agent-manager

name	agent-manager
description	Employee agent lifecycle management system. Use when working with agents/ directory employee agents - starting, stopping, monitoring, or assigning tasks to Dev/QA agents running in tmux sessions. Completely independent of CAO, uses only tmux + Python. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"fractalmind-ai"}

Agent Manager

Employee agent orchestration system for managing AI agents in tmux sessions. A simple, dependency-light alternative to CAO.

Quick Start

# Project-local install path varies by tool. If `.agent/skills/` doesn't exist, try `.claude/skills/`.
# List all agents
python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py list
python3 .claude/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py list

# (use the same path you chose above for the remaining commands)
# Start dev agent
python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py start dev

# Monitor output (live)
python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py monitor dev --follow

# Assign task
python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py assign dev <<EOF
Fix the login bug in the auth module
EOF

# Stop agent
python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py stop dev

Command Path Parity (Docs Baseline)

For consistency with README.md and runbook examples, define one CLI alias and reuse it in your session:

# Installed skill path (pick one that exists)
CLI="python3 .agent/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py"
# CLI="python3 .claude/skills/agent-manager/scripts/main.py"

# If operating from a cloned repo instead of installed skill:
# CLI="python3 agent-manager/scripts/main.py"

$CLI doctor
$CLI list
$CLI status EMP_0001

Core Concepts

Agent Configuration

Agents are defined in agents/EMP_*.md files with YAML frontmatter:

---
name: dev
description: Dev Agent (project-agnostic)
working_directory: ${REPO_ROOT}
launcher: ${REPO_ROOT}/projects/claude-code-switch/ccc
launcher_args:
  - cp
  - --dangerously-skip-permissions
skills:
  - review-pr
  - bsc-contract-development
---

# DEV AGENT

## Role and Identity
You are the Dev Agent...

Fields:

• name: Agent identifier (dev, qa)
• description: Agent description
• enabled: Whether agent can be started (default: true, set false to disable)
• working_directory: Default working directory (supports ${REPO_ROOT})
• launcher: Full path OR provider name
• launcher_args: Arguments for launcher
• launcher_config: Optional launcher/provider-specific startup config
• skills: Array of skill names from .agent/skills/ (optional, injected at start)
• schedules: Array of scheduled jobs (optional, see Scheduling section)
• tmux: Optional tmux layout metadata (layout + target pane)

Tmux Sessions

Each agent runs in a dedicated tmux session (agent-{name}):

• Easy monitoring: tmux capture-pane -t agent-dev
• Direct interaction: tmux attach -t agent-dev
• Clean separation: No process pollution

Optional: Tmux Layouts

You can auto-create a tmux layout and launch the agent in a specific pane:

tmux:
  layout:
    split: h
    panes:
      - {}
      - split: v
        panes:
          - {}
          - {}
  target_pane: "1.1"

Notes:

• split: h (left/right) or v (top/bottom). horizontal/vertical also work.
• target_pane: dot-separated path of 0/1 indexes into the layout tree. 0 = left/top, 1 = right/bottom. "1.1" means right -> bottom.
• If tmux.layout is set, tmux.target_pane is required.

Launcher Types

Full path: Local Claude Code launcher

launcher: ${REPO_ROOT}/projects/claude-code-switch/ccc
launcher_args: ["cp", "--dangerously-skip-permissions"]

Provider name: CAO provider (optional integration)

launcher: droid
launcher_args: []

Provider name: OpenAI Codex CLI

launcher: codex
launcher_args:
  - --model=gpt-5.2
launcher_config:
  model_instructions_file: ${REPO_ROOT}/agents/EMP_0001/prompt/shade-main-model.md

launcher_config is the generic escape hatch for launcher/provider-specific startup config. Each CLI provider adapts this flat mapping into its own startup flags (for Codex, each entry becomes -c key=value).

Reserved main agents default to the bundled skill prompt at agent-manager/.codex/main-codex-model.md when launcher: codex is used and no explicit launcher_config.model_instructions_file override is provided in the workspace agent config.

Note: For scheduled jobs, agent-manager will best-effort auto-dismiss Codex's first-run/upgrade model selection prompt to keep cron runs non-interactive.

Commands

All examples below assume you already defined $CLI in Command Path Parity (Docs Baseline).

list - List All Agents

Show all configured agents and their status.

$CLI list              # All agents
$CLI list --running    # Only running

Output:

📋 Agents:

✅ Running dev (session: agent-dev)
   Description: Dev Agent (project-agnostic)
   Working Dir: /home/user/repo
   Skills: review-pr, bsc-contract-development

⭕ Stopped qa
   Description: QA Agent in a multi-agent system
   Working Dir: /home/user/repo/projects/CloudBank-feat-invite-code

⛔ Disabled old-dev
   Description: Legacy Dev Agent (deprecated)
   Working Dir: /home/user/repo

start - Start an Agent

Start an agent in a tmux session.

