Orchestrator Discipline

Orchestrator Discipline

Enforce delegation discipline for the orchestrator role in multi-agent Claude Code workflows. The orchestrator's context window is a shared resource across the entire session — agents get fresh context per task, the orchestrator does not.

What This Plugin Provides

1. PreToolUse Hooks (Structural Enforcement)

Two hooks fire automatically on every tool call:

Source File Read Warning — fires on Read and Grep targeting source/config/test files (.py, .toml, .yaml, .json, etc.). Injects a decision-point reminder asking: "Will you Edit/Write this file this turn?"

Diagnostic Command Gate — fires on Bash calls matching diagnostic commands (ty check, ruff check, mypy, pytest, eslint, cargo check, etc.). Reminds the orchestrator to delegate the command to an Explore agent instead.

Both hooks are non-blocking — they inject additionalContext to surface the decision, not prevent it. Legitimate reads (reading a file you are about to edit) proceed normally.

2. Rules (Behavioral Constraints)

The rules/CLAUDE.md file is loaded into every session and provides:

• Read permission/prohibition lists with a falsifiable test
• Delegation constraint definitions (no exemption categories)
• Investigation escalation anti-pattern documentation
• Diagnostic command delegation patterns
• Epistemic identity scoping for orchestrator role

3. Reference Material

See Investigation Escalation Anti-Pattern for the detailed pattern analysis, root cause diagnosis, and correct workflow alternatives.

When to Activate

This skill auto-loads via the plugin's hooks and rules. Manual activation is useful when:

• Reviewing whether the orchestrator is following delegation discipline
• Diagnosing context window waste in a session
• Training new orchestrator configurations on delegation patterns

Correct Orchestrator Workflow

flowchart TD
    Start([Task arrives]) --> Q1{Does orchestrator need<br>current codebase state?}
    Q1 -->|Yes| Explore["Delegate to Explore agent<br>with diagnostic command"]
    Q1 -->|No| Direct[Delegate implementation<br>to specialist agent]
    Explore --> Summary[Receive summary<br>from agent]
    Summary --> Q2{Scope changed?}
    Q2 -->|Yes| User[Present to user<br>for routing decision]
    Q2 -->|No| Direct
    User --> Direct
    Direct --> PostCheck["Spot-check agent output<br>(read deliverable only)"]

    Q1 -.->|WRONG| Self["Read source files yourself<br>Run diagnostics yourself"]
    Self -.->|Escalates to| Bypass["'This is simple enough<br>to do myself'"]

Hook Behavior Reference

Source File Read Warning

Triggers on: Read or Grep where target path matches:

• Extensions: .py, .toml, .yaml, .yml, .js, .ts, .jsx, .tsx, .json, .cfg, .ini, .env, .sh, .bash, .go, .rs, .rb, .java, .c, .cpp, .h, .hpp
• Test paths: directories named test/, tests/, spec/, __tests__/, or files matching test_*.py

Does NOT trigger on: .md, .txt, plan files, BACKLOG.md, CLAUDE.md, skill definitions

Diagnostic Command Gate

Triggers on: Bash where command matches:

• Python: ty check, ruff check, mypy, pyright, basedpyright, pylint, pytest
• JavaScript/TypeScript: eslint, tsc --noEmit
• Rust: cargo check, cargo clippy
• Go: go vet
• Meta: pre-commit run, prek run

Does NOT trigger on: git status, ls, wc, uv run (without diagnostic subcommand), or any non-diagnostic bash command