collab-deliberation

name	collab-deliberation
description	Structure multi-agent brainstorming and deliberation (options, tradeoffs, decision framing) without drifting into implementation.

Collab Deliberation

Use this skill when the user asks for brainstorming, tradeoffs, option comparison, or decision support before implementation. This skill is for ideas and decisions, not coding.

Terminology + feature gate (required)

• In this skill, "collab" means multi-agent tool usage (spawn_agent / wait / close_agent).
• Codex CLI feature gating is features.multi_agent=true; treat collab as legacy naming in some env/artifact keys.
• For symbolic orchestration, existing key names remain RLM_SYMBOLIC_COLLAB and manifest.collab_tool_calls.

Deliberation Default v1 (required)

• Keep MCP as the lead control plane. Use collab/delegated subagents to generate and challenge options.
• Run full deliberation when any hard-stop trigger is true:
  • Irreversible/destructive change with unclear rollback.
  • Auth/secrets/PII boundary touched.
  • Direct production customer/financial/legal impact.
  • Conflicting intent on high-impact work.
• Otherwise compute a risk score (0..2 each): reversibility, external impact, security/privacy boundary, blast radius, requirement clarity, verification strength, time pressure.
• Run full deliberation when score >=7 or two or more criteria score 2.
• Use these time budgets for auto-deliberation:

Class	Horizon	Soft cap	Hard cap
T0	<=15m	5s	12s
T1	15m..2h	20s	45s
T2	2h..8h	60s	120s
T3	>8h	120s	300s

• On soft cap: stop branching and execute the best current plan.
• On hard cap: disable auto-deliberation for that stage and continue execution.

Auto-trigger cadence (required)

• Run deliberation at task bootstrap for non-trivial work.
• Re-run deliberation after each meaningful chunk (default: behavior change or about 2+ files touched).
• Re-run deliberation when external feedback lands (PR review, bot findings, CI failures).
• Re-run deliberation when ambiguity/risk increases mid-flight (new constraints, conflicting evidence, high-signal P1 or any P0 finding).
• Re-run deliberation at least every 45 minutes during active implementation.
• If orchestration uses symbolic RLM, keep runtime auto-deliberation enabled:
  • RLM_SYMBOLIC_DELIBERATION=1 (default)
  • RLM_SYMBOLIC_DELIBERATION_INTERVAL (default 2)
  • RLM_SYMBOLIC_DELIBERATION_MAX_RUNS (default 12)
  • RLM_SYMBOLIC_DELIBERATION_MAX_SUMMARY_BYTES (default 2048)
  • RLM_SYMBOLIC_DELIBERATION_INCLUDE_IN_PLANNER=1 (default)

Workflow (required)

1. Frame the decision.

• Write a one-sentence decision statement.
• Capture goals, constraints, non-goals, and success criteria.
• List assumptions and label each confirmed or unconfirmed.

2. Close critical context gaps.

• Ask up to 3 targeted questions only if answers could change the recommendation.
• If delegation is available, prefer a subagent for context gathering before asking the user.
• If collab spawning fails (for example agent thread limit reached), proceed solo and explicitly note the limitation; do not block on spawning.

3. Generate distinct options.

• Produce 3-5 materially different options.
• For each option include approach, prerequisites, blast radius, and time/risk profile.

4. Evaluate and stress test.

• Use a tailored rubric (3-5 dimensions relevant to the decision).
• For each option include one likely failure mode and one mitigation.

5. Recommend or defer explicitly.

• Recommend one option when confidence is sufficient.
• If uncertainty is high, defer with explicit decision gates.

6. Close with decision-driving questions.

• List 1-3 prioritized open questions that could change the recommendation.
• End with one concrete next step that improves decision quality without implementation.

Output contract

• Decision: one sentence.
• Context: goals, constraints, non-goals, assumptions.
• Options: 3-5 concise options.
• Tradeoffs: rubric and comparative rationale.
• Recommendation: chosen option or explicit defer with decision gates.
• Open questions: prioritized items only.
• Next step: single highest-leverage action.
• Confidence: high | medium | low.

Guardrails

• Separate facts from assumptions.
• Do not implement or modify code unless explicitly asked.
• Do not present uncertainty as certainty.
• Keep outputs concise and action-oriented.
• If collab subagents are used, close lifecycle loops per id (spawn_agent -> wait -> close_agent) before finishing.
• If collab subagents are used, always set explicit agent_type (omission defaults to default) and prefix spawned prompts with [agent_type:<role>].
• If you cannot close collab agents (missing ids) and spawn keeps failing, restart the session and re-run deliberation; keep work moving by doing solo deliberation meanwhile.

Related skills

• collab-subagents-first: for implementation-phase stream ownership and lifecycle after deliberation.
• delegation-usage: for delegation MCP orchestration when decisions require delegated execution.
• docs-first: for turning chosen option into PRD/TECH_SPEC/ACTION_PLAN before edits.
• agent-first-adoption-steering: for non-coercive option framing and advanced-feature nudges.