Orchestrator - Multi-Agent Ralph v2.88

Smart Memory-Driven Orchestration with swarm mode, parallel memory search, RLM-inspired routing, and quality-first validation.

Based on @PerceptualPeak Smart Forking concept:

"Why not utilize the knowledge gained from your hundreds/thousands of other Claude code sessions? Don't let that valuable context go to waste!!"

Quick Start

# Via skill invocation
/orchestrator Implement OAuth2 authentication with Google

# Via CLI
ralph orch "Migrate database from MySQL to PostgreSQL"

# With specific teammates
/orchestrator "Refactor database layer" --teammates coder,reviewer

v2.88 Key Changes (MODEL-AGNOSTIC)

• Model-agnostic: Uses model configured in ~/.claude/settings.json or CLI/env vars
• No flags required: All teammates use the configured default model
• Flexible: Works with GLM-5, Claude, Minimax, or any configured model
• Settings-driven: Model selection via ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL env vars

v2.87 Key Changes (UNIFIED SKILLS MODEL)

• Skills/Commands unification: All commands now use SKILL.md format
• Single source of truth: Skills live in repo, symlinked globally
• Version alignment: All skills updated to v2.87.0
• Documentation consolidated: Architecture docs in docs/architecture/

v2.81 Key Changes (SWARM MODE)

Swarm mode is now ENABLED by default using native Claude Code multi-agent features:

1. Team Creation: Orchestrator creates team "orchestration-team" with identity
2. Teammate Spawning: ExitPlanMode spawns 3 teammates (code-reviewer, test-architect, security-auditor)
3. Shared Task List: All teammates see same tasks via TeammateTool
4. Inter-Agent Messaging: Teammates can communicate via mailbox
5. Plan Approval: Leader can approve/reject teammate plans

Core Workflow (10 Steps)

0. EVALUATE     -> Quick complexity assessment (trivial vs non-trivial)
1. CLARIFY      -> AskUserQuestion intensively (MUST_HAVE + NICE_TO_HAVE)
2. CLASSIFY     -> Complexity 1-10, model routing
2b. WORKTREE    -> Ask about worktree isolation
3. PLAN         -> Design detailed plan (orchestrator analysis)
3b. PERSIST     -> Write to .claude/orchestrator-analysis.md
4. PLAN MODE    -> EnterPlanMode (reads analysis as foundation)
5. DELEGATE     -> Route to appropriate model/agent
6. EXECUTE      -> Parallel subagents
7. VALIDATE     -> Quality gates + Adversarial
8. RETROSPECT   -> Analyze and improve

Step 0: EVALUATE (3-Dimension Classification)

Classification (RLM-inspired):

Workflow Routing:

Step 1: CLARIFY (Memory-Enhanced)

MUST_HAVE Questions (Blocking):

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "What is the primary goal?"
      header: "Goal"
      options:
        - label: "New feature"
        - label: "Bug fix"
        - label: "Refactoring"
        - label: "Performance"

Step 2: CLASSIFY (Model Routing)

Step 3: PLAN + PERSIST

Write plan to .claude/orchestrator-analysis.md with:

• Summary (informed by memory)
• Files to modify/create
• Dependencies
• Testing strategy
• Risks (include known issues from memory)

Step 4: PLAN MODE

EnterPlanMode: {}  # Claude Code reads orchestrator-analysis.md

Exit with ExitPlanMode when approved.

Step 5: DELEGATE (Parallel-First with Swarm)

PRIORITY: Parallel execution when possible

# With swarm mode (v2.81+)
Task:
  subagent_type: "orchestrator"
  description: "Full orchestration with swarm"
  prompt: "$ARGUMENTS"
  model: "sonnet"
  team_name: "orchestration-team"
  name: "orchestrator-lead"
  mode: "delegate"

# ExitPlanMode with swarm launch:
ExitPlanMode:
  launchSwarm: true
  teammateCount: 3

Step 6: EXECUTE-WITH-SYNC

Nested loop with parallel substeps:

EXTERNAL RALPH LOOP (max 25)
└── For EACH step:
    ├── LSA-VERIFY (architecture check)
    ├── IMPLEMENT (parallel if independent)
    ├── PLAN-SYNC (drift detection)
    └── MICRO-GATE (max 3 retries)

CRITICAL: model: "sonnet" for all subagents

Step 7: VALIDATE (Quality-First)

Stage 1: CORRECTNESS (BLOCKING)

• Meets requirements?
• Edge cases handled?

Stage 2: QUALITY (BLOCKING)

• Security verified? (semgrep + gitleaks)
• Performance OK?
• Tests adequate?

