| name | workbench-goal-mode-v2 |
| description | Two-layer autonomous conductor — design loop produces decision packets, dispatch loop routes to bounded issues with dedupe/cooldown/archive controls. Replaces v1's single-agent persistence with a durable control loop that stops only at real blockers. |
Workbench Goal Mode v2
Use this skill when an issue contains /goal, GOAL_MODE: yes, GOAL_MODE_V2,
or asks the workbench to complete an objective autonomously across multiple
agents, turns, and evidence gates until a real blocker appears.
Goal Mode v2 is a persistent conductor, not a single-agent persistence wrapper.
It splits the workflow into two cooperating layers so the human does not need to
babysit windows, monitor every agent, or manually switch contexts.
Session Communication Bootstrap
At conductor startup, load docs/agent-communication-profile.md and apply:
Apply communication profile docs/agent-communication-profile.md.
Tone: human, direct, bilingual, pushback-ok.
This controls communication style only. Runtime identity, model, tools, and MCP
availability still require live proof.
Architecture
flowchart TB
H["Operator shorthand / issue"] --> GC["GOAL_CAPTURED"]
GC --> DSN["DESIGNING"]
DSN --> DP["DECISION_PACKET"]
DP --> DSP["DISPATCHING"]
DSP --> OBS["OBSERVING"]
OBS -->|agent done| REV["REVIEWING"]
OBS -->|new evidence| DP
REV -->|PASS| LRN["LEARNING / ARCHIVING"]
REV -->|FLAG| DSP
REV -->|BLOCK| BC["BLOCKER_CLASSIFIED"]
BC -->|operator| OP["OPERATOR_NEEDED"]
BC -->|external| CD["COOLDOWN → retry"]
BC -->|permanent| ARC["ARCHIVED"]
LRN --> NG["NEXT_GOAL or DONE"]
OP -->|human responds| DSN
CD -->|cooldown elapsed| DSN
Layer 1: Design / Decision
Owned by the conductor (Admin or delegated design agent). Produces decision
packets, not raw execution spam.
Responsibilities:
- Refine operator intent into a scoped objective.
- Pull constraints, non-goals, blockers, and evidence expectations from durable
memory (SYNTHESIS.md, DECISIONS.md, prior issue evidence).
- Choose the Friction Tier and applicable gates (SDD, L2 Pressure, Capy check).
- Maintain taste, scope, blocker semantics, and evidence standards.
- Ask the operator only when a real design trade-off needs human judgment.
Layer 2: Dispatch / Operations
Owned by the dispatcher (Admin or Supervisor). Converts decision packets into
bounded Multica issues, monitors them, and routes follow-ups.
Responsibilities:
- Convert one decision packet into one or more bounded issues.
- Assign one owner per issue. Mention specialists only for narrow review.
- Monitor active / in_review / blocked / done states via
multica issue list.
- Re-route only when new evidence changes state — never re-sweep unchanged work.
- Stop when only operator-call or external-platform blockers remain.
State Machine
| State | Meaning | Next |
|---|
GOAL_CAPTURED | Shorthand or issue received, not yet designed | DESIGNING |
DESIGNING | Conductor is pulling context, refining intent, checking memory | DECISION_PACKET or OPERATOR_NEEDED |
DECISION_PACKET | Scoped route produced, ready to dispatch | DISPATCHING |
DISPATCHING | One or more bounded issues created/assigned | OBSERVING |
OBSERVING | Waiting for agent evidence; periodic status scan | REVIEWING, DECISION_PACKET (re-route), or BLOCKER_CLASSIFIED |
REVIEWING | Evidence evaluated against closeout gates | LEARNING (PASS), DISPATCHING (FLAG), or BLOCKER_CLASSIFIED (BLOCK) |
BLOCKER_CLASSIFIED | Blocker typed: operator / external / permanent | OPERATOR_NEEDED, cooldown → DESIGNING, or ARCHIVED |
LEARNING / ARCHIVING | Evidence harvested, noise archived, memory updated | NEXT_GOAL or DONE |
OPERATOR_NEEDED | Waiting for human input | DESIGNING (on response) |
DONE | Objective achieved, all gates passed | terminal |
Decision Packet Format
Every decision packet must be posted as a structured comment before any issues
are created:
DECISION_PACKET
goal_id: <goal-shorthand-or-issue-id>
intent: <one-sentence objective>
route: <chosen execution path — which agents, skills, lanes>
owner: <primary executing agent>
reviewer: <who verifies evidence>
constraints: <non-negotiables, boundaries, blocked lanes>
evidence_expectations: <what proves success — exact artifacts or checks>
non_goals: <explicit exclusions>
blocker_conditions: <what would block this route>
tier: fast | standard | heavy
dedupe_key: <canonical key to prevent duplicate dispatch>
max_active: <max concurrent in_progress issues for this goal>
cooldown_minutes: <minimum minutes before next sweep or re-route>
verdict: READY_TO_DISPATCH | NEEDS_DESIGN | OPERATOR_NEEDED
Dedupe, Cooldown, and Noise Controls
These prevent the controller from accumulating endless sweeper issues (per
DAS-741 / DAS-743 findings):
Dedupe
- Before creating any issue, check if an equivalent issue already exists using
the
dedupe_key. Match on title prefix + active status (not done/cancelled).