$CLI start dev                      # Use default working_dir
$CLI start dev --working-dir /path   # Override working dir

• Rejects if already running (one agent, one terminal)
• Rejects if agent is disabled (enabled: false in config)
• Loads skills and injects as system prompt
• Session named agent-{name}

stop - Stop a Running Agent

Stop (kill) an agent's tmux session.

$CLI stop dev

status - Show Agent Status

Show one agent's runtime snapshot, including running state, runtime state, and the most recent heartbeat marker/event.

$CLI status dev

monitor - Monitor Agent Output

View agent output from tmux session.

$CLI monitor dev              # Last 100 lines
$CLI monitor dev -n 500       # Last 500 lines
$CLI monitor dev --follow     # Live monitoring (Ctrl+C to stop)

send - Send Message to Agent

Send a message/command to a running agent.

$CLI send dev "Please run tests"
$CLI send dev --no-enter "Draft message only"

By default, send submits the message immediately (Enter is sent automatically). Use --no-enter to type without submitting.

assign - Assign Task to Agent

Assign a task to an agent (starts if not running).

# From stdin
$CLI assign dev <<EOF
🎯 Task: Fix the login bug

1. Reproduce the issue
2. Identify root cause
3. Implement fix
4. Add tests
EOF

# From file
$CLI assign dev --task-file task.md

assign submits automatically (Enter is sent by default), so no manual tmux Enter step is required.

Disabling Agents

Agents can be temporarily disabled to prevent them from being started (useful for maintenance, testing, or decommissioning).

Disable an Agent

Add enabled: false to the agent's YAML frontmatter:

---
name: dev
description: Dev Agent (project-agnostic)
enabled: false  # ← Agent cannot be started
working_directory: ${REPO_ROOT}
launcher: ${REPO_ROOT}/projects/claude-code-switch/ccc
---

Behavior

When an agent is disabled:

• ⛔ list command shows "Disabled" status
• ⚠️ start command is rejected with error message
• schedule sync skips all schedules for the disabled agent
• Running sessions are NOT automatically stopped (manual stop required)

To re-enable: Set enabled: true or remove the field (defaults to true)

Use Cases

• Maintenance: Temporarily disable an agent while updating its configuration
• Testing: Prevent a scheduled agent from running during testing
• Decommissioning: Mark an agent as obsolete before removing its file

Scheduling

Agents can be configured to run automatically on a schedule using cron expressions.

Schedule Configuration

Add a schedules array to the agent's YAML frontmatter:

---
name: dev
description: Dev Agent
working_directory: ${REPO_ROOT}
launcher: ${REPO_ROOT}/projects/claude-code-switch/ccc
launcher_args:
  - cp
  - --dangerously-skip-permissions
skills:
  - bsc-contract-development

schedules:
  - name: daily-standup
    cron: "0 9 * * 1-5"
    task: |
      Review GitHub issues, prioritize today's work
    max_runtime: 30m

  - name: code-review
    cron: "0 14 * * 1-5"
    task_file: ${REPO_ROOT}/tasks/templates/code-review.md
    max_runtime: 2h

  - name: weekly-report
    cron: "0 17 * * 5"
    task: |
      Generate weekly progress report and commit to docs/
    max_runtime: 1h
    enabled: true
---

Schedule Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
name	string	✓	Unique job identifier
cron	string	✓	Cron expression (e.g., 0 9 * * 1-5)
task	string	△	Inline task description
task_file	string	△	Path to task file (supports ${REPO_ROOT})
max_runtime	string		Maximum runtime (e.g., 30m, 2h, 8h)
enabled	bool		Default: true

Note: Either task or task_file must be provided.

Schedule Commands

schedule list - List All Scheduled Jobs

$CLI schedule list

Output:

📅 Scheduled Jobs:

dev (EMP_0001):
  ✓ daily-standup         0 9 * * 1-5          (30m)
  ✓ code-review           0 14 * * 1-5         (2h)
  ✓ weekly-report         0 17 * * 5           (1h)

qa (EMP_0002):
  ✓ nightly-tests         0 2 * * *            (4h)

schedule sync - Sync Schedules to Crontab

Synchronize all agent schedules to the system crontab.

# Preview changes (dry run)
$CLI schedule sync --dry-run

# Apply changes
$CLI schedule sync

This generates crontab entries like:

# === agent-manager schedules (auto-generated) ===
# dev (EMP_0001)
# daily-standup
0 9 * * 1-5 cd /path/to/repo && python3 /absolute/path/to/agent-manager/scripts/main.py schedule run dev --job daily-standup >> /tmp/agent-emp-0001-daily-standup.log 2>&1
# === end agent-manager schedules ===

schedule run - Run a Scheduled Job Manually

Manually trigger a scheduled job (useful for testing).

