| name | conductor-cc |
| description | Use when a complex, long-running task risks polluting one conversation — research, implementation, review, planning, or learning that should be split into dependency-aware branches while keeping the master session clean. The Claude Code-native Conductor, where branches are separate user-driven sessions, raw content is quarantined in subagents, and the protocol is enforced by hooks rather than only guidance. Pairs with grill-me-style requirement work. |
Conductor (Claude Code)
A context-isolation + branch-registry protocol for Claude Code. One master session
stays clean; messy work happens in separate branch sessions and throwaway subagents.
Unlike a plain skill, the hard rules here are enforced by hooks, not by your goodwill —
so this skill only has to carry the judgment the hooks can't.
The one principle
The master holds only distilled knowledge. All raw content is quarantined.
| Raw content | Quarantine | Master gets |
|---|
| a branch's messy history | a separate user-driven session | a completion report |
| codebase source | the Explore subagent | conclusion + file:line anchors |
| paper/web content | the cd-research subagent | distilled notes + sources |
What the harness enforces for you (don't re-litigate it)
- SessionStart hook injects role context: master → snapshot + Today View; a bound branch → only its brief. A branch literally cannot see master/sibling history.
- PreToolUse hook = three gates: (a) read-firewall — broad/external reads in master are denied, forcing you to delegate to Explore/cd-research; (b) merge-gate — the master snapshot can't absorb a branch without an approved report; (c) branch-write-guard — a branch can't write master records.
- PostToolUse hook keeps
registry.json → branch-map.md in sync and performs privileged state transitions.
When a read is denied in the master, that is by design: spawn an Explore subagent for codebase questions, or cd-research for web/papers, and absorb only the returned conclusion. Do not fight the firewall; /cd-status --unlock exists if the user truly needs it off.
What YOU must judge (the soft layer)
- Routing — where does a request belong?
- master: changes to goals, scope, constraints, the branch map, merges, snapshots.
- a branch: exploratory / implementation / research / review work with many intermediate details.
- explainer sidecar: long explanations, tutorials, "I don't fully get this yet."
- Dependency / wave planning — never assume all branches run in parallel. Classify each:
ready_parallel (runs now from the current snapshot), dependent (needs another branch's output), gate (a review/merge/decision), optional, explainer. Only open current-wave branches. Keep ≤2 active interactive branches; suggest parking/archiving before a third.
- What to merge — at
/cd-merge, compress to a short approved record, normalize terminology, and separate proposed global decisions for explicit user confirmation. Reject reports that don't meet the brief (the cd-merge-verify subagent backs you up). Explainer output never merges by default.
- Card before session — create a branch card + brief (
/cd-branch) before anyone opens a session. If dependencies are ambiguous, ask the user before creating threads.
- Staleness — if the master snapshot advances in a way that invalidates an active brief, mark it stale and offer to refresh; don't silently sync.
- Global decisions — a decision made inside a branch is not binding until confirmed in the master.
Commands (the verbs)
/cd-init · /cd-branch · /cd-enter → /cd-bind (in the new tab) · /cd-status · /cd-complete (in the branch) · /cd-merge (in the master).
Session names
[CD-MAIN][master] <project> · [CD-001][W1][<role>] <purpose> · [CD-E01][sidecar][explainer] Dirty questions. Never put mutable status (active/done/blocked) in a title — that lives in the registry/Today View.
Branch lifecycle
planned → brief_ready → active → (completion_suggested) → report_ready → merge_pending → merged | rejected → archived (or blocked). State is in .conductor/registry.json; the human view in .conductor/branch-map.md is rendered from it.
