next · git:20261001.8fea56e · 2026-10-01 · sha256 4d8dc80a53df3010
next git:20261001.8fea56eB
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--- description: The single next best action across the agent org — which agent to engage, on what, and why. Dependency-aware companion to /agents:status. Use /agents:next or /agents:next <scope>. disable-model-invocation: true allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash(date) argument-hint: [scope|all] --- # /agents:next — Next Best Action Recommend the **single next best action** across the whole org — which agent to engage, on what, and *why* — so the principal never has to guess where to go next. `/agents:status` shows the *whole board*; **next** picks the *one move*. ## Workspace Detection Glob for both `agents/*/context.md` (single-domain) and `agents/*/*/context.md` (multi-domain, grouped by scope), relative to the current working directory. Use whichever matches, or both if mixed. Directory names match case-insensitively. **Retired agents.** A `context.md` whose frontmatter has `status: retired` is hidden unless `$ARGUMENTS` is `all`. ## Procedure 1. Run `date` (for staleness + recency context). 2. Glob as above. For each agent read: - `context.md` frontmatter → `title`, `scope`. - `actions.md` → `Last reviewed`, and **every open item** with its **Action text, Owner, and Status**. 3. **Classify** each open item: - **Actionable now** — Status starts `Not started` or `In progress` (older trackers: is *not* blocked / gated / awaiting / holding), and the Owner is the agent or the principal (not "waiting on another agent or an external event"). - **Queued** — Status starts `Waiting on` or `Parked` (older trackers: reads blocked / gated / awaiting / holding), or the Action text says it waits on another item, an external event, or incoming evidence. Queued items are **not** candidates for "next." 4. **Score the actionable items by leverage**, reading the Action text for dependency cues — phrases like *unblocks, gates, blocks #N, head of chain, feeds, →, critical path, tracer bullet, next best action, then*. An item scores higher when it (a) sits on the **stated critical path** / is named the next step, and/or (b) **unblocks the most downstream work** (other agents' items depend on it). 5. Output a **decisive, single recommendation** — not a list: - **▶ Next:** *Go to **\<Agent>** — **\<action>** — because **\<why: critical path · unblocks X & Y · clears a blocker>**.* - **Then:** the 1–2 actions that come right after it (the chain), one line each. - **Correctly waiting (not your hands yet):** the top queued items + what each waits on — so the principal knows what's *deliberately* parked and doesn't chase it. - If two actions are genuinely co-equal, say so and give the tiebreak rather than hedging. 6. If a scope filter is given (e.g., `/agents:next Acme`), restrict to that scope. Heading: `# Next Best Action — <today's date>` (no hardcoded project name — keep it portable). End with one line: `Go: /agents:start <Agent> <action>`. **Judgment note:** this ranks from tracker text. For the nuanced calls (e.g. "queue this decision behind incoming evidence"), activating the **orchestrator** agent gives richer dependency-aware reasoning than the tracker text alone encodes.