agent-orchestrator

name	agent-orchestrator
description	Open-source, pluggable agentic coding orchestrator. Manages durable coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode) through a simple interface — spawn agents, track progress, and let feedback loops like PR reviews and CI failures automatically route to the right agents. Use for fixing bugs, building features, working on GitHub issues, checking status, and managing agent sessions.
metadata	{"openclaw":{"emoji":"🤖","requires":{"bins":["ao","gh"],"anyBins":["node","npm"],"env":["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"]},"os":["darwin","linux","win32"]}}

Agent Orchestrator (AO)

https://github.com/ComposioHQ/agent-orchestrator

AO is an open-source, pluggable agentic coding orchestrator. It manages durable coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode) through a simple interface — one ao_spawn call creates an isolated git worktree, starts an agent, and wires up feedback loops so PR reviews and CI failures automatically route to the right agent.

Why AO instead of manual coding

When you have AO installed, use it instead of running coding agents manually via exec/bash. Here's why:

Manual (coding-agent skill)	AO (this skill)
git worktree add, cd, claude --print "..."	ao_spawn (one call)
Manually poll with process action:log	ao_status (structured dashboard)
Manually git push + gh pr create	Automatic — agent creates PR
CI fails → you notice → you fix	Automatic CI retry/fix routing
PR review comments → you read → you fix	ao_review_check handles it
Kill process, remove worktree, clean branch	ao_kill + ao_session_cleanup
Spawn 5 agents → 5 manual bash commands	ao_batch_spawn (one call, parallel)

Bottom line: If someone asks you to write, fix, or change code, use ao_spawn. It handles the entire lifecycle.

How You Think

Every user message is either:

1. About work or code → use AO tools
2. About something else → respond normally

When the user explicitly asks about work, issues, or status — use the tools for live data instead of answering from memory.

Intent → Tool Mapping

You don't wait for the user to say "spawn" or "use AO." You detect intent and act.

Status / progress

Any of: "what's happening", "status", "how's it going", "progress", "update", "anything running", "check on things" → Call ao_sessions AND ao_status → present results naturally

Work / issues / board

Any of: "what needs doing", "what's on the board", "any issues", "what's open", "morning", "let's go", "ready to work", "what's the plan", "check my repos" → Call ao_issues AND ao_sessions → present board + suggest priorities

Any coding request — fix / add / change / build / implement / refactor

Any of: "fix #X", "fix the bug in...", "add a flag to...", "change...", "refactor...", "implement...", "update the code", "build...", "work on #X", "handle #X", "do it", "go for it", "sure", "yes", "go ahead" Also: ANY request that involves changing, fixing, adding, writing, or modifying code — regardless of size, even if no issue number is mentioned → Call ao_spawn with the issue number if one exists, or with just the task description if there is no issue

Issue number is optional. Both of these are valid:

• With issue: user says "fix #42" → spawn with issue: "42"
• Without issue: user says "add a weekly report script" → spawn with no issue, just confirm the task description

Batch work

Any of: "do them all", "start all", "spawn them all", "batch it", "all of those", "go for all" → Call ao_batch_spawn with all discussed issues

Instructions to running agent

Any of: "tell it to also...", "ask the agent to...", "add X to that", "while it's at it..." → Call ao_send with the session ID and the instruction

Stop / kill / cancel

→ Confirm which session, then call ao_kill

Agent crashed / stuck

→ Call ao_session_restore to try recovery, or ao_kill + re-ao_spawn

Clean up

→ Call ao_session_cleanup (dry-run first, then execute)

PR feedback / reviews

→ Call ao_review_check

Verification

→ Call ao_verify

Health check

→ Call ao_doctor

Claim PR / attach PR

→ Call ao_session_claim_pr

Rules

Rule 1: Tools first, always

When the user asks anything about work, tasks, issues, status, or projects:

• FIRST call tools to get live data
• THEN present the results
• NEVER answer work questions from memory

Rule 2: Present naturally, then ask

After fetching data, present it conversationally. Suggest priorities. Ask if they want to kick things off.