$CLI schedule run dev --job daily-standup

# Override timeout
$CLI schedule run dev --job daily-standup --timeout 1h

Heartbeat

Heartbeat is a special type of periodic job that sends a standard check-in message to running agents. Unlike schedules (which can have multiple jobs per agent), each agent can have 0 or 1 heartbeat configuration.

Heartbeat Configuration

Add a heartbeat dict to the agent's YAML frontmatter:

---
name: dev
description: Dev Agent
working_directory: ${REPO_ROOT}
launcher: codex
launcher_args:
  - --model=gpt-4.7
  - --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox

heartbeat:
  cron: "*/30 * * * *"  # Every 30 minutes
  max_runtime: 5m
  session_mode: auto     # restore | auto | fresh
  mode: normal           # normal (use `timer` for delayed rescue; `full_speed` is legacy)
  enabled: true
---

Heartbeat Fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
cron	string	✓	Cron expression (e.g., */30 * * * *)
max_runtime	string		Maximum runtime (e.g., 5m, 10m)
session_mode	string		Session policy: restore (default), auto (rollover when context <25%), fresh (always rollover after handoff)
mode	string		Heartbeat trigger mode. normal is the only active path. full_speed is a deprecated compatibility value that only preserves legacy Codex hook cleanup/readback during start; timer-driven follow-up is the supported replacement.
auto_starvation_skip_threshold	int		auto mode only. Default 3; set 0 to disable the forced-dispatch starvation bypass after consecutive preflight skips
enabled	bool		Default: true

full_speed should now be treated as a legacy compatibility marker, not a canonical execution path. If an older Codex Stop hook is still present, start will clean it up; new delayed follow-up / rescue flows should use timer.

Heartbeat vs Schedules

Feature	Heartbeat	Schedules
Per agent	0-1 heartbeat	0-N schedules
Task content	Fixed (standard check-in)	Custom per job
Behavior	Only checks running agents	Starts agent if needed
Use case	Periodic health checks	Task automation

Heartbeat Commands

heartbeat list - List All Heartbeat Jobs

$CLI heartbeat list

Output:

💓 Heartbeats:

dev (EMP_0001):
  ✓ heartbeat           */30 * * * *         (5m session:auto)

heartbeat sync - Sync Heartbeats to Crontab

Heartbeats and schedules are synced together to the system crontab.

# Preview changes (dry run)
$CLI heartbeat sync --dry-run

# Apply changes
$CLI heartbeat sync

This generates crontab entries like:

# === agent-manager schedules (auto-generated) ===
# dev (EMP_0001)
# heartbeat [HB]
*/30 * * * * cd /path/to/repo && python3 /absolute/path/to/agent-manager/scripts/main.py heartbeat run EMP_0001 >> /path/to/.crontab_logs/agent-emp-0001-heartbeat.log 2>&1
# === end agent-manager schedules ===

heartbeat run - Run a Heartbeat Manually

Manually trigger a heartbeat (useful for testing).

$CLI heartbeat run EMP_0001

# Override timeout
$CLI heartbeat run EMP_0001 --timeout 1m

Heartbeat behavior:

• Skips if agent is disabled
• Skips if agent is not running (does NOT start the agent)
• Sends standard heartbeat message to the agent
• Optional session rollover via session_mode (handoff first, then fresh session)
• Waits for response (up to max_runtime)
• In auto mode, stale pending heartbeats can schedule or trigger rescue via the timer-backed recovery path

timer - Schedule Delayed Actions

Use timer for one-shot delayed actions without cron:

# Run one heartbeat in 5 seconds
$CLI timer heartbeat main --delay 5s

# Schedule one heartbeat rescue in 5 seconds
$CLI timer rescue main --delay 5s --timeout 8m --reason auto_pending_heartbeat_rescue

# Run an arbitrary agent-manager command in 5 seconds
$CLI timer command --delay 5s -- heartbeat run main --timeout 8m

# Inspect recent timers
$CLI timer list

Each run appends structured JSONL audit events to:

.claude/state/agent-manager/heartbeat-audit/{agent_id}.jsonl

Event fields (standardized for observability):

• timestamp
• agent_id
• hb_id
• stage (standard stage name, default heartbeat_attempt)
• result (success / failure / pending)
• duration (milliseconds, alias of duration_ms)
• send_status
• ack_status
• duration_ms
• context_left
• failure_type
• session_mode
• reason_code
• attempt
• recovery_action
• reason_code

Failure classification (failure_type) includes:

