Team Dispatch

Team Dispatch

Subagent dispatch arm. The PhaseSpec v1 contract is the only handoff format used between parent and child agents.

PhaseSpec v1 (the contract)

phase_id: <stable id, used as filename prefix and progress.md anchor>
parent_plan_ref: <pointer to task_plan.md#phase-N>
goal: <one sentence>
done_when:                       # testable exit criteria, no goalpost moving
  - <criterion 1>
  - <criterion 2>
inputs:
  files: [<read-only file refs>]
  memory_keys: [<keys for memory-layer recall>]
tools_allowed: [<list>]
tools_denied: [<list>]
budget:
  max_tool_calls: <int>
  max_wall_seconds: <int>
hitl_checkpoints: [<named checkpoint strings the child surfaces>]
return_contract:
  format: markdown+frontmatter
  fields: [summary, artifacts, open_questions, next_phase_hint]

Six load-bearing properties:

1. parent_plan_ref is a pointer (file path with anchor), not a copy of the phase text. The child reads the file itself. 2. done_when is testable. Without it, completion is hallucinatable. 3. tools_allowed and tools_denied map onto the Claude Code permission model and any other framework's permission story. 4. hitl_checkpoints are named strings the child surfaces by printing HITL_CHECKPOINT: <name> to stdout. 5. return_contract forces structured output. The child returns markdown with frontmatter; the parent parses it deterministically. 6. phase_id doubles as the filename prefix for any artifacts the child writes.

Available subagents

Each is defined as agents/<name>.md in this plugin.

Operation: /mddesign:team dispatch <phase_id> [--agent <name>]

Step 1: Resolve the phase

• Read task_plan.md.
• Find the section header matching phase_id (case-insensitive).
• If not found, refuse.

Step 2: Pick the subagent

• If --agent <name> was passed, use it.
• Else infer from the phase: phases with "design", "ui", "tokens" in the title default to design-archeologist if /mddesign:harvest-shaped, else executor. All others default to executor.

Step 3: Build the PhaseSpec

• Pull goal from the phase title or first bullet.
• Pull done_when from the phase's "Status / Done When / Acceptance" section if it exists, else infer from the bullets and ask the user to confirm.
• Set inputs.files to [task_plan.md, findings.md] plus any files the phase mentions.
• Set tools_allowed to a sensible subset based on the phase (default: Read Write Edit Bash Glob Grep).
• Set budget defaults: max_tool_calls: 80, max_wall_seconds: 600.
• Set hitl_checkpoints to [before_commit, before_destructive_edit] plus phase-specific ones.

Step 4: HITL gate before dispatch

• Print the full PhaseSpec to the user.
• The PreToolUse hook intercepts the next Agent tool invocation (named checkpoint: before_subagent_dispatch) and requires approval.

Step 5: Dispatch

• Call the Agent tool with subagent_type: <chosen subagent> and a prompt that contains:
• The full PhaseSpec YAML
• Plain-English instruction: "You are running PhaseSpec phase-<id>. Read every file in inputs.files. Do the work. Return a markdown document with the four fields in return_contract. If you hit any hitl_checkpoint, print HITL_CHECKPOINT: <name> and stop."

Step 6: Receive the return, validate

• Parse the subagent's final message.
• Verify it has the four required fields (summary, artifacts, open_questions, next_phase_hint).
• If invalid, log the failure and surface to user.

Step 7: Write to progress.md

Append under ### Phase <phase_id> Result:

### Phase <phase_id> Result

**Subagent:** <name>
**Status:** complete | partial | blocked
**Wall time:** <seconds>
**Tool calls used:** <int>

#### Summary
<from return.summary>

#### Artifacts
<from return.artifacts>

#### Open questions
<from return.open_questions>

#### Next phase hint
<from return.next_phase_hint>

Step 8: Optional review

• If auto-approve mode is on, dispatch reviewer with the executor's return + the PhaseSpec.
• If reviewer says approve, mark phase as complete in progress.md.
• If reject, append the reason to progress.md and surface to user.
• If escalate, halt and ask user.

Core rules

• Subagents never edit task_plan.md directly. Only this skill writes to progress.md, and only under ### Phase <id> Result.
• The PhaseSpec is the entire handoff. Subagents do not see the parent conversation.
• Markdown on disk is the shared state. No in-memory shared store across agents.
• Every dispatch goes through the before_subagent_dispatch HITL gate.