Orchestrate

/orchestrate - Task Decomposition Engine

Version: 4.0.0 | Model: opus Pipeline: /planning -> [/orchestrate] -> /assign EFL: P1-P6 Complete

1. Purpose

Task Decomposition Engine that:

1. Breaks down complex tasks into phases
2. Creates Native Tasks via TaskCreate
3. Sets up dependencies via TaskUpdate(addBlockedBy)
4. Generates worker prompt files (.agent/prompts/{slug}/pending/)
5. Initializes workload-specific context and progress tracking

Does NOT:

• Assign tasks to terminals (use /assign)
• Execute tasks (handled by /worker)
• Set owner field (remains null until /assign)

2. Task API Integration

Task Creation Pattern

// Create tasks in dependency order
for (phase of analysis.phases) {
  task = TaskCreate({
    subject: phase.name,
    description: phase.description,
    activeForm: `Working on ${phase.name}`,
    metadata: {
      phaseId: phase.id,
      priority: phase.priority || "P1",
      promptFile: `${workloadPromptDir}/pending/${filename}`
    }
  })
  taskMap[phase.id] = task.id
}

// Set up dependencies
for (phase of analysis.phases) {
  if (phase.dependencies.length > 0) {
    TaskUpdate({
      taskId: taskMap[phase.id],
      addBlockedBy: phase.dependencies.map(d => taskMap[d])
    })
  }
}

Output Files

3. Invocation

# With plan slug (from /planning)
/orchestrate --plan-slug user-auth-20260128

# Standalone (auto-generates workload)
/orchestrate "Implement user authentication system"

4. Execution Protocol

Phase 1: Requirements Analysis

// Parse input and generate workload ID
const workloadId = generateWorkloadId(projectSlug)
const workloadSlug = generateSlugFromWorkload(workloadId)

// Analyze task for decomposition
const analysis = analyzeTask(input)
// Returns: { project, objectives, phases[], estimatedWorkers }

Phase 2: Gate 4 Validation (Shift-Left)

// Validate phase dependencies BEFORE creating tasks
const gate4Result = await validatePhaseDependencies(phases)

if (gate4Result.hasErrors) {
  return { status: "gate4_failed", errors: gate4Result.errors }
}
// Log warnings but continue
if (gate4Result.hasWarnings) {
  logValidationWarnings("ORCHESTRATE", gate4Result.warnings)
}

Phase 3: Initialize Workload Directory

// Create workload structure
Bash(`source .claude/skills/shared/workload-tracker.sh && init_workload_directories "${workloadId}"`)
Bash(`source .claude/skills/shared/workload-files.sh && set_active_workload "${workloadId}"`)

Phase 4: Native Task Creation

// Create tasks with TaskCreate
for (phase of phases) {
  const task = TaskCreate({
    subject: phase.name,
    description: phase.description,
    activeForm: `Working on ${phase.name}`
  })
  taskMap[phase.id] = task.id
}

Phase 5: Dependency Setup

// Set blockers with TaskUpdate
for (phase of phases) {
  if (phase.dependencies.length > 0) {
    TaskUpdate({
      taskId: taskMap[phase.id],
      addBlockedBy: phase.dependencies.map(d => taskMap[d])
    })
  }
}

Phase 6: Generate Context Files

• _context.yaml: Project metadata, phases, dependency graph
• _progress.yaml: Terminal status, phase progress

Phase 7: Generate Worker Prompts

• Create pending/worker-phase-{n}-{slug}-task.yaml for each phase
• Include scope, target files, completion criteria, validation

Phase 8: Summary Output

=== Orchestration Complete ===
Project: {project}
Tasks: {count}
Next: /assign auto

5. Error Handling

6. Handoff Contract

# On completion, output:
handoff:
  skill: "orchestrate"
  workload_slug: "{slug}"
  status: "completed"
  next_action:
    skill: "/assign"
    arguments: "--workload {slug}"

7. Version History

End of Skill Documentation