- If an equivalent issue exists and is
in_progress or in_review, do not
create a duplicate. Post a status note on the existing issue instead.
- If an equivalent issue exists and is
blocked, check if the blocker changed
before re-dispatching.
Cooldown
- After dispatching a decision packet, set
cooldown_minutes. Do not scan or
re-route for this goal until the cooldown elapses.
- Default cooldown: 15 minutes for standard work, 30 minutes for heavy work.
- Cooldown resets when a new decision packet is dispatched.
Max Active
- No more than
max_active (default: 5) issues may be in_progress for a
single goal at any time.
- If the limit is reached, new dispatch waits until an active issue moves to
in_review or done.
Archive and Cancel Semantics
- Completed (
done) issues: harvest evidence, then archive — do not re-read or
re-route.
- Stale
in_review issues (no activity for 48h): post one nudge, then flag for
Supervisor.
- Noise issues (created in error, duplicate, superseded): set to
cancelled
with a one-line reason. Do not leave them in blocked.
- The conductor itself must have a self-cancel condition: if the conductor issue
is the only remaining active issue and all dispatched work is
done or
cancelled, post the final verdict and stop.
Autonomy Guards
The conductor may act autonomously when:
- The decision packet is
READY_TO_DISPATCH.
- No operator-call conditions are triggered.
- Dedupe confirms no duplicate work exists.
- The route does not touch blocked lanes (DAS-696, DAS-693, or operator-declared
frozen lanes).
- Workbench Max is not in the route.
The conductor MUST call the operator when:
- A design trade-off needs human taste judgment (not just more context).
- A permission, secret, payment, or runtime mutation is required.
- A blocked lane is the only viable route.
- Two prior attempts at the same sub-task failed with different approaches.
- The dedupe key matches an existing active issue with a different decision
packet (route conflict).
Composition With Existing Layers
Goal Mode v2 composes with, but does not replace:
| Layer | How Goal Mode v2 uses it |
|---|
| Friction Tier Router | Selected during DESIGNING; encoded in decision packet tier field |
| SDD | Decision packet may route heavy work through SDD stages; design layer handles Raw Requirement + Product Design |
| L2 Pressure Gate | Applied during DESIGNING when objective touches remote/HarnessMax/leaderboard work |
| Goal Mode v1 | v2 replaces the persistence wrapper; v1 skill remains for simple single-agent /goal tasks |
| Auto Review Sweeper | Dispatch layer uses sweeper results during OBSERVING → REVIEWING transition |
| Self-Awareness | Run once at GOAL_CAPTURED for heavy-path goals before DESIGNING begins |
| Completion Cooling | Applied to dispatched child issues at 75/85/90/100 thresholds |
Activation
When activated by /goal or GOAL_MODE: yes, the conductor must:
- Apply
docs/agent-communication-profile.md before the first user-facing
conductor note.
- Post
GOAL_LOCK with objective, owner, non_goals, closeout gates, and
operator-call conditions.
- If Heavy Path: post
SELF_AWARENESS_BOOTSTRAP before designing.
- If L2_PRESSURE: post
RV_PRESSURE_CHECK before routing.
- Enter
DESIGNING → produce DECISION_PACKET → enter DISPATCHING.
- Continue the observe → review → archive → next-goal loop until DONE or
OPERATOR_NEEDED.
Closeout Contract
GOAL_MODE_V2_CLOSEOUT
goal_id:
objective:
state_machine_path: <trace of states visited, e.g. GOAL_CAPTURED→DESIGNING→...→DONE>
decision_packets_produced: <count>
issues_dispatched: <count and IDs>
evidence_harvested: <summary of completed evidence>
noise_cancelled: <count and IDs of cancelled duplicates>
operator_calls: <count and reasons, if any>
residual_risk:
archive_actions_taken:
verdict: PASS | FLAG | BLOCK
Validation
Before claiming DONE, verify:
- Every dispatched issue has a verdict (PASS/FLAG/BLOCK) or is properly cancelled.
- No duplicate active issues share the same dedupe_key.
- The conductor's self-cancel condition is satisfied.
- Evidence is posted on the goal issue, not scattered across child comments.
OPERATOR_NEEDED was raised for every case where the conductor lacked authority.
