# Supervisor Conversation

> Resume pattern and agent monitoring for supervisor-worker communication

- Skill: `eron1703/supervisor-conversation` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add eron1703/supervisor-conversation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/eron1703/supervisor-conversation/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: eron1703 (https://skillmd.com/u/eron1703)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/eron1703/supervisor-conversation

---


# Supervisor-Worker Conversation Protocol

## Monitoring Running Agents

### Peeking (Non-Blocking Check)
```
TaskOutput(task_id, block=false, timeout=5000)
```
- Returns current output without stopping the agent
- Agent continues running — this is observation only
- Use on every timer check-in for every running agent

### Interpreting Agent Output
When peeking at agent output, look for:
- **STATUS: DONE** → Agent finished. Process results.
- **STATUS: BLOCKED + NEED_CAPABILITY** → Agent needs a knowledge skill. Evaluate and grant or deny.
- **STATUS: BLOCKED + QUESTIONS** → Agent stuck. Read questions. Resume with answers.
- **STATUS: PARTIAL** → Agent made progress but exited. Decide: resume or re-launch.
- **No STATUS line yet** → Agent still working. Check progress since last peek.
- **Same output as last peek** → Agent may be stuck. Consider killing after 2 consecutive stale checks.

## Resuming an Agent (Conversation)

When an agent exits with questions, resume it with answers:

```
Task(resume=agent_id, prompt="Answers to your questions:
1. The correct route path is /api/v1/processes/
2. The GitLab PAT is glpat-xxx
3. The service runs on port 9003

Continue with your task using this information.")
```

### Resume Rules
- The resumed agent keeps its FULL prior context
- Provide ONLY the new information — don't repeat the original task
- Maximum 3 resumes per agent — after that, re-scope the task and launch fresh
- Each resume should make the agent more specific, not more exploratory

## Handling Capability Requests

When an agent reports `NEED_CAPABILITY`, the supervisor must decide: **grant or deny**.

### Decision Criteria
| Grant | Deny |
|-------|------|
| Skill is directly needed for the agent's scoped task | Skill would lead to work outside the agent's scope |
| Agent can't complete acceptance criteria without it | Another agent is already handling that domain |
| The skill provides facts (credentials, ports) not logic | Agent is fishing — request is vague or exploratory |

### Grant Response
```
Task(resume=agent_id, prompt="CAPABILITY GRANTED: Read ~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md then continue with your task.")
```

### Deny Response
```
Task(resume=agent_id, prompt="CAPABILITY DENIED: {reason}. Your scope is: {restate scope}. Complete what you can with your current skills and report PARTIAL if needed.")
```

### Tracking
- Note which skills each agent has been granted in your mental model
- If an agent requests a 3rd capability, it's a sign the task was scoped too broadly — consider killing and re-launching with proper skills from the start
- Maximum 2 capability grants per agent — after that, re-scope

## Killing a Stuck Agent

```
TaskStop(task_id)
```

### When to Kill
- Agent has made no progress for 2 consecutive timer check-ins (~4 min)
- Agent is looping (same commands repeated in output)
- Agent went off-scope (exploring instead of executing)
- Agent hit a hard blocker that can't be resolved via resume

### After Killing
1. Read the agent's output to understand what it learned
2. Salvage any useful findings
3. Re-launch a new agent with:
   - Narrower scope
   - More specific knowledge from what the killed agent discovered
   - Different approach if the original approach failed

## Decision Tree on Timer Check-In

```
For each running agent:
├── Completed?
│   ├── Yes → Process results. Launch follow-up if needed.
│   └── No → Continue...
├── Has STATUS: BLOCKED?
│   ├── Yes → Read questions. Resume with answers.
│   └── No → Continue...
├── Making progress since last check?
│   ├── Yes → Leave it alone.
│   └── No → Is this the 2nd stale check?
│       ├── Yes → Kill it. Re-launch with narrower scope.
│       └── No → Note as "watch". Check again next cycle.
└── Done checking all agents.
    └── Launch new timer. Launch new work agents if capacity available.
```