conductor

# Conductor: Multi-Agent Orchestration Protocol

Conductor coordinates multiple Claude Code instances working in parallel. It prevents conflicts, enforces strategic alignment, and provides visibility into what each agent is doing.

## Quick Reference

```bash
/conductor start "task description" --project name --priority P1|P2|P3
/conductor status                    # Show all active instances
/conductor claim path/to/file.ts     # Lock files before editing
/conductor release                   # Release your file claims
/conductor done                      # Mark task complete, release all claims
/conductor align                     # Check task against north-stars
/conductor conflicts                 # Show any active conflicts
```

## Core Concepts

### The Problem

When running 3-5+ Claude instances simultaneously:
- **Conflicting changes**: Two agents edit the same file
- **Strategic drift**: Agents work on low-priority tasks
- **Lost visibility**: No idea what each instance is doing
- **Wasted effort**: Duplicate work or incompatible changes

### The Solution

A lightweight coordination protocol where:
1. Each agent **registers** when starting a task
2. Agents **claim files** before editing them
3. A **priority gate** rejects misaligned work
4. A **status dashboard** shows all activity

## How It Works

### Status File Location

Global coordination state lives at:
```
~/.conductor/
├── status.json      # Current state of all instances
├── history.jsonl    # Completed tasks log
└── conflicts.log    # Conflict history for learning
```

### Instance Lifecycle

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    INSTANCE LIFECYCLE                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│   /conductor start "Fix auth bug" --project pitchello      │
│          │                                                  │
│          ▼