shared

Shared References

This directory contains shared reference documents used by multiple skills:

• validation-contract.md - Verification requirements for accepting spawned work
• references/claude-code-latest-features.md - Claude Code feature contract (slash commands, agent isolation, hooks, settings)
• references/backend-claude-teams.md - Concrete examples for Claude native teams (TeamCreate + SendMessage)
• references/backend-codex-subagents.md - Concrete examples for Codex CLI and Codex sub-agents
• references/backend-background-tasks.md - Fallback: Task(run_in_background=true)
• references/backend-inline.md - Default single-agent mode (no spawn) — the baseline, not a degradation
• references/claude-cli-verified-commands.md - Verified Claude CLI command shapes and caveats
• references/codex-cli-verified-commands.md - Verified Codex CLI command shapes and caveats
• references/cli-command-failures-2026-02-26.md - Dated failure log and mitigations from live runs

These are not directly invocable skills. They are loaded by other skills (council, crank, swarm, research, implement) when needed.

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CLI Availability Pattern

All skills that reference external CLIs MUST degrade gracefully when those CLIs are absent.

Check Pattern

# Before using any external CLI, check availability
if command -v bd &>/dev/null; then
  # Full behavior with bd
else
  echo "Note: bd CLI not installed. Using plain text tracking."
  # Fallback: use TaskList, plain markdown, or skip
fi

Fallback Table

Capability	When Missing	Fallback Behavior
bd	Issue tracking unavailable	Use TaskList for tracking. Note "install bd for persistent issue tracking"
ao	Knowledge flywheel unavailable	Write learnings to .agents/learnings/ directly. Skip flywheel metrics
out-of-session substrate (ntm / ao agent)	Always-on orchestration unavailable	Run the loop in-session (/rpi, /evolve). A substrate (an NTM tmux swarm or managed-agents via ao agent) only adds always-on dispatch of whole ao rpi//evolve loops — see agent-native and docs/3.0.md
gt	Workspace management unavailable	Work in current directory. Skip convoy/sling operations
gh	PR/CI automation unavailable	Open PRs via the web UI; skip automated PR status/merge steps
go	Build-from-source unavailable	Install a prebuilt ao (Homebrew / install script / release binary); no Go needed
codex	CLI missing or model unavailable	Fall back to runtime-native agents. Council pre-flight checks CLI presence (which codex) and model availability for --mixed mode.
cass	Session search unavailable	Skip transcript search. Note "install cass for session history"
jq	JSON parsing unavailable	Read --json output manually or use non-JSON output modes
rg (ripgrep)	Fast search unavailable	Fall back to grep / git grep (slower)
Model tier config	.agentops/config.yaml missing	Use built-in defaults (quality=opus, balanced=sonnet, budget=haiku). Tier resolution falls through to "balanced".

Full per-tool purpose, required-vs-optional, and fallback detail: docs/dependencies.md. The README "Requirements" section summarizes; this doc page is the canonical detail.

Required Multi-Agent Capabilities

Council, swarm, and crank require a runtime that provides these capabilities. If a capability is missing, the corresponding feature degrades.

Capability	What it does	If missing
Spawn subagent	Create a parallel agent with a prompt	Cannot run multi-agent. Fall back to --quick (inline single-agent).
Agent-to-agent messaging	Send a message to a specific agent	No debate R2. Workers run fire-and-forget.
Broadcast	Message all agents at once	Per-agent messaging fallback.
Graceful shutdown	Request an agent to terminate	Agents terminate on their own when done.
Shared task list	Agents see shared work state	Lead tracks manually.

Every runtime maps these capabilities to its own API. Skills describe WHAT to do, not WHICH tool to call.

After detecting your backend (see Backend Detection below), load the matching reference for concrete tool call examples:

Backend	Reference
Claude feature contract	skills/shared/references/claude-code-latest-features.md
Claude Native Teams	skills/shared/references/backend-claude-teams.md
Codex Sub-Agents / CLI	skills/shared/references/backend-codex-subagents.md
Background Tasks (fallback)	skills/shared/references/backend-background-tasks.md
Inline (no spawn)	skills/shared/references/backend-inline.md

Backend Detection

Use capability detection at runtime, not hardcoded tool names. The same skill must work across any agent harness that provides multi-agent primitives. If no multi-agent capability is detected, degrade to single-agent inline mode (--quick).

Selection policy (NTM > runtime-native > beads floor):

Global opt-out first: if AGENTOPS_ORCHESTRATION=off is set, skip all spawn backends and degrade to the beads floor (single-agent inline / --quick; workers' work is tracked through bd). This mirrors the AGENTOPS_HOOKS_DISABLED=1 convention. Otherwise, select in this order:

1. NTM (top tier). If ntm is on PATH, capability-probe it with ntm --robot-capabilities. When the probe confirms multi-agent primitives, use NTM as the primary backend.
2. Runtime-native. If NTM is unavailable: in a Claude session with TeamCreate/SendMessage, use Claude Native Teams; in a Codex session with spawn_agent, use Codex sub-agents. If both are technically available, pick the backend native to the current runtime unless the user explicitly requests mixed/cross-vendor execution. Only use background tasks when neither native backend is available.
3. Beads floor. If no multi-agent capability is detected, degrade to single-agent inline mode (--quick).

gc is NOT a selectable tier. AgentOps no longer references Gas City; out-of-session orchestration is delegated to a swappable substrate (NTM + MCP + managed-agents — see docs/3.0.md). Any residual gc-based dispatch prose in older swarm/crank reference files is historical only and is never selected.

