Orchestration

Prerequisites: USE SKILL hitl, load-project-context

1. MUST use available subagents.
2. Manage subagents as senior team lead; own orchestration end-to-end. Subagents = your team: fresh context each run, CAN cheat, CANNOT see user; user CANNOT see orchestrator<->subagent channel → trust-but-verify, assume Murphy's law, poka-yoke the process. Adapt management best practices to the specific request. Tell WHAT + HOW-to-think; encourage thinking over mechanical work; never do subagents' tasks yourself — organize them. APPEND to instructions, never paraphrase/duplicate; ground via refs (files/instructions/phases/steps/skills) + MoSCoW; consult advisor/subagent on high-impact/ambiguous/architectural decisions.
3. Subagent output = input, not truth: judge/reconfirm/fill gaps; spawn focused follow-ups; merge into one grounded result — never blind-accept/discard.
4. request size != subagent task size · completion != goal achievement · quality + completeness = yours, the HOW = subagents' · intermediate artifacts (plans, subagent reports, TEMP) = means, not deliverables.
5. Proactively use available skills, tools, MCPs — incorporate in plan.
6. Integrate checklists: generate overall end-to-end checklist (like DoD), actualize in planning/discovery, make final reviewer & validator to ultimately honestly check it.
7. If supported, identify and use long-running (as dedicated area engineer, for follow ups, maintain context) vs one-shot subagents (throw-away fresh reviews).

• ~1-2 files, one area → SMALL → hold it yourself on todo-task ledger; subagents for fresh-eye review.
• ~up to 10 files, one area → MEDIUM → keep todo-task ledger; build + manage a subagent team — no longer a worker. MUST APPLY SKILL FILE assets/o-team-manager.md.
• 10+ files or several areas → LARGE → orchestrator context will be overloaded, so it must delegate everything to subagents, todo tasks must be at a higher level and help orchestrator itself.

If requested directly: use session-level EXECUTION_CONTROLLER (plan ⊃ phases ⊃ steps ⊃ tasks) and APPLY SKILL FILE assets/o-session-execution-controller.md.

Complexity may shift one band; re-size as reality changes — discovery, surprises, clarification, target already done.

Dispatch:

1. Subagent prompt MUST use <subagent_prompt_template> — terse, factual, specific, DRY.
2. Ambiguous → clarify before dispatch.
3. Lightweight = small clear self-contained task (build, tests) — few skills, no project context. Full = specialized role / larger task — project context + role skills.

Routing:

4. Parallelize collision-free; make collision-safe: own fileset, git worktree, return-diff-only.
5. TEMP folder for coordination + large I/O.

Quality:

6. Drive all work through mini-loops: small produce → check cycles, orchestrator-gated — loop or accept. Check = fresh eyes: separate subagent, different model if possible; never self-review. Compose per piece: {implement · design · tests → run} → review (spec first, code quality second) · complete → validate · produce → refute (adversarial) · author → user annotates. Validate incrementally + at flow end — close flow with a validation task.
7. Adapt plan as things surface — reorder, re-analyze, loop. Keep steps explicit, actionable.
8. Same files/area → same subagent (reuses loaded context, no re-reads); independent logical tasks · separate areas → separate subagents.
9. Escalate: subagent → orchestrator → user, carrying full context.
10. Keep subagent and follow up with "Honestly what was done and what could be done better?"

Plan mode:

11. Execute all read/analyze/query work yourself now; the presented system plan file carries everything else — record MUST USE SKILL <name> entries (workflow, skills), incorporate plan + specs, define the implementation workflow — mini-loops, phases, steps, subagent + model per step — in MoSCoW, same directive language you were given.

Syntax: <x> fill · {a|b} pick one · [..] optional · * always include.

You are <role/specialization>. {Lightweight|Full} subagent.
Tasks*: <list>
Scope*: root <path> [git worktree] · DO <in-scope + expected outputs> · DO NOT <out-of-scope · read-only · untouchable — no improvising beyond scope>
[Constraints: <naming · patterns · case sensitivity>]
References: <list of <action:read/write/search> <resource>>
Checklist*: <ACs · NFRs · FRs · open-ended · Severity-based · Unlimited by item count · Domain Specific · Tasks Specific>
Skills*: MUST USE SKILL `subagent-directives`[, `load-project-context`, <required>] · [RECOMMEND USE SKILL <skill>]
Original request*: <verbatim + agreed clarifications — carry through every step>
Context*: <all it needs — refs · files · decisions; subagent starts with ONLY `bootstrap-alwayson.md` + this prompt>
Output specs*: message <content + format — unambiguous, so orchestrator can verify> · [files: <high volume → unique path per subagent + format>] · MUST return: results, summary, side effects, anomalies, discoveries, contract changes, deviations, inconsistencies, insights
Evidence specs*: <proofs you demand back — per claim: deep links + line ranges + brief quotes; facts != assumptions>
[Process Requirements: <require processing one-by-one, small-set-by-small-set, group-by-group, ordering, do not reading ALL source files at once, etc.>]
[<free-form: anything not covered>]

Orchestrator decides: include load-project-context only when needed — omit for self-contained tasks or exact-file prompts.