orchestrate

name	orchestrate
description	Run a feature or fix through an opinionated plan -> spec -> build -> verify cycle with a hard approval gate, instead of hand-rolling subagent orchestration. Use for multi-step work where you want a plan and spec approved before any edit, and every step verified. Trigger with /orchestrate or "orchestrate this", "plan spec build verify", "run this with a gate".
version	0.1.0
user-invocable	true
metadata	{"emoji":"🎼"}

orchestrate

A packaged orchestration cycle so you stop hand-rolling planner/spec/builder/verifier every time. Built on the Workflow tool, with a hard gate (no edits before approval) and a verify: check attached to every step.

Why this exists (evidence)

• Power users say agent orchestration (planner/spec/builder/verifier) is DIY, and that agents change too much code with weak gating. This packages the pattern.
• Orchestration moves the needle: AI21 Maestro reaches top-tier SWE-bench Verified purely by allocating compute across plan + multi-path execution. Self-consistency (sampling + vote) adds up to +17.9pp on reasoning. The cycle below applies both ideas: structured planning plus adversarial verification.

The cycle

FRAME   -> restate the goal as a verifiable outcome
PLAN    -> steps, each with an explicit verify: check
SPEC    -> a dedicated sub-agent writes the spec to a file
GATE    -> HARD STOP: present plan + spec for user approval; no edits before OK
BUILD   -> execute each step, surgically; run its verify: immediately
VERIFY  -> adversarially confirm the whole change does what was claimed

Rules:

• The GATE is real. Produce plan + spec and stop. Do not edit files until the user approves. In a headless Workflow there is no interactive prompt, so the gate = phase 1 returns the plan/spec and you (or the user) review before invoking phase 2 (build).
• Every PLAN step carries a verify: (a test, command, or check). A step with no verify is not done, it is hopeful.
• BUILD is surgical: change only what the step requires (compose with karpathy / surgical-diff).
• VERIFY is adversarial: try to falsify the claim, do not just re-assert it (compose with adversarial-verify / testsmith).

How to run

• Small task: follow the cycle inline, stop at GATE for approval, then build + verify.
• Larger task: use the bundled Workflow template workflows/plan-build-verify.js as a starting point. It does the FRAME/PLAN/SPEC fan-out and an adversarial check of the spec, returns the result (that is the gate), and you invoke the build phase after approval. Copy it into your project's .claude/workflows/ and adapt.
• Route cheap stages (drafting, scanning) to a cheaper model via model-router; keep judging/verifying on the strong model.

Composes with

• writing-plans / brainstorming: front of the cycle.
• karpathy-coding / surgical-diff: keep BUILD minimal.
• adversarial-verify / testsmith: the VERIFY stage.
• model-router: per-stage model cost.
• context-warden: keep each stage's context lean.

Honest limits

• The hard gate depends on you honoring it; the skill enforces the discipline, not the runtime. In headless mode the "gate" is a phase boundary, not an OS-level block.
• The Maestro/self-consistency numbers are from their benchmarks; the cycle is sound engineering, but measure your own outcome (tests green, scope held).