresh reviewer to inspect it, and verifies the findings. The result states what was reviewed, which checks ran, and what remains uncertain. The working tree and index stay unchanged.

You can also choose a focused skill:

```text theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
Use $eg-new-feature to check this design before implementation.
Do not write code yet.
```

See [all five workflows](/elephant-goldfish/workflows) for more examples.

## What the reviewer receives

The handoff includes the question, the agreed artifact or reproduction, applicable requirements, and the sources the reviewer may inspect. It leaves out the Elephant's private reasoning, preferred answer, and earlier review verdicts.

Fresh context is not a filesystem sandbox. Repository permissions and the host's tool rules still apply. A review finding is a claim to verify against evidence, not a guarantee that the code is correct.

## Sources

[Dave Rensin](https://drensin.medium.com/elephants-goldfish-and-the-new-golden-age-of-software-engineering-c33641a48874) introduced the Elephant-Goldfish model. [Vladyslav Shvedov](https://github.com/vshvedov/elephant-goldfish/tree/b8ebb3d6b00e39fbb6c619faa27f5bb994091d78) published the five upstream workflows under the MIT license. Oliver Newth adapted them for this Codex plugin.

This is an independent adaptation. The source bundle retains the upstream copyright and MIT license.

[Project page](https://n3wth.com/projects/elephant-goldfish) · [Privacy](https://n3wth.com/privacy) · [Terms](https://n3wth.com/terms) · [Support](https://n3wth.com/support)