orchestration

name	orchestration
description	Coordinates multi-agent work: agent delegation, journal continuity, and council workflows. Use when delegating to agents or coordinating cross-cutting work across multiple agents. Not for single-task implementation (use direct tool delegation) or solo research (use research).

Orchestration

Contents

• Critical Rules
• Verification
• Quick Reference
• Topics
• Philosophy
• Configuration
• Artifact Locations
• Workflow by Lifecycle

Comprehensive patterns for orchestration: coordinating multi-agent work, keeping the project journal current, running councils, and delegating to specialized agents.

Critical Rules

Journal

• Log loaf journal log "skill(orchestration): <intent>" as the first action. There is no session to start — journaling is continuous.
• Use loaf journal log for entries: decision(scope), discover(scope), block(scope), spark(scope), todo(scope)
• JOURNAL NUDGE: When you see this hook trigger, log unrecorded decisions or findings before responding. Use loaf journal log "entry(scope): description". Only log actions (decisions made, things discovered, conclusions reached) — not thoughts or read-only work.
• Write an optional wrap(scope) entry only when the conversation holds synthesis worth saving. Nothing is ever ended or archived; a conversation without a wrap leaves a valid journal.
• Continuity is derived and ephemeral. When the exact current target mode has a supported startup adapter, it may emit a layered digest at conversation start. When the capability is candidate or unsupported, explicitly run loaf journal context at conversation start. Pull more on demand with loaf journal recent, loaf journal search, or loaf journal context.

Councils

• Always odd number: 5 or 7 agents
• Councils advise, users decide
• Orchestrator coordinates but doesn't vote
• Spawn all agents in parallel

Linear

Use the linear skill for MCP selection, reads and mutations, update formatting, and the Loaf issue authority boundary. If Linear is unavailable or disabled for the project, coordinate with the project journal and loaf issue only.

Planning (Shape Up)

• Complexity-based sizing (small / medium / large)
• Shape before building (boundaries, not tasks)
• Priority ordering with go/no-go gates between tracks
• No backlogs -- bet or let go

Verification

• Verify loaf journal recent / loaf journal context reflect the current work
• Validate council files with validate-council.py before concluding
• When Linear participates, verify the Linear skill's read-before-write and outcome-reporting contract

Quick Reference

Task	Action
Multi-step work	Log the intent, spawn agents
Complex decision	Convene council (5-7 agents, odd)
Linear work	Use the Linear skill; keep Loaf issue execution authoritative
Feature planning	Size by complexity, shape before building
Agent selection	Match domain expertise to task
Stuck on task	Check priority order, consider reshaping
Pre-compaction	On an exact target mode with supported compaction delivery, hooks may nudge a journal flush and emit the digest afterward; otherwise flush manually and run loaf journal context after compaction
Durable artifact handling	Delegate .agents/-scoped report/spec/handoff/knowledge tending to librarian
Low-priority work	Spawn background-runner (see Background Agents)
New feature workflow	Pitch -> Shape -> Implement -> Ship -> Release

Topics

Topic	Reference	Use When
Shaping Issues	../shape/SKILL.md	Preparing issues: body, definition of done, out of scope
Decomposition	../shape/SKILL.md	Promoting a criterion that earns its own DoD (loaf issue promote)
Working Issues	references/local-tasks.md	Frontier, started worktrees, status, definition of done
Agent Delegation	references/delegation.md	Choosing agents, spawning subagents, decision trees
Parallel Agents	references/parallel-agents.md	Dispatching independent work concurrently
Subagent Development	references/subagent-development.md	Delegating to specialized agents
Background Agents	references/background-agents.md	Running non-interactive work in background
Council Workflow	../council/SKILL.md	Convening councils for complex decisions
Journal Continuity	references/journal.md	Journal-first model, logging protocol, derived continuity, recovery
Context Management	references/context-management.md	Clearing/compacting context, managing context limits
Linear Workflows	linear skill	Selecting a configured Linear MCP, managing Linear work, or coordinating Loaf-backed issues

Philosophy

You are the orchestrator, not the implementer.

The orchestrator:

1. Creates issues and logs the orchestration intent for tracking
2. Picks from loaf issue frontier and starts or joins the shippable root workspace
3. Spawns specialized agents for implementation
4. Coordinates outcomes and updates external systems
5. Never implements code, tests, or documentation directly

Every release should be complete, polished, and delightful.

Configuration

This skill uses paths from .agents/loaf.json:

{
  "councils_directory": ".agents/councils"
}

Artifact Locations

Artifact	Location	Archive	Naming
Journal	Global SQLite (loaf journal recent/search)	N/A — continuous project-scoped log	Project-scoped, harness-id tagged
Councils	.agents/councils/	.agents/councils/archive/	YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-topic.md
Handoffs	.agents/handoffs/	delete after deprecated	Created by handoff
Reports	.agents/reports/	N/A	YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-subject.md
Issues	SQLite (loaf issue show/list)	cancelled / duplicate via loaf issue status	Alias or opaque id

Rule: Agents write artifacts to disk, orchestrator reasons over artifacts, users retrieve from disk.

Workflow by Lifecycle

BEFORE (Planning)

• Shape prepares issues; implement works the frontier. Decomposition is loaf issue promote inside shape.
• Log the orchestration intent with loaf journal log
• loaf issue check <ref> must report shaped (delivery) or ready (decision); identify agents; get user approval

DURING (Execution)

• Spawn specialized agents (never implement directly)
• Track progress with loaf journal log and external issue updates
• Convene councils for uncertain decisions

AFTER (Completion)

• Code review + QA testing
• Land via ship: loaf issue status <ref> done, then loaf issue stop <ref>
• Ensure knowledge captured in permanent locations
• Write an optional wrap journal entry if the conversation holds synthesis worth saving