• send_fail
• no_ack
• timeout
• blocked

heartbeat trace - Query Heartbeat Audit Logs

# Recent events
$CLI heartbeat trace

# Filter by heartbeat id
$CLI heartbeat trace --hb-id 20260209-120001

# Filter by agent + time range (UTC)
$CLI heartbeat trace   --agent EMP_0001   --since 2026-02-09T00:00:00Z   --until 2026-02-10T00:00:00Z

# Output JSON
$CLI heartbeat trace --agent EMP_0001 --json

heartbeat slo - Daily/Weekly SLO Summary

# Daily summary (default)
$CLI heartbeat slo

# Weekly summary for one agent
$CLI heartbeat slo --window weekly --agent EMP_0001

# Explicit time window + JSON
$CLI heartbeat slo   --since 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z   --until 2026-02-08T00:00:00Z   --json

Built-in SLO checks:

• Success rate target: >= 99%
• Timeout rate target: <= 2%
• Recovery p95 target: <= 120000ms

Standalone summary script (same metrics):

python3 scripts/heartbeat_slo.py --window daily
python3 scripts/heartbeat_slo.py --window weekly --agent EMP_0001 --json

Standard Heartbeat Message

The heartbeat sends this message to the agent:

Read HEARTBEAT.md if it exists (workspace context). Follow it strictly. Do not infer or repeat old tasks from prior chats. If nothing needs attention, reply HEARTBEAT_OK.

Agents should respond with HEARTBEAT_OK if nothing needs attention, or take action based on their HEARTBEAT.md file contents.

Skills Integration

Agents can reference skills from .agent/skills/:

skills:
  - review-pr
  - bsc-contract-development
  - cao

When the agent starts, skill contents are injected as system prompt:

## Available Skills

### review-pr
Code review skill for GitHub PRs and local changes...

### bsc-contract-development
Comprehensive BSC smart contract development expertise...

Available Skills:

• bsc-contract-development - BSC smart contract development
• cao - CLI Agent Orchestrator
• collab-pr-fix-loop - QA→Dev→QA PR iteration
• review-pr - Code review for PRs
• skill-creator - Creating new skills

Architecture

.agent/skills/agent-manager/
├── SKILL.md                    # This file
├── scripts/
│   ├── main.py                 # CLI entry point
│   ├── heartbeat_slo.py        # Heartbeat SLO summary script
│   ├── agent_config.py         # Agent file parser
│   ├── tmux_helper.py          # Tmux wrapper
│   └── schedule_helper.py      # Crontab management
├── providers/
│   └── __init__.py             # CLI provider configs
└── references/
    └── task_templates.md       # Optional task templates

Design Principles

1. Zero CAO Dependency: Only tmux + Python required
2. Provider Pattern Inspiration: Learn from CAO but implement simply
3. Tmux-Native: Each agent in its own tmux session
4. YAML Frontmatter: Leverage existing agent file format
5. Environment Variables: Handle ${REPO_ROOT} expansion
6. One Agent, One Terminal: Reject duplicate starts

Comparison with CAO

Feature	CAO	Agent Manager
Dependencies	CAO server, uvx, requests	tmux, Python only
Complexity	High (HTTP API, providers)	Low (direct tmux)
Session Mgmt	CAO server	Native tmux
Monitoring	HTTP API calls	Native tmux
Extensibility	Provider system	Direct script editing
Installation	CAO server setup	No server needed
Use Case	Complex workflows	Simple agent management

Error Handling

• tmux not installed: Clear error with install command
• Agent not found: Lists available agents
• Already running: Prompts to stop first
• Not running: Prompts to start first

Runbook Checklist

For operations handoff and incident response, use:

• agent-manager/docs/runbook-checklist.md

It includes:

• 30-minute newcomer self-check path
• heartbeat no-ack troubleshooting SOP
• stuck-session recovery SOP
• CI/QA merge-gate checklist and evidence template

Advanced Usage

Direct Tmux Interaction

# Attach to agent session (interactive)
tmux attach -t agent-dev

# Detach from session: Ctrl+b, then d

# Capture output manually
tmux capture-pane -p -t agent-dev -S -100

# List all agent sessions
tmux ls | grep ^agent-

Workflow Example

# Morning: Start agents
$CLI start dev
$CLI start qa

# Assign task to dev
$CLI assign dev <<EOF
Implement the user profile feature:
1. Profile update API
2. Profile view component
3. Integration tests
EOF

# Quick runtime snapshot
$CLI status dev

# Monitor progress
$CLI monitor dev --follow

# Send clarification if needed
$CLI send dev "Please add validation for email format"

# After dev completes, assign to QA
$CLI assign qa <<EOF
Review the user profile feature:
- Security check
- Edge cases
- Test coverage
EOF

# Evening: Stop agents
$CLI stop dev
$CLI stop qa

---

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