dispatch-cli

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

1. Read the CLI configuration from .orchestra/config.json → dispatchers.cli.
2. Verify the CLI is installed:

   <command_base> --version
   

   If unavailable, report and stop.
3. Build the TASK_PROMPT string.
4. 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
5. Capture exit code.
6. 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.