# Probe (c): model-then-skill barrier

Linux fs-25 6.1.102 x86_64; Node v26.12.1; OpenCode 2.2.5, binary SHA256 8d060e1d2fbb9bb44cf09ae6ed1f3f6a7cff070b5227e2f90970132b23a92050; T3 model openai/gpt-5.4 through CLIProxyAPI; isolated per-run HOME/XDG and fresh DB; T3CODE_DEV_SEED=0; server only via WebSocket RPC; no UI/browser. Actual machine global skill entries: 21 in each of .agents/skills, .claude/skills and .config/opencode/skills; synthetic isolated globals: 21, plus 3 OpenCode built-ins. No real global skill content copied.

Expected: every skill immediately after model response, 5/5 for fresh directories with 200 and 2500 project skills; PR timings about 0.4 s and 1.6 s with 66 global skills.

Observed: **barrier REPRODUCED; timing/global count DIFFERS**. Five runs at each size, 10/10 complete immediately after model response. 200 + 21 synthetic globals + 3 built-ins = 224 IDs, 5/5. 2500 + 21 + 3 = 2524 IDs, 5/5. Model duration: 857.437–1049.360 ms for 200; 1332.261–1424.519 ms for 2500. No claim that the measurements match the PR timings.

| Project skills | Run | Model duration ms | Immediately following skill count | Missing synthetic IDs | Transcript |
|---:|---:|---:|---:|---|---|
| 200 | 1 | 939.571 | 224 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-1.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-1.md) |
| 200 | 2 | 1049.36 | 224 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-2.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-2.md) |
| 200 | 3 | 971.611 | 224 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-3.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-3.md) |
| 200 | 4 | 857.437 | 224 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-4.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-4.md) |
| 200 | 5 | 911.714 | 224 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-5.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-200-5.md) |
| 2500 | 1 | 1398.842 | 2524 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-1.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-1.md) |
| 2500 | 2 | 1332.261 | 2524 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-2.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-2.md) |
| 2500 | 3 | 1377.79 | 2524 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-3.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-3.md) |
| 2500 | 4 | 1380.441 | 2524 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-4.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-4.md) |
| 2500 | 5 | 1424.519 | 2524 | [] | [probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-5.md](/tmp/lead-29535-r1/evidence-capture-2/published/probes-2026-11-02T20-38-17.213Z-barrier-2500-5.md) |