Shared
Run parallel background sub-agents via the Task tool when Codex spawn_agent and Claude TeamCreate are unavailable.
Overview
shared is an agent skill most often used in Build (also Ship) that documents background Task spawning as the last-resort agentops path when native team and spawn APIs are missing.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/boshu2/agentops --skill sharedWhat is this skill?
- Documents Task(run_in_background=true) spawn patterns for council judges and swarm workers in one message for parallelis
- Last-resort fallback when TeamCreate and spawn_agent are not detected
- Explicit limitations: fire-and-forget, no inter-agent messaging, no debate mode, no retry, lossy TaskStop only
- Judges write verdicts to .agents/council/* paths as the sole output channel
- Pairs with agentops when native team APIs are missing
Adoption & trust: 761 installs on skills.sh; 384 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You need parallel council or swarm agents but your runtime only exposes Task with run_in_background, not TeamCreate or spawn_agent.
Who is it for?
Solo builders on Task-only hosts who still want council judge parallelism with filesystem verdict files.
Skip if: Teams that have TeamCreate or spawn_agent and need messaging, debate, or graceful agent shutdown.
When should I use this skill?
Task tool is available but TeamCreate and spawn_agent are not, and you need parallel background agents.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You spawn aligned background Task prompts in parallel and poll task_id while agents write structured outputs to .agents paths.
- Parallel Task spawn recipes
- Council verdict paths under .agents/council
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Agent orchestration sits in Build where solo builders wire multi-agent council and swarm patterns into their workflow. Concrete spawn-and-poll recipes for general-purpose background Task calls are agent-tooling, not generic backend code.
Where it fits
Spawn two council judges in one message to review an auth change before merge.
Run parallel background reviewers that only emit markdown verdicts under .agents/council.
Fallback orchestration when integrating a feature branch and native spawn APIs are unavailable.
How it compares
Operational fallback spec for Task polling—not a full multi-agent messaging framework.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is shared for?
Indie builders using boshu2/agentops who must run background general-purpose agents when only the Task tool is available.
When should I use shared?
During Build agent-tooling when wiring council judges or swarm workers, and during Ship review when you parallelize checks without native team APIs.
Is shared safe to install?
It describes spawning agents that write to your repo; review the Security Audits panel on this page and restrict .agents paths and prompts before running in production repos.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Shared
# Backend: Background Tasks (Fallback) Concrete tool calls for spawning agents using `Task(run_in_background=true)`. This is the **last-resort fallback** when neither Codex sub-agents nor Claude native teams are available. **When detected:** `Task` tool is available but `TeamCreate` and `spawn_agent` are not. **Limitations:** - Fire-and-forget — no messaging, no redirect, no scope adjustment - No inter-agent communication - No debate mode (R2 requires messaging) - No retry (must re-spawn from scratch) - No graceful shutdown (only `TaskStop`, which is lossy) --- ## Spawn: Background Agents Spawn agents with `Task(run_in_background=true)`. Each call returns a `task_id` for later polling. ### Council Judges ``` Task( subagent_type="general-purpose", run_in_background=true, prompt="You are judge-1.\n\nYour perspective: Correctness & Completeness\n\n<PACKET>\n...\n</PACKET>\n\nWrite your verdict to .agents/council/2026-02-17-auth-judge-1.md\nThis is your ONLY output channel — there is no messaging.", description="Council judge-1" ) # Returns: task_id="abc-123" Task( subagent_type="general-purpose", run_in_background=true, prompt="You are judge-error-paths.\n\nYour perspective: Error Paths & Edge Cases\n\n<PACKET>...</PACKET>\n\nWrite your verdict to .agents/council/2026-02-17-auth-judge-error-paths.md", description="Council judge-error-paths" ) # Returns: task_id="def-456" ``` Both `Task` calls go in the **same message** — they run in parallel. ### Swarm Workers ``` Task( subagent_type="general-purpose", run_in_background=true, prompt="You are worker-3.\n\nYour Assignment: Task #3: Add password hashing\n...\n\nWrite result to .agents/swarm/results/3.json\nDo NOT run git add/commit/push.", description="Swarm worker-3" ) ``` ### Research Explorers ``` Task( subagent_type="Explore", run_in_background=true, prompt="Thoroughly investigate: authentication patterns...\n\nWrite findings to .agents/research/2026-02-17-auth.md", description="Research explorer" ) ``` --- ## Wait: Poll for Completion Background tasks have no messaging. Poll with `TaskOutput`. ``` TaskOutput(task_id="abc-123", block=true, timeout=120000) TaskOutput(task_id="def-456", block=true, timeout=120000) ``` **Or non-blocking check:** ``` TaskOutput(task_id="abc-123", block=false, timeout=5000) ``` **After `TaskOutput` returns**, verify the agent wrote its result file: ``` Read(".agents/council/2026-02-17-auth-judge-1.md") ``` **Timeout behavior:** If `timeout` expires, `TaskOutput` returns with a timeout status — the agent may still be running. **Recovery:** 1. Check result file — agent may have written it but not finished cleanly 2. If result file exists → use it, `TaskStop` the agent 3. If no result file → agent failed silently. For council: proceed with N-1 verdicts, note in report. For swarm: add task back to retry queue, re-spawn a fresh agent. 4. Never assume `TaskOutput` completion means the result file was written — always verify **Fallback:** If background tasks fail despite detection, fall back to inline mode. See `backend-inline.md`. --- ## No Messaging Background tasks cannot receive messages. This means: - **No debate R2** — judges get one round only - **No retry** — if validation fails, re-spawn a new agent from scratch - **No scope adjustment** — the prompt is final at spawn time --- ## Cleanup Background tasks self-terminate when done. For stuck tasks: ``` TaskStop(task_id="abc-123") ``` This is lossy — partial work may be lost. --- ## Key Rules 1. **Filesystem is the only communication channel** — agents write files, lead reads files 2. **No messaging = no debate** — `--debate` is unavailable with this backend 3. **No retry = must re-spawn** — failed agents get a fresh `Task` call, not a message 4. **Always check result files** — `TaskOutput` completion doesn't guarantee the agent wrote its file 5. **Prefer native teams** — this backend is strictly inferior; use it only as last resort