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Fan out a query to the panel, run reflection rounds, and synthesize a final answer.

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Usage

dissent ask QUERY [OPTIONS]

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Arguments

ArgumentDescription
QUERYThe question or prompt to debate

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Options

OptionDefaultDescription
--panelclaude-opus,gpt,gemini,grok,nemotronComma-separated model aliases
--synthesizerclaude-opusModel alias for final synthesis
--rounds1Reflection rounds, 1–3
--verboseoffShow all round responses, not just synthesis
--no-saveoffSkip saving transcript to disk
--outputterminalOutput format: terminal, json, markdown
--file PATH—Write output to file instead of stdout
--ground-truth TEXT—Reference answer to score synthesis against
--ground-truth-file PATH—File containing reference answer

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Examples

# Basic debate
dissent ask "What are the risks of agentic AI systems?"

# Two-model debate with extra reflection
dissent ask "Is formal verification practical?" --panel claude,gpt --rounds 2

# Different synthesizer, verbose output
dissent ask "Explain homomorphic encryption" --synthesizer gemini --verbose

# Score synthesis against a reference answer
dissent ask "What year was TCP/IP standardized?" --ground-truth "1982"

# Write markdown output to file
dissent ask "Compare MCP vs function calling" --output markdown --file report.md

# JSON transcript to stdout
dissent ask "What is prompt injection?" --output json --no-save

# Single-model multi-agent debate (3 independent Claude agents)
dissent ask "What are the tradeoffs of microservices?" --panel claude,claude,claude

# Mixed panel with duplicates
dissent ask "Evaluate this strategy" --panel claude,claude,gpt --synthesizer gpt

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Output

In default (terminal) mode, Mutual Dissent prints the synthesized answer with a metadata summary. With --verbose, all round responses are shown before synthesis. The transcript is saved to ~/.mutual-dissent/transcripts/ as YYYY-MM-DD_shortid.json unless --no-save is set.