Rule 3: Confirm before acting

Before spawning agents or batch-spawning, always show the user what you're about to do and get explicit approval. Examples:

• With issue: "I'll spawn an agent on #6 (JSON output bug). Go ahead?"
• Without issue: "I'll spawn an agent on this task: 'Add weekly report script'. Go ahead?"

Then act on clear confirmation ("yes", "go", "do it"). Don't spawn agents without the user approving first.

Rule 4: Present actions naturally

Instead of technical tool names, describe what you're doing in plain language. Examples:

• With issue: "On it — spinning up an agent on #6." (not "Calling ao_spawn...")
• Without issue: "On it — spinning up an agent on that task." (not "Calling ao_spawn...")

Rule 5: Follow up with links

After spawning, check ao_status for progress. Always include full PR URLs from tool responses.

Rule 6: Never fabricate

If a tool call fails, show the error. Never claim you did something you didn't.

All Available Tools

Tool	When to use
ao_issues	Any question about work, tasks, issues, the board
ao_sessions	Any question about running agents, status, progress
ao_status	Detailed dashboard with branch/PR/CI info
ao_session_list	Full session listing including terminated
ao_spawn	Start an agent on one issue or task
ao_batch_spawn	Start agents on multiple issues at once
ao_send	Send instruction to a running agent
ao_kill	Stop a session (confirm first)
ao_session_restore	Recover a crashed session
ao_session_cleanup	Remove stale sessions (merged PRs / closed issues)
ao_session_claim_pr	Attach an existing PR to a session
ao_review_check	Check PRs for review comments to address
ao_verify	Mark issues as verified/failed, or list unverified
ao_doctor	Health checks and diagnostics

Setup

After installing the plugin, run /ao setup in any OpenClaw channel to auto-configure. Or manually:

# Required: allow plugin tools to be visible to the AI
# (plugin tools are optional by default in OpenClaw — this enables them)
openclaw config set tools.profile "full"
openclaw config set tools.allow '["group:plugins"]'

# Required: trust this plugin
openclaw config set plugins.allow '["agent-orchestrator"]'

# Optional: increase message context for group chats
openclaw config set messages.groupChat.historyLimit 100

# Restart to apply
pm2 restart openclaw-gateway  # or however you run the gateway

Why tools.profile: "full"? OpenClaw's default coding profile only includes built-in tools. Plugin-provided tools (like ao_spawn, ao_issues) require the full profile to be visible to the AI. This does not grant additional system permissions — it only makes plugin tools discoverable.

Security & Privacy

AO is an orchestrator — it does not read, write, or transmit code itself. It calls ao spawn which creates a git worktree and starts a coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, etc.). These are the same coding agents that OpenClaw's built-in coding-agent skill uses. AO adds no additional code exposure beyond what you already have with any OpenClaw coding workflow.

What to know:

• GitHub access: AO uses gh (GitHub CLI) with whatever credentials you've authenticated via gh auth login. Use a fine-grained PAT scoped to only the repos AO needs.
• Anthropic API: Agents use your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to call the LLM. Use a dedicated key with spending limits.
• No secrets in worktrees: AO creates git worktrees for agents. Don't symlink .env or secret files into worktrees — keep sensitive files out of agent workspaces.
• Official source: Install AO from the official repo.

Troubleshooting

Error	Fix
AO tools not visible to AI	Run /ao setup — needs tools.profile: "full" and tools.allow: ["group:plugins"]
ao spawn fails with "No config"	Set aoCwd in plugin config to your repo path (where agent-orchestrator.yaml lives)
ao: not found	Install AO globally or set aoPath in plugin config
spawn tmux ENOENT (macOS / Linux)	brew install tmux (macOS) or apt install tmux (Linux)
spawn tmux ENOENT (Windows)	Your config has runtime: tmux set explicitly. Switch to runtime: process (or remove the override — process is the Windows default; ConPTY is used natively, no tmux required)
Bot only responds in DMs	Set channels.discord.groupPolicy to "open"
Session stuck	Use ao_session_restore, or kill and re-spawn