frontier

name	frontier
description	Maestro Frontier local multi-CLI fusion engine — switch mode, or run a prompt through the panel

Drive the Maestro Frontier engine — a zero-dependency local multi-CLI fusion engine (a parallel panel of local CLIs → a judge model's analysis → a grounded synthesis). It is the same engine the Claude Code plugin ships; here it runs through the maestro CLI with --scope cline.

Install path (pick one):

• Project-scoped: .cline/skills/frontier/SKILL.md
• Global: ~/.cline/skills/frontier/SKILL.md

This is a typing shortcut, not the Claude Code plugin. Cline has no prompt hook, so arming a mode does not auto-run the engine on later prompts — it only persists the mode. To actually fuse a prompt, invoke run explicitly (step 4).

When the user invokes this skill, map their request to one engine CLI call and run it in the terminal (Cline will request approval before executing). Do not edit the engine's state file by hand.

1. Inspect or compose

frontier catalog is the source of truth for locally selectable models, named presets (including legacy presets), aliases, and readiness. It does not print secrets or configured model IDs. compose validates ready models and arms the resolved custom panel unless --dry-run is supplied:

maestro frontier catalog
maestro frontier compose --models <model-a>,<model-b> --scope cline
maestro frontier compose --models <model-a>,<model-b> --judge <model> --synth <model> --save my-panel --scope cline
maestro frontier compose --models <model-a>,<model-b> --dry-run --scope cline

2. Switch mode

Persists under Maestro's platform-specific config directory: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/maestro when set; otherwise %APPDATA%\maestro on Windows or ~/.config/maestro; default off. --scope cline keeps Cline's armed mode independent from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Gemini on the same machine:

maestro frontier mode off --scope cline
maestro frontier mode single --model <model> --scope cline
maestro frontier mode fusion --preset <preset> --scope cline
maestro frontier mode fusion --preset custom --models <a,b,c> --scope cline
maestro frontier mode fusion --preset <preset> --judge <model> --synth <model> --scope cline

Existing named presets remain supported; use frontier catalog instead of a static list. --judge / --synth can override either stage for a named preset. For a ready explicit panel, prefer frontier compose above.

3. Show current mode/preset

maestro frontier status --scope cline

4. Run a prompt through the current mode

This is the action that actually fuses, since nothing auto-runs here. Set a mode first (step 2), then:

maestro frontier run "<prompt>" --scope cline

• off: prints a notice, spawns nothing.
• single: dispatches the one selected CLI, prints its answer.
• fusion: runs the panel in parallel → judge → synthesizer; prints the final answer (a one-line run meta goes to stderr). Report stdout verbatim.

On error the engine prints ERROR [<reason>]: <detail> to stderr and exits non-zero — relay the reason.

Notes

• Real single/fusion runs spawn local CLIs and cost tokens; use small prompts. off is free. Every panel, judge, and synthesizer subprocess runs in the provider CLI's read-only/planning mode.
• Each model's CLI must be on PATH, or point at a specific build with MAESTRO_CLAUDE_BIN / MAESTRO_CODEX_BIN / MAESTRO_GEMINI_BIN.
• terra, luna, and sol have no assumed canonical model ID. They become selectable only when their matching MAESTRO_FRONTIER_MODEL_TERRA, MAESTRO_FRONTIER_MODEL_LUNA, or MAESTRO_FRONTIER_MODEL_SOL variable is configured in the environment or ~/.codex/.env; confirm with frontier catalog.
• Run node frontier/smoke.cjs from the installed engine root for release verification.
• Requires maestro on PATH (installed during Maestro setup). If it is missing, install Maestro first.