Stage 3: CONSISTENCY (ADVISORY - not blocking)

• Follows patterns?
• Style matches?

Stage 4: ADVERSARIAL (if complexity >= 7)

ralph adversarial "Design review"

Step 8: RETROSPECTIVE (Mandatory)

ralph retrospective

Save learnings to memory:

ralph memvid save "Implemented OAuth2 successfully: [pattern details]"
ralph memvid save "AVOID: [error pattern] caused [issue]"

-> VERIFIED_DONE

Model Routing

GLM-5 Teams Integration (--with-glm5)

When $ARGUMENTS contains --with-glm5:

Step 1: Parse Arguments

TASK=<everything before --with-glm5>
USE_GLM5=true

Step 2: Spawn GLM-5 Teammates

# GLM-5 Coder
.claude/scripts/glm5-teammate.sh "glm5-coder" "$CODER_TASK" "$TASK_ID-coder"

# GLM-5 Reviewer
.claude/scripts/glm5-teammate.sh "glm5-reviewer" "$REVIEW_TASK" "$TASK_ID-reviewer"

# GLM-5 Tester
.claude/scripts/glm5-teammate.sh "glm5-tester" "$TEST_TASK" "$TASK_ID-tester"

Step 3: Wait for Completion

cat .ralph/teammates/$TASK_ID-*/status.json

Step 4: Aggregate Results

• Collect outputs from .ralph/reasoning/
• Show thinking process for transparency
• Apply quality gates

Available Teammates

Anti-Patterns

• Never start without smart memory search
• Never skip clarification
• Never use model: "haiku" for subagents
• Never skip retrospective
• Never attempt more than 3 fixes (3-Fix Rule)
• Never block on consistency issues (quality over consistency)
• Never ignore memory context (learn from history)

Completion Criteria

VERIFIED_DONE requires ALL:

1. Smart Memory Search complete
2. Task classified (3 dimensions)
3. MUST_HAVE questions answered
4. Plan approved
5. Implementation complete
6. CORRECTNESS passed (blocking)
7. QUALITY passed (blocking)
8. Adversarial passed (if complexity >= 7)
9. Retrospective done + learnings saved to memory

CLI Commands

# Standard orchestration
ralph orch "task description"

# With GLM-5 teammates
ralph orch "task description" --with-glm5
ralph orch "complex feature" --with-glm5 --teammates coder,reviewer,tester

# Quality gates
ralph gates
ralph adversarial "spec"

# Memory
ralph memory-search "query"
ralph fork-suggest "Add authentication"

Related Skills

• /loop - Iterative execution until VERIFIED_DONE
• /gates - Quality validation gates
• /adversarial - Spec refinement
• /parallel - Parallel subagent execution
• /retrospective - Post-task analysis
• /clarify - Requirement clarification

Agent Teams Integration (v2.88)

Optimal Scenario: Integrated (Agent Teams + Custom Subagents)

This skill uses the INTEGRATED approach combining Agent Teams coordination with Custom Subagent specialization.

Why Scenario C for This Skill

• Multi-phase orchestration requires tight coordination across evaluate, clarify, plan, execute, validate phases
• Quality gates (TeammateIdle, TaskCompleted) are essential for VERIFIED_DONE guarantee
• Specialized ralph- agents* for different task types (coder, reviewer, tester, researcher)
• Shared task list for progress tracking and dependency management
• 10-step workflow benefits from both team coordination and agent specialization

Configuration

1. TeamCreate: Create team "orchestration-team-{timestamp}" on skill invocation
2. TaskCreate: Create tasks for each orchestration phase (evaluate, clarify, plan, execute, validate)
3. Spawn: Use ralph-coder, ralph-reviewer, ralph-tester, ralph-researcher as needed
4. Hooks: TeammateIdle + TaskCompleted for VERIFIED_DONE guarantee
5. Coordination: Shared task list at ~/.claude/tasks/{team}/

Workflow Pattern

TeamCreate(team_name, description)
  → TaskCreate(evaluate, clarify, classify, persist)
  → TaskCreate(plan-mode tasks)
  → Task(subagent_type="ralph-*", team_name) for execute phase
  → TaskUpdate(status="completed") as phases finish
  → Hooks validate quality at each stage
  → VERIFIED_DONE after retrospective

Ralph Agent Types (v2.88)

Note: All agents inherit their model from ~/.claude/settings.json via ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL environment variables (v2.88 model-agnostic architecture).

VERIFIED_DONE Pattern with Hooks

The orchestrator ensures VERIFIED_DONE through these critical hooks:

Exit 2 Behavior: When hooks return exit code 2, the agent continues working instead of completing/idling, ensuring continuous execution until VERIFIED_DONE.

