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

# /estimate

> Development estimates for tasks, features, or projects with explicit confidence levels.

## What it does

`/estimate` breaks work into discrete components, estimates each one across design, implementation, testing, and integration phases, applies complexity multipliers for unknowns, and produces estimates with explicit confidence levels and assumptions.

Estimates are informed guesses — not commitments. `/estimate` makes the assumptions and risks explicit so you can act on them.

## When to use

Use `/estimate` before starting a feature to communicate scope, when planning a sprint, when comparing implementation approaches, or when stakeholders need rough timelines before committing to work.

## Prerequisites

* A clear description of the work to estimate — vague inputs produce low-confidence estimates
* For high-confidence estimates: run [`/research`](/commands/research) first to resolve major unknowns

## Conversation mode

Either mode works.

## What happens

<Steps>
  <Step title="Break work into discrete components">
    The feature or task is decomposed into concrete, estimable components. Vague work is broken down until each piece is independently estimable.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Estimate each component">
    For each component: design time, implementation time, testing time, and integration time are estimated separately.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply complexity multipliers">
    Unknowns, external dependencies, and architectural decisions that haven't been made yet are identified. Complexity multipliers are applied based on the category: simple (hours), medium (days), complex (weeks).
  </Step>

  <Step title="State confidence and assumptions">
    Each estimate includes a confidence level (high/medium/low) and the key assumptions that must be true for the estimate to hold.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply buffer guidelines">
    Buffers are applied based on confidence: 20% for high confidence, 50% for medium, 100% for low. A low-confidence estimate is a signal to break the work down further before committing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="State total with buffer">
    The total is the sum of all components plus the appropriate buffer for integration and unexpected issues.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Skills invoked

No skills are invoked. `/estimate` is a direct workflow.

## Complexity categories

| Category | Timeframe | Characteristics                                                       |
| -------- | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Simple   | Hours     | Well-understood, existing patterns, clear scope                       |
| Medium   | Days      | Some unknowns, new patterns, multiple components                      |
| Complex  | Weeks     | Significant unknowns, architectural decisions, cross-cutting concerns |

## Buffer guidelines

| Confidence | Buffer                                         |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| High       | 20%                                            |
| Medium     | 50%                                            |
| Low        | 100% (or break down further before estimating) |

## Example

```bash theme={null}
/estimate adding a webhook delivery system
```

Antigravity outputs:

```
Component: Queue infrastructure setup (Redis + BullMQ)
Estimate: 0.5 days
Confidence: high
Assumptions: Redis already in stack, team familiar with BullMQ
Risks: If Redis is not available, add 1 day for provisioning

Component: WebhookService implementation
Estimate: 1 day
Confidence: medium
Assumptions: Retry logic is exponential backoff only (no custom schedules)
Risks: Webhook signature verification adds 0.5 days if required

Component: Tests (unit + integration)
Estimate: 1 day
Confidence: high
Assumptions: Test infrastructure already set up

Total (before buffer): 2.5 days
Buffer (medium confidence): 50% → +1.25 days
Total with buffer: ~4 days

Key assumption: Webhook payload format is fixed — if it needs to be configurable, re-estimate.
```

## Related commands

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="/research" href="/commands/research">
    Resolve unknowns before estimating to increase confidence levels.
  </Card>

  <Card title="/brainstorm" href="/commands/brainstorm">
    Run /estimate after /brainstorm to size the approved design before committing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="/plan" href="/commands/plan">
    /plan produces the task breakdown that makes estimates actionable.
  </Card>

  <Card title="/design" href="/commands/design">
    Architectural decisions from /design reduce unknowns and improve estimate confidence.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>