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automaton/tasks/multi-agent-support/IMPLEMENTATION.md
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v2.0: state enforcement, project scoping, harness integration
State Enforcement (v2.0):
- .state file as single source of truth for task phase
- Approval gates for research, decomposition, design, test_design
- status.py --transition refuses illegal phase transitions
- status.py --validate-folder detects out-of-order artifacts
- status.py --audit checks all tasks for violations
- status.py --create-task is the only valid way to create tasks
- Pre-v2.0 tasks without .state are UNTRACKED -- all commands refuse them
- New --upgrade command bootstraps .state files for existing tasks

Project Scoping:
- --project flag added to all status.py commands across 16+ files
- _find_project_dir errors instead of silently falling back to ~/.automaton/
- --scope-check marks framework files OUT_OF_SCOPE when working on a project
- Dashboard handlers use stored project_root instead of re-detecting from CWD
- Prompts reference ~/.automaton/scripts/vram_detect.py (not {project}/.automaton/)

Harness Integration:
- status.py --can-edit now supports project-level checks (no --task required)
- --can-edit --file checks file scope without --task
- --json output for machine-readable harness integration
- opencode plugin (plugins/automaton-guard/plugin.ts) intercepts edit/write
- Git pre-commit hook (scripts/git-hooks/pre-commit) blocks commits without task
- Formal integration contract (contracts/harness-integration.md)

Other:
- upgrade.sh delegates to status.py --upgrade instead of manual heuristics
- Phase prompts reference --project {project} for multi-project scoping
- 200 tests passing (14 new)
2026-06-15 14:16:46 -04:00

3.0 KiB

Implementation: Multi-Agent Support

Changes Made

1. Agent Configuration in .agent.md

Multi-agent mode is activated by adding an ## Agent Configuration section to .agent.md:

## Agent Configuration
Mode: multi-agent
Agents:
  - id: researcher
    phases: [research, decomposition, design, test_design]
  - id: implementer
    phases: [implement]
  - id: orchestrator
    phases: [new, complete, human_intervention]
    role: coordinator
Lock timeout: 30m

When this section is absent or Mode: single-agent (default), all multi-agent commands are no-ops.

2. Task claiming: --claim and --release

  • status.py --claim --task {name} --agent {id} creates .state.lock with agent ID, phase, claimed timestamp, and expiry
  • Atomic write (.state.lock.tmp → .state.lock)
  • Refuses if already claimed and not expired
  • Overclaims expired locks with warning
  • Validates agent is configured for the task's current phase
  • Default lock timeout: 30 minutes, configurable in .agent.md

3. Work discovery: --next-available and --available

  • --next-available --agent {id} returns the highest-priority unclaimed task matching the agent's allowed phases
  • Priority: tasks closest to completion first (referee > doc_review > ... > research > new)
  • --available --agent {id} lists all matching tasks
  • In single-agent mode, both return a message directing to --list

4. Single-agent zero-overhead guarantee

  • When no Agent Configuration exists, --claim, --release, --next-available, --available are no-ops or return guidance messages
  • No .state.lock files are created in single-agent mode
  • No performance overhead, no behavioral change from v1

5. Coordinator role

  • Agent with role: coordinator can:
    • Claim tasks on behalf of other agents (--claim --agent {target} --as-coordinator)
    • Force-release claims (--release --as-coordinator)
    • Force-transition (--transition {phase} --force)

6. Lock expiry and conflict resolution

  • Locks expire after configurable timeout (default 30 min)
  • Any agent can overclaim expired locks
  • Atomic lock writes prevent race conditions
  • Locks auto-release on complete and human_intervention transitions

7. Role binding in phase prompts

  • When multi-agent mode is active and --agent is provided, status.py --task includes agent-specific ALLOWED/FORBIDDEN sections
  • Phase prompts include ## Agent Role section when agent is role-bound
  • TASK_HANDOFF signal defined for when agent can't perform a required phase

Files Modified

  • scripts/status.py (multi-agent commands implemented)
  • tests/test_status.py (existing tests cover single-agent; multi-agent requires Agent Configuration to test)

Notes

  • Multi-agent is opt-in: zero config changes needed for single-agent usage
  • The phase prompt ## Agent Role section is documented in the multi-agent-support/SPEC.md but will be dynamically generated by status.py --task output when multi-agent is active
  • Dashboard integration for multi-agent status display is future work