Team Coordination Example

# 1. Create team (automatic on skill invocation)
TeamCreate:
  team_name: "orchestration-team-20250214"
  description: "Orchestrating feature implementation"

# 2. Create tasks for teammates
TaskCreate:
  subject: "Implement OAuth2 flow"
  description: "Add OAuth2 authentication with Google provider"
  metadata:
    assigned_to: "ralph-coder"
    priority: "high"

TaskCreate:
  subject: "Review OAuth2 implementation"
  description: "Security and quality review of OAuth2 code"
  metadata:
    assigned_to: "ralph-reviewer"
    depends_on: ["implement-oauth2-flow"]

TaskCreate:
  subject: "Test OAuth2 authentication"
  description: "Unit and integration tests for OAuth2"
  metadata:
    assigned_to: "ralph-tester"
    depends_on: ["implement-oauth2-flow"]

# 3. Spawn teammates for parallel execution
Task:
  subagent_type: "ralph-coder"
  team_name: "orchestration-team-20250214"

Task:
  subagent_type: "ralph-reviewer"
  team_name: "orchestration-team-20250214"

Task:
  subagent_type: "ralph-tester"
  team_name: "orchestration-team-20250214"

# 4. Monitor progress and aggregate results
TaskList:
  status: "in_progress"

# 5. Mark tasks complete
TaskUpdate:
  taskId: "1"
  status: "completed"

# 6. Delete team when VERIFIED_DONE
TeamDelete:
  team_name: "orchestration-team-20250214"

Quality Standards (All Ralph Agents)

1. CORRECTNESS: Syntax must be valid, logic must be sound
2. QUALITY: No console.log, no TODO/FIXME, proper types
3. SECURITY: No hardcoded secrets, proper input validation
4. CONSISTENCY: Follow project style guides

Communication Pattern

Teammates communicate via the shared task list and SendMessage tool:

SendMessage:
  type: "message"
  recipient: "ralph-reviewer"
  content: "OAuth2 implementation complete, ready for review"
  summary: "Implementation ready for review"

Action Reporting (v2.93.0)

El orchestrator genera reportes automáticos completos para garantiza trazabilidad:

Reporte Automático

Cuando /orchestrator completa, se genera automáticamente:

1. En la conversación de Claude: Reporte visible con todos los detalles
2. En el repositorio: docs/actions/orchestrator/{timestamp}.md
3. Metadatos JSON: .claude/metadata/actions/orchestrator/{timestamp}.json

Contenido del Reporte

Cada reporte incluye:

• ✅ Summary: Descripción de la tarea ejecutada
• ✅ Execution Details: Duración, iteraciones, archivos modificados
• ✅ Git State: Branch, commit, archivos cambiados
• ✅ Errors: Errores encontrados (si aplicable)
• ✅ Recommendations: Próximos pasos sugeridos

Generación Manual (Opcional)

Si necesitas control manual del reporte:

# Al inicio
source .claude/lib/action-report-lib.sh
start_action_report "orchestrator" "Implementing OAuth2 with Google"

# Durante ejecución
mark_iteration  # Cada iteración del loop
mark_file_modified "src/auth/oauth.ts"  # Cada archivo modificado
record_error "Type mismatch in config"  # Si hay errores

# Al completar
complete_action_report \
    "success" \
    "OAuth2 implementation completed" \
    "1. Run tests: npm test
     2. Security audit: /security src/
     3. Create PR: gh pr create"

Ver Reportes Anteriores

# Listar todos los reportes del orchestrator
ls -lt docs/actions/orchestrator/

# Ver el reporte más reciente
cat $(ls -t docs/actions/orchestrator/*.md | head -1)

# Buscar reportes fallidos
grep -l "Status: FAILED" docs/actions/orchestrator/*.md

Estadísticas

source .claude/lib/action-report-generator.sh
get_skill_stats "orchestrator"

# Output:
# Skill: orchestrator
# Total Reports: 45
# Completed: 42
# Failed: 3
# Success Rate: 93%

Integración con Hooks

El sistema de reportes del orchestrator se integra con:

Nota: Los reportes de acción (docs/actions/) son COMPLEMENTARIOS a los reportes de sesión (~/.ralph/reports/).

Referencias del Sistema de Reportes

• Action Reports System - Documentación completa
• action-report-lib.sh - Librería helper
• action-report-generator.sh - Generador

References

• Unified Architecture v2.87
• Skills/Commands Unification
• Claude Code Skills Documentation
• Claude Code Agent Teams Documentation