# Orchestrator Mode > [LEGACY 2026-07-26 — retired upstream, shipped for reference only. Do NOT invoke against a live API key: the cloud path bills a real request against a beta unexercised since April 2026, on superseded model pins. The durable tier heuristic is preserved in the banner below.] Sequential chain routing — decomposes a compound task into subtasks, routes each subtask to its optimal tier (via advisor-mode underneath), runs a quality-gate check after each step, and escalates to a higher tier on gate failure. Complements council-mode (parallel comparison). Orchestrator is the "route around failure" thesis applied sequentially: keep each subtask on the cheapest tier that passes, escalate only when the gate fails. Trigger on: "orchestrator mode", "chain this", "break this into subtasks", "route each step", "escalation pipeline", "run this as a chain", "decompose and route", "quality- gated routing", "sequential tier routing", "run the orchestrator". - Skill: `cerebrocybersolutions/orchestrator-mode` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 9 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cerebrocybersolutions/orchestrator-mode` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cerebrocybersolutions/orchestrator-mode/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: cerebrocybersolutions (https://skillmd.com/u/cerebrocybersolutions) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cerebrocybersolutions/orchestrator-mode --- > ## ⚠️ LEGACY — 2026-07-26 · NOT RECOMMENDED FOR NEW WORK > > **This skill is retired upstream and is shipped for reference and reversibility, not for use.** > > **Do not invoke it against a live API key.** Its cloud path issues a real, billable > `client.beta.messages.create` request using the `advisor_20260301` tool with > `betas=["advisor-tool-2026-03-01"]`, and hardcodes `"model": "claude-opus-4-7"`. That beta has > not been exercised since April 2026, so whether it still exists server-side is **unknown**, and > the model pins throughout this skill (`claude-opus-4-7`, `claude-sonnet-4-6`, `claude-haiku-4-5`) > are superseded. An invocation may bill your account for a request that cannot succeed. > > **Why it is here at all.** The tier *heuristic* below is the durable part and is model-agnostic: > > 1. Can a smart intern do this in one step? → **C** > 2. Does it need synthesis, structure, or multiple steps? → **B** > 3. Does it involve strategy, irreversibility, or cross-cutting impact? → **A** > 4. Would getting it wrong cost $10K+ or set a wrong direction for months? → **A+** > > Plus two disciplines worth keeping regardless of which models you run: **plan before act** — the > stronger model advises on the *plan*, the executor carries it out — and treat an advisor budget > as a **hard ceiling**, not a suggestion. > > **What replaced it upstream.** Modern agent harnesses route internally, so an explicit > classify-then-dispatch layer has no caller left. The advisor role became a dedicated reviewer > subagent; gate-and-escalate became a standing review norm. If you want the capability, wire the > heuristic into whatever harness you already run rather than reviving this dispatcher. > > Retired 2026-07-26. Scripts are preserved unmodified so nothing you may have built on them breaks. # Orchestrator Mode ### Sequential Chain Routing | Quality-Gated Escalation | Cost-Minimizing Orchestrator mode takes a compound task, decomposes it into subtasks, and routes each subtask to its optimal tier via advisor-mode. Between steps, a quality gate checks whether the output satisfies the subtask's acceptance criteria. If the gate fails, the subtask re-dispatches one tier up. If the gate passes, the chain continues. **Core principle:** > Route around failure, don't pick the "best" model. Orchestrator keeps every subtask > on the cheapest tier that passes, and only escalates when a specific gate trips. This is the complement to council-mode. Council compares models on the same task; orchestrator runs a chain where each step picks its own tier and earns its escalation. --- ## BRAIN CHECK — Run Before Every Orchestrator Call Brain root: resolved from `$CEREBRO_ROOT` env var or `~/.cerebro/profile.yaml`. 1. Verify advisor-mode is installed and provider-aware 2. **Local fleet (optional):** if `fleet_primary` is set, verify Ollama is reachable. Cloud-only deployments skip this check — all tiers route to cloud. 3. Verify the task decomposes into ≥2 discrete subtasks (otherwise use advisor-mode directly) --- ## WHEN TO USE ORCHESTRATOR MODE | Situation | Why Orchestrator | |-----------|-----------------| | Multi-step pipeline with different subtask types | Each step picks its own optimal tier | | Research → draft → review chain | Decompose by knowledge intensity | | Long-form deliverable (proposal, report) | Gate each section before continuing | | Debugging chain | Repro → isolate → fix → verify, gated | | Any compound task where cheaper tiers cover ≥50% of steps | Material cost saving | **Do NOT use orchestrator for:** single-shot tasks, tasks with no clear gate condition, tasks where all steps need frontier reasoning uniformly. --- ## CHAIN MODEL ``` TASK → DECOMPOSE → [Step 1: cheapest tier] → GATE → PASS → [Step 2: cheapest tier] → GATE ... → FAIL → ESCALATE (next tier up) → GATE ``` **Tier ladder (default — cloud-only):** | Tier | Provider | Gate failure escalates to | |------|----------|--------------------------| | Fast | Claude Haiku | Mid | | Mid | Claude Sonnet | Frontier | | Frontier | Claude Opus | Human (HALT) | **With local fleet:** Fast tier = local Ollama model (cheapest); Haiku is mid; Sonnet is frontier. Configure via `orchestrator.local_tier: true` in `~/.cerebro/profile.yaml`. --- ## INVOCATION ```bash # Standard chain (cloud tiers) python3 {brain_root}/skills/orchestrator-mode/Scripts/orchestrator_run.py "" # With local fleet as fast tier python3 {brain_root}/skills/orchestrator-mode/Scripts/orchestrator_run.py --local "" # Custom gate threshold python3 {brain_root}/skills/orchestrator-mode/Scripts/orchestrator_run.py \ --gate-threshold 0.85 "" ``` --- ## OUTPUT FORMAT Each step emits: ``` [STEP N] Tier: Gate: PASS | FAIL Escalated: yes | no Output: ``` Final chain summary: ``` === ORCHESTRATOR CHAIN SUMMARY === Steps: N | Escalations: M | Cost tiers used: fast=X mid=Y frontier=Z Deliverable: ``` --- ## PROFILE CONFIGURATION ```yaml orchestrator: local_tier: false # true = use Ollama as fast tier local_host: "" # fleet_primary value gate_threshold: 0.80 # quality gate pass threshold (0–1) max_escalations: 3 # HALT after N escalations in single chain ``` --- ## SCOPE CONTRACT | Dimension | Scope | |-----------|-------| | Read paths | `{brain_root}/skills/advisor-mode/`, `~/.cerebro/profile.yaml` | | Write paths | `{brain_root}/skills/orchestrator-mode/logs/` | | MCP / tool surface | None beyond advisor-mode subprocess | | Network egress | Cloud provider APIs (Anthropic) + optional local Ollama at fleet_primary | | Surface | Claude Code | | Credentials | `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` (env var); `LITELLM_MASTER_KEY` if routing via proxy | | Escalation trigger | Max escalations hit → HALT, surface to operator before continuing |