git:20261017.2cbdbb2 to git:20261030.75d93d5

29 added, 52 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: staff-session

description: "PM-GATED, never from a subagent. Chatty-Workflow review for architecture calls."

allowed-tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Write", "Bash", "Glob", "Grep", "Workflow"]

argument-hint: "--mode plan|review --tier standard|full [--members \"the Staff Engineer,the Director of Engineering,...\"] <input>"

---

# Staff Session — Chatty-Workflow Planning and Review Driver

- There are no tasks or `blockedBy`. The EM scopes the work, selects the debaters, fires ONE background `Workflow`, and is **freed**; the

- Workflow runs the debate as rounds and synthesizes autonomously. Roles, models and counts:

- `pipelines/staff-session/team-protocol.md` § Roles. Doctrine:

- `coordinator/docs/wiki/dispatching-parallel-agents/chatty-workflows.md`.

+ The EM scopes the work, selects the debaters, fires ONE background `Workflow`, and is **freed**;

+ the Workflow runs the debate as rounds and synthesizes autonomously. Roles, models and counts:

+ `pipelines/staff-session/team-protocol.md` § Roles.

**Lightweight tier falls through to single-reviewer dispatch via `/review` (plan) or

`/review-code` (code) — no Workflow fired.**

- ## Arguments

- `$ARGUMENTS`:

- - `--mode plan|review` — required.

- - `--tier lightweight|standard|full` — required. `lightweight` → single-reviewer dispatch.

- `standard` = 2 debaters. `full` = 3-5 debaters.

- - `--members "persona-a,persona-b,..."` — optional override of auto-selection.

- - `<input>` — required. Plan mode: objectives document/text. Review mode: artifact path.

- ## Step 1 — Parse Arguments and Setup

+ ## Step 1 — Arguments and Setup

- Parse `--mode`, `--tier` (both required — fail with usage message if missing), `--members`

- (optional), remaining text as `<input>`.

+ `$ARGUMENTS`: `--mode plan|review` and `--tier lightweight|standard|full` (both required — fail

+ with usage message if missing; `standard` = 2 debaters, `full` = 3-5), optional `--members

+ "persona-a,..."` overriding auto-selection, and `<input>` (plan mode: objectives document/text;

+ review mode: artifact path).

Generate run ID (`YYYY-MM-DD-HHhMM`), spawn timestamp, topic slug from input. Create

- `docs/research/{run-id}-workdir/` (shared paper-trail convention with

- `/coordinator:research` — detail: wiki). Output path: plan mode →

- `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-{topic-slug}.md`; review mode →

- `state/review-findings/YYYY-MM-DD-{topic-slug}-staff-review.md`. Advisory path:

- `{scratch-dir}/advisory.md`.

- Announce: "Running `/staff-session --mode {mode} --tier {tier}` on '{topic}'."

+ `docs/research/{run-id}-workdir/`. Output path: plan mode → `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-{topic-slug}.md`; review

+ mode → `state/review-findings/YYYY-MM-DD-{topic-slug}-staff-review.md`. Advisory path:

+ `{scratch-dir}/advisory.md`. Announce: "Running `/staff-session --mode {mode} --tier {tier}` on '{topic}'."

## Step 2 — Tier Routing

**`--tier lightweight`:** do NOT fire a Workflow. Route to `/review` (plan artifacts) or

`/review-code` (code artifacts) with the specified member (default `the Staff Engineer`). Announce and

- **STOP — the rest of this command does not execute.**

- **`standard`/`full`:** fires the chatty Workflow. Continue to Step 3.

+ **STOP — the rest of this command does not execute.** `standard`/`full` → Step 3.

## Step 3 — Scope (EM Direct)

Write `{scratch-dir}/scope.md` per the template in `pipelines/staff-session/templates-and-fields.md`

§ Step 3. Plan mode: EM writes objectives and constraints only — never the plan. Review mode: EM

provides artifact path and focus areas only — never pre-formed findings.

## Step 4 — Select Debaters

`--members` specified → those exact slugs are the debater list. Not specified → match topic + scope

to a domain category (the one piece of genuine judgment this step retains). For `--tier full`,

judgment-select 1-3 additional personas and append to an explicit override list.

**Resolve the roster via the CLI, not a hand-maintained table:**

Shape W (rung 0) — ladder and shapes: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`.

`& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\staff-session-assemble.exe" --session-mode <plan|review> (--domain-signal "<category>" | --slug <slug> [--slug <slug> ...]) --json`

- Returns `{personas: [{slug, agent_file, subagent_type}, ...], narration, source}`. Fails loud

- (usage exit) on an unresolvable domain signal, unknown slug, or `the Director of Engineering` as a debater — surface that

- error to the PM verbatim. `the Director of Engineering` is never a valid debater slug — fixed synthesizer identity

- (`coordinator:eng-director`), the Workflow's synthesizer stage in Step 6. Resolver mechanics: wiki.

- Debater count: `standard` = 2 (default pair), `full` = 3-5 (default pair + judgment-selected

- additions).

+ Returns `{personas: [{slug, agent_file, subagent_type}, ...], narration, source}`. Fails loud on an

+ unresolvable domain signal, unknown slug, or `the Director of Engineering` as a debater — surface that error to the PM

+ verbatim. `the Director of Engineering` is never a debater slug — fixed synthesizer identity (`coordinator:eng-director`,

+ Step 6). Resolver mechanics: wiki. Debater count: `standard` = 2 (default pair), `full` = 3-5.

Announce the resolved `personas[].slug` debaters plus the staff synthesizer to the PM before firing.

## Step 5 — Fill Prompts

- Prompt templates are not filled by hand: `staff-session.manifest.yaml` names them and the Workflow

- reads per-run values from `scope.md`. Complete `{scratch-dir}/scope.md` with the run fields, the output and advisory paths,

- and the Roster table from Step 4's `personas[]` (`slug`, `subagent_type` as `agent_type`,

- persona name, perspective, `agent_file`) — see `pipelines/staff-session/templates-and-fields.md`

- § Template vocabulary and the brief. Create `{scratch-dir}/mail/`.

+ Templates are not filled by hand: `staff-session.manifest.yaml` names them and the Workflow reads

+ per-run values from `scope.md`. Complete `{scratch-dir}/scope.md` with the run fields, the output

+ and advisory paths, and the Roster table from Step 4's `personas[]` (`slug`, `subagent_type` as

+ `agent_type`, persona name, perspective, `agent_file`) — see

+ `pipelines/staff-session/templates-and-fields.md` § Template vocabulary and the brief. Create

+ `{scratch-dir}/mail/`.

## Step 6 — Fire the Workflow

- Emit the Workflow from the manifest; the EM supplies the brief and roster, never a script. CLI

- resolved per `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md` (Shape W, rung 0, on a

- PowerShell host: `& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\emit-dispatch-workflow.exe" --pipeline

- staff-session ...` with the same flags):

+ The EM supplies the brief and roster, never a script; CLI resolved per

+ `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md` (on PowerShell: `& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\emit-dispatch-workflow.exe"` with the same flags):

${COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME:-${CLAUDE_HOME:-$HOME}/.coordinator-claude-settings}/bin/emit-dispatch-workflow --pipeline staff-session --brief {scratch-dir}/scope.md --flag mode=<plan|review> --list roster=<slug>=<agent_type>,<slug>=<agent_type>,... --out {scratch-dir}/staff-session.workflow.mjs

- `--list roster` carries one `slug=agent_type` per debater from the Roster table (`agent_type` is

- Step 4's `subagent_type`, never hardcoded — game-dev personas use `game-dev:`); `--flag mode` is

- required. Fire the printed `Workflow` line as ONE background `Workflow`. The graph is

- `staff-session.manifest.yaml`: round 1 (all debaters in parallel), one rebuttal round for each

- debater with unread mail, then the synthesizer (`coordinator:eng-director`), the only output to

- the EM. Ordering is the manifest's `depends_on`.

+ `--list roster` carries one `slug=agent_type` per debater (`agent_type` is Step 4's

+ `subagent_type`, never hardcoded); `--flag mode` is required. Fire the printed `Workflow` line as

+ ONE background `Workflow`; the synthesizer (`coordinator:eng-director`) is the only output to the EM.

## Step 7 — EM Is Freed

- After firing, tell the PM the topic, debater names, and that you will be notified on completion.

- **You are now free to continue with the PM.** Do not poll, monitor, or message the agents — the

- script self-governs via `team-protocol.md`.

+ Tell the PM the topic, debater names, and that you will be notified on completion. **You are now

+ free to continue with the PM.** Do not poll, monitor, or message the agents.

## Step 8 — On Workflow Completion Notification

1. Read `{output-path}`; verify substantive content (not just headers/a stub).

2. Mode-specific verification: plan mode → `## Implementation Plan` section with

tasks/files/steps, and the marker `**Review:** Staff session ({participants}) — debated and

synthesized. Ready for enrichment.` present byte-exact (this line is the single authoritative

producer copy `enrich-and-review`'s gate matches against — never hand-type a second copy).

Review mode → findings structured with severities/persona attributions, `## Verdict` line

present.

3. Check for advisory: `test -f {scratch-dir}/advisory.md`; read if present.

4. Commit the output artifact, scoped to `{output-path}` (`git commit -m … -- {output-path}`), message `staff-session: {mode} —

{topic-slug}`. Then commit the paper trail as an explicit file list, not the whole workdir —

`{scratch-dir}/scope.md`, `*-position.md`, `synthesis.md`, and `advisory.md` when written — message

`staff-session: paper trail — {topic-slug}`; the archive op in item 5 cannot archive an

untracked workdir; detail: wiki.

5. Archive-and-cleanup: invoke `fleet.archive_paper_trail` with `run_id={run-id}`,

`topic_slug={topic-slug}`, `dry_run=false`. Moves `{scratch-dir}` to

`docs/research/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-{topic-slug}/`, lands one scoped commit, removes the source

tree. Safe no-op on re-run. Mechanics and CLI-trampoline caveat: wiki.

6. Present to PM: mode-specific framing ("ready for `/enrich-and-review`" / "synthesized

findings"), 2-3 bullet executive summary, output path, and — if advisory exists — a pointer to

the archived advisory.

## Error Handling

See `pipelines/staff-session/templates-and-fields.md` § Error Handling Matrix (debater crash,

synthesizer failure, Workflow refusal, non-convergence, unknown slug, missing output).