Phase 1: Capability Matrix
Date: January 25, 2026
Status: Complete
Update: Added Claude Native Tasks as capability source
Critical Update: Claude Native Tasks
Claude Code's native Tasks feature provides several capabilities that external repositories implement from scratch. This significantly reduces ZERG's implementation burden.
What Claude Native Tasks Provides
| Capability |
Description |
ZERG Impact |
| Persistent state |
Tasks survive session boundaries |
No custom persistence needed |
| Cross-instance memory |
Agents share context via Tasks |
No spec file synchronization needed |
| Task tracking |
Built-in status, progress |
Reduced orchestrator complexity |
| Coordination |
Tasks visible to all instances |
No custom IPC mechanism |
| Conversation continuity |
Context preserved |
Workers can resume |
What ZERG Still Needs to Implement
| Capability |
Rationale |
| Level synchronization |
Tasks don't enforce execution order |
| Git worktree management |
Tasks don't create branches |
| Merge gates |
Tasks don't validate code quality |
| Task decomposition |
Tasks don't generate subtasks from specs |
| Exclusive file assignment |
Tasks don't prevent conflicts |
Repository Comparison Matrix
Implementation Status
| Capability |
Claude Tasks |
ZERG |
goose |
packnplay |
superpowers |
SuperClaude |
| State & Coordination |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Persistent state |
✅ Native |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ PLAN.md |
✅ Session |
| Cross-agent memory |
✅ Native |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ Reflexion |
| Task status tracking |
✅ Native |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Orchestration |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Level synchronization |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Task decomposition |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ Recipes |
❌ |
✅ writing-plans |
✅ /sc:spawn |
| Worker health |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Isolation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Git worktrees |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
| Devcontainers |
❌ |
✅ Config |
❌ |
✅ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Port management |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Quality |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Verification commands |
❌ |
✅ Schema |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
✅ |
| Two-stage review |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
✅ |
| Merge gates |
❌ |
❌ Design |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Security |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Secure code rules |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
| Runtime protection |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
Legend: ✅ Implemented | ❌ Not implemented | Design = Documented but no code
Capability Coverage
Provided by Claude Native Tasks (No Implementation Needed)
| Capability |
Previous Plan |
New Status |
| State persistence |
Build custom spec sync |
Use Tasks |
| Inter-agent communication |
Build via spec files |
Use Tasks |
| Status aggregation |
Build orchestrator feature |
Use Tasks |
| Session continuity |
Build handoff logic |
Use Tasks |
| Progress tracking |
Build status command |
Use Tasks |
Still Requires Implementation
| Capability |
Source |
Why Tasks Don't Cover |
| Level synchronization |
ZERG unique |
Tasks don't enforce execution order |
| Git worktree creation |
packnplay |
Tasks don't manage git |
| Merge conflict detection |
ZERG unique |
Tasks don't validate git state |
| Task decomposition |
superpowers |
Tasks don't generate subtasks |
| Verification execution |
superpowers |
Tasks don't run commands |
| Quality gates |
superpowers |
Tasks don't block on quality |
| Port allocation |
ZERG unique |
Tasks don't manage networking |
| Security rules |
claude-secure |
Tasks don't enforce code patterns |
Simplified Architecture
Before (Without Tasks)
orchestrator.py
├── State management (persistence, sync)
├── Worker communication (IPC, messages)
├── Status aggregation (polling, combining)
├── Level synchronization
├── Git worktree management
├── Merge gates
└── Task decomposition
After (With Tasks)
orchestrator.py
├── Level synchronization ← Still needed
├── Git worktree management ← Still needed
├── Merge gates ← Still needed
├── Task decomposition ← Still needed
└── Verification execution ← Still needed
Claude Tasks handles:
├── State persistence
├── Cross-agent memory
├── Status tracking
└── Coordination primitives
Implementation Priority
| Priority |
Capability |
Rationale |
| P0 |
Task decomposition |
Cannot parallelize without subtasks |
| P0 |
Git worktree creation |
Cannot isolate without worktrees |
| P0 |
Level synchronization |
Cannot order without levels |
| P1 |
Verification execution |
Cannot validate without running commands |
| P1 |
Merge gates |
Cannot combine without quality checks |
| P2 |
Port allocation |
Needed for services, not critical path |
| P2 |
Security rules |
Important but not blocking |
ZERG's Unique Value
With Claude Tasks providing state/coordination, ZERG's value proposition:
| What Tasks Provides |
What ZERG Adds |
| Persistent state |
Level-based execution ordering |
| Cross-agent memory |
Exclusive file ownership |
| Task tracking |
Git worktree isolation |
| Coordination |
Merge gates between levels |
|
Devcontainer-based execution |
|
Task decomposition from specs |
ZERG is not a state management system. ZERG is a parallel execution orchestration layer that uses Claude Tasks for state while adding:
- Dependency-aware ordering (levels)
- Conflict-free parallelism (worktrees + file ownership)
- Quality enforcement (merge gates)
External Repository Reference
| Repository |
URL |
Primary Value |
| block/goose |
github.com/block/goose |
Rust agent architecture |
| obra/packnplay |
github.com/obra/packnplay |
Worktree + devcontainer |
| obra/superpowers |
github.com/obra/superpowers |
Task decomposition |
| SuperClaude |
github.com/SuperClaude-Org/SuperClaude_Framework |
Command library |
| claude-secure |
github.com/TikiTribe/claude-secure-coding-rules |
Security rules |
| nova-protector |
github.com/fr0gger/nova-claude-code-protector |
Runtime protection |
tools-only