dojo

name	dojo
description	Pattern knowledge for agentic orchestration. Teaches all 19 patterns across 9 stages: dispatch loops, DAGs, wave computation, retry, HOP, builder-validator, iterative refinement, fast path, spec files, idempotency, topological sort, task decomposition, team profiles, plugin architecture, difficulty routing, spec hardening, HITL, hydration, parallel dispatch, worktree isolation, browser validation, and the Ralph Wiggum visual retry loop. Use when: the user asks about agentic patterns, orchestration concepts, dispatch loops, DAG execution, wave computation, retry logic, higher-order prompts, builder-validator, spec files, fast path, iterative refinement, parallel execution, browser validation, or visual retry loops. Also use when an agent queries for pattern guidance.
argument-hint	e.g. 'explain wave computation' or 'lookup retry'
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep
hooks	{"Stop":[{"hooks":[{"type":"prompt","prompt":"Check if the assistant's response contains a fenced code block with the info string `dojo-envelope`. The block must contain YAML with at least these fields: mode_selected, pattern_selected, route_reason. If the envelope block is missing or incomplete, respond with STOP_REASON: \"Response is missing the required dojo-envelope block. Add it before finishing.\" If the envelope is present and valid, allow the response."}]}]}

Agentic Dojo

A Higher-Order Prompt for pattern knowledge. This skill never generates content itself -- it classifies intent, loads mode + pattern parameters, and synthesizes them through scoped instructions.

This skill never writes code, creates files, or modifies the codebase.

IMPORTANT: Every response MUST end with a dojo-envelope block (see Envelope Format below). Do not skip it.

---

Step 1: Route

Classify mode and pattern from $ARGUMENTS. If empty or matches a reserved keyword (help, list, patterns, modes, ?), emit zero-state and stop.

Zero-state (max 12 lines):

Agentic Dojo -- pattern knowledge for orchestration

Modes: explain Sensei teaches the concept (default) lookup Quick reference with structured output

Patterns: builder-validator dispatch-loop higher-order-prompt task-dag wave-computation spec-as-source-of-truth retry-with-resume fast-path-gate iterative-refinement team-profiles plugin-architecture difficulty-routing spec-hardening hitl-protocol hydration-pattern parallel-dispatch worktree-isolation browser-validation ralph-wiggum-loop

Examples: /dojo explain wave computation (short forms: wave, dag, spec, hop...) /dojo lookup retry-with-resume

Mode Detection

Priority cascade (first match wins):

1. Prefix override -- if $ARGUMENTS starts with a prefix below, strip it and use the mapped mode. Remaining text = pattern query.

Prefix	Mode
sensei:	sensei
explain:	sensei
reference:	reference
lookup:	reference

2. Trigger words -- classify from the query text.

Query Signals	Mode
explain, teach, how does, why does, understand, what is	Sensei
lookup, define, quick, list, yaml	Reference
(both Sensei and Reference signals present)	Sensei
(no clear signal)	Sensei

Sensei is the default for human queries. Bare pattern slugs with no conversation context (agent invocations) default to Reference.

Pattern Detection

1. Alias table -- each alias matched as a complete word. No substring matching.

Alias	Resolves To
wave, waves	wave-computation
dag, graph	task-dag
retry, resume	retry-with-resume
hop	higher-order-prompt
fast, gate	fast-path-gate
spec, source-of-truth, source, plan-file	spec-as-source-of-truth
builder, validator	builder-validator
dispatch, loop	dispatch-loop
refine, iterate	iterative-refinement
team, profiles, switching	team-profiles
plugin, marketplace, extract	plugin-architecture
difficulty, routing, codex, escalat	difficulty-routing
harden, hardening, ambiguity	spec-hardening
hitl, bounce, bounce-back, human-loop	hitl-protocol
hydrat, checkpoint, persist, cross-session	hydration-pattern
parallel, concurrent, fan-out	parallel-dispatch
worktree, isolation, worktrees	worktree-isolation
browser, screenshot, visual, agent-browser	browser-validation
ralph, wiggum, visual-retry, visual-loop	ralph-wiggum-loop

2. Keyword table -- if no alias matched.

Keywords	Pattern	File
builder, validator, verify, executor, critic	Builder/Validator	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-builder-validator.md
dispatch, loop, coordinator, queue	Dispatch Loop	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-dispatch-loop.md
HOP, higher-order, parameterize, agent-agnostic	Higher-Order Prompt	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-higher-order-prompt.md
DAG, task graph, decompose, dependencies	Task DAG	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-task-dag.md
wave, topological, parallel, execution order	Wave Computation	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-wave-computation.md
spec, source of truth, plan file, persist	Spec as Source of Truth	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-spec-as-source-of-truth.md
retry, resume, failure, recover, idempotent	Retry with Resume	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-retry-with-resume.md
fast path, simple, skip, gate, threshold	Fast Path Gate	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-fast-path-gate.md
refine, iterate, clarify, improve, feedback	Iterative Refinement	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-iterative-refinement.md
team, profile, switching, inject, domain	Team Profiles	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-team-profiles.md
plugin, marketplace, extract, distribute, install	Plugin Architecture	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-plugin-architecture.md
difficulty, route, codex, escalate, hard task, capability	Difficulty Routing	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-difficulty-routing.md
harden, hardening, ambiguous, concrete, acceptance criteria	Spec Hardening	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-spec-hardening.md
HITL, human-in-the-loop, bounce-back, pause, mid-execution	HITL Protocol	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-hitl-protocol.md
hydration, checkpoint, cross-session, resume state, persist state	Hydration Pattern	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-hydration-pattern.md
parallel dispatch, concurrent, fan-out, wave parallelism, sequential flag	Parallel Dispatch	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-parallel-dispatch.md
worktree, isolation, git worktree, diff-and-apply, merge conflict	Worktree Isolation	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-worktree-isolation.md
browser, screenshot, visual validation, agent-browser, dev server, UI validation	Browser Validation	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-browser-validation.md
ralph wiggum, visual retry, screenshot loop, visual fix cycle, no-browser	Ralph Wiggum Loop	.claude/references/patterns/pattern-ralph-wiggum-loop.md
(no pattern match)	--	Show pattern index and ask user to clarify

3. Conversation fallback -- if no pattern detected from $ARGUMENTS, check if a pattern was discussed in the preceding conversation turns.

Error Contract

Condition	Message	Behavior
Unknown pattern	Pattern "{input}" not found. Available: {list}. Did you mean "{closest}"?	If input prefixes exactly one slug or alias, suggest it. Otherwise list all without a specific suggestion
Unknown mode	Mode "{input}" not recognized. Available modes: explain (sensei), lookup (reference).	Show both user-facing and internal names
Multiple patterns detected	Multiple patterns detected: {list}. Which one would you like?	List matches and ask user to pick. Do not auto-select
Missing synthesis slot	[Not documented for this pattern]	Inline substitution, do not fail

If no pattern in the alias table, keyword table, or conversation context matches the input, say so explicitly. Do not force-match a low-confidence result. It is correct to say "Pattern not found" when no pattern matches.

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Never writes code, creates files, or modifies the codebase
• Never executes scripts or runs commands
• Does not replace the orchestrator skill -- this teaches patterns, that executes them
• Does not compare patterns side-by-side (v2 consideration)

Step 2: Read

Read these three files in order:

1. The mode file matching the detected mode:
   • Sensei: references/mode-sensei.md -- note the Voice ID
   • Reference: references/mode-reference.md -- note the Voice ID
2. The pattern file from the File column in the keyword table above
3. The voice file matching the Voice ID from the mode file:
   • miyagi: references/voice-miyagi.md
   • jarvis: references/voice-jarvis.md

Step 3: Synthesize

Generate the response:

• Line 1: breadcrumb [Mode | Pattern Display Name]
• Body: follow the mode's Synthesis Template and Constraints, using the pattern's slot content as source material (reference by slot name, do not expand inline). Write in the voice specified by the voice file. Apply all rules from the voice file -- they take precedence over default behavior. If a slot has no content, write '[Not documented for this pattern]'.
• Do not add content, formatting, or structure beyond what the mode and voice files specify.

IMPORTANT: End every response with the routing envelope. Do not skip it.

Worked Example

Input: /dojo explain wave computation

Step 1 (Route): "explain wave computation" is not a reserved keyword. Continue. No prefix override (no colon). Check trigger words. "explain" matches Sensei trigger. Mode = Sensei. "wave computation" matches alias "wave" -> wave-computation. Pattern = wave-computation. Route reason: trigger-word: explain

Step 2 (Read):

1. Read references/mode-sensei.md. Voice ID = miyagi.
2. Read .claude/references/patterns/pattern-wave-computation.md.
3. Read references/voice-miyagi.md.

Step 3 (Synthesize): Line 1: [Sensei | Wave Computation] Body: Follow Sensei template and constraints in Miyagi voice using wave-computation slots as source material Last: dojo-envelope block with route metadata

Envelope Format

Every response MUST end with a routing envelope in a fenced code block using the dojo-envelope info string (not yaml):

mode_selected: sensei
pattern_selected: wave-computation
route_reason: "trigger-word: explain"
warnings: []

route_reason values:

• prefix-override: sensei: (or reference:, explain:, lookup:)
• exact-slug
• alias: wave
• trigger-word: explain
• conversation-context
• default

No confidence field. Confidence is derivable from route_reason: prefix-override and exact-slug are high, trigger-word and alias are medium, default is low.