Output-contract parity is unchanged across all tiers: workers write results to .agents/swarm/results/*.json, and the lead verifies-then-trusts those artifacts. This invariant holds whether the backend is NTM, a runtime-native team, or the beads floor.

Operation	Codex Sub-Agents	Claude Native Teams	OpenCode Subagents	Inline Fallback
Spawn	spawn_agent(message=...)	TeamCreate + Task(team_name=...)	task(subagent_type="general", prompt=...)	Execute inline
Spawn (read-only)	spawn_agent(message=...)	Task(subagent_type="Explore")	task(subagent_type="explore", prompt=...)	Execute inline
Wait	wait(ids=[...])	Completion via SendMessage	Task returns result directly	N/A
Retry/follow-up	send_input(id=..., message=...)	SendMessage(type="message", ...)	task(task_id="<prior>", prompt=...)	N/A
Cleanup	close_agent(id=...)	shutdown_request + TeamDelete()	None (sub-sessions auto-terminate)	N/A
Inter-agent messaging	send_input	SendMessage	Not available	N/A
Debate (R2)	Supported	Supported	Not supported (no messaging)	N/A

OpenCode limitations:

• No inter-agent messaging — workers run as independent sub-sessions
• No debate mode (--debate) — requires messaging between judges
• --quick (inline) mode works identically across all backends

Backend Capabilities Matrix

Prefer native teams over background tasks. Native teams provide messaging, redirect, and graceful shutdown. Background tasks are fire-and-forget with no steering — only a speedometer and emergency brake.

Capability	Codex Sub-Agents	Claude Native Teams	Background Tasks
Observe output	wait() result	SendMessage delivery	TaskOutput (tail)
Send message mid-flight	send_input	SendMessage	NO
Pause / resume	NO	Idle → wake via SendMessage	NO
Graceful stop	close_agent	shutdown_request	TaskStop (lossy)
Redirect to different task	send_input	SendMessage	NO
Adjust scope mid-flight	send_input	SendMessage	NO
File conflict prevention	Manual git worktree routing	Native isolation: worktree + lead-only commits	None
Process isolation	YES (sub-process)	Shared worktree	Shared worktree

When to use each:

Scenario	Backend
Quick parallel tasks, coordination needed	Claude Native Teams
Codex-specific execution	Codex Sub-Agents
No team APIs available (last resort)	Background Tasks

Skill Invocation Across Runtimes

Skills that chain to other skills (e.g., /rpi calls /research, /validate calls /council) MUST handle runtime differences:

Runtime	Tool	Behavior	Pattern
Claude Code	Skill(skill="X", args="...")	Executable — skill runs as a sub-invocation	Skill(skill="council", args="--quick validate recent")
Codex	N/A	Skills not available — inline the logic or skip	Check if Skill tool exists before calling
OpenCode	skill tool (read-only)	Load-only — returns <skill_content> blocks into context	Call skill(skill="council"), then follow the loaded instructions inline

OpenCode skill chaining rules:

1. Call the skill tool to load the target skill's content into context
2. Read and follow the loaded instructions directly — do NOT expect automatic execution
3. NEVER use slashcommand syntax (e.g., /council) in OpenCode — it triggers a command lookup, not skill loading
4. If the loaded skill references tools by Claude Code names, use OpenCode equivalents (see tool mapping below)

Cross-runtime tool mapping:

Claude Code	OpenCode	Notes
Task(subagent_type="...")	task(subagent_type="...")	Same semantics, different casing
Skill(skill="X")	skill tool (read-only)	Load content, then follow inline
AskUserQuestion	question	Same purpose, different name
TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList, TaskGet	todo	Task tracking (Claude uses 4 tools, OpenCode uses 1)
Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep	Same names	Identical across runtimes

Rules

1. Never crash — missing CLI = skip or fallback, not error
2. Always inform — tell the user what was skipped and how to enable it
3. Preserve core function — the skill's primary purpose must still work without optional CLIs
4. Progressive enhancement — CLIs add capabilities, their absence removes them cleanly

Reference Documents

• references/substring-rename-overreach.md — Pre-rename checklist for bulk sed across same-prefix concepts
• references/cross-harness-skill-parity.md — Knowledge parity beyond audit-codex-parity.sh; codex frontmatter strictness
• references/content-hash-cache.md
• references/compaction-signals.md
• references/backend-background-tasks.md
• references/backend-claude-teams.md
• references/backend-codex-subagents.md
• references/backend-inline.md
• references/claude-code-latest-features.md
• references/claude-cli-verified-commands.md
• references/codex-cli-verified-commands.md
• references/cli-command-failures-2026-02-26.md
• references/ralph-loop-contract.md
• references/orchestration-as-prompt.md
• references/stale-scope-validation.md — planning rule loaded by plan + pre-mortem: re-validate inherited scope against HEAD before acting on deferred beads or handoff docs.
• references/strict-delegation-contract.md — canonical contract loaded by /rpi, /discovery, /validate: strict sub-skill delegation is the default for top-level orchestrators.