Orchestration Helper

Agent Orchestration Skill

A reference guide for the InfraOps Conductor pattern and multi-agent orchestration in VS Code 1.109+.

🎭 Conductor Pattern Overview

The InfraOps Conductor implements agent orchestration - a pattern where a master agent coordinates specialized subagents through a structured development workflow.

Key Benefits

📋 The 7-Step Workflow

Step 1: Requirements      →  @Requirements      →  01-requirements.md
Step 2: Architecture      →  @Architect         →  02-architecture-assessment.md
Step 3: Design (optional) →  @Design            →  03-des-*.md/py/png
Step 4: Planning          →  @Bicep Plan        →  04-implementation-plan.md
Step 5: Implementation    →  @Bicep Code        →  infra/bicep/{project}/
Step 6: Deploy            →  @Deploy            →  06-deployment-summary.md
Step 7: Documentation     →  Skills             →  07-*.md

🚦 Mandatory Approval Gates

The Conductor MUST pause at these points:

🔄 Validation Cycle (Step 5)

Before deployment, the Bicep Code agent runs a TDD-style validation:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  @bicep-lint-subagent                                       │
│    └─ bicep lint, bicep build                               │
│    └─ Returns: PASS/FAIL with diagnostics                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  @bicep-whatif-subagent                                     │
│    └─ az deployment group what-if                           │
│    └─ Returns: Change summary, policy violations            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  @bicep-review-subagent                                     │
│    └─ AVM standards, naming, security review                │
│    └─ Returns: APPROVED/NEEDS_REVISION/FAILED               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

📦 Agent Hierarchy

Primary Agents (User-Invokable)

Subagents (Conductor-Invoked Only)

🛠️ VS Code 1.109 Frontmatter

User-Invokable Agent

---
name: My Agent
description: What this agent does
model: ["Claude Opus 4.6 (copilot)", "Claude Sonnet 4.5 (copilot)"]
user-invokable: true
agents: ["Agent1", "Agent2"]  # Agents this can delegate to
tools: [...]
handoffs:
  - label: "Button Label"
    agent: TargetAgent
    prompt: "Context for handoff"
    send: true
    model: "Claude Sonnet 4.5 (copilot)"  # Optional: model for handoff
---

Subagent (Hidden from UI)

---
name: my-subagent
description: What this subagent does
model: "Claude Haiku 4.5 (copilot)"
user-invokable: false
disable-model-invocation: false
agents: []  # Subagents typically don't delegate
tools: [...]
---

📝 Settings for Orchestration

Enable in .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "chat.customAgentInSubagent.enabled": true,
  "chat.agentFilesLocations": {
    ".github/agents": true,
    ".github/agents/_subagents": true
  },
  "chat.agentSkillsLocations": {
    ".github/skills": true
  },
  "github.copilot.chat.responsesApiReasoningEffort": "high"
}

🎯 Starting the Conductor

1. Open VS Code Chat
2. Select "InfraOps Conductor" from agent dropdown
3. Describe your Azure infrastructure project
4. The Conductor will guide you through all 7 steps with approval gates

🔘 Understanding Handoff Buttons

When the Conductor responds, you'll see multiple handoff buttons. Here's when to use each:

Navigation Buttons

Step Buttons

Utility Buttons

Best Practices

1. Sequential workflow: Use step buttons in order (1 → 2 → 4 → 5 → 6)
2. After completing a step: Click the next step button or use "Resume Workflow"
3. Returning to a session: Use "Resume Workflow" to detect existing artifacts
4. Reviewing progress: Use "Review Artifacts" before continuing

Example Session

User: Build a web app with Azure SQL backend in Sweden Central

Conductor: 📋 Starting new project workflow...
           Creating: agent-output/webapp-sql/

           [Delegates to @Requirements]
           ...gathering requirements...

─────────────────────────────────────────────
📋 GATE 1: REQUIREMENTS COMPLETE
Artifact: agent-output/webapp-sql/01-requirements.md

Shall I proceed to Architecture Assessment (Step 2)?
─────────────────────────────────────────────

User: Yes, proceed

           [Delegates to @Architect]
           ...WAF assessment...

─────────────────────────────────────────────
🏗️ GATE 2: ARCHITECTURE COMPLETE
Cost Estimate: $150/month

Shall I proceed to Implementation Planning (Step 4)?
─────────────────────────────────────────────

[...continues through all gates...]

Reference Links

• VS Code 1.109 Release Notes
• Agent Orchestration Docs
• Copilot Orchestra
• GitHub Copilot Atlas