coordinator-dispatching-work

name	coordinator-dispatching-work
description	Use when starting an epic, dispatching to an implementer, creating a worktree for an agent, or spawning a sub-agent. Loads coordinator-specific discipline for kicking off implementation work.

Coordinator: Dispatching Work

Use thrum tmux launch — not raw send-keys

Why: Manual tmux send-keys 'claude' followed by /thrum:prime skips identity registration and produces silent CWD drift. The thrum tmux launch <name> flow registers the agent against the worktree path correctly and gives the daemon a real PID to track. (Source: findings_coordinator.md — "Use thrum tmux launch — not send-keys — to start a runtime".)

How to apply: Whenever you need to start a runtime in an existing tmux pane, use thrum tmux launch <session_name> even if you've already typed the runtime command yourself. If you've already started one wrong, kill the pane and re-launch via the daemon. If the pane doesn't exist yet, use thrum tmux start <name> (creates, launches, primes, attaches in one command).

Recycling an agent: destroy then teardown

Why: The inverse of dispatch is removal, and it has the same "two-step ritual or things break silently" property as dispatch via tmux launch + thrum send. See coordinator-managing-state-and-lifecycle § "Destroy an agent before tearing down its worktree" for the canonical sequence (thrum tmux kill BEFORE thrum worktree teardown). The dispatching skill mentions it here so you find the cross-reference when planning a wave recycle, not just when reading the lifecycle skill end-to-end.

Never spawn sub-agents into worktrees where Thrum agents are running

Why: Sub-agents (Agent tool) and Thrum agents (thrum send) are different coordination mechanisms. A sub-agent spawned into a worktree where a Thrum agent already sits competes for files, identity, and tmux state — the result is identity drift, broken nudges, and silent message loss. (Source: findings_coordinator.md — "No sub-agents into live worktrees".)

How to apply: Run thrum team before spawning any Agent tool call. If a worktree shows a registered agent, communicate with it via thrum send "<message>" --to @<agent_name> instead. Sub-agents are for research/explore, code review, and message listeners running in the main repo — never for implementation work in another agent's worktree.

Dispatch via thrum send after launch — not via tmux send-keys

Why: After thrum tmux launch, all coordination flows through the inbox + daemon nudge: thrum send enters the message in the daemon's state, the daemon nudges the pane, the agent reads the inbox and starts work. Injecting the prompt with thrum tmux send or tmux send-keys bypasses the inbox entirely, breaks the nudge for future messages, and strands the agent without a recorded message. (Source: findings_coordinator.md — "Dispatch via thrum send after tmux launch, not via tmux send-keys".)

How to apply: Correct flow: thrum tmux launch <name> → agent auto-primes → thrum send "work prompt" --to @agent_name → daemon nudges the pane → agent reads inbox and begins work. Never inject the prompt as raw keystrokes.

Prompt construction for implementers

Why: Implementer agents work better with a structured handoff than a free-form request. Inconsistent dispatch produces inconsistent reports and re-dispatch overhead.

How to apply: Every dispatch prompt should include:

1. The epic/task title and bead ID
2. One-paragraph scope (what to build, what NOT to build)
3. Acceptance criteria as bullets
4. The worktree path the work happens in
5. An explicit reminder to pass model: on any sub-agents the implementer spawns (haiku for mechanical, sonnet for judgment)
6. Spec/plan paths to read before starting

Never rename an agent tied to a worktree

Why: Agent identity is bound to the worktree, not the epic. Re-registering @implementer_api as @implementer_billing mid-flight creates two identity files in the same worktree, causing persistent stop-hook misfires and routing failures. (Source: findings_coordinator.md — "Never rename an agent tied to a worktree".)

How to apply: Run thrum team before assigning new work to confirm the existing identity name. Send work to that name. Do not use thrum quickstart with a new name in a worktree that already has an identity. If you absolutely need a fresh identity, kill the existing tmux session and register a new one with a different name — do not rename in place.

Propagate model-selection discipline downward

Why: Sub-agents inherit the parent model by default. A coordinator on Opus that spawns an unspecified sub-agent gets Opus-cost work for tasks that need Haiku. The same trap repeats inside an implementer's worktree: if the implementer doesn't propagate the discipline, their own sub-agents silently inherit too. Cost compounds across a session. (Source: findings_coordinator.md — "Always pass explicit model on sub-agent spawns".)

How to apply: Every dispatch prompt should include the model-selection rule explicitly: "When you spawn your own sub-agents, pass explicit model: — haiku for mechanical work (lint, tests, find/replace), sonnet for judgment work (review, complex implementation), opus only when justified. Default to sonnet over opus." Audit the dispatch prompt before sending.

The impl-prompt review stamp satisfies pre-dispatch review

Why: When the planning-skill review loop runs, its final gate reviews the implementation prompt against the plan — which IS the pre-dispatch review. Re-running a pre-dispatch prose review on a prompt that already passed the loop double-reviews the same artifact and wastes a cycle.

How to apply: At dispatch, grep the impl-prompt for the loop's verdict stamp (case-sensitive, literal):

grep -F 'THRUM-REVIEW: stage=prompt verdict=Ready:Yes' "$PROMPT_FILE" \
  || grep -F 'THRUM-REVIEW: stage=prompt verdict=OVERRIDE' "$PROMPT_FILE"

• Stamp present → the pre-dispatch review is already satisfied; SKIP re-running it and dispatch.
• Stamp absent → fall through to the normal pre-dispatch dual review. Do NOT block dispatch on the stamp — it is a shortcut that lets you skip a redundant review, not a new hard requirement (pre-feature prompts and prompts from other flows won't carry it).

This is the prose side of the boundary; the post-DONE dual-review (which reviews the implementer's CODE, a different artifact) always runs separately. The prompt is never reviewed twice. (See coordinator-running-review-cycles for the post-DONE side.)

Project-specific rules (already loaded)

Project-local rules under bd memories coordinator-rule- were loaded at session start by your preamble. If a project-local rule conflicts with a universal rule above, the project-local rule wins; surface the conflict in your reply so the user can decide whether to graduate or remove the override.

If you accumulate a new rule mid-session (the user corrects you), capture it via bd remember --key coordinator-rule-<slug> "<rule + Why + How to apply>".