multi-model-orchestrator

Decompose. Execute. Synthesize.

A lightweight skill for coordinating work across multiple AI agents (Claude, Opus, Haiku, Codex, or any agent) using a single handoff document as the source of truth.

Why This Skill

Complex work often requires:

1. High-level planning — breaking down a big goal into concrete subtasks
2. Parallel execution — different agents handling different task types simultaneously
3. Feedback synthesis — collecting results and iterating intelligently
4. Full traceability — understanding who did what, why, and what changed

This skill provides the structure and templates to do this cleanly.

Operating Contract

Direct actions: create or update one handoff document as the source of truth, decompose the goal into executor-ready subtasks, assign explicit dependencies, record execution results, and synthesize feedback into next steps.

Escalate before: starting execution when the goal, constraints, executor choice, writable scope, or done criteria are ambiguous.

Evidence-backed pushback: reject unverified completion claims, vague agent outputs, missing acceptance criteria, or parallel assignments that touch shared writable files without explicit ordering.

Feedback loop: after each execution round, update the handoff with result, evidence, blockers, and next action before assigning follow-up work.

When to Use

✅ Use when:

• A single-agent conversation would be too long or unfocused
• You want to parallelize work across multiple specialized agents
• You need to decompose a vague goal into specific, executor-ready tasks
• You want to track decisions, changes, and feedback in one place
• You're exploring multiple approaches simultaneously (A/B/C branches)

❌ Don't use when:

• The task is simple and one agent can handle it end-to-end
• You don't need to track who did what
• Execution is strictly sequential with no parallelization
• The task is exploratory with no clear structure

Core Concepts

Handoff Document (Handoff)

A YAML file that serves as the single source of truth. It contains:

• Goal — what are we trying to accomplish?
• Subtasks — who does what, and what does success look like?
• Context — code references, prior decisions, constraints
• Execution Tracking — who executed, what was the result, what blockers?
• Feedback — iterations, changes, and learnings

Agent Roles

You choose which agents execute which subtasks. Examples:

Agent	Best For
Claude (or Fable)	Planning, decomposition, architecture review, high-level strategy
Opus	Complex reasoning, deep analysis, novel problem-solving
Haiku	Fast iteration, simple fixes, quick validation
Codex	Code generation, refactoring, technical implementation
Claude Code	Interactive development, running code, verification

The Loop

1. Define Goal
    ↓
2. Fable/Claude decomposes into Handoff subtasks
    ↓
3. You assign subtasks to agents
    ↓
4. Agents execute in parallel or sequence
    ↓
5. You record results in Handoff
    ↓
6. Review, iterate, or complete

Quick Start

The full five-step walkthrough with copy-paste templates lives in references/quick-start.md. Summary:

1. Create handoff — copy templates/handoff-template.yaml to .claude/handoffs/my-task.yaml.
2. Decompose — ask Fable/Claude to break the goal into 3-5 subtasks; paste into subtasks.
3. Execute — give each subtask's input to its assigned executor.
4. Record — append the result to execution.rounds.
5. Iterate or complete — update metadata.status toward complete.

Field-by-field reference: references/handoff-structure.md.

Complete Example

See references/add-auth-to-api.yaml for a real-world multi-agent execution walkthrough.

Using with Claude Code

1. Save your handoff to .claude/handoffs/task.yaml
2. Run: cat .claude/handoffs/task.yaml to load it in conversation
3. Ask Claude to execute a subtask
4. When done, update the handoff manually or using a script

For automation, see references/advanced-sync.md.

Using with Codex

Codex does not have handoff-specific subcommands. Use codex exec with a focused prompt that names the handoff file and the exact subtask:

codex exec "Read .claude/handoffs/task.yaml. Execute subtask task-1 only. Return the result, blockers, files changed, and verification evidence."

For decomposition:

codex exec "Read .claude/handoffs/task.yaml. Propose 3-5 YAML subtasks using goal.summary, goal.context, and goal.acceptance_criteria. Do not edit files."

Resources

• Templates: templates/handoff-template.yaml
• Real example: references/add-auth-to-api.yaml
• Detailed references:
  • references/quick-start.md — full five-step walkthrough with templates
  • references/handoff-structure.md — handoff YAML field reference
  • references/workflow-patterns.md — parallel / sequential / sync-point layouts
  • references/best-practices.md — high-signal subtask authoring
  • references/advanced-sync.md — optional handoff automation
  • references/faq.md — common questions
• Companion tools: Codex (code-focused multi-agent router), Claude Code (interactive execution)

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Status: Production ready · License: MIT