Coordinate External Agents
Treat an external agent as an independently operated worker, not as a magical
subagent. Starting it is not progress unless the coordinator can later discover
its state and consume its report.
Workflow
- Choose a durable shared surface: task record, issue, pull request, branch,
worktree, artifact directory, shared document, queue, or host-native board.
- Create a task record with the normal launch envelope plus access, retention,
retry/resume, and result-delivery details.
- Assign one owner, one coordinator, one artifact/write surface, and one final
verification owner. Do not assume direct worker-to-worker messages exist.
- Record status using
queued, running, blocked, needs-decision,
completed, failed, or cancelled; use the selected host's closest
equivalent without hiding meaning.
- Require a final report on the durable surface and notify the coordinator
through the specified return route.
- Verify the returned artifact, branch, change, or evidence before treating
the task as complete.
Durable Work Rule
Use a queue, board, scheduled task, CI workflow, or service for work that must
survive session closure, restart, human input, retry, multiple roles, or later
audit. Do not represent a transient child-agent call as durable work.
Boundaries
- Keep credentials, private context, and mutation authority scoped to the
external worker's actual access surface.
- Use host-specific adapters only for mechanics. This skill owns the universal
handoff contract; it does not claim Codex, ChatGPT Work, Hermes, or another
host shares one message or task API.
1---2name: coordinate-external-agents3description: Coordinate independently operated external agents through durable handoffs. Use when work crosses hosts, sessions, accounts, services, queues, boards, pull requests, or human-owned task systems and cannot rely on an in-run subagent result.4---56# Coordinate External Agents78Treat an external agent as an independently operated worker, not as a magical9subagent. Starting it is not progress unless the coordinator can later discover10its state and consume its report.1112## Workflow13141. Choose a durable shared surface: task record, issue, pull request, branch,15 worktree, artifact directory, shared document, queue, or host-native board.162. Create a task record with the normal launch envelope plus access, retention,17 retry/resume, and result-delivery details.183. Assign one owner, one coordinator, one artifact/write surface, and one final19 verification owner. Do not assume direct worker-to-worker messages exist.204. Record status using `queued`, `running`, `blocked`, `needs-decision`,21 `completed`, `failed`, or `cancelled`; use the selected host's closest22 equivalent without hiding meaning.235. Require a final report on the durable surface and notify the coordinator24 through the specified return route.256. Verify the returned artifact, branch, change, or evidence before treating26 the task as complete.2728## Durable Work Rule2930Use a queue, board, scheduled task, CI workflow, or service for work that must31survive session closure, restart, human input, retry, multiple roles, or later32audit. Do not represent a transient child-agent call as durable work.3334## Boundaries3536- Keep credentials, private context, and mutation authority scoped to the37 external worker's actual access surface.38- Use host-specific adapters only for mechanics. This skill owns the universal39 handoff contract; it does not claim Codex, ChatGPT Work, Hermes, or another40 host shares one message or task API.
gaelic-ghost