dev-orchestrator

name	dev-orchestrator
description	Default task orchestrator for all development and investigation work. Classifies tasks, decomposes into parallel workstreams if appropriate, and routes execution through the recipe runner. Replaces ultrathink-orchestrator.
version	2.0.0
auto_activates	["implement","build","create","add feature","fix bug","refactor","investigate","analyze","research","explore","develop","make"]
priority	5

Dev Orchestrator Skill

Workflow Graph

flowchart TD
    A[User Request] --> B{Classify Task}
    B -->|Q&A| C[analyzer agent]
    B -->|Operations| D[builder agent]
    B -->|Development| E{Recursion Guard}
    B -->|Investigation| E

    E -->|BLOCKED| F[announce-depth-limited]
    F --> G[execute-single-fallback]
    G --> R1_BLOCKED[Round 1 result]

    E -->|ALLOWED| H{Decompose Workstreams}
    H -->|"1 workstream<br/>(default-workflow or investigation-workflow)"| I[Execute recipe]
    H -->|N workstreams| J[multitask parallel]
    I --> R1[Round 1 result]
    J --> R1

    R1_BLOCKED --> REFLECT
    R1 --> REFLECT{Reflect on Round 1}
    REFLECT -->|ACHIEVED| SUM[Summarize]
    REFLECT -->|PARTIAL / NOT_ACHIEVED| K[Execute Round 2]
    K --> REFLECT2{Reflect on Round 2}
    REFLECT2 -->|ACHIEVED| SUM
    REFLECT2 -->|PARTIAL / NOT_ACHIEVED| L[Execute Round 3 - final]
    L --> REFLECT_FINAL[Final Reflect]
    REFLECT_FINAL --> VAL{Outside-In Testing Validation}
    REFLECT --> VAL

    VAL --> SUM
    SUM --> DONE[Complete Session + Cleanup]

    %% Adaptive error recovery path
    R1 -.->|empty result| DET[detect-execution-gap]
    DET --> FILE_BUG[file-routing-bug]
    FILE_BUG --> ADAPT{Adaptive Recipe}
    ADAPT -->|Investigation| INV_RECIPE[investigation-workflow]
    ADAPT -->|Development| DEV_RECIPE[default-workflow]
    INV_RECIPE --> REFLECT
    DEV_RECIPE --> REFLECT

    C --> DONE
    D --> DONE

Purpose

This is the default orchestrator for all non-trivial development and investigation tasks in amplihack. It replaces the ultrathink-orchestrator skill.

When a user asks you to build, implement, fix, investigate, or create anything non-trivial, this skill ensures:

1. Task is classified — Q&A / Operations / Investigation / Development
2. Goal is formulated — clear success criteria identified
3. Workstreams detected — parallel tasks split automatically
4. Recipe runner used — code-enforced workflow execution
5. Outcome verified — reflection confirms goal achievement

How It Works

User request
     │
     ▼
[Classify] ──→ Q&A ──────────────────→ analyzer agent (technical/code questions)
     │
     ├──────→ Ops ────────────────────→ builder agent
     │
     └──→ Development / Investigation
             │
         [Recursion guard] (AMPLIHACK_SESSION_DEPTH vs AMPLIHACK_MAX_DEPTH=3)
             │         │
           ALLOWED   BLOCKED → [announce-depth-limited banner]
                                    ↓
                           [execute-single-fallback-blocked]
                                    ↓
                           [Execute round 1 (single-session)]
             │
         [Decompose]
             │         │
             1 ws     N ws ──→ [multitask parallel] + tree context in env
             │
         [Execute round 1]
             │
         [Reflect] ──→ ACHIEVED ──→ [Summarize]
             │
           PARTIAL/NOT_ACHIEVED
             │
         [Execute round 2]
             │
         [Reflect] ──→ ACHIEVED ──→ [Summarize]
             │
           PARTIAL/NOT_ACHIEVED
             │
         [Execute round 3 (final)]
             │
         [Final reflect + Summarize]

Session tree enforcement (prevents infinite recursion):

• Each subprocess inherits AMPLIHACK_TREE_ID, AMPLIHACK_SESSION_DEPTH, AMPLIHACK_MAX_DEPTH
• Depth >= 3: recursion guard blocks sub-workstream spawning, adapts to single-session
• Max 10 concurrent sessions per tree; extras queue in FIFO order
• State tracked in /tmp/amplihack-session-trees/{tree_id}.json

Activation

This skill auto-activates for development and investigation keywords. It is also the default behavior per CLAUDE.md — invoke it for any non-trivial task.

The UserPromptSubmit hook reinforces this by injecting a classification prompt that instructs Claude to invoke Skill(skill="dev-orchestrator") for dev/investigation tasks.

Execution Instructions

YOUR NEXT ACTION after reading this skill MUST include a Bash tool call that executes the recipe runner. If your runtime requires a report_intent call (e.g. Copilot CLI), emit it in parallel with the Bash launch — both tool calls in the same response. The constraint is that no other substantive action (reading files, calling TodoWrite, invoking Agent, or typing a response) may precede or replace the Bash launch.

If you find yourself doing anything else instead of launching the recipe runner, you are bypassing the workflow. Stop. Go back. Run the recipe runner.

Development and Investigation tasks have exactly ONE execution path: the recipe runner. There is no "Option B." There is no "I'll follow the steps manually." There is no "Let me just quickly..." The recipe runner IS the workflow. Skipping it means skipping the 23-step process, the recursion guards, the goal verification, and the quality gates that exist for a reason.

A PostToolUse hook monitors every tool call after this skill activates. If it detects 3 tool calls without recipe runner evidence, it will fire a hard WARNING. Do not wait for the warning — run the recipe runner immediately.

When this skill is activated:

REQUIRED: Execute via Recipe Runner — IMMEDIATELY

Your next tool call(s) must include the recipe runner launch (alongside report_intent if your runtime requires it).

Default: Direct Execution (Rust CLI)

The recipe runner is the Rust amplihack binary — invoke it directly:

cd /path/to/repo && env -u CLAUDECODE \
  AMPLIHACK_HOME=/path/to/amplihack \
  amplihack recipe run amplifier-bundle/recipes/smart-orchestrator.yaml \
    -c task_description="TASK_DESCRIPTION_HERE" \
    -c repo_path="." \
    --verbose

Key points:

• amplihack recipe run — the native Rust binary; no wrapper needed
• -c key=value — passes context variables (equivalent to user_context dict)
• --verbose — streams recipe-runner stderr live so you see nested step activity
• The recipe runner manages its own child processes (agent sessions, bash steps) as direct subprocesses

This is the preferred execution mode for most scenarios. It is simpler, has no external dependencies beyond the Rust binary, works on all platforms, and makes output capture straightforward.

For tmux durable execution, environment variables, error recovery strategies, fallback recipes, and enforcement details, see reference.md.

Task Type Classification

Type	Keywords	Action
Q&A	"what is", "explain", "how does", "how do I", "quick question"	Respond directly
Operations	"clean up", "delete", "git status", "run command"	builder agent (direct execution, no workflow steps)
Investigation	"investigate", "analyze", "understand", "explore"	investigation-workflow
Development	"implement", "build", "create", "add", "fix", "refactor"	smart-orchestrator
Hybrid*	Both investigation + development keywords	Decomposed into investigation + dev workstreams

* Hybrid is not a distinct task_type — the orchestrator classifies as Development and decomposes into multiple workstreams (one investigation, one development).

Workstream Decomposition Examples

Request	Workstreams
"implement JWT auth"	1: auth (default-workflow)
"build a webui and an api"	2: api + webui (parallel)
"add logging and add metrics"	2: logging + metrics (parallel)
"investigate auth system then add OAuth"	2: investigate + implement (sequential)
"fix bug in payment flow"	1: bugfix (default-workflow)

Override Options

Single workstream override: Pass force_single_workstream: "true" in the recipe user_context to prevent automatic parallel decomposition regardless of task structure. This is a programmatic option (not directly settable from /dev):

amplihack recipe run amplifier-bundle/recipes/smart-orchestrator.yaml \
  -c task_description="TASK_DESCRIPTION_HERE" \
  -c repo_path="." \
  -c force_single_workstream="true"

To force single-workstream execution without modifying recipe context: Set AMPLIHACK_MAX_DEPTH=0 before running /dev. This causes the recursion guard to block parallel spawning and fall back to single-session mode for all tasks:

export AMPLIHACK_MAX_DEPTH=0  # set in your shell first
/dev build a webui and an api  # then invoke /dev in your agent session

Note: The env var must be set in your shell before starting the agent session — it cannot be prefixed inline on the /dev command. This affects all depth checks, not just parallel workstream spawning.

Canonical Sources

• Recipe: amplifier-bundle/recipes/smart-orchestrator.yaml
• Parallel execution: native amplihack orch / amplihack multitask commands
• Development workflow: amplifier-bundle/recipes/default-workflow.yaml
• Investigation workflow: amplifier-bundle/recipes/investigation-workflow.yaml
• CLAUDE.md: Defines this as the default orchestrator

Relationship to Other Skills

Skill	Relationship
ultrathink-orchestrator	Deprecated — redirects here
default-workflow	Called by this orchestrator for single dev tasks
investigation-workflow	Called by this orchestrator for research tasks
multitask	Called by this orchestrator for parallel workstreams
work-delegator	Orthogonal — for backlog-driven delegation

Entry Points

• Primary: /dev <task description>
• Auto-activation: Via CLAUDE.md default behavior + hook injection
• Legacy: /ultrathink <task> (deprecated alias → redirects to /dev)

Status Signal Reference

The orchestrator uses two status signal formats:

Execution status (from builder agents)

Appears at the end of round execution steps:

• STATUS: COMPLETE — the round's work is fully done
• STATUS: CONTINUE — more work remains after this round
• STATUS: PARTIAL — the final round (round 3) reached partial completion
• STATUS: DEPTH_LIMITED — (legacy, no longer emitted; use BLOCKED path instead)

Goal status (from reviewer agents)

Appears at the end of reflection steps:

• GOAL_STATUS: ACHIEVED — all success criteria met, task is done
• GOAL_STATUS: PARTIAL -- [description] — some criteria met, more work needed
• GOAL_STATUS: NOT_ACHIEVED -- [reason] — goal not met, another round needed

The goal-seeking loop uses GOAL_STATUS signals to decide whether to run round 2 or 3.

BLOCKED path (recursion guard): When multi-workstream spawning is blocked by the depth limit, the orchestrator adapts to single-session execution:

1. announce-depth-limited — prints a warning banner with remediation info
2. execute-single-fallback-blocked — executes the full task as a single builder agent session (announced, not silent — the banner makes the strategy change visible)