Lisa Agent Teams

Lisa Agent Teams - Parallel Checkpoint Execution (Experimental)

Run Lisa Loop checkpoints via Claude Code's native Agent Teams feature. Instead of spawning headless Claude instances sequentially, you become the team lead, creating and coordinating teammates that work on checkpoints in parallel.

This skill shares the same LISA_PLAN.edn format as /lisa-loop. The difference is execution: teammates work concurrently with REPL-validated gates instead of sequential orchestrator iterations.

Prerequisites

Two environment variables must be set:

Both are set automatically by bb install --agent-teams. If either is missing when you invoke this skill, you'll get an error with setup instructions.

How It Works

/lisa-agent-teams "Build user auth"
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ 1. PLANNING PHASE   │  ◄── You (current session)
│                     │
│ - Read PRD if exists│
│ - Propose checkpoints│
│ - Get user approval │
│ - Create LISA_PLAN.edn│
└─────────┬───────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ 2. TEAM SETUP       │  ◄── You become team lead
│                     │
│ - lisa_plan_to_tasks│
│ - TeamCreate        │
│ - TaskCreate (each) │
└─────────┬───────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ 3. PARALLEL WORK    │  ◄── Teammates work concurrently
│                     │
│ Teammate A ──► CP 1 │
│ Teammate B ──► CP 2 │
│ Teammate C ──► CP 3 │
│                     │
│ Hooks auto-validate │
│ gates & redirect    │
└─────────┬───────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ 4. COMPLETION       │
│                     │
│ All checkpoints done│
│ Report to user      │
└─────────────────────┘

Commands

/lisa-agent-teams

/lisa-agent-teams "Build a REST API for users with CRUD operations"

Arguments:

• <prompt> - The task description (required)
• --prd <path> - Path to PRD or specification document

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Verify Agent Teams Availability

Before planning, check that the feature is available:

lisa_plan_to_tasks with:
  path: "."

If this returns an error about missing env vars, tell the user what to set and stop.

Step 2: Planning Phase

Same as standard Lisa Loop — propose checkpoints, get user approval.

Check for existing plan:

lisa_get_plan

Check for PRD/documentation:

Glob for: PRD.md, SPEC.md, REQUIREMENTS.md, docs/*.md

Decision tree:

ALWAYS show proposed checkpoints and wait for user approval before creating.

Step 3: Create Plan

lisa_create_plan with:
  title: "Build user authentication"
  checkpoints: [
    {id: "password-hashing",
     description: "Create password hashing module",
     file: "src/auth/password.clj",
     acceptance: "(verify-password \"test\" (hash-password \"test\")) => true",
     gates: ["repl:(verify-password \"test\" (hash-password \"test\"))"]},
    ...
  ]

Large plans (>10 checkpoints): Create with the first few, then use lisa_add_checkpoint for the rest.

Step 4: Convert Plan to Tasks

lisa_plan_to_tasks with:
  path: "."

This returns structured task data with:

• Subjects matching checkpoint IDs (e.g., "Checkpoint: password-hashing")
• Descriptions including REPL validation workflow and coordination guidance
• Dependency info for task ordering

Step 5: Create Team and Assign Tasks

TeamCreate with:
  name: <team-name from lisa_plan_to_tasks>

For each task from lisa_plan_to_tasks:
  TaskCreate with:
    subject: <task subject>
    description: <task description>
    depends_on: <dependency subjects if any>

Then spawn teammates for ready checkpoints using the Task tool.

Step 6: Coordinate as Team Lead

• Teammates work on checkpoints in parallel
• Each teammate has access to forj MCP tools (reload_namespace, repl_eval, etc.)
• The TaskCompleted hook automatically validates REPL gates and syncs completions to LISA_PLAN.edn
• The TeammateIdle hook automatically redirects idle teammates to the next ready checkpoint

File conflict prevention: When creating the team, tell teammates about shared files upfront. If multiple checkpoints touch the same file, use SendMessage to introduce workers and establish who owns which sections. Instruct workers to always reload_namespace before editing.

Step 7: Monitor and Report

• Use lisa_get_plan or lisa_watch to check progress
• When all checkpoints are done, report completion to user

Hook-Based Automation

Two hooks (installed by bb install --agent-teams) handle integration automatically:

TaskCompleted — fires when a teammate marks a task complete:

• Maps task subject back to LISA_PLAN.edn checkpoint
• Reloads checkpoint's file namespace in REPL (avoids stale state)
• Runs checkpoint gates (REPL validation) if defined
• Pass: marks checkpoint done in plan, allows completion (exit 0)
• Fail: rejects completion, feeds error back to teammate (exit 2)

TeammateIdle — fires when a teammate is about to go idle:

• Checks for ready checkpoints (pending with all dependencies met)
• If found: suggests next checkpoint, keeps teammate working (exit 2)
• If none: lets teammate go idle (exit 0)

Tools Reference

Comparison with /lisa-loop