| name | council |
| description | Surfaces stronger decisions through structured multi-agent debate across competing perspectives. Use when several plausible approaches exist and the tradeoffs need to be argued, not just listed. |
| key | council |
| include_when | Multiple valid approaches exist. Design decisions with no clear winner. |
council skill
Multi-agent debate system where specialized agents discuss topics in rounds, respond to each other's points, and surface insights through intellectual friction.
Key Differentiator from red-team: Council is collaborative-adversarial (debate to find best path), while red-team is purely adversarial (attack the idea). Council produces visible conversation transcripts; red-team produces steelman + counter-argument.
Workflow Routing
Route to the appropriate workflow based on the request.
When executing a workflow, output this notification directly:
Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **council** skill to ACTION...
| Trigger | Workflow |
|---|
| Full structured debate (3 rounds, visible transcript) | Workflows/Debate.md |
| Quick consensus check (1 round, fast) | Workflows/Quick.md |
| Pure adversarial analysis | red-team skill |
Quick Reference
| Workflow | Purpose | Rounds | Output |
|---|
| DEBATE | Full structured discussion | 3 | Complete transcript + synthesis |
| QUICK | Fast perspective check | 1 | Initial positions only |
Context Files
| File | Content |
|---|
CouncilMembers.md | Agent roles, perspectives, voice mapping |
RoundStructure.md | Three-round debate structure and timing |
OutputFormat.md | Transcript format templates |
Core Philosophy
Origin: Best decisions emerge from diverse perspectives challenging each other. Not just collecting opinions - genuine intellectual friction where experts respond to each other's actual points.
Speed: Parallel execution within rounds, sequential between rounds. A 3-round debate of 4 agents = 12 agent calls but only 3 sequential waits. Complete in 30-90 seconds.
Examples
"Council: Should we use WebSockets or SSE?"
-> Invokes DEBATE workflow -> 3-round transcript
"Quick council check: Is this API design reasonable?"
-> Invokes QUICK workflow -> Fast perspectives
"Council with security: Evaluate this auth approach"
-> DEBATE with Security agent added
Integration
Works well with:
- red-team - Pure adversarial attack after collaborative discussion
- Development - Before major architectural decisions
- Research - Gather context before convening the council
Best Practices
- Use QUICK for sanity checks, DEBATE for important decisions
- Add domain-specific experts as needed (security for auth, etc.)
- Review the transcript - insights are in the responses, not just positions
- Trust multi-agent convergence when it occurs
Last Updated: 2026-02-02
