| name | dispatch-cli |
| description | Dispatch a task via any generic CLI tool such as aider, cursor CLI, or other AI coding assistants. Use when the supervisor needs to delegate implementation to a non-Codex, non-Claude CLI tool. |
CLI Dispatcher
Applicable Scenarios
Use when:
- A third-party AI CLI tool is preferred for implementation.
- The team uses aider, cursor, or other CLI-based coding tools.
- Neither Codex nor Claude Code subagents are available.
Configuration
All settings are read from .orchestra/config.json → dispatchers.cli:
| Setting | Config Key | Default |
|---|
| Command | dispatchers.cli.command | not set (must be configured) |
| Prompt mode | dispatchers.cli.prompt_mode | argument |
| Timeout | dispatchers.cli.timeout_seconds | 300 |
Prompt Modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|
argument | Prompt is appended as a quoted argument: <command> "<TASK_PROMPT>" |
stdin | Prompt is piped via stdin: echo "<TASK_PROMPT>" | <command> |
file | Prompt is written to a temp file: <command> /tmp/task-prompt.txt |
Dispatch Steps
- Read the CLI configuration from
.orchestra/config.json → dispatchers.cli.
- Verify the CLI is installed:
<command_base> --version
If unavailable, report and stop.
- Build the
TASK_PROMPT string.
- Execute based on
dispatchers.cli.prompt_mode:
- argument:
<command> "<TASK_PROMPT>"
- stdin:
printf '%s' "<TASK_PROMPT>" | <command>
- file: Write prompt to
/tmp/orchestra-task-prompt-<timestamp>.txt, then <command> /tmp/orchestra-task-prompt-<timestamp>.txt
- Capture exit code.
- Clean up temp files if
prompt_mode is file.
Timeout Handling
- Read timeout from
dispatchers.cli.timeout_seconds in .orchestra/config.json.
- If the process runs beyond the timeout, kill it and treat as TIMEOUT.
- Treat killed processes (exit 137) as CRASH.
Notes
- Different CLIs have different prompt length limits. If the TASK_PROMPT is very long, use
prompt_mode: file.
- Some CLIs require interactive confirmation — prefer CLI options that disable interactive prompts (e.g.,
--yes-always for aider).
- The CLI must be able to write to the project filesystem for the BUNDLE line to appear in
tasks.md.
- After the CLI exits, always re-read
tasks.md directly to verify the BUNDLE line.
