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📝 WalkthroughWalkthroughUpdated orchestration guidance requires capturing a Priority: ➖ Normal Merge Risk: 🔵 Low · up to Cleanup can fail for worktree paths containing spaces, leaving the checkout behind. Quoting the selector in all copies is a small, bounded fix. 🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5✅ Passed checks (5 passed)
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skill-guides/orchestration.mdsrc/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
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ℹ️ One accuracy note on where the worktree path comes from; otherwise a clean, well-scoped docs change.
Reviewed changes
- Worktree cleanup contract: after an accepted
worker_doneandworker-release, coordinators remove acreated_childworktree withorca worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --json, failing closed on keep/retain, user takeover,reused/current/pre-existing checkouts, unpushed local commits, orworktree rmerrors. - Bundled guide regeneration:
src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.tsregenerated soorca skills get orchestrationmatches.
I verified the load-bearing claims against source: worker-release only closes the terminal (orchestration-worker-release-completion.ts), --worktree new-child produces the created_child effect (orchestration-worker-topology.ts:158), worktree rm accepts --force + path: selectors (specs/core.ts:172), and --force skips the dirty-tree check without -D-deleting the branch (worktree-branch-removal.ts uses -d; the CLI never passes forceBranchDelete). Those are all accurate.
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ℹ️ The fail-closed tightening in these new commits is accurate; one minor point from the prior round remains open.
Reviewed changes
- Release-state gate: cleanup now requires a confirmed
releasedstate, and forbids removal after follow-up Dispatch transfer or when release isrelease_pending,release_unknown,retained, or otherwise unsuccessful. - Broadened fail-closed list: adds unsuccessful release, follow-up reuse, and unpushed-local-commit checks (
git status --porcelain,git rev-list --count @{upstream}..HEADnonzero, or no/unknown upstream) for every outcome.
I verified these against source: the states match WorkerReleaseReceipt (released / already_released / retained / release_pending / release_unknown), --force skips the dirty-tree check without -D-deleting the branch (worktree-branch-removal.ts; the CLI never passes forceBranchDelete), and the no-upstream @{upstream} edge case is accounted for. These are all correct.
The still-open point (prior inline thread) is unaffected by these commits: the guide still names terminal.worktreePath from worker-show as the path source, but after a successful worker-release the terminal is closed and worker-show returns terminal: null (orchestration-worker-control.ts:139 gates it on observation.exact), so that field is gone at the moment the new text directs the coordinator to read it. The worker-start receipt's created_child effect carries the worktree id (repoId::path), not a bare path. Capture the path before worker-release, or target worktree rm with id:<worktreeId>.
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Reviewed changes
- Worktree-path source corrected: the guide now directs coordinators to capture
<worktreePath>beforeworker-releasefrom theworker-startreceipt'screated_childeffect (path after::ineffects[].id, orresidualResourcesof kindworktree), replacing the prior instruction to readterminal.worktreePathfrom post-releaseworker-show. The regeneratedsrc/cli/bundled-skill-guides.tsmatches.
I verified the corrected claim against source: the created_child effect carries id: created.worktree.id (orchestration-worker-topology.ts:158), the worktree id is repoId::path (so the path after :: is correct), and residualResources retains that worktree effect via residualResources: effects (orchestration-worker-topology.ts:166) and residualWorkerEffects keeping created* actions (orchestration-worker-setup-gate.ts:9). This resolves the prior round's open point.
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- Rebased onto the split orchestration guide: the detailed "Worktree cleanup after release" section now lives in
references/recovery-and-cleanup.md, while the kernel keeps only the pre-release path capture and a pointer to the reference. The action-gate table row for the reference now names leftovercreated_child. - Regenerated artifacts:
src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.tswas regenerated to match, and theorchestration-skill-guidance.test.mjsreference assertions were retargeted at the reference file.
I re-verified the load-bearing claims against the current head: the generator verify exits clean, the two scoped test files pass (47 tests), worker-show's terminal is gated on observation.exact (worker-control.ts:73), the new-child → created_child effect and repoId::path id format hold, and worktree rm --force skips the dirty-tree check without -D-deleting the branch. The prior inline point (post-release terminal.worktreePath) was addressed at f50eeff and its thread is resolved.
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Rebase stablyai#18412 onto the split orchestration guide. Coordinators capture the child path from the worker-start receipt before worker-release, then run worktree rm after a confirmed release unless fail-closed. Fixes stablyai#18411
Rebase stablyai#18412 onto the split orchestration guide. Coordinators capture the child path from the worker-start receipt before worker-release, then run worktree rm after a confirmed release unless fail-closed. Fixes stablyai#18411
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skill-guides/orchestration.mdsrc/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
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| const ORCHESTRATION_FULL_MARKDOWN = "---\nname: orchestration\ndescription: >-\n Coordinate supervised Orca workers: threaded messages, blocking ask/reply,\n task dispatch, worker_done/escalation waits, task DAGs, decision gates,\n coordinator loops, and decomposing work across agents. Use `orca-cli` for full\n ownership handoffs — \"hand off\", \"handoff\", \"handover\", \"give this to another\n agent\", \"another worktree\" — unless asked to supervise, monitor, or coordinate\n a DAG, and for terminal control, lightweight terminal prompts, shell commands,\n Orca worktree management, and reading or waiting on terminals.\n---\n\n# Orca orchestration\n\nOrchestration is Orca's structured coordination layer. It records who owns work,\nwhich attempt is authoritative, and when supervised work has settled.\n\n## Outcome\n\n**Result:** every in-scope Task has one explicit outcome and every settled worker\nterminal has a next owner or cleanup decision. **Next consumer:** the user who\nrequested supervision. **Done:** all expected Dispatches have settled, every\ndelivered message was processed before acknowledgment, each settled worker was\nreused, explicitly retained, or released, and the turn ends only when the report\nto that user names, per Task, its outcome, the evidence behind it, and any\nunresolved blocker.\n\n**Safe failure:** preserve work and authority and report the state as unknown or\n`unverifiable`. Only positive proof of exit authorizes stop, abandon, or retry,\nand only an accepted settlement authorizes release. Every other observation,\nabsence included, is a checkpoint.\n\n## Classify the role\n\n| Current context | Role | Route |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| The user explicitly asks to supervise, monitor, wait for results, track completion, coordinate a DAG, use a decision gate, or manage ask/reply | Coordinator | Use the supervised loop below |\n| The current prompt contains a live injected preamble with Task and Dispatch IDs | Dispatched worker | Follow the preamble and the worker obligations below |\n| The user asks to hand off ownership or start another agent/worktree without supervision | Handoff owner | Use `orca-cli`; create no Run, Task, or Dispatch and do not monitor completion |\n| A message carries a legacy authority label | Compatibility operator | Load the legacy contract reference before any lifecycle mutation |\n| No live preamble and no explicit supervision | Ordinary terminal agent | Do not emit lifecycle messages; use `orca-cli` for terminal/worktree work |\n\nModel or effort selection does not make a handoff supervised. Never substitute a\nnon-Orca subagent tool when Orca orchestration provenance was requested.\n\n## Authority and safety floor\n\n- A Run is a durable namespace and coordinator inbox; it does not schedule or\n place workers. A Task is work. A Dispatch is one authoritative Task attempt.\n- Lifecycle authority comes from the active Dispatch, not a terminal title,\n copied ID, old database row, provider transcript, or visible pane.\n- Workers use the exact executable, handle, capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID\n in the live preamble. Never reconstruct, translate, or broaden those arguments.\n- After remote start, address the worker by Dispatch ID. The execution host owns\n process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup facts. Preserve the verdicts\n `live` / `unverifiable` / `exited`; contact loss is not process death.\n- Liveness is layered: `worker-list`'s `projection.liveness` is the fleet verdict\n for the agent; `worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only. A live\n terminal can still hold a dead or stuck agent.\n- Folder workspaces are valid; never require Git or assume a worktree.\n- Clients and remote servers update independently. Treat unknown optional fields\n as absent. A new stream operation requires advertised capability because old\n decoders may silently drop unknown opcodes. Never fall back to local execution\n when remote authority or capability is unproven.\n- Use the executable you used to run `skills get` for the entire run. In the\n examples below, replace `ORCA` with it; do not create a shell variable or run\n `ORCA` literally. If it fails, report that exact error instead of switching.\n- A successful `orchestration send` proves durable enqueue; its wake or nudge is\n best-effort attention only and does not prove the recipient read or accepted it.\n\n## Worker obligations\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. A dispatched worker must:\n\n1. Do only the current Task and use the preamble's `ask` command for a blocking\n coordinator question. Never open a local question TUI the coordinator cannot\n answer. Resume the same message ID after an ask timeout.\n2. Send heartbeats only at the cadence in the preamble. A heartbeat proves\n liveness, not completion.\n3. Read coordinator follow-ups at each natural checkpoint — before starting a\n new file, after a test run — and once more immediately before `worker_done`:\n `ORCA orchestration check --terminal <your_handle> --json`.\n4. Send `worker_done` exactly once, from the dispatched terminal, with a\n three-sentence executive summary, both lifecycle IDs, and explicit\n `--outcome succeeded` or `--outcome failed`. Never encode failure only in prose.\n5. Append `--files-modified` and `--report-path` only with real values when\n applicable. After `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle; do not poll\n or start new work.\n\nA direct user instruction after completion starts new user-owned work and takes\nprecedence over the idle rule. Do not reuse the settled lifecycle IDs.\n\n## Canonical supervised loop\n\nConfirm the runtime, bind one Run, and start the full independent wave before\nwaiting. `worker-start --spec` creates the Task and its attempt in one call:\n\n```text\nORCA status --json\nORCA orchestration run-create --objective \"<objective>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker A task>\" --worktree current --agent codex --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker B task>\" --worktree current --agent claude --json\nORCA orchestration check --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nIf `worker-start` exits non-zero, do not relaunch. Read the receipt's\n`failedStage` and `residualResources`, then load\n`references/recovery-and-cleanup.md`.\n\nUse `task-create` plus `worker-start --task <task_id>` for planned fan-out with\ndependencies or a retry of a known Task. Use dependencies only for real ordering\nand prefer parallel waves over chains deeper than three or four steps; nested\nworkers obey the depth limit, and a new Run does not reset the caller's depth.\n\nA consuming `check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>`, never `--from`;\nomit it inside the coordinator's own Orca terminal. It returns the bound Run's\noldest FIFO Delivery and replays that batch until acknowledged. Process every\nmessage: reply to questions, validate each `worker_done` against the expected\nactive Dispatch, and decide each settled terminal's next owner before the ack:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration reply --id <message_id> --body \"<answer>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration check --ack <delivery_id> --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nKeep waiting until every expected Dispatch settles. A timeout or empty result is\na checkpoint, not a failure. Do not stop, retry, release, or launch a duplicate\neditor without the positive proof `## Outcome` requires.\n\nAfter three consecutive empty waits, stop waiting blindly and enumerate with\n`ORCA orchestration worker-list --include-remote --json` (defaults to the bound\nRun; `--run <run_id>` overrides; the receipt's `scope` names which), acting on\neach row's `projection.attention` categories, `projection.attention.requiresAction`, and literal `projection.nextAction` argv.\nRows come newest first and page at 100: while `page.hasMore`, follow `page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>`.\nA `none` `nextAction` has no argv to run: read `liveness.reason` and keep waiting\nwith `check --wait`. Absence never earns an argv; settlement and pending work still do.\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Then load `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and choose\n`worker-stop` or `worker-abandon` explicitly. `unverifiable` is absence,\nincluding when `worker-show` reports `agentWait` null. Absence never authorizes\nstop, abandon, retry, or release; keep waiting or inspect.\n\n`worker-start` is the normal path, composing placement, terminal readiness,\nprompt injection, and supervised resource ownership. `dispatch --inject` leaves\nan operator-created process unsupervised and is only for an expressiveness gap.\n\n## Task-spec contract\n\nEvery Task spec must be self-contained and name:\n\n- **Target:** the files, component, or environment in scope.\n- **Change:** the concrete result to produce.\n- **Constraints:** invariants, compatibility rules, and do-not-touch boundaries.\n- **Ownership:** what this worker may edit and any coordination boundary.\n- **Observable acceptance:** the test, output, or evidence that proves completion.\n\n## Completion accounting\n\nAfter an accepted success or failure report, immediately do exactly one:\n\n1. Reuse the same proven agent terminal for an immediate follow-up Dispatch.\n2. Record user-requested retention with `worker-retain`.\n3. Run `worker-release`.\n\nRelease is post-settlement cleanup, not cancellation. Only an accepted\nsettlement authorizes it; no other observation does. If release is uncertain,\nfollow its exact recovery receipt and never substitute `terminal close`.\n\nA valid `worker_done` settles the Task and Dispatch automatically; do not follow\nit with `task-update --status completed`. Enumerate the terminals still owing a\ndecision with `worker-list --run <run_id> --terminal-state reclaimable --json`,\nand do not end the coordinator turn until it returns none.\n\n## Conditional references\n\nThis compact guide is sufficient for the normal local loop. At an action gate\nbelow, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --reference references/<file>.md` and\nread only that document; `--references` lists the names. If the CLI rejects\n`--reference`, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --full` once instead: it\nreturns this exact kernel and every reference, so read only the named one. If an\nolder CLI rejects `--full`, keep this kernel's safety floor, use that command's\n`--help`, and never guess newer flags.\n\n| Action gate | Bundled reference |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |\n| Expanded DAG waves, launch model/effort, same-terminal reuse, or review ownership | `references/coordinator-loop.md` |\n| You are a dispatched worker and the live preamble does not answer your question, or `check` returned an error | `references/worker-contract.md` |\n| New worktree, exact workspace, SSH, WSL, or connected-server placement | `references/placement-and-remote.md` |\n| Inbox replay, follow-up messages, group addresses, or decision gates | `references/messaging-and-gates.md` |\n| Failed/stopped/unknown attempts, retry, stop, abandon, retain, or uncertain release | `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` |\n| Custom argv or terminal topology that `worker-start` cannot express | `references/low-level-topology.md` |\n| Any legacy label, adopted Run, compatibility receipt, or takeover | `references/legacy-contract-migration.md` |\n\nRetired scheduler commands are not aliases for Run creation. Recovery commands\nmust provide their exact next action; follow it with the same selected executable.\n\n---\n\n# Bundled references\n\nThese references belong to the version-matched guide above. Read only the documents named by its action gates.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/coordinator-loop.md -->\n\n# Coordinator loop\n\nLoad this reference for expanded DAG waves, per-invocation launch preferences,\nsame-terminal reuse, or review ownership. The compact guide remains the source\nof truth for the loop order and completion boundary.\n\n## Ready waves\n\nCreate independent Tasks before the first wait. Encode only real dependencies,\nthen use the ready view as external memory:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration task-create --spec \"<dependent work>\" --deps <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --ready --brief --json\n```\n\n`--brief` collapses whitespace and caps echoed specs at 160 characters;\n`spec_truncated` identifies shortened rows. Omit it when full specs are needed or\nwhen an older CLI rejects the flag. A nested worker must respect\n`nested_worker_depth_exceeded`; creating another Run does not reset depth.\n\n## Launch preferences\n\nFor a fresh Claude, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity, or Muse terminal, `--model`\naccepts an opaque provider model ID. Pass it only when the user named a model;\notherwise omit it so the worker inherits the user's configured agent default.\nAdd `--effort` only when that model supports it:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent claude --model opus --effort high --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent muse --model muse-spark-1.3 --json\n```\n\nOther agents, including `opencode`, reject `--model`; they run the model set in\ntheir own config, so a coordinator wanting a same-model opencode worker relies\non that config.\n\n`--effort` requires `--model`; neither option combines with `--terminal`. A\nconnected worker server must advertise launch-preference support before Orca\nforwards either field. Compare `launch.requested` with `launch.effective`; never\nclaim a model or effort from requested arguments alone.\n\n## Reuse after settlement\n\nChoose the terminal's next owner before acknowledging the Delivery. When the\nsame exact agent has immediate follow-up work, recover the proven handle and\ntransfer cleanup ownership to the new Dispatch:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <next_task_id> --terminal <agent_terminal_handle> --json\n```\n\nOtherwise explicitly retain or release the settled worker. Do not leave it live\nonly to inspect output; archived output remains available through `worker-read`.\n\n## Review ownership\n\nA review-only `worker_done` authorizes synthesis of findings, not coordinator\nfile edits. Dispatch or hand off fixes unless the user explicitly assigned them\nto the coordinator. If the user's plan names a next owner, post-review fixes and\nPR preparation remain with that owner; the coordinator routes and synthesizes.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/legacy-contract-migration.md -->\n\n# Legacy contract migration\n\nLoad this reference only for an authority label, adopted Run, compatibility or\nrecovery receipt, or explicit legacy takeover. A newly created attempt always\nuses the current grammar.\n\n## Authority labels\n\n- `[LEGACY COMPATIBILITY]` is live and attested. Run only the exact supported\n command printed with the message, using the same selected executable and\n arguments supplied by the original prompt.\n- `[LEGACY RECOVERY REPLAY — MAY HAVE BEEN SEEN]` is one bounded,\n at-least-once cutover replay. Process it idempotently and acknowledge only\n through the exact displayed guidance.\n- `[LEGACY READ-ONLY]` is inspection-only. It has no reply, acknowledgment, or\n lifecycle mutation.\n- An unlabeled current message uses the current guide and grammar.\n\nAn explicitly selected current Run, attested current binding, current Dispatch,\nor federated attachment takes precedence over legacy fallback. A retained\nadoption record alone does not grant mutation authority. If liveness, principal\nownership, capability, or the exact legacy contract is unproven, degrade to\nread-only inspection and never fall back to local execution.\n\nAdoption preserves the live agent process, PTY/session, terminal handle,\ntab/pane, worktree or folder workspace, Task, and Dispatch. It never restarts or\nreplaces the worker and never revives the retired scheduler. Loss of lifecycle\nauthority does not invalidate the existing process, assignment, or filesystem\nwork. Exact recovery may restore the same PTY once in its original inactive\nbackground tab; it must not spawn, write, signal, stop, switch, focus, split, or\ninject a terminal.\n\n## Compatibility recovery\n\nWhen a compatibility response returns structured next-step arguments, execute\nthose exact arguments with the same selected CLI executable. Do not translate\nfrom memory, broaden the recipient, or retry as a current mutation unless the\nreceipt explicitly authorizes it.\n\nA pending ask, reply, final Dispatch settlement, and consuming check have\ndurable recovery identities. Heartbeat and escalation remain at-least-once\nacross a manual contract-boundary retry. If an ask may already have been\nanswered, run the exact non-consuming recovery check printed by Orca before\ncreating any new question. Never guess among identical question threads.\n\nOn packaged Windows, a legacy ask uses a two-step commit/resume protocol. The\ninitial command commits the question, prints its exact\n`ask --resume <message_id>` command, and exits with launcher status `75`. Run\nthat exact resume after the launcher or update boundary. For an attested WSL\nlaunch, preserve the printed `orca-ide` executable and distro route. Older WSL\nworkers without launch proof remain lifecycle read-only even while their\nterminal and filesystem work continue.\n\n## Read-only inspection and takeover\n\nRead-only inspection does not consume mail:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-list --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id run_legacy_local --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --run <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration inbox --full --json\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <legacy_handle> --peek --format --json\nORCA terminal read --terminal <legacy_handle> --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <legacy_handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\n```\n\n`run_legacy_local` is an empty audit tombstone after adoption. Find the ordinary\nRun whose objective is `Recovered orchestration work from a contract update`.\n\nOnly when the original coordinator is unavailable or cannot prove retained\nauthority may a new live coordinator take over from its own terminal:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-use --id <adopted_run_id> --takeover-legacy --json\nORCA orchestration check --run <adopted_run_id> --json\n```\n\nTakeover binds the authenticated invoking terminal; `--from` cannot nominate\nanother coordinator. It fences only the old coordinator and moves pending mail\ninto current Run delivery. It preserves live workers, Tasks, Dispatches, processes, and files.\nNever take over while the original coordinator is actively coordinating.\n\nDo not launch a replacement editor merely because Orca updated or authority is\nunclear. Keep the original worker as the only editor until a stable handoff\npoint, then use a fresh current Dispatch in a conflict-free placement.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/low-level-topology.md -->\n\n# Low-level topology\n\nLoad this reference only when `worker-start` cannot express required custom argv\nor terminal topology. It is not the normal supervised loop and is never a full\nhandoff recipe.\n\n```text\nORCA terminal create --worktree active --title <task_name> --command \"<agent_command>\" --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\nORCA orchestration dispatch --task <task_id> --to <handle> --inject --json\n```\n\nWait for readiness only when startup could lose injected input. Prefer\nagent-first `worker-start` whenever its argv and topology are sufficient.\n\n`dispatch --inject` creates authoritative Task/Dispatch context but deliberately\nkeeps an operator-created process unsupervised: it creates no supervised worker\nresource row. `worker-show`, `worker-read`, and `worker-list` report the lane as\n`unsupervised`; `worker-stop` and `worker-abandon` do not close that process, and\nsettled retain/release take no process action.\n\nUse `worker-start --terminal <handle>` when lifecycle ownership of an existing\nagent terminal is required. Never imply that low-level dispatch retroactively\nowns a process, never use it to route around the nested-depth limit, and never\nuse it for an ownership handoff.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/messaging-and-gates.md -->\n\n# Messaging and gates\n\nLoad this reference for inbox replay, attempt-specific guidance, group\naddresses, blocking questions, or coordinator-managed DAG decisions.\n\nA successful `send` proves durable enqueue. Wake and nudge are best-effort\nattention only: neither proves the recipient read the message, began a turn, or\naccepted steering.\n\n## Coordinator delivery loop\n\n`check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>` and is the only verb that\nrejects `--from`. Omit `--terminal` inside an Orca terminal, where Orca resolves\nthe caller; pass it explicitly from anywhere else, including a dispatched\nworker reading coordinator follow-ups.\n\nA consuming coordinator `check` returns the bound Run's oldest FIFO Delivery,\nup to 50 messages, and replays that exact batch until acknowledged. Process\nevery row and required terminal ownership decision before `--ack`. Type filters\ndecide when a waiter wakes; they do not authorize skipping older actionable\nmail. A Delivery therefore always carries the whole FIFO batch whatever its\ntypes, and a `check` without `--wait` hands that batch over unfiltered.\n`--peek` and `--all` are read-only inspection, not progress through the\ncoordinator inbox.\n\nAn empty wait or timeout is a checkpoint. Continue rolling waits until every\nexpected Dispatch settles. Heartbeat or visible activity means alive, not done.\n\n## Addresses\n\nUse a stable Dispatch address for attempt-specific coordinator guidance:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\n```\n\nDo not substitute a remote terminal handle. Omit `--from` for ordinary\ncoordinator calls; a dispatched worker instead copies the exact `--from` and\ncapability arguments in its preamble. `check` is the exception: it identifies\nits caller with `--terminal`, never `--from`.\n\nGroup addresses include `@all`, `@idle`, `@claude`, `@codex`, `@opencode`,\n`@gemini`, `@droid`, `@grok`, `@cursor`, and `@worktree:<id>`. Every group but\n`@worktree:<id>` means the live Dispatches of the sender's own Run. Mail goes\nto each `dispatch:<id>` mailbox, except a worker coordinating a child Run\nreceives it in that `run:<id>` mailbox. A sender bound to no Run is refused;\n`--run` must match the group audience and never grants membership.\nA Run group excludes its owning coordinator; a worker raising a blocker sends\nto `run:<id>`. A worker that created its own Run addresses that Run's workers,\nnot its siblings. `@worktree:<id>` reaches matching workspace terminals,\nincluding coordinators. Use groups only for intentional fan-out status or\nquestions. `worker_done`, heartbeat, and other\nDispatch lifecycle messages never target groups.\n\n## Questions and gates\n\nA worker uses `ask`; its timeout leaves one durable question pending, which the\nworker resumes by message ID. The coordinator answers that message with `reply`.\n\nUse a gate only for a coordinator-owned Task-DAG decision:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration gate-create --task <task_id> --question \"<decision>\" --options <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration gate-resolve --id <gate_id> --resolution \"<choice>\" --json\nORCA orchestration gate-list --task <task_id> --json\n```\n\nPass `json_array` using the quoting rules of the active shell; do not copy POSIX\nsingle-quote syntax into PowerShell or `cmd.exe`.\n\nDo not create a gate merely to answer a worker's `ask`.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/placement-and-remote.md -->\n\n# Placement and remote execution\n\nLoad this reference before creating a new worktree or placing work through SSH,\nWSL, or another connected Orca server.\n\n## Placement choices\n\nA fresh worker means a fresh agent terminal, not a new Git worktree. Use the\ncurrent or an exact existing workspace by default. Create a worktree only when\nthe user requested one or a concrete checkout or filesystem conflict makes\nsharing unsafe.\n\n```text\n# Current workspace; setup is not rerun.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent codex --json\n\n# Stacked child worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-child --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n\n# Independent top-level worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-top-level --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nCurrent and exact existing workspaces create a fresh terminal unless\n`--terminal` is explicit. Folder workspaces are first-class; do not invoke Git\nor require worktree lineage when the selected workspace is a folder.\n\nRegister a folder workspace through project setup. `repo add --path <dir>`\nrequires a valid Git repository and rejects a plain directory:\n\n```text\nORCA project setup-existing-folder --project <project_id> --host <host_id> --path <abs_path> --kind folder --json\n```\n\nThen place work on the returned workspace with an exact selector. A worktree\nselector needs the full `<repo-id>::<path>` value Orca returned, passed as\n`id:<newFullWorktreeId>`; a bare repo id is not a worktree id. `new-child` and\n`new-top-level` are worktree creation and do not apply to a folder.\n\nNew worktrees use agent-first creation and run setup by default. Preserve the\nrepository's startup policy: `start-immediately` can report setup as `running`,\nwhile `wait-for-setup` gates prompt delivery on success. Orca lineage, Git base,\nfilesystem isolation, coordination parentage, UI grouping, and execution host\nare separate decisions.\n\n## Connected servers\n\nThe Run and Tasks remain authoritative on the current server. `--on` selects\nonly the worker's execution server and appears only on `worker-start`:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --on <environment> --worktree new-top-level --repo <exact_remote_repo_selector> --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nRemote `current` and `new-child` are invalid because they are ambiguous across\nservers. Use an exact discovered remote workspace, or `new-top-level` with an\nexact remote repository selector. After start, route every follow-up, read,\nstop, and cleanup by Dispatch ID; never repeat `--on` or substitute a remote\nterminal handle.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` reads local fleet state only; enumerate remote workers with\n`--include-remote` or every one of them reads `unverifiable`. Scope every list\nwith `--run <run_id>`: unscoped, it reports every Dispatch this runtime has\nrecorded, and the workers you are waiting on are lost in that history.\n\n## Execution-host and mixed-version floor\n\nThe execution host owns process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup\nfacts. Render only `live`, `unverifiable`, or `exited`. Connection loss, relay\nabsence, missing client inventory, or timeout yields `unverifiable`, never\nsynthetic exit and never a client-local substitute action.\n\nClients and servers update independently. Optional response fields may be\nabsent. Forward model/effort, transcript reads, cleanup, or another new remote\noperation only when the peer advertises the relevant capability; unknown stream\nopcodes can be silently dropped. A narrow unsupported response may degrade to a\ndocumented older path, but must not broaden the target or cross the execution\nboundary. Changing host-published content reaches old clients even without a\nwire-shape change, so preserve established semantics or negotiate the behavior.\n\nFor WSL, use the exact executable and arguments returned by Orca so the distro\nand packaged launcher remain bound. Do not translate a printed `orca-ide`\nrecovery command into a PATH-resolved local command.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/recovery-and-cleanup.md -->\n\n# Recovery and cleanup\n\nLoad this reference only after a failed/stopped/unknown attempt, explicit retry\ndecision, stop/abandon request, retention request, or uncertain release.\n\n| Proven state | Safe action |\n| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `ready` or active | Keep waiting; optionally read bounded output |\n| `failed` or `stopped` | Start a replacement with `--retry-of`; repeat placement explicitly |\n| `outcome_unknown` | Inspect, then choose `worker-stop` or explicit `worker-abandon` |\n| Accepted `worker_done` | Reuse, retain, or release |\n| Remote contact lost | Preserve `unverifiable`; do not stop or retry from absence alone |\n| `unverifiable` liveness | Keep waiting or inspect; never stop, abandon, retry, or release |\n| Proven `exited` agent | Enumerate with `worker-list`; follow its `nextAction` |\n\n## Inspect before acting\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` is the enumerating command and the authority on agent liveness:\neach row carries `projection.liveness`, `projection.attention.categories`,\n`projection.attention.requiresAction`, and a literal `projection.nextAction`\nargv to run. Always scope it with `--run <run_id>`; an unscoped list reports\nevery Dispatch this runtime has ever recorded and buries the live ones.\n`worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only, so a `live` terminal\nwhose agent died at a trust prompt still reads `live` there.\n\nWhen the two disagree, the fleet verdict decides — unless the fleet row is\n`unverifiable` for a reason that names a gap on this client rather than a fact\nabout the worker. `missing_status`, `host_unavailable`, and\n`capability_unsupported` are such gaps: the first means this runtime holds no\nstatus row, the second that it could not ask the execution host at all, and the\nthird that a stale peer answered but lacks the fleet-snapshot capability.\nAgainst any of them, a `worker-show` verdict sourced from the execution host is\nthe better evidence and outranks the row. Only `host_unavailable` is contact\nloss; the other two mean the host was never asked or answered without the\ncapability.\n\nThis never promotes absence. `unverifiable` from either command still authorizes\nnothing — only a positive `live` or `exited` verdict does.\n\nA worker started with `--on <environment>` reads `unverifiable` until you\nenumerate with `--include-remote`, which asks its execution host for the\nverdict. Rows come newest first and past 100 the response pages, so follow\n`page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>` until `page.hasMore` is false.\n\n## Stall needs positive evidence\n\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Only then choose `worker-stop` or `worker-abandon`.\n\n`unverifiable` is always absence — `missing_status`, `stale_status`,\n`restored_unconfirmed`, or a remote worker with no connection — and a null\n`agentWait` or an unchanged `worker-read` tail is that same absence seen again.\nAbsence never authorizes stop, abandon, retry, or release: keep waiting, or\ninspect until you hold one of the positive signals above. A `nextAction` that\nnames an inspecting command is asking for evidence, not for cleanup.\n\n`worker-read --source auto` uses a proven provider transcript when available and\notherwise returns bounded terminal output with a typed `fallbackReason`.\nContinue with its top-level cursor, which is pinned to that source. If Orca\nreports `source_changed`, restart without the old cursor. A bounded initial\ntranscript tail can return an EOF cursor that follows only newly appended records;\nread `contentComplete`, `clipping`, and `warnings` before assuming omitted older\nrecords are pageable. Never guess a provider session ID, transcript path, or\nremote terminal handle.\n\n## Was the mutation applied?\n\nWhen a mutation's response was lost and named no Dispatch, do not replay blind.\nEvery orchestration mutation accepts `--retry-request <id>`, which reuses one\noperation identity so Orca can replay, join, or recover it instead of starting a\nduplicate. Ask what happened first:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration request-show --request <request_id> --json\n```\n\n`completed` means the mutation already took effect; read its recorded receipt\ninstead of rerunning. `pending` means the original mutation is still running or\nOrca restarted before recording its outcome; replay the original command with\n`--retry-request <request_id>`. `absent` means this runtime holds no receipt\nunder your caller identity — that is not proof nothing happened, so inspect the\naffected Task, Dispatch, and terminal before deciding whether to retry.\n\nWhen a worker's terminal accepted input but the submit is unconfirmed, use\n`terminal send --wait-submit <seconds>`: it observes the accepted prompt for that\nlong and, on timeout, returns the input-accepted receipt without resending.\n\n## Refused starts\n\n`dispatch` and `worker-start` refuse the following preflight cases with a stable\n`error.code`; read it before choosing a recovery, and treat `error.data.nextSteps`\nas the exact recovery text. Older hosts may omit `data`, so treat every field as\noptional.\n\n| Code | Meaning | Recovery |\n| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `task_not_found` | No Task with that id, or not in the bound Run (`data.taskId`, `data.runId`) | Check `task-list --json`; create the Task with `task-create` if it does not exist |\n| `task_not_startable` | Task cannot start now: not `ready`, or invalid `--retry-of` (`data.status`, `data.unmetDependencies`, `data.retryOf`) | Wait for running dependencies with `check --wait`; retry or unblock failed ones; inspect `dispatch-show` if already dispatched |\n| `inject_rejected` | `--inject` refused because no recognized agent runs in the target (`data.terminal`, `data.reason`) | Start a recognized agent there or pick another terminal; or dispatch without `--inject` and use `terminal send` |\n| `runtime_error` | Any other failure, including a target terminal that already owns an active Dispatch | Read the message, inspect state, and do not retry unchanged |\n\n## Retry, stop, and abandon\n\nRetry only a positively proven failed or stopped attempt. Name the failed Task\nwith `--task`, since `--spec` creates a new one. Placement is never silently\ninherited:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --retry-of <dispatch_id> --worktree <explicit_placement> --agent <agent> --json\n```\n\nAfter three consecutive failures for one Task, its dispatch context\ncircuit-breaks and the Task is failed. Do not route around that boundary with a\nnew Run or an unrelated Dispatch.\n\nFor `outcome_unknown`, inspect first, then make an explicit choice:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-stop --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-abandon --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\n`worker-stop` closes only the exact proven supervised agent terminal. It never\ndeletes the worktree, setup terminal, configured tabs, or unrelated processes.\n`worker-abandon` fences orchestration while accepting that resources may remain\nlive; it performs no remote, process, or filesystem action.\n\n## Retain and release\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-retain --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\nRetain only when the user explicitly wants the settled terminal kept live.\nRelease works after succeeded and failed reports, archives readable output, and\ncloses only the exact terminal owned by that settled Dispatch. Replays may call\nrelease again safely. Reused, pre-existing, setup, coordinator, active,\nuser-taken-over, and unproven terminals are retained.\n\nA `worker-start` that failed before its agent was ready still owns the terminal\nit created. Its receipt names `worker-release`, and `worker-list` reports that\nrow as `reclaimable`; release it there rather than closing the terminal by hand.\n\nNever release because of timeout, TUI idle, heartbeat, status, question,\nescalation, or stale/rejected completion. If the receipt says `release_pending`\nor `release_unknown`, follow its exact recovery action. Never substitute\n`terminal close`.\n\n`orchestration reset` is destructive recovery. Do not run it during active\ncoordination unless the user explicitly abandons that state.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/worker-contract.md -->\n\n# Worker contract\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. Copy its command rather than\nreconstructing flags. In particular, preserve the exact executable, worker\nhandle, Dispatch capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID.\n\n## Heartbeat\n\nSend heartbeats only at the cadence required by the live preamble. Skip them\nwhile blocked inside `ask` or `check --wait`; those calls are liveness signals.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type heartbeat --subject \"alive\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --phase \"<investigating|implementing|reviewing|waiting>\"\n```\n\nUse typed lifecycle flags, not a hand-written JSON payload. A heartbeat proves\nliveness, never completion.\n\n## Ask and resume\n\nUse Orca `ask` whenever the coordinator must answer. Never open a local question\nTUI the coordinator cannot answer.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --question \"<question>\" --options \"<choice-a>,<choice-b>\" --timeout-ms 600000\n\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --resume <message_id> --timeout-ms 600000\n```\n\nA timeout or disconnect leaves the original question pending. Resume its\nmessage ID; do not create a duplicate question.\n\n## Reading coordinator follow-ups\n\nThe coordinator steers a running worker with `send --to dispatch:<id>`. That\nenqueue is durable but does not interrupt you, so nothing arrives unless you\nlook:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <worker_handle> --json\n```\n\nRun it at each natural checkpoint — before starting a new file, after a test\nrun — and once more immediately before `worker_done`, so a redirect or a\ncancellation lands before the Task settles. `check` names its caller with\n`--terminal`, never `--from`. Stop checking after `worker_done`.\n\nIf `check` returns `consumer_fenced`, this process no longer owns its Dispatch:\nthe Attempt was re-attached to another worker or settled without you. Stop, do\nnot send `worker_done`, and do not retry the check. An empty `check` never means\nyou were replaced; `consumer_fenced` is the only way you learn that.\n\n## Escalation\n\nEscalate only before completion and only when the coordinator must intervene:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type escalation --subject \"Blocked: <reason>\" --body \"<details>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id>\n```\n\n## Completion\n\nSend exactly one terminal report. `--body` is three sentences: what changed,\nwhat was found, and what remains. Use `--outcome failed` when the requested work\nis not complete; never hide failure in prose or silently exit.\n\nAppend `--files-modified` or `--report-path` only when applicable, using actual\npaths. Do not send documentation placeholders as metadata.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type worker_done --subject \"<short status>\" --body \"<three sentences: work, findings, remaining>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --outcome succeeded\n```\n\nAfter `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle. Do not poll, close your\nown terminal, or begin unrelated work. A later direct user instruction is new\nuser-owned work and must not reuse settled lifecycle IDs; a supervised follow-up\narrives with a fresh preamble and Task block.\n" | ||
| const ORCHESTRATION_FULL_MARKDOWN = "---\nname: orchestration\ndescription: >-\n Coordinate supervised Orca workers: threaded messages, blocking ask/reply,\n task dispatch, worker_done/escalation waits, task DAGs, decision gates,\n coordinator loops, and decomposing work across agents. Use `orca-cli` for full\n ownership handoffs — \"hand off\", \"handoff\", \"handover\", \"give this to another\n agent\", \"another worktree\" — unless asked to supervise, monitor, or coordinate\n a DAG, and for terminal control, lightweight terminal prompts, shell commands,\n Orca worktree management, and reading or waiting on terminals.\n---\n\n# Orca orchestration\n\nOrchestration is Orca's structured coordination layer. It records who owns work,\nwhich attempt is authoritative, and when supervised work has settled.\n\n## Outcome\n\n**Result:** every in-scope Task has one explicit outcome and every settled worker\nterminal has a next owner or cleanup decision. **Next consumer:** the user who\nrequested supervision. **Done:** all expected Dispatches have settled, every\ndelivered message was processed before acknowledgment, each settled worker was\nreused, explicitly retained, or released, and the turn ends only when the report\nto that user names, per Task, its outcome, the evidence behind it, and any\nunresolved blocker.\n\n**Safe failure:** preserve work and authority and report the state as unknown or\n`unverifiable`. Only positive proof of exit authorizes stop, abandon, or retry,\nand only an accepted settlement authorizes release. Every other observation,\nabsence included, is a checkpoint.\n\n## Classify the role\n\n| Current context | Role | Route |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| The user explicitly asks to supervise, monitor, wait for results, track completion, coordinate a DAG, use a decision gate, or manage ask/reply | Coordinator | Use the supervised loop below |\n| The current prompt contains a live injected preamble with Task and Dispatch IDs | Dispatched worker | Follow the preamble and the worker obligations below |\n| The user asks to hand off ownership or start another agent/worktree without supervision | Handoff owner | Use `orca-cli`; create no Run, Task, or Dispatch and do not monitor completion |\n| A message carries a legacy authority label | Compatibility operator | Load the legacy contract reference before any lifecycle mutation |\n| No live preamble and no explicit supervision | Ordinary terminal agent | Do not emit lifecycle messages; use `orca-cli` for terminal/worktree work |\n\nModel or effort selection does not make a handoff supervised. Never substitute a\nnon-Orca subagent tool when Orca orchestration provenance was requested.\n\n## Authority and safety floor\n\n- A Run is a durable namespace and coordinator inbox; it does not schedule or\n place workers. A Task is work. A Dispatch is one authoritative Task attempt.\n- Lifecycle authority comes from the active Dispatch, not a terminal title,\n copied ID, old database row, provider transcript, or visible pane.\n- Workers use the exact executable, handle, capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID\n in the live preamble. Never reconstruct, translate, or broaden those arguments.\n- After remote start, address the worker by Dispatch ID. The execution host owns\n process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup facts. Preserve the verdicts\n `live` / `unverifiable` / `exited`; contact loss is not process death.\n- Liveness is layered: `worker-list`'s `projection.liveness` is the fleet verdict\n for the agent; `worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only. A live\n terminal can still hold a dead or stuck agent.\n- Folder workspaces are valid; never require Git or assume a worktree.\n- Clients and remote servers update independently. Treat unknown optional fields\n as absent. A new stream operation requires advertised capability because old\n decoders may silently drop unknown opcodes. Never fall back to local execution\n when remote authority or capability is unproven.\n- Use the executable you used to run `skills get` for the entire run. In the\n examples below, replace `ORCA` with it; do not create a shell variable or run\n `ORCA` literally. If it fails, report that exact error instead of switching.\n- A successful `orchestration send` proves durable enqueue; its wake or nudge is\n best-effort attention only and does not prove the recipient read or accepted it.\n\n## Worker obligations\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. A dispatched worker must:\n\n1. Do only the current Task and use the preamble's `ask` command for a blocking\n coordinator question. Never open a local question TUI the coordinator cannot\n answer. Resume the same message ID after an ask timeout.\n2. Send heartbeats only at the cadence in the preamble. A heartbeat proves\n liveness, not completion.\n3. Read coordinator follow-ups at each natural checkpoint — before starting a\n new file, after a test run — and once more immediately before `worker_done`:\n `ORCA orchestration check --terminal <your_handle> --json`.\n4. Send `worker_done` exactly once, from the dispatched terminal, with a\n three-sentence executive summary, both lifecycle IDs, and explicit\n `--outcome succeeded` or `--outcome failed`. Never encode failure only in prose.\n5. Append `--files-modified` and `--report-path` only with real values when\n applicable. After `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle; do not poll\n or start new work.\n\nA direct user instruction after completion starts new user-owned work and takes\nprecedence over the idle rule. Do not reuse the settled lifecycle IDs.\n\n## Canonical supervised loop\n\nConfirm the runtime, bind one Run, and start the full independent wave before\nwaiting. `worker-start --spec` creates the Task and its attempt in one call:\n\n```text\nORCA status --json\nORCA orchestration run-create --objective \"<objective>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker A task>\" --worktree current --agent codex --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker B task>\" --worktree current --agent claude --json\nORCA orchestration check --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nIf `worker-start` exits non-zero, do not relaunch. Read the receipt's\n`failedStage` and `residualResources`, then load\n`references/recovery-and-cleanup.md`.\n\nUse `task-create` plus `worker-start --task <task_id>` for planned fan-out with\ndependencies or a retry of a known Task. Use dependencies only for real ordering\nand prefer parallel waves over chains deeper than three or four steps; nested\nworkers obey the depth limit, and a new Run does not reset the caller's depth.\n\nA consuming `check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>`, never `--from`;\nomit it inside the coordinator's own Orca terminal. It returns the bound Run's\noldest FIFO Delivery and replays that batch until acknowledged. Process every\nmessage: reply to questions, validate each `worker_done` against the expected\nactive Dispatch, and decide each settled terminal's next owner before the ack:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration reply --id <message_id> --body \"<answer>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration check --ack <delivery_id> --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nKeep waiting until every expected Dispatch settles. A timeout or empty result is\na checkpoint, not a failure. Do not stop, retry, release, or launch a duplicate\neditor without the positive proof `## Outcome` requires.\n\nAfter three consecutive empty waits, stop waiting blindly and enumerate with\n`ORCA orchestration worker-list --include-remote --json` (defaults to the bound\nRun; `--run <run_id>` overrides; the receipt's `scope` names which), acting on\neach row's `projection.attention` categories, `projection.attention.requiresAction`, and literal `projection.nextAction` argv.\nRows come newest first and page at 100: while `page.hasMore`, follow `page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>`.\nA `none` `nextAction` has no argv to run: read `liveness.reason` and keep waiting\nwith `check --wait`. Absence never earns an argv; settlement and pending work still do.\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Then load `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and choose\n`worker-stop` or `worker-abandon` explicitly. `unverifiable` is absence,\nincluding when `worker-show` reports `agentWait` null. Absence never authorizes\nstop, abandon, retry, or release; keep waiting or inspect.\n\n`worker-start` is the normal path, composing placement, terminal readiness,\nprompt injection, and supervised resource ownership. `dispatch --inject` leaves\nan operator-created process unsupervised and is only for an expressiveness gap.\n\n## Task-spec contract\n\nEvery Task spec must be self-contained and name:\n\n- **Target:** the files, component, or environment in scope.\n- **Change:** the concrete result to produce.\n- **Constraints:** invariants, compatibility rules, and do-not-touch boundaries.\n- **Ownership:** what this worker may edit and any coordination boundary.\n- **Observable acceptance:** the test, output, or evidence that proves completion.\n\n## Completion accounting\n\nAfter an accepted success or failure report, immediately do exactly one:\n\n1. Reuse the same proven agent terminal for an immediate follow-up Dispatch.\n2. Record user-requested retention with `worker-retain`.\n3. Run `worker-release`.\n\nRelease is post-settlement cleanup, not cancellation. Only an accepted\nsettlement authorizes it; no other observation does. If release is uncertain,\nfollow its exact recovery receipt and never substitute `terminal close`. If\n`worker-start` recorded `created_child`, capture `<worktreePath>` from that\nstart receipt **before** `worker-release`. After a confirmed released state,\nload `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and remove the leftover child unless\nfail-closed.\n\nA valid `worker_done` settles the Task and Dispatch automatically; do not follow\nit with `task-update --status completed`. Enumerate the terminals still owing a\ndecision with `worker-list --run <run_id> --terminal-state reclaimable --json`,\nand do not end the coordinator turn until it returns none.\n\n## Conditional references\n\nThis compact guide is sufficient for the normal local loop. At an action gate\nbelow, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --reference references/<file>.md` and\nread only that document; `--references` lists the names. If the CLI rejects\n`--reference`, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --full` once instead: it\nreturns this exact kernel and every reference, so read only the named one. If an\nolder CLI rejects `--full`, keep this kernel's safety floor, use that command's\n`--help`, and never guess newer flags.\n\n| Action gate | Bundled reference |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |\n| Expanded DAG waves, launch model/effort, same-terminal reuse, or review ownership | `references/coordinator-loop.md` |\n| You are a dispatched worker and the live preamble does not answer your question, or `check` returned an error | `references/worker-contract.md` |\n| New worktree, exact workspace, SSH, WSL, or connected-server placement | `references/placement-and-remote.md` |\n| Inbox replay, follow-up messages, group addresses, or decision gates | `references/messaging-and-gates.md` |\n| Failed/stopped/unknown attempts, retry, stop, abandon, retain, uncertain release, or leftover `created_child` | `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` |\n| Custom argv or terminal topology that `worker-start` cannot express | `references/low-level-topology.md` |\n| Any legacy label, adopted Run, compatibility receipt, or takeover | `references/legacy-contract-migration.md` |\n\nRetired scheduler commands are not aliases for Run creation. Recovery commands\nmust provide their exact next action; follow it with the same selected executable.\n\n---\n\n# Bundled references\n\nThese references belong to the version-matched guide above. Read only the documents named by its action gates.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/coordinator-loop.md -->\n\n# Coordinator loop\n\nLoad this reference for expanded DAG waves, per-invocation launch preferences,\nsame-terminal reuse, or review ownership. The compact guide remains the source\nof truth for the loop order and completion boundary.\n\n## Ready waves\n\nCreate independent Tasks before the first wait. Encode only real dependencies,\nthen use the ready view as external memory:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration task-create --spec \"<dependent work>\" --deps <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --ready --brief --json\n```\n\n`--brief` collapses whitespace and caps echoed specs at 160 characters;\n`spec_truncated` identifies shortened rows. Omit it when full specs are needed or\nwhen an older CLI rejects the flag. A nested worker must respect\n`nested_worker_depth_exceeded`; creating another Run does not reset depth.\n\n## Launch preferences\n\nFor a fresh Claude, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity, or Muse terminal, `--model`\naccepts an opaque provider model ID. Pass it only when the user named a model;\notherwise omit it so the worker inherits the user's configured agent default.\nAdd `--effort` only when that model supports it:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent claude --model opus --effort high --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent muse --model muse-spark-1.3 --json\n```\n\nOther agents, including `opencode`, reject `--model`; they run the model set in\ntheir own config, so a coordinator wanting a same-model opencode worker relies\non that config.\n\n`--effort` requires `--model`; neither option combines with `--terminal`. A\nconnected worker server must advertise launch-preference support before Orca\nforwards either field. Compare `launch.requested` with `launch.effective`; never\nclaim a model or effort from requested arguments alone.\n\n## Reuse after settlement\n\nChoose the terminal's next owner before acknowledging the Delivery. When the\nsame exact agent has immediate follow-up work, recover the proven handle and\ntransfer cleanup ownership to the new Dispatch:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <next_task_id> --terminal <agent_terminal_handle> --json\n```\n\nOtherwise explicitly retain or release the settled worker. Do not leave it live\nonly to inspect output; archived output remains available through `worker-read`.\n\n## Review ownership\n\nA review-only `worker_done` authorizes synthesis of findings, not coordinator\nfile edits. Dispatch or hand off fixes unless the user explicitly assigned them\nto the coordinator. If the user's plan names a next owner, post-review fixes and\nPR preparation remain with that owner; the coordinator routes and synthesizes.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/legacy-contract-migration.md -->\n\n# Legacy contract migration\n\nLoad this reference only for an authority label, adopted Run, compatibility or\nrecovery receipt, or explicit legacy takeover. A newly created attempt always\nuses the current grammar.\n\n## Authority labels\n\n- `[LEGACY COMPATIBILITY]` is live and attested. Run only the exact supported\n command printed with the message, using the same selected executable and\n arguments supplied by the original prompt.\n- `[LEGACY RECOVERY REPLAY — MAY HAVE BEEN SEEN]` is one bounded,\n at-least-once cutover replay. Process it idempotently and acknowledge only\n through the exact displayed guidance.\n- `[LEGACY READ-ONLY]` is inspection-only. It has no reply, acknowledgment, or\n lifecycle mutation.\n- An unlabeled current message uses the current guide and grammar.\n\nAn explicitly selected current Run, attested current binding, current Dispatch,\nor federated attachment takes precedence over legacy fallback. A retained\nadoption record alone does not grant mutation authority. If liveness, principal\nownership, capability, or the exact legacy contract is unproven, degrade to\nread-only inspection and never fall back to local execution.\n\nAdoption preserves the live agent process, PTY/session, terminal handle,\ntab/pane, worktree or folder workspace, Task, and Dispatch. It never restarts or\nreplaces the worker and never revives the retired scheduler. Loss of lifecycle\nauthority does not invalidate the existing process, assignment, or filesystem\nwork. Exact recovery may restore the same PTY once in its original inactive\nbackground tab; it must not spawn, write, signal, stop, switch, focus, split, or\ninject a terminal.\n\n## Compatibility recovery\n\nWhen a compatibility response returns structured next-step arguments, execute\nthose exact arguments with the same selected CLI executable. Do not translate\nfrom memory, broaden the recipient, or retry as a current mutation unless the\nreceipt explicitly authorizes it.\n\nA pending ask, reply, final Dispatch settlement, and consuming check have\ndurable recovery identities. Heartbeat and escalation remain at-least-once\nacross a manual contract-boundary retry. If an ask may already have been\nanswered, run the exact non-consuming recovery check printed by Orca before\ncreating any new question. Never guess among identical question threads.\n\nOn packaged Windows, a legacy ask uses a two-step commit/resume protocol. The\ninitial command commits the question, prints its exact\n`ask --resume <message_id>` command, and exits with launcher status `75`. Run\nthat exact resume after the launcher or update boundary. For an attested WSL\nlaunch, preserve the printed `orca-ide` executable and distro route. Older WSL\nworkers without launch proof remain lifecycle read-only even while their\nterminal and filesystem work continue.\n\n## Read-only inspection and takeover\n\nRead-only inspection does not consume mail:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-list --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id run_legacy_local --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --run <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration inbox --full --json\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <legacy_handle> --peek --format --json\nORCA terminal read --terminal <legacy_handle> --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <legacy_handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\n```\n\n`run_legacy_local` is an empty audit tombstone after adoption. Find the ordinary\nRun whose objective is `Recovered orchestration work from a contract update`.\n\nOnly when the original coordinator is unavailable or cannot prove retained\nauthority may a new live coordinator take over from its own terminal:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-use --id <adopted_run_id> --takeover-legacy --json\nORCA orchestration check --run <adopted_run_id> --json\n```\n\nTakeover binds the authenticated invoking terminal; `--from` cannot nominate\nanother coordinator. It fences only the old coordinator and moves pending mail\ninto current Run delivery. It preserves live workers, Tasks, Dispatches, processes, and files.\nNever take over while the original coordinator is actively coordinating.\n\nDo not launch a replacement editor merely because Orca updated or authority is\nunclear. Keep the original worker as the only editor until a stable handoff\npoint, then use a fresh current Dispatch in a conflict-free placement.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/low-level-topology.md -->\n\n# Low-level topology\n\nLoad this reference only when `worker-start` cannot express required custom argv\nor terminal topology. It is not the normal supervised loop and is never a full\nhandoff recipe.\n\n```text\nORCA terminal create --worktree active --title <task_name> --command \"<agent_command>\" --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\nORCA orchestration dispatch --task <task_id> --to <handle> --inject --json\n```\n\nWait for readiness only when startup could lose injected input. Prefer\nagent-first `worker-start` whenever its argv and topology are sufficient.\n\n`dispatch --inject` creates authoritative Task/Dispatch context but deliberately\nkeeps an operator-created process unsupervised: it creates no supervised worker\nresource row. `worker-show`, `worker-read`, and `worker-list` report the lane as\n`unsupervised`; `worker-stop` and `worker-abandon` do not close that process, and\nsettled retain/release take no process action.\n\nUse `worker-start --terminal <handle>` when lifecycle ownership of an existing\nagent terminal is required. Never imply that low-level dispatch retroactively\nowns a process, never use it to route around the nested-depth limit, and never\nuse it for an ownership handoff.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/messaging-and-gates.md -->\n\n# Messaging and gates\n\nLoad this reference for inbox replay, attempt-specific guidance, group\naddresses, blocking questions, or coordinator-managed DAG decisions.\n\nA successful `send` proves durable enqueue. Wake and nudge are best-effort\nattention only: neither proves the recipient read the message, began a turn, or\naccepted steering.\n\n## Coordinator delivery loop\n\n`check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>` and is the only verb that\nrejects `--from`. Omit `--terminal` inside an Orca terminal, where Orca resolves\nthe caller; pass it explicitly from anywhere else, including a dispatched\nworker reading coordinator follow-ups.\n\nA consuming coordinator `check` returns the bound Run's oldest FIFO Delivery,\nup to 50 messages, and replays that exact batch until acknowledged. Process\nevery row and required terminal ownership decision before `--ack`. Type filters\ndecide when a waiter wakes; they do not authorize skipping older actionable\nmail. A Delivery therefore always carries the whole FIFO batch whatever its\ntypes, and a `check` without `--wait` hands that batch over unfiltered.\n`--peek` and `--all` are read-only inspection, not progress through the\ncoordinator inbox.\n\nAn empty wait or timeout is a checkpoint. Continue rolling waits until every\nexpected Dispatch settles. Heartbeat or visible activity means alive, not done.\n\n## Addresses\n\nUse a stable Dispatch address for attempt-specific coordinator guidance:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\n```\n\nDo not substitute a remote terminal handle. Omit `--from` for ordinary\ncoordinator calls; a dispatched worker instead copies the exact `--from` and\ncapability arguments in its preamble. `check` is the exception: it identifies\nits caller with `--terminal`, never `--from`.\n\nGroup addresses include `@all`, `@idle`, `@claude`, `@codex`, `@opencode`,\n`@gemini`, `@droid`, `@grok`, `@cursor`, and `@worktree:<id>`. Every group but\n`@worktree:<id>` means the live Dispatches of the sender's own Run. Mail goes\nto each `dispatch:<id>` mailbox, except a worker coordinating a child Run\nreceives it in that `run:<id>` mailbox. A sender bound to no Run is refused;\n`--run` must match the group audience and never grants membership.\nA Run group excludes its owning coordinator; a worker raising a blocker sends\nto `run:<id>`. A worker that created its own Run addresses that Run's workers,\nnot its siblings. `@worktree:<id>` reaches matching workspace terminals,\nincluding coordinators. Use groups only for intentional fan-out status or\nquestions. `worker_done`, heartbeat, and other\nDispatch lifecycle messages never target groups.\n\n## Questions and gates\n\nA worker uses `ask`; its timeout leaves one durable question pending, which the\nworker resumes by message ID. The coordinator answers that message with `reply`.\n\nUse a gate only for a coordinator-owned Task-DAG decision:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration gate-create --task <task_id> --question \"<decision>\" --options <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration gate-resolve --id <gate_id> --resolution \"<choice>\" --json\nORCA orchestration gate-list --task <task_id> --json\n```\n\nPass `json_array` using the quoting rules of the active shell; do not copy POSIX\nsingle-quote syntax into PowerShell or `cmd.exe`.\n\nDo not create a gate merely to answer a worker's `ask`.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/placement-and-remote.md -->\n\n# Placement and remote execution\n\nLoad this reference before creating a new worktree or placing work through SSH,\nWSL, or another connected Orca server.\n\n## Placement choices\n\nA fresh worker means a fresh agent terminal, not a new Git worktree. Use the\ncurrent or an exact existing workspace by default. Create a worktree only when\nthe user requested one or a concrete checkout or filesystem conflict makes\nsharing unsafe.\n\n```text\n# Current workspace; setup is not rerun.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent codex --json\n\n# Stacked child worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-child --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n\n# Independent top-level worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-top-level --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nCurrent and exact existing workspaces create a fresh terminal unless\n`--terminal` is explicit. Folder workspaces are first-class; do not invoke Git\nor require worktree lineage when the selected workspace is a folder.\n\nRegister a folder workspace through project setup. `repo add --path <dir>`\nrequires a valid Git repository and rejects a plain directory:\n\n```text\nORCA project setup-existing-folder --project <project_id> --host <host_id> --path <abs_path> --kind folder --json\n```\n\nThen place work on the returned workspace with an exact selector. A worktree\nselector needs the full `<repo-id>::<path>` value Orca returned, passed as\n`id:<newFullWorktreeId>`; a bare repo id is not a worktree id. `new-child` and\n`new-top-level` are worktree creation and do not apply to a folder.\n\nNew worktrees use agent-first creation and run setup by default. Preserve the\nrepository's startup policy: `start-immediately` can report setup as `running`,\nwhile `wait-for-setup` gates prompt delivery on success. Orca lineage, Git base,\nfilesystem isolation, coordination parentage, UI grouping, and execution host\nare separate decisions.\n\n## Connected servers\n\nThe Run and Tasks remain authoritative on the current server. `--on` selects\nonly the worker's execution server and appears only on `worker-start`:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --on <environment> --worktree new-top-level --repo <exact_remote_repo_selector> --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nRemote `current` and `new-child` are invalid because they are ambiguous across\nservers. Use an exact discovered remote workspace, or `new-top-level` with an\nexact remote repository selector. After start, route every follow-up, read,\nstop, and cleanup by Dispatch ID; never repeat `--on` or substitute a remote\nterminal handle.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` reads local fleet state only; enumerate remote workers with\n`--include-remote` or every one of them reads `unverifiable`. Scope every list\nwith `--run <run_id>`: unscoped, it reports every Dispatch this runtime has\nrecorded, and the workers you are waiting on are lost in that history.\n\n## Execution-host and mixed-version floor\n\nThe execution host owns process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup\nfacts. Render only `live`, `unverifiable`, or `exited`. Connection loss, relay\nabsence, missing client inventory, or timeout yields `unverifiable`, never\nsynthetic exit and never a client-local substitute action.\n\nClients and servers update independently. Optional response fields may be\nabsent. Forward model/effort, transcript reads, cleanup, or another new remote\noperation only when the peer advertises the relevant capability; unknown stream\nopcodes can be silently dropped. A narrow unsupported response may degrade to a\ndocumented older path, but must not broaden the target or cross the execution\nboundary. Changing host-published content reaches old clients even without a\nwire-shape change, so preserve established semantics or negotiate the behavior.\n\nFor WSL, use the exact executable and arguments returned by Orca so the distro\nand packaged launcher remain bound. Do not translate a printed `orca-ide`\nrecovery command into a PATH-resolved local command.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/recovery-and-cleanup.md -->\n\n# Recovery and cleanup\n\nLoad this reference only after a failed/stopped/unknown attempt, explicit retry\ndecision, stop/abandon request, retention request, uncertain release, or a\nconfirmed `worker-release` of a leftover `created_child` worktree.\n\n| Proven state | Safe action |\n| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `ready` or active | Keep waiting; optionally read bounded output |\n| `failed` or `stopped` | Start a replacement with `--retry-of`; repeat placement explicitly |\n| `outcome_unknown` | Inspect, then choose `worker-stop` or explicit `worker-abandon` |\n| Accepted `worker_done` | Reuse, retain, or release |\n| Remote contact lost | Preserve `unverifiable`; do not stop or retry from absence alone |\n| `unverifiable` liveness | Keep waiting or inspect; never stop, abandon, retry, or release |\n| Proven `exited` agent | Enumerate with `worker-list`; follow its `nextAction` |\n\n## Inspect before acting\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` is the enumerating command and the authority on agent liveness:\neach row carries `projection.liveness`, `projection.attention.categories`,\n`projection.attention.requiresAction`, and a literal `projection.nextAction`\nargv to run. Always scope it with `--run <run_id>`; an unscoped list reports\nevery Dispatch this runtime has ever recorded and buries the live ones.\n`worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only, so a `live` terminal\nwhose agent died at a trust prompt still reads `live` there.\n\nWhen the two disagree, the fleet verdict decides — unless the fleet row is\n`unverifiable` for a reason that names a gap on this client rather than a fact\nabout the worker. `missing_status`, `host_unavailable`, and\n`capability_unsupported` are such gaps: the first means this runtime holds no\nstatus row, the second that it could not ask the execution host at all, and the\nthird that a stale peer answered but lacks the fleet-snapshot capability.\nAgainst any of them, a `worker-show` verdict sourced from the execution host is\nthe better evidence and outranks the row. Only `host_unavailable` is contact\nloss; the other two mean the host was never asked or answered without the\ncapability.\n\nThis never promotes absence. `unverifiable` from either command still authorizes\nnothing — only a positive `live` or `exited` verdict does.\n\nA worker started with `--on <environment>` reads `unverifiable` until you\nenumerate with `--include-remote`, which asks its execution host for the\nverdict. Rows come newest first and past 100 the response pages, so follow\n`page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>` until `page.hasMore` is false.\n\n## Stall needs positive evidence\n\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Only then choose `worker-stop` or `worker-abandon`.\n\n`unverifiable` is always absence — `missing_status`, `stale_status`,\n`restored_unconfirmed`, or a remote worker with no connection — and a null\n`agentWait` or an unchanged `worker-read` tail is that same absence seen again.\nAbsence never authorizes stop, abandon, retry, or release: keep waiting, or\ninspect until you hold one of the positive signals above. A `nextAction` that\nnames an inspecting command is asking for evidence, not for cleanup.\n\n`worker-read --source auto` uses a proven provider transcript when available and\notherwise returns bounded terminal output with a typed `fallbackReason`.\nContinue with its top-level cursor, which is pinned to that source. If Orca\nreports `source_changed`, restart without the old cursor. A bounded initial\ntranscript tail can return an EOF cursor that follows only newly appended records;\nread `contentComplete`, `clipping`, and `warnings` before assuming omitted older\nrecords are pageable. Never guess a provider session ID, transcript path, or\nremote terminal handle.\n\n## Was the mutation applied?\n\nWhen a mutation's response was lost and named no Dispatch, do not replay blind.\nEvery orchestration mutation accepts `--retry-request <id>`, which reuses one\noperation identity so Orca can replay, join, or recover it instead of starting a\nduplicate. Ask what happened first:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration request-show --request <request_id> --json\n```\n\n`completed` means the mutation already took effect; read its recorded receipt\ninstead of rerunning. `pending` means the original mutation is still running or\nOrca restarted before recording its outcome; replay the original command with\n`--retry-request <request_id>`. `absent` means this runtime holds no receipt\nunder your caller identity — that is not proof nothing happened, so inspect the\naffected Task, Dispatch, and terminal before deciding whether to retry.\n\nWhen a worker's terminal accepted input but the submit is unconfirmed, use\n`terminal send --wait-submit <seconds>`: it observes the accepted prompt for that\nlong and, on timeout, returns the input-accepted receipt without resending.\n\n## Refused starts\n\n`dispatch` and `worker-start` refuse the following preflight cases with a stable\n`error.code`; read it before choosing a recovery, and treat `error.data.nextSteps`\nas the exact recovery text. Older hosts may omit `data`, so treat every field as\noptional.\n\n| Code | Meaning | Recovery |\n| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `task_not_found` | No Task with that id, or not in the bound Run (`data.taskId`, `data.runId`) | Check `task-list --json`; create the Task with `task-create` if it does not exist |\n| `task_not_startable` | Task cannot start now: not `ready`, or invalid `--retry-of` (`data.status`, `data.unmetDependencies`, `data.retryOf`) | Wait for running dependencies with `check --wait`; retry or unblock failed ones; inspect `dispatch-show` if already dispatched |\n| `inject_rejected` | `--inject` refused because no recognized agent runs in the target (`data.terminal`, `data.reason`) | Start a recognized agent there or pick another terminal; or dispatch without `--inject` and use `terminal send` |\n| `runtime_error` | Any other failure, including a target terminal that already owns an active Dispatch | Read the message, inspect state, and do not retry unchanged |\n\n## Retry, stop, and abandon\n\nRetry only a positively proven failed or stopped attempt. Name the failed Task\nwith `--task`, since `--spec` creates a new one. Placement is never silently\ninherited:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --retry-of <dispatch_id> --worktree <explicit_placement> --agent <agent> --json\n```\n\nAfter three consecutive failures for one Task, its dispatch context\ncircuit-breaks and the Task is failed. Do not route around that boundary with a\nnew Run or an unrelated Dispatch.\n\nFor `outcome_unknown`, inspect first, then make an explicit choice:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-stop --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-abandon --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\n`worker-stop` closes only the exact proven supervised agent terminal. It never\ndeletes the worktree, setup terminal, configured tabs, or unrelated processes.\n`worker-abandon` fences orchestration while accepting that resources may remain\nlive; it performs no remote, process, or filesystem action.\n\n## Retain and release\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-retain --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\nRetain only when the user explicitly wants the settled terminal kept live.\nRelease works after succeeded and failed reports, archives readable output, and\ncloses only the exact terminal owned by that settled Dispatch. Replays may call\nrelease again safely. Reused, pre-existing, setup, coordinator, active,\nuser-taken-over, and unproven terminals are retained.\n\nA `worker-start` that failed before its agent was ready still owns the terminal\nit created. Its receipt names `worker-release`, and `worker-list` reports that\nrow as `reclaimable`; release it there rather than closing the terminal by hand.\n\nNever release because of timeout, TUI idle, heartbeat, status, question,\nescalation, or stale/rejected completion. If the receipt says `release_pending`\nor `release_unknown`, follow its exact recovery action. Never substitute\n`terminal close`.\n\n## Worktree cleanup after release\n\n`worker-release` closes the agent terminal only. A `--worktree new-child`\ncheckout stays on disk. Remove it only after `worker-release` returns a\nconfirmed released state, and only when that Dispatch's own `effects`\nrecorded `{ \"kind\": \"worktree\", \"action\": \"created_child\" }`.\n\nCapture `<worktreePath>` **before** `worker-release` from the `worker-start`\nreceipt: the path after `::` in `effects[].id`, or `residualResources` of kind\n`worktree`. After release, `worker-show` returns `terminal: null` because\n`observation.exact` fails once the process incarnation no longer matches, so\n`terminal.worktreePath` is not a path source.\n\n```text\nORCA worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --json\n```\n\n`--force` maps to `git worktree remove --force` and waives PTY-stop proof; it\nis not permission to delete while terminal-stop state is unverified. It does\nnot force-delete the GitHub branch.\n\nLeave the worktree in place and report it instead when any of the following\nhold:\n\n- `worker-release` did not complete successfully (`release_pending`,\n `release_unknown`, retained, or error).\n- The worker was reused for a follow-up Dispatch.\n- The user asked to keep the workspace, or the Dispatch recorded\n `worker-retain`.\n- The terminal was user-taken-over.\n- The recorded start effect was `reused`, or the worker started with\n `--worktree current` or an exact pre-existing workspace — never delete a\n checkout this Dispatch did not create.\n- Unpushed local commits exist for **any** outcome (succeeded, failed, or\n STOP): dirty `git status --porcelain`, a nonzero\n `git rev-list --count @{upstream}..HEAD`, or no upstream / unknown\n comparison.\n- `worktree rm` itself errors — a locked worktree or unverifiable Git state.\n\nRun this before the next wait or the end of the turn. It is coordinator\nhygiene on top of release, not a substitute for it.\n\n`orchestration reset` is destructive recovery. Do not run it during active\ncoordination unless the user explicitly abandons that state.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/worker-contract.md -->\n\n# Worker contract\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. Copy its command rather than\nreconstructing flags. In particular, preserve the exact executable, worker\nhandle, Dispatch capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID.\n\n## Heartbeat\n\nSend heartbeats only at the cadence required by the live preamble. Skip them\nwhile blocked inside `ask` or `check --wait`; those calls are liveness signals.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type heartbeat --subject \"alive\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --phase \"<investigating|implementing|reviewing|waiting>\"\n```\n\nUse typed lifecycle flags, not a hand-written JSON payload. A heartbeat proves\nliveness, never completion.\n\n## Ask and resume\n\nUse Orca `ask` whenever the coordinator must answer. Never open a local question\nTUI the coordinator cannot answer.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --question \"<question>\" --options \"<choice-a>,<choice-b>\" --timeout-ms 600000\n\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --resume <message_id> --timeout-ms 600000\n```\n\nA timeout or disconnect leaves the original question pending. Resume its\nmessage ID; do not create a duplicate question.\n\n## Reading coordinator follow-ups\n\nThe coordinator steers a running worker with `send --to dispatch:<id>`. That\nenqueue is durable but does not interrupt you, so nothing arrives unless you\nlook:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <worker_handle> --json\n```\n\nRun it at each natural checkpoint — before starting a new file, after a test\nrun — and once more immediately before `worker_done`, so a redirect or a\ncancellation lands before the Task settles. `check` names its caller with\n`--terminal`, never `--from`. Stop checking after `worker_done`.\n\nIf `check` returns `consumer_fenced`, this process no longer owns its Dispatch:\nthe Attempt was re-attached to another worker or settled without you. Stop, do\nnot send `worker_done`, and do not retry the check. An empty `check` never means\nyou were replaced; `consumer_fenced` is the only way you learn that.\n\n## Escalation\n\nEscalate only before completion and only when the coordinator must intervene:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type escalation --subject \"Blocked: <reason>\" --body \"<details>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id>\n```\n\n## Completion\n\nSend exactly one terminal report. `--body` is three sentences: what changed,\nwhat was found, and what remains. Use `--outcome failed` when the requested work\nis not complete; never hide failure in prose or silently exit.\n\nAppend `--files-modified` or `--report-path` only when applicable, using actual\npaths. Do not send documentation placeholders as metadata.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type worker_done --subject \"<short status>\" --body \"<three sentences: work, findings, remaining>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --outcome succeeded\n```\n\nAfter `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle. Do not poll, close your\nown terminal, or begin unrelated work. A later direct user instruction is new\nuser-owned work and must not reuse settled lifecycle IDs; a supervised follow-up\narrives with a fresh preamble and Task block.\n" |
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🎯 Functional Correctness | 🟡 Minor | ⚡ Quick win
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🏁 Script executed:
rg -n -C 3 'worktree rm --force --worktree path:' skill-guides/orchestration.md skill-guides/orchestration/references/recovery-and-cleanup.md src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts
rg -n 'worktreePath|--worktree|worktree rm' src/cli/handlers/worktree.ts src/cliRepository: stablyai/orca
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#!/bin/bash
set -u
printf '%s\n' '--- changed files ---'
git diff --name-only 25d7c21fcb793e0e8b44d9f62e75068182ec0f62 85ce1cc64fd3c06c1e03e579f2ad91437c6e6847
printf '%s\n' '--- exact tracked occurrences ---'
git grep -n -F -- 'ORCA worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --json' 85ce1cc64fd3c06c1e03e579f2ad91437c6e6847 -- \
'skill-guides/**' 'src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts' || true
printf '%s\n' '--- quoted or variant occurrences ---'
git grep -n -E 'worktree rm --force --worktree .?path:<worktreePath>' 85ce1cc64fd3c06c1e03e579f2ad91437c6e6847 -- \
'skill-guides/**' 'src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts' || true
printf '%s\n' '--- worktree handler ---'
sed -n '240,330p' src/cli/handlers/worktree.ts
printf '%s\n' '--- source guide context ---'
rg -n -C 4 'worktree rm|worktreePath|created_child' skill-guides/orchestration.md skill-guides/orchestration/references/recovery-and-cleanup.md
printf '%s\n' '--- bundle declaration context ---'
python3 - <<'PY'
from pathlib import Path
p=Path('src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.ts')
s=p.read_text()
needle='ORCA worktree rm --force --worktree'
pos=0
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if i<0: break
line=s.count('\n',0,i)+1
print(f'line {line}: {s[i:i+120]}')
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PYRepository: stablyai/orca
Length of output: 41715
Quote the worktree path selector in every cleanup reference.
If <worktreePath> contains spaces, the shell splits the unquoted selector into multiple arguments. Apply this fix to both bundled copies and the standalone recovery reference.
Proposed fix
-ORCA worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --json
+ORCA worktree rm --force --worktree "path:<worktreePath>" --json📝 Committable suggestion
‼️ IMPORTANT
Carefully review the code before committing. Ensure that it accurately replaces the highlighted code, contains no missing lines, and has no issues with indentation. Thoroughly test & benchmark the code to ensure it meets the requirements.
Suggested change
| const ORCHESTRATION_FULL_MARKDOWN = "---\nname: orchestration\ndescription: >-\n Coordinate supervised Orca workers: threaded messages, blocking ask/reply,\n task dispatch, worker_done/escalation waits, task DAGs, decision gates,\n coordinator loops, and decomposing work across agents. Use `orca-cli` for full\n ownership handoffs — \"hand off\", \"handoff\", \"handover\", \"give this to another\n agent\", \"another worktree\" — unless asked to supervise, monitor, or coordinate\n a DAG, and for terminal control, lightweight terminal prompts, shell commands,\n Orca worktree management, and reading or waiting on terminals.\n---\n\n# Orca orchestration\n\nOrchestration is Orca's structured coordination layer. It records who owns work,\nwhich attempt is authoritative, and when supervised work has settled.\n\n## Outcome\n\n**Result:** every in-scope Task has one explicit outcome and every settled worker\nterminal has a next owner or cleanup decision. **Next consumer:** the user who\nrequested supervision. **Done:** all expected Dispatches have settled, every\ndelivered message was processed before acknowledgment, each settled worker was\nreused, explicitly retained, or released, and the turn ends only when the report\nto that user names, per Task, its outcome, the evidence behind it, and any\nunresolved blocker.\n\n**Safe failure:** preserve work and authority and report the state as unknown or\n`unverifiable`. Only positive proof of exit authorizes stop, abandon, or retry,\nand only an accepted settlement authorizes release. Every other observation,\nabsence included, is a checkpoint.\n\n## Classify the role\n\n| Current context | Role | Route |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| The user explicitly asks to supervise, monitor, wait for results, track completion, coordinate a DAG, use a decision gate, or manage ask/reply | Coordinator | Use the supervised loop below |\n| The current prompt contains a live injected preamble with Task and Dispatch IDs | Dispatched worker | Follow the preamble and the worker obligations below |\n| The user asks to hand off ownership or start another agent/worktree without supervision | Handoff owner | Use `orca-cli`; create no Run, Task, or Dispatch and do not monitor completion |\n| A message carries a legacy authority label | Compatibility operator | Load the legacy contract reference before any lifecycle mutation |\n| No live preamble and no explicit supervision | Ordinary terminal agent | Do not emit lifecycle messages; use `orca-cli` for terminal/worktree work |\n\nModel or effort selection does not make a handoff supervised. Never substitute a\nnon-Orca subagent tool when Orca orchestration provenance was requested.\n\n## Authority and safety floor\n\n- A Run is a durable namespace and coordinator inbox; it does not schedule or\n place workers. A Task is work. A Dispatch is one authoritative Task attempt.\n- Lifecycle authority comes from the active Dispatch, not a terminal title,\n copied ID, old database row, provider transcript, or visible pane.\n- Workers use the exact executable, handle, capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID\n in the live preamble. Never reconstruct, translate, or broaden those arguments.\n- After remote start, address the worker by Dispatch ID. The execution host owns\n process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup facts. Preserve the verdicts\n `live` / `unverifiable` / `exited`; contact loss is not process death.\n- Liveness is layered: `worker-list`'s `projection.liveness` is the fleet verdict\n for the agent; `worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only. A live\n terminal can still hold a dead or stuck agent.\n- Folder workspaces are valid; never require Git or assume a worktree.\n- Clients and remote servers update independently. Treat unknown optional fields\n as absent. A new stream operation requires advertised capability because old\n decoders may silently drop unknown opcodes. Never fall back to local execution\n when remote authority or capability is unproven.\n- Use the executable you used to run `skills get` for the entire run. In the\n examples below, replace `ORCA` with it; do not create a shell variable or run\n `ORCA` literally. If it fails, report that exact error instead of switching.\n- A successful `orchestration send` proves durable enqueue; its wake or nudge is\n best-effort attention only and does not prove the recipient read or accepted it.\n\n## Worker obligations\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. A dispatched worker must:\n\n1. Do only the current Task and use the preamble's `ask` command for a blocking\n coordinator question. Never open a local question TUI the coordinator cannot\n answer. Resume the same message ID after an ask timeout.\n2. Send heartbeats only at the cadence in the preamble. A heartbeat proves\n liveness, not completion.\n3. Read coordinator follow-ups at each natural checkpoint — before starting a\n new file, after a test run — and once more immediately before `worker_done`:\n `ORCA orchestration check --terminal <your_handle> --json`.\n4. Send `worker_done` exactly once, from the dispatched terminal, with a\n three-sentence executive summary, both lifecycle IDs, and explicit\n `--outcome succeeded` or `--outcome failed`. Never encode failure only in prose.\n5. Append `--files-modified` and `--report-path` only with real values when\n applicable. After `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle; do not poll\n or start new work.\n\nA direct user instruction after completion starts new user-owned work and takes\nprecedence over the idle rule. Do not reuse the settled lifecycle IDs.\n\n## Canonical supervised loop\n\nConfirm the runtime, bind one Run, and start the full independent wave before\nwaiting. `worker-start --spec` creates the Task and its attempt in one call:\n\n```text\nORCA status --json\nORCA orchestration run-create --objective \"<objective>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker A task>\" --worktree current --agent codex --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker B task>\" --worktree current --agent claude --json\nORCA orchestration check --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nIf `worker-start` exits non-zero, do not relaunch. Read the receipt's\n`failedStage` and `residualResources`, then load\n`references/recovery-and-cleanup.md`.\n\nUse `task-create` plus `worker-start --task <task_id>` for planned fan-out with\ndependencies or a retry of a known Task. Use dependencies only for real ordering\nand prefer parallel waves over chains deeper than three or four steps; nested\nworkers obey the depth limit, and a new Run does not reset the caller's depth.\n\nA consuming `check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>`, never `--from`;\nomit it inside the coordinator's own Orca terminal. It returns the bound Run's\noldest FIFO Delivery and replays that batch until acknowledged. Process every\nmessage: reply to questions, validate each `worker_done` against the expected\nactive Dispatch, and decide each settled terminal's next owner before the ack:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration reply --id <message_id> --body \"<answer>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration check --ack <delivery_id> --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nKeep waiting until every expected Dispatch settles. A timeout or empty result is\na checkpoint, not a failure. Do not stop, retry, release, or launch a duplicate\neditor without the positive proof `## Outcome` requires.\n\nAfter three consecutive empty waits, stop waiting blindly and enumerate with\n`ORCA orchestration worker-list --include-remote --json` (defaults to the bound\nRun; `--run <run_id>` overrides; the receipt's `scope` names which), acting on\neach row's `projection.attention` categories, `projection.attention.requiresAction`, and literal `projection.nextAction` argv.\nRows come newest first and page at 100: while `page.hasMore`, follow `page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>`.\nA `none` `nextAction` has no argv to run: read `liveness.reason` and keep waiting\nwith `check --wait`. Absence never earns an argv; settlement and pending work still do.\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Then load `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and choose\n`worker-stop` or `worker-abandon` explicitly. `unverifiable` is absence,\nincluding when `worker-show` reports `agentWait` null. Absence never authorizes\nstop, abandon, retry, or release; keep waiting or inspect.\n\n`worker-start` is the normal path, composing placement, terminal readiness,\nprompt injection, and supervised resource ownership. `dispatch --inject` leaves\nan operator-created process unsupervised and is only for an expressiveness gap.\n\n## Task-spec contract\n\nEvery Task spec must be self-contained and name:\n\n- **Target:** the files, component, or environment in scope.\n- **Change:** the concrete result to produce.\n- **Constraints:** invariants, compatibility rules, and do-not-touch boundaries.\n- **Ownership:** what this worker may edit and any coordination boundary.\n- **Observable acceptance:** the test, output, or evidence that proves completion.\n\n## Completion accounting\n\nAfter an accepted success or failure report, immediately do exactly one:\n\n1. Reuse the same proven agent terminal for an immediate follow-up Dispatch.\n2. Record user-requested retention with `worker-retain`.\n3. Run `worker-release`.\n\nRelease is post-settlement cleanup, not cancellation. Only an accepted\nsettlement authorizes it; no other observation does. If release is uncertain,\nfollow its exact recovery receipt and never substitute `terminal close`. If\n`worker-start` recorded `created_child`, capture `<worktreePath>` from that\nstart receipt **before** `worker-release`. After a confirmed released state,\nload `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and remove the leftover child unless\nfail-closed.\n\nA valid `worker_done` settles the Task and Dispatch automatically; do not follow\nit with `task-update --status completed`. Enumerate the terminals still owing a\ndecision with `worker-list --run <run_id> --terminal-state reclaimable --json`,\nand do not end the coordinator turn until it returns none.\n\n## Conditional references\n\nThis compact guide is sufficient for the normal local loop. At an action gate\nbelow, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --reference references/<file>.md` and\nread only that document; `--references` lists the names. If the CLI rejects\n`--reference`, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --full` once instead: it\nreturns this exact kernel and every reference, so read only the named one. If an\nolder CLI rejects `--full`, keep this kernel's safety floor, use that command's\n`--help`, and never guess newer flags.\n\n| Action gate | Bundled reference |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |\n| Expanded DAG waves, launch model/effort, same-terminal reuse, or review ownership | `references/coordinator-loop.md` |\n| You are a dispatched worker and the live preamble does not answer your question, or `check` returned an error | `references/worker-contract.md` |\n| New worktree, exact workspace, SSH, WSL, or connected-server placement | `references/placement-and-remote.md` |\n| Inbox replay, follow-up messages, group addresses, or decision gates | `references/messaging-and-gates.md` |\n| Failed/stopped/unknown attempts, retry, stop, abandon, retain, uncertain release, or leftover `created_child` | `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` |\n| Custom argv or terminal topology that `worker-start` cannot express | `references/low-level-topology.md` |\n| Any legacy label, adopted Run, compatibility receipt, or takeover | `references/legacy-contract-migration.md` |\n\nRetired scheduler commands are not aliases for Run creation. Recovery commands\nmust provide their exact next action; follow it with the same selected executable.\n\n---\n\n# Bundled references\n\nThese references belong to the version-matched guide above. Read only the documents named by its action gates.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/coordinator-loop.md -->\n\n# Coordinator loop\n\nLoad this reference for expanded DAG waves, per-invocation launch preferences,\nsame-terminal reuse, or review ownership. The compact guide remains the source\nof truth for the loop order and completion boundary.\n\n## Ready waves\n\nCreate independent Tasks before the first wait. Encode only real dependencies,\nthen use the ready view as external memory:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration task-create --spec \"<dependent work>\" --deps <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --ready --brief --json\n```\n\n`--brief` collapses whitespace and caps echoed specs at 160 characters;\n`spec_truncated` identifies shortened rows. Omit it when full specs are needed or\nwhen an older CLI rejects the flag. A nested worker must respect\n`nested_worker_depth_exceeded`; creating another Run does not reset depth.\n\n## Launch preferences\n\nFor a fresh Claude, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity, or Muse terminal, `--model`\naccepts an opaque provider model ID. Pass it only when the user named a model;\notherwise omit it so the worker inherits the user's configured agent default.\nAdd `--effort` only when that model supports it:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent claude --model opus --effort high --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent muse --model muse-spark-1.3 --json\n```\n\nOther agents, including `opencode`, reject `--model`; they run the model set in\ntheir own config, so a coordinator wanting a same-model opencode worker relies\non that config.\n\n`--effort` requires `--model`; neither option combines with `--terminal`. A\nconnected worker server must advertise launch-preference support before Orca\nforwards either field. Compare `launch.requested` with `launch.effective`; never\nclaim a model or effort from requested arguments alone.\n\n## Reuse after settlement\n\nChoose the terminal's next owner before acknowledging the Delivery. When the\nsame exact agent has immediate follow-up work, recover the proven handle and\ntransfer cleanup ownership to the new Dispatch:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <next_task_id> --terminal <agent_terminal_handle> --json\n```\n\nOtherwise explicitly retain or release the settled worker. Do not leave it live\nonly to inspect output; archived output remains available through `worker-read`.\n\n## Review ownership\n\nA review-only `worker_done` authorizes synthesis of findings, not coordinator\nfile edits. Dispatch or hand off fixes unless the user explicitly assigned them\nto the coordinator. If the user's plan names a next owner, post-review fixes and\nPR preparation remain with that owner; the coordinator routes and synthesizes.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/legacy-contract-migration.md -->\n\n# Legacy contract migration\n\nLoad this reference only for an authority label, adopted Run, compatibility or\nrecovery receipt, or explicit legacy takeover. A newly created attempt always\nuses the current grammar.\n\n## Authority labels\n\n- `[LEGACY COMPATIBILITY]` is live and attested. Run only the exact supported\n command printed with the message, using the same selected executable and\n arguments supplied by the original prompt.\n- `[LEGACY RECOVERY REPLAY — MAY HAVE BEEN SEEN]` is one bounded,\n at-least-once cutover replay. Process it idempotently and acknowledge only\n through the exact displayed guidance.\n- `[LEGACY READ-ONLY]` is inspection-only. It has no reply, acknowledgment, or\n lifecycle mutation.\n- An unlabeled current message uses the current guide and grammar.\n\nAn explicitly selected current Run, attested current binding, current Dispatch,\nor federated attachment takes precedence over legacy fallback. A retained\nadoption record alone does not grant mutation authority. If liveness, principal\nownership, capability, or the exact legacy contract is unproven, degrade to\nread-only inspection and never fall back to local execution.\n\nAdoption preserves the live agent process, PTY/session, terminal handle,\ntab/pane, worktree or folder workspace, Task, and Dispatch. It never restarts or\nreplaces the worker and never revives the retired scheduler. Loss of lifecycle\nauthority does not invalidate the existing process, assignment, or filesystem\nwork. Exact recovery may restore the same PTY once in its original inactive\nbackground tab; it must not spawn, write, signal, stop, switch, focus, split, or\ninject a terminal.\n\n## Compatibility recovery\n\nWhen a compatibility response returns structured next-step arguments, execute\nthose exact arguments with the same selected CLI executable. Do not translate\nfrom memory, broaden the recipient, or retry as a current mutation unless the\nreceipt explicitly authorizes it.\n\nA pending ask, reply, final Dispatch settlement, and consuming check have\ndurable recovery identities. Heartbeat and escalation remain at-least-once\nacross a manual contract-boundary retry. If an ask may already have been\nanswered, run the exact non-consuming recovery check printed by Orca before\ncreating any new question. Never guess among identical question threads.\n\nOn packaged Windows, a legacy ask uses a two-step commit/resume protocol. The\ninitial command commits the question, prints its exact\n`ask --resume <message_id>` command, and exits with launcher status `75`. Run\nthat exact resume after the launcher or update boundary. For an attested WSL\nlaunch, preserve the printed `orca-ide` executable and distro route. Older WSL\nworkers without launch proof remain lifecycle read-only even while their\nterminal and filesystem work continue.\n\n## Read-only inspection and takeover\n\nRead-only inspection does not consume mail:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-list --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id run_legacy_local --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --run <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration inbox --full --json\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <legacy_handle> --peek --format --json\nORCA terminal read --terminal <legacy_handle> --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <legacy_handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\n```\n\n`run_legacy_local` is an empty audit tombstone after adoption. Find the ordinary\nRun whose objective is `Recovered orchestration work from a contract update`.\n\nOnly when the original coordinator is unavailable or cannot prove retained\nauthority may a new live coordinator take over from its own terminal:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-use --id <adopted_run_id> --takeover-legacy --json\nORCA orchestration check --run <adopted_run_id> --json\n```\n\nTakeover binds the authenticated invoking terminal; `--from` cannot nominate\nanother coordinator. It fences only the old coordinator and moves pending mail\ninto current Run delivery. It preserves live workers, Tasks, Dispatches, processes, and files.\nNever take over while the original coordinator is actively coordinating.\n\nDo not launch a replacement editor merely because Orca updated or authority is\nunclear. Keep the original worker as the only editor until a stable handoff\npoint, then use a fresh current Dispatch in a conflict-free placement.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/low-level-topology.md -->\n\n# Low-level topology\n\nLoad this reference only when `worker-start` cannot express required custom argv\nor terminal topology. It is not the normal supervised loop and is never a full\nhandoff recipe.\n\n```text\nORCA terminal create --worktree active --title <task_name> --command \"<agent_command>\" --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\nORCA orchestration dispatch --task <task_id> --to <handle> --inject --json\n```\n\nWait for readiness only when startup could lose injected input. Prefer\nagent-first `worker-start` whenever its argv and topology are sufficient.\n\n`dispatch --inject` creates authoritative Task/Dispatch context but deliberately\nkeeps an operator-created process unsupervised: it creates no supervised worker\nresource row. `worker-show`, `worker-read`, and `worker-list` report the lane as\n`unsupervised`; `worker-stop` and `worker-abandon` do not close that process, and\nsettled retain/release take no process action.\n\nUse `worker-start --terminal <handle>` when lifecycle ownership of an existing\nagent terminal is required. Never imply that low-level dispatch retroactively\nowns a process, never use it to route around the nested-depth limit, and never\nuse it for an ownership handoff.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/messaging-and-gates.md -->\n\n# Messaging and gates\n\nLoad this reference for inbox replay, attempt-specific guidance, group\naddresses, blocking questions, or coordinator-managed DAG decisions.\n\nA successful `send` proves durable enqueue. Wake and nudge are best-effort\nattention only: neither proves the recipient read the message, began a turn, or\naccepted steering.\n\n## Coordinator delivery loop\n\n`check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>` and is the only verb that\nrejects `--from`. Omit `--terminal` inside an Orca terminal, where Orca resolves\nthe caller; pass it explicitly from anywhere else, including a dispatched\nworker reading coordinator follow-ups.\n\nA consuming coordinator `check` returns the bound Run's oldest FIFO Delivery,\nup to 50 messages, and replays that exact batch until acknowledged. Process\nevery row and required terminal ownership decision before `--ack`. Type filters\ndecide when a waiter wakes; they do not authorize skipping older actionable\nmail. A Delivery therefore always carries the whole FIFO batch whatever its\ntypes, and a `check` without `--wait` hands that batch over unfiltered.\n`--peek` and `--all` are read-only inspection, not progress through the\ncoordinator inbox.\n\nAn empty wait or timeout is a checkpoint. Continue rolling waits until every\nexpected Dispatch settles. Heartbeat or visible activity means alive, not done.\n\n## Addresses\n\nUse a stable Dispatch address for attempt-specific coordinator guidance:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\n```\n\nDo not substitute a remote terminal handle. Omit `--from` for ordinary\ncoordinator calls; a dispatched worker instead copies the exact `--from` and\ncapability arguments in its preamble. `check` is the exception: it identifies\nits caller with `--terminal`, never `--from`.\n\nGroup addresses include `@all`, `@idle`, `@claude`, `@codex`, `@opencode`,\n`@gemini`, `@droid`, `@grok`, `@cursor`, and `@worktree:<id>`. Every group but\n`@worktree:<id>` means the live Dispatches of the sender's own Run. Mail goes\nto each `dispatch:<id>` mailbox, except a worker coordinating a child Run\nreceives it in that `run:<id>` mailbox. A sender bound to no Run is refused;\n`--run` must match the group audience and never grants membership.\nA Run group excludes its owning coordinator; a worker raising a blocker sends\nto `run:<id>`. A worker that created its own Run addresses that Run's workers,\nnot its siblings. `@worktree:<id>` reaches matching workspace terminals,\nincluding coordinators. Use groups only for intentional fan-out status or\nquestions. `worker_done`, heartbeat, and other\nDispatch lifecycle messages never target groups.\n\n## Questions and gates\n\nA worker uses `ask`; its timeout leaves one durable question pending, which the\nworker resumes by message ID. The coordinator answers that message with `reply`.\n\nUse a gate only for a coordinator-owned Task-DAG decision:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration gate-create --task <task_id> --question \"<decision>\" --options <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration gate-resolve --id <gate_id> --resolution \"<choice>\" --json\nORCA orchestration gate-list --task <task_id> --json\n```\n\nPass `json_array` using the quoting rules of the active shell; do not copy POSIX\nsingle-quote syntax into PowerShell or `cmd.exe`.\n\nDo not create a gate merely to answer a worker's `ask`.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/placement-and-remote.md -->\n\n# Placement and remote execution\n\nLoad this reference before creating a new worktree or placing work through SSH,\nWSL, or another connected Orca server.\n\n## Placement choices\n\nA fresh worker means a fresh agent terminal, not a new Git worktree. Use the\ncurrent or an exact existing workspace by default. Create a worktree only when\nthe user requested one or a concrete checkout or filesystem conflict makes\nsharing unsafe.\n\n```text\n# Current workspace; setup is not rerun.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent codex --json\n\n# Stacked child worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-child --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n\n# Independent top-level worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-top-level --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nCurrent and exact existing workspaces create a fresh terminal unless\n`--terminal` is explicit. Folder workspaces are first-class; do not invoke Git\nor require worktree lineage when the selected workspace is a folder.\n\nRegister a folder workspace through project setup. `repo add --path <dir>`\nrequires a valid Git repository and rejects a plain directory:\n\n```text\nORCA project setup-existing-folder --project <project_id> --host <host_id> --path <abs_path> --kind folder --json\n```\n\nThen place work on the returned workspace with an exact selector. A worktree\nselector needs the full `<repo-id>::<path>` value Orca returned, passed as\n`id:<newFullWorktreeId>`; a bare repo id is not a worktree id. `new-child` and\n`new-top-level` are worktree creation and do not apply to a folder.\n\nNew worktrees use agent-first creation and run setup by default. Preserve the\nrepository's startup policy: `start-immediately` can report setup as `running`,\nwhile `wait-for-setup` gates prompt delivery on success. Orca lineage, Git base,\nfilesystem isolation, coordination parentage, UI grouping, and execution host\nare separate decisions.\n\n## Connected servers\n\nThe Run and Tasks remain authoritative on the current server. `--on` selects\nonly the worker's execution server and appears only on `worker-start`:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --on <environment> --worktree new-top-level --repo <exact_remote_repo_selector> --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nRemote `current` and `new-child` are invalid because they are ambiguous across\nservers. Use an exact discovered remote workspace, or `new-top-level` with an\nexact remote repository selector. After start, route every follow-up, read,\nstop, and cleanup by Dispatch ID; never repeat `--on` or substitute a remote\nterminal handle.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` reads local fleet state only; enumerate remote workers with\n`--include-remote` or every one of them reads `unverifiable`. Scope every list\nwith `--run <run_id>`: unscoped, it reports every Dispatch this runtime has\nrecorded, and the workers you are waiting on are lost in that history.\n\n## Execution-host and mixed-version floor\n\nThe execution host owns process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup\nfacts. Render only `live`, `unverifiable`, or `exited`. Connection loss, relay\nabsence, missing client inventory, or timeout yields `unverifiable`, never\nsynthetic exit and never a client-local substitute action.\n\nClients and servers update independently. Optional response fields may be\nabsent. Forward model/effort, transcript reads, cleanup, or another new remote\noperation only when the peer advertises the relevant capability; unknown stream\nopcodes can be silently dropped. A narrow unsupported response may degrade to a\ndocumented older path, but must not broaden the target or cross the execution\nboundary. Changing host-published content reaches old clients even without a\nwire-shape change, so preserve established semantics or negotiate the behavior.\n\nFor WSL, use the exact executable and arguments returned by Orca so the distro\nand packaged launcher remain bound. Do not translate a printed `orca-ide`\nrecovery command into a PATH-resolved local command.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/recovery-and-cleanup.md -->\n\n# Recovery and cleanup\n\nLoad this reference only after a failed/stopped/unknown attempt, explicit retry\ndecision, stop/abandon request, retention request, uncertain release, or a\nconfirmed `worker-release` of a leftover `created_child` worktree.\n\n| Proven state | Safe action |\n| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `ready` or active | Keep waiting; optionally read bounded output |\n| `failed` or `stopped` | Start a replacement with `--retry-of`; repeat placement explicitly |\n| `outcome_unknown` | Inspect, then choose `worker-stop` or explicit `worker-abandon` |\n| Accepted `worker_done` | Reuse, retain, or release |\n| Remote contact lost | Preserve `unverifiable`; do not stop or retry from absence alone |\n| `unverifiable` liveness | Keep waiting or inspect; never stop, abandon, retry, or release |\n| Proven `exited` agent | Enumerate with `worker-list`; follow its `nextAction` |\n\n## Inspect before acting\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` is the enumerating command and the authority on agent liveness:\neach row carries `projection.liveness`, `projection.attention.categories`,\n`projection.attention.requiresAction`, and a literal `projection.nextAction`\nargv to run. Always scope it with `--run <run_id>`; an unscoped list reports\nevery Dispatch this runtime has ever recorded and buries the live ones.\n`worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only, so a `live` terminal\nwhose agent died at a trust prompt still reads `live` there.\n\nWhen the two disagree, the fleet verdict decides — unless the fleet row is\n`unverifiable` for a reason that names a gap on this client rather than a fact\nabout the worker. `missing_status`, `host_unavailable`, and\n`capability_unsupported` are such gaps: the first means this runtime holds no\nstatus row, the second that it could not ask the execution host at all, and the\nthird that a stale peer answered but lacks the fleet-snapshot capability.\nAgainst any of them, a `worker-show` verdict sourced from the execution host is\nthe better evidence and outranks the row. Only `host_unavailable` is contact\nloss; the other two mean the host was never asked or answered without the\ncapability.\n\nThis never promotes absence. `unverifiable` from either command still authorizes\nnothing — only a positive `live` or `exited` verdict does.\n\nA worker started with `--on <environment>` reads `unverifiable` until you\nenumerate with `--include-remote`, which asks its execution host for the\nverdict. Rows come newest first and past 100 the response pages, so follow\n`page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>` until `page.hasMore` is false.\n\n## Stall needs positive evidence\n\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Only then choose `worker-stop` or `worker-abandon`.\n\n`unverifiable` is always absence — `missing_status`, `stale_status`,\n`restored_unconfirmed`, or a remote worker with no connection — and a null\n`agentWait` or an unchanged `worker-read` tail is that same absence seen again.\nAbsence never authorizes stop, abandon, retry, or release: keep waiting, or\ninspect until you hold one of the positive signals above. A `nextAction` that\nnames an inspecting command is asking for evidence, not for cleanup.\n\n`worker-read --source auto` uses a proven provider transcript when available and\notherwise returns bounded terminal output with a typed `fallbackReason`.\nContinue with its top-level cursor, which is pinned to that source. If Orca\nreports `source_changed`, restart without the old cursor. A bounded initial\ntranscript tail can return an EOF cursor that follows only newly appended records;\nread `contentComplete`, `clipping`, and `warnings` before assuming omitted older\nrecords are pageable. Never guess a provider session ID, transcript path, or\nremote terminal handle.\n\n## Was the mutation applied?\n\nWhen a mutation's response was lost and named no Dispatch, do not replay blind.\nEvery orchestration mutation accepts `--retry-request <id>`, which reuses one\noperation identity so Orca can replay, join, or recover it instead of starting a\nduplicate. Ask what happened first:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration request-show --request <request_id> --json\n```\n\n`completed` means the mutation already took effect; read its recorded receipt\ninstead of rerunning. `pending` means the original mutation is still running or\nOrca restarted before recording its outcome; replay the original command with\n`--retry-request <request_id>`. `absent` means this runtime holds no receipt\nunder your caller identity — that is not proof nothing happened, so inspect the\naffected Task, Dispatch, and terminal before deciding whether to retry.\n\nWhen a worker's terminal accepted input but the submit is unconfirmed, use\n`terminal send --wait-submit <seconds>`: it observes the accepted prompt for that\nlong and, on timeout, returns the input-accepted receipt without resending.\n\n## Refused starts\n\n`dispatch` and `worker-start` refuse the following preflight cases with a stable\n`error.code`; read it before choosing a recovery, and treat `error.data.nextSteps`\nas the exact recovery text. Older hosts may omit `data`, so treat every field as\noptional.\n\n| Code | Meaning | Recovery |\n| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `task_not_found` | No Task with that id, or not in the bound Run (`data.taskId`, `data.runId`) | Check `task-list --json`; create the Task with `task-create` if it does not exist |\n| `task_not_startable` | Task cannot start now: not `ready`, or invalid `--retry-of` (`data.status`, `data.unmetDependencies`, `data.retryOf`) | Wait for running dependencies with `check --wait`; retry or unblock failed ones; inspect `dispatch-show` if already dispatched |\n| `inject_rejected` | `--inject` refused because no recognized agent runs in the target (`data.terminal`, `data.reason`) | Start a recognized agent there or pick another terminal; or dispatch without `--inject` and use `terminal send` |\n| `runtime_error` | Any other failure, including a target terminal that already owns an active Dispatch | Read the message, inspect state, and do not retry unchanged |\n\n## Retry, stop, and abandon\n\nRetry only a positively proven failed or stopped attempt. Name the failed Task\nwith `--task`, since `--spec` creates a new one. Placement is never silently\ninherited:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --retry-of <dispatch_id> --worktree <explicit_placement> --agent <agent> --json\n```\n\nAfter three consecutive failures for one Task, its dispatch context\ncircuit-breaks and the Task is failed. Do not route around that boundary with a\nnew Run or an unrelated Dispatch.\n\nFor `outcome_unknown`, inspect first, then make an explicit choice:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-stop --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-abandon --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\n`worker-stop` closes only the exact proven supervised agent terminal. It never\ndeletes the worktree, setup terminal, configured tabs, or unrelated processes.\n`worker-abandon` fences orchestration while accepting that resources may remain\nlive; it performs no remote, process, or filesystem action.\n\n## Retain and release\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-retain --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\nRetain only when the user explicitly wants the settled terminal kept live.\nRelease works after succeeded and failed reports, archives readable output, and\ncloses only the exact terminal owned by that settled Dispatch. Replays may call\nrelease again safely. Reused, pre-existing, setup, coordinator, active,\nuser-taken-over, and unproven terminals are retained.\n\nA `worker-start` that failed before its agent was ready still owns the terminal\nit created. Its receipt names `worker-release`, and `worker-list` reports that\nrow as `reclaimable`; release it there rather than closing the terminal by hand.\n\nNever release because of timeout, TUI idle, heartbeat, status, question,\nescalation, or stale/rejected completion. If the receipt says `release_pending`\nor `release_unknown`, follow its exact recovery action. Never substitute\n`terminal close`.\n\n## Worktree cleanup after release\n\n`worker-release` closes the agent terminal only. A `--worktree new-child`\ncheckout stays on disk. Remove it only after `worker-release` returns a\nconfirmed released state, and only when that Dispatch's own `effects`\nrecorded `{ \"kind\": \"worktree\", \"action\": \"created_child\" }`.\n\nCapture `<worktreePath>` **before** `worker-release` from the `worker-start`\nreceipt: the path after `::` in `effects[].id`, or `residualResources` of kind\n`worktree`. After release, `worker-show` returns `terminal: null` because\n`observation.exact` fails once the process incarnation no longer matches, so\n`terminal.worktreePath` is not a path source.\n\n```text\nORCA worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --json\n```\n\n`--force` maps to `git worktree remove --force` and waives PTY-stop proof; it\nis not permission to delete while terminal-stop state is unverified. It does\nnot force-delete the GitHub branch.\n\nLeave the worktree in place and report it instead when any of the following\nhold:\n\n- `worker-release` did not complete successfully (`release_pending`,\n `release_unknown`, retained, or error).\n- The worker was reused for a follow-up Dispatch.\n- The user asked to keep the workspace, or the Dispatch recorded\n `worker-retain`.\n- The terminal was user-taken-over.\n- The recorded start effect was `reused`, or the worker started with\n `--worktree current` or an exact pre-existing workspace — never delete a\n checkout this Dispatch did not create.\n- Unpushed local commits exist for **any** outcome (succeeded, failed, or\n STOP): dirty `git status --porcelain`, a nonzero\n `git rev-list --count @{upstream}..HEAD`, or no upstream / unknown\n comparison.\n- `worktree rm` itself errors — a locked worktree or unverifiable Git state.\n\nRun this before the next wait or the end of the turn. It is coordinator\nhygiene on top of release, not a substitute for it.\n\n`orchestration reset` is destructive recovery. Do not run it during active\ncoordination unless the user explicitly abandons that state.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/worker-contract.md -->\n\n# Worker contract\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. Copy its command rather than\nreconstructing flags. In particular, preserve the exact executable, worker\nhandle, Dispatch capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID.\n\n## Heartbeat\n\nSend heartbeats only at the cadence required by the live preamble. Skip them\nwhile blocked inside `ask` or `check --wait`; those calls are liveness signals.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type heartbeat --subject \"alive\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --phase \"<investigating|implementing|reviewing|waiting>\"\n```\n\nUse typed lifecycle flags, not a hand-written JSON payload. A heartbeat proves\nliveness, never completion.\n\n## Ask and resume\n\nUse Orca `ask` whenever the coordinator must answer. Never open a local question\nTUI the coordinator cannot answer.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --question \"<question>\" --options \"<choice-a>,<choice-b>\" --timeout-ms 600000\n\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --resume <message_id> --timeout-ms 600000\n```\n\nA timeout or disconnect leaves the original question pending. Resume its\nmessage ID; do not create a duplicate question.\n\n## Reading coordinator follow-ups\n\nThe coordinator steers a running worker with `send --to dispatch:<id>`. That\nenqueue is durable but does not interrupt you, so nothing arrives unless you\nlook:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <worker_handle> --json\n```\n\nRun it at each natural checkpoint — before starting a new file, after a test\nrun — and once more immediately before `worker_done`, so a redirect or a\ncancellation lands before the Task settles. `check` names its caller with\n`--terminal`, never `--from`. Stop checking after `worker_done`.\n\nIf `check` returns `consumer_fenced`, this process no longer owns its Dispatch:\nthe Attempt was re-attached to another worker or settled without you. Stop, do\nnot send `worker_done`, and do not retry the check. An empty `check` never means\nyou were replaced; `consumer_fenced` is the only way you learn that.\n\n## Escalation\n\nEscalate only before completion and only when the coordinator must intervene:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type escalation --subject \"Blocked: <reason>\" --body \"<details>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id>\n```\n\n## Completion\n\nSend exactly one terminal report. `--body` is three sentences: what changed,\nwhat was found, and what remains. Use `--outcome failed` when the requested work\nis not complete; never hide failure in prose or silently exit.\n\nAppend `--files-modified` or `--report-path` only when applicable, using actual\npaths. Do not send documentation placeholders as metadata.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type worker_done --subject \"<short status>\" --body \"<three sentences: work, findings, remaining>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --outcome succeeded\n```\n\nAfter `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle. Do not poll, close your\nown terminal, or begin unrelated work. A later direct user instruction is new\nuser-owned work and must not reuse settled lifecycle IDs; a supervised follow-up\narrives with a fresh preamble and Task block.\n" | |
| const ORCHESTRATION_FULL_MARKDOWN = "---\nname: orchestration\ndescription: >-\n Coordinate supervised Orca workers: threaded messages, blocking ask/reply,\n task dispatch, worker_done/escalation waits, task DAGs, decision gates,\n coordinator loops, and decomposing work across agents. Use `orca-cli` for full\n ownership handoffs — \"hand off\", \"handoff\", \"handover\", \"give this to another\n agent\", \"another worktree\" — unless asked to supervise, monitor, or coordinate\n a DAG, and for terminal control, lightweight terminal prompts, shell commands,\n Orca worktree management, and reading or waiting on terminals.\n---\n\n# Orca orchestration\n\nOrchestration is Orca's structured coordination layer. It records who owns work,\nwhich attempt is authoritative, and when supervised work has settled.\n\n## Outcome\n\n**Result:** every in-scope Task has one explicit outcome and every settled worker\nterminal has a next owner or cleanup decision. **Next consumer:** the user who\nrequested supervision. **Done:** all expected Dispatches have settled, every\ndelivered message was processed before acknowledgment, each settled worker was\nreused, explicitly retained, or released, and the turn ends only when the report\nto that user names, per Task, its outcome, the evidence behind it, and any\nunresolved blocker.\n\n**Safe failure:** preserve work and authority and report the state as unknown or\n`unverifiable`. Only positive proof of exit authorizes stop, abandon, or retry,\nand only an accepted settlement authorizes release. Every other observation,\nabsence included, is a checkpoint.\n\n## Classify the role\n\n| Current context | Role | Route |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| The user explicitly asks to supervise, monitor, wait for results, track completion, coordinate a DAG, use a decision gate, or manage ask/reply | Coordinator | Use the supervised loop below |\n| The current prompt contains a live injected preamble with Task and Dispatch IDs | Dispatched worker | Follow the preamble and the worker obligations below |\n| The user asks to hand off ownership or start another agent/worktree without supervision | Handoff owner | Use `orca-cli`; create no Run, Task, or Dispatch and do not monitor completion |\n| A message carries a legacy authority label | Compatibility operator | Load the legacy contract reference before any lifecycle mutation |\n| No live preamble and no explicit supervision | Ordinary terminal agent | Do not emit lifecycle messages; use `orca-cli` for terminal/worktree work |\n\nModel or effort selection does not make a handoff supervised. Never substitute a\nnon-Orca subagent tool when Orca orchestration provenance was requested.\n\n## Authority and safety floor\n\n- A Run is a durable namespace and coordinator inbox; it does not schedule or\n place workers. A Task is work. A Dispatch is one authoritative Task attempt.\n- Lifecycle authority comes from the active Dispatch, not a terminal title,\n copied ID, old database row, provider transcript, or visible pane.\n- Workers use the exact executable, handle, capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID\n in the live preamble. Never reconstruct, translate, or broaden those arguments.\n- After remote start, address the worker by Dispatch ID. The execution host owns\n process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup facts. Preserve the verdicts\n `live` / `unverifiable` / `exited`; contact loss is not process death.\n- Liveness is layered: `worker-list`'s `projection.liveness` is the fleet verdict\n for the agent; `worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only. A live\n terminal can still hold a dead or stuck agent.\n- Folder workspaces are valid; never require Git or assume a worktree.\n- Clients and remote servers update independently. Treat unknown optional fields\n as absent. A new stream operation requires advertised capability because old\n decoders may silently drop unknown opcodes. Never fall back to local execution\n when remote authority or capability is unproven.\n- Use the executable you used to run `skills get` for the entire run. In the\n examples below, replace `ORCA` with it; do not create a shell variable or run\n `ORCA` literally. If it fails, report that exact error instead of switching.\n- A successful `orchestration send` proves durable enqueue; its wake or nudge is\n best-effort attention only and does not prove the recipient read or accepted it.\n\n## Worker obligations\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. A dispatched worker must:\n\n1. Do only the current Task and use the preamble's `ask` command for a blocking\n coordinator question. Never open a local question TUI the coordinator cannot\n answer. Resume the same message ID after an ask timeout.\n2. Send heartbeats only at the cadence in the preamble. A heartbeat proves\n liveness, not completion.\n3. Read coordinator follow-ups at each natural checkpoint — before starting a\n new file, after a test run — and once more immediately before `worker_done`:\n `ORCA orchestration check --terminal <your_handle> --json`.\n4. Send `worker_done` exactly once, from the dispatched terminal, with a\n three-sentence executive summary, both lifecycle IDs, and explicit\n `--outcome succeeded` or `--outcome failed`. Never encode failure only in prose.\n5. Append `--files-modified` and `--report-path` only with real values when\n applicable. After `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle; do not\n poll or start new work.\n\nA direct user instruction after completion starts new user-owned work and takes\nprecedence over the idle rule. Do not reuse the settled lifecycle IDs.\n\n## Canonical supervised loop\n\nConfirm the runtime, bind one Run, and start the full independent wave before\nwaiting. `worker-start --spec` creates the Task and its attempt in one call:\n\n```text\nORCA status --json\nORCA orchestration run-create --objective \"<objective>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker A task>\" --worktree current --agent codex --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --spec \"<worker B task>\" --worktree current --agent claude --json\nORCA orchestration check --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nIf `worker-start` exits non-zero, do not relaunch. Read the receipt's\n`failedStage` and `residualResources`, then load\n`references/recovery-and-cleanup.md`.\n\nUse `task-create` plus `worker-start --task <task_id>` for planned fan-out with\ndependencies or a retry of a known Task. Use dependencies only for real ordering\nand prefer parallel waves over chains deeper than three or four steps; nested\nworkers obey the depth limit, and a new Run does not reset the caller's depth.\n\nA consuming `check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>`, never `--from`;\nomit it inside the coordinator's own Orca terminal. It returns the bound Run's\noldest FIFO Delivery and replays that batch until acknowledged. Process every\nmessage: reply to questions, validate each `worker_done` against the expected\nactive Dispatch, and decide each settled terminal's next owner before the ack:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration reply --id <message_id> --body \"<answer>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration check --ack <delivery_id> --wait --types \"worker_done,escalation,question\" --timeout-ms 900000 --json\n```\n\nKeep waiting until every expected Dispatch settles. A timeout or empty result is\na checkpoint, not a failure. Do not stop, retry, release, or launch a duplicate\neditor without the positive proof `## Outcome` requires.\n\nAfter three consecutive empty waits, stop waiting blindly and enumerate with\n`ORCA orchestration worker-list --include-remote --json` (defaults to the bound\nRun; `--run <run_id>` overrides; the receipt's `scope` names which), acting on\neach row's `projection.attention` categories, `projection.attention.requiresAction`, and literal `projection.nextAction` argv.\nRows come newest first and page at 100: while `page.hasMore`, follow\n`page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>`.\nA `none` `nextAction` has no argv to run: read `liveness.reason` and keep waiting\nwith `check --wait`. Absence never earns an argv; settlement and pending work still do.\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Then load `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and choose\n`worker-stop` or `worker-abandon` explicitly. `unverifiable` is absence,\nincluding when `worker-show` reports `agentWait` null. Absence never authorizes\nstop, abandon, retry, or release; keep waiting or inspect.\n\n`worker-start` is the normal path, composing placement, terminal readiness,\nprompt injection, and supervised resource ownership. `dispatch --inject` leaves\nan operator-created process unsupervised and is only for an expressiveness gap.\n\n## Task-spec contract\n\nEvery Task spec must be self-contained and name:\n\n- **Target:** the files, component, or environment in scope.\n- **Change:** the concrete result to produce.\n- **Constraints:** invariants, compatibility rules, and do-not-touch boundaries.\n- **Ownership:** what this worker may edit and any coordination boundary.\n- **Observable acceptance:** the test, output, or evidence that proves completion.\n\n## Completion accounting\n\nAfter an accepted success or failure report, immediately do exactly one:\n\n1. Reuse the same proven agent terminal for an immediate follow-up Dispatch.\n2. Record user-requested retention with `worker-retain`.\n3. Run `worker-release`.\n\nRelease is post-settlement cleanup, not cancellation. Only an accepted\nsettlement authorizes it; no other observation does. If release is uncertain,\nfollow its exact recovery receipt and never substitute `terminal close`. If\n`worker-start` recorded `created_child`, capture `<worktreePath>` from that\nstart receipt **before** `worker-release`. After a confirmed released state,\nload `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` and remove the leftover child unless\nfail-closed.\n\nA valid `worker_done` settles the Task and Dispatch automatically; do not follow\nit with `task-update --status completed`. Enumerate the terminals still owing a\ndecision with `worker-list --run <run_id> --terminal-state reclaimable --json`,\nand do not end the coordinator turn until it returns none.\n\n## Conditional references\n\nThis compact guide is sufficient for the normal local loop. At an action gate\nbelow, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --reference references/<file>.md` and\nread only that document; `--references` lists the names. If the CLI rejects\n`--reference`, run `ORCA skills get orchestration --full` once instead: it\nreturns this exact kernel and every reference, so read only the named one. If an\nolder CLI rejects `--full`, keep this kernel's safety floor, use that command's\n`--help`, and never guess newer flags.\n\n| Action gate | Bundled reference |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |\n| Expanded DAG waves, launch model/effort, same-terminal reuse, or review ownership | `references/coordinator-loop.md` |\n| You are a dispatched worker and the live preamble does not answer your question, or `check` returned an error | `references/worker-contract.md` |\n| New worktree, exact workspace, SSH, WSL, or connected-server placement | `references/placement-and-remote.md` |\n| Inbox replay, follow-up messages, group addresses, or decision gates | `references/messaging-and-gates.md` |\n| Failed/stopped/unknown attempts, retry, stop, abandon, retain, uncertain release, or leftover `created_child` | `references/recovery-and-cleanup.md` |\n| Custom argv or terminal topology that `worker-start` cannot express | `references/low-level-topology.md` |\n| Any legacy label, adopted Run, compatibility receipt, or takeover | `references/legacy-contract-migration.md` |\n\nRetired scheduler commands are not aliases for Run creation. Recovery commands\nmust provide their exact next action; follow it with the same selected executable.\n\n---\n\n# Bundled references\n\nThese references belong to the version-matched guide above. Read only the documents named by its action gates.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/coordinator-loop.md -->\n\n# Coordinator loop\n\nLoad this reference for expanded DAG waves, per-invocation launch preferences,\nsame-terminal reuse, or review ownership. The compact guide remains the source\nof truth for the loop order and completion boundary.\n\n## Ready waves\n\nCreate independent Tasks before the first wait. Encode only real dependencies,\nthen use the ready view as external memory:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration task-create --spec \"<dependent work>\" --deps <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --ready --brief --json\n```\n\n`--brief` collapses whitespace and caps echoed specs at 160 characters;\n`spec_truncated` identifies shortened rows. Omit it when full specs are needed or\nwhen an older CLI rejects the flag. A nested worker must respect\n`nested_worker_depth_exceeded`; creating another Run does not reset depth.\n\n## Launch preferences\n\nFor a fresh Claude, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity, or Muse terminal, `--model`\naccepts an opaque provider model ID. Pass it only when the user named a model;\notherwise omit it so the worker inherits the user's configured agent default.\nAdd `--effort` only when that model supports it:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent claude --model opus --effort high --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent muse --model muse-spark-1.3 --json\n```\n\nOther agents, including `opencode`, reject `--model`; they run the model set in\ntheir own config, so a coordinator wanting a same-model opencode worker relies\non that config.\n\n`--effort` requires `--model`; neither option combines with `--terminal`. A\nconnected worker server must advertise launch-preference support before Orca\nforwards either field. Compare `launch.requested` with `launch.effective`; never\nclaim a model or effort from requested arguments alone.\n\n## Reuse after settlement\n\nChoose the terminal's next owner before acknowledging the Delivery. When the\nsame exact agent has immediate follow-up work, recover the proven handle and\ntransfer cleanup ownership to the new Dispatch:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <next_task_id> --terminal <agent_terminal_handle> --json\n```\n\nOtherwise explicitly retain or release the settled worker. Do not leave it live\nonly to inspect output; archived output remains available through `worker-read`.\n\n## Review ownership\n\nA review-only `worker_done` authorizes synthesis of findings, not coordinator\nfile edits. Dispatch or hand off fixes unless the user explicitly assigned them\nto the coordinator. If the user's plan names a next owner, post-review fixes and\nPR preparation remain with that owner; the coordinator routes and synthesizes.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/legacy-contract-migration.md -->\n\n# Legacy contract migration\n\nLoad this reference only for an authority label, adopted Run, compatibility or\nrecovery receipt, or explicit legacy takeover. A newly created attempt always\nuses the current grammar.\n\n## Authority labels\n\n- `[LEGACY COMPATIBILITY]` is live and attested. Run only the exact supported\n command printed with the message, using the same selected executable and\n arguments supplied by the original prompt.\n- `[LEGACY RECOVERY REPLAY — MAY HAVE BEEN SEEN]` is one bounded,\n at-least-once cutover replay. Process it idempotently and acknowledge only\n through the exact displayed guidance.\n- `[LEGACY READ-ONLY]` is inspection-only. It has no reply, acknowledgment, or\n lifecycle mutation.\n- An unlabeled current message uses the current guide and grammar.\n\nAn explicitly selected current Run, attested current binding, current Dispatch,\nor federated attachment takes precedence over legacy fallback. A retained\nadoption record alone does not grant mutation authority. If liveness, principal\nownership, capability, or the exact legacy contract is unproven, degrade to\nread-only inspection and never fall back to local execution.\n\nAdoption preserves the live agent process, PTY/session, terminal handle,\ntab/pane, worktree or folder workspace, Task, and Dispatch. It never restarts or\nreplaces the worker and never revives the retired scheduler. Loss of lifecycle\nauthority does not invalidate the existing process, assignment, or filesystem\nwork. Exact recovery may restore the same PTY once in its original inactive\nbackground tab; it must not spawn, write, signal, stop, switch, focus, split, or\ninject a terminal.\n\n## Compatibility recovery\n\nWhen a compatibility response returns structured next-step arguments, execute\nthose exact arguments with the same selected CLI executable. Do not translate\nfrom memory, broaden the recipient, or retry as a current mutation unless the\nreceipt explicitly authorizes it.\n\nA pending ask, reply, final Dispatch settlement, and consuming check have\ndurable recovery identities. Heartbeat and escalation remain at-least-once\nacross a manual contract-boundary retry. If an ask may already have been\nanswered, run the exact non-consuming recovery check printed by Orca before\ncreating any new question. Never guess among identical question threads.\n\nOn packaged Windows, a legacy ask uses a two-step commit/resume protocol. The\ninitial command commits the question, prints its exact\n`ask --resume <message_id>` command, and exits with launcher status `75`. Run\nthat exact resume after the launcher or update boundary. For an attested WSL\nlaunch, preserve the printed `orca-ide` executable and distro route. Older WSL\nworkers without launch proof remain lifecycle read-only even while their\nterminal and filesystem work continue.\n\n## Read-only inspection and takeover\n\nRead-only inspection does not consume mail:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-list --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id run_legacy_local --json\nORCA orchestration run-show --id <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration task-list --run <adopted_run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration inbox --full --json\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <legacy_handle> --peek --format --json\nORCA terminal read --terminal <legacy_handle> --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <legacy_handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\n```\n\n`run_legacy_local` is an empty audit tombstone after adoption. Find the ordinary\nRun whose objective is `Recovered orchestration work from a contract update`.\n\nOnly when the original coordinator is unavailable or cannot prove retained\nauthority may a new live coordinator take over from its own terminal:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration run-use --id <adopted_run_id> --takeover-legacy --json\nORCA orchestration check --run <adopted_run_id> --json\n```\n\nTakeover binds the authenticated invoking terminal; `--from` cannot nominate\nanother coordinator. It fences only the old coordinator and moves pending mail\ninto current Run delivery. It preserves live workers, Tasks, Dispatches, processes, and files.\nNever take over while the original coordinator is actively coordinating.\n\nDo not launch a replacement editor merely because Orca updated or authority is\nunclear. Keep the original worker as the only editor until a stable handoff\npoint, then use a fresh current Dispatch in a conflict-free placement.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/low-level-topology.md -->\n\n# Low-level topology\n\nLoad this reference only when `worker-start` cannot express required custom argv\nor terminal topology. It is not the normal supervised loop and is never a full\nhandoff recipe.\n\n```text\nORCA terminal create --worktree active --title <task_name> --command \"<agent_command>\" --json\nORCA terminal wait --terminal <handle> --for tui-idle --timeout-ms 60000 --json\nORCA orchestration dispatch --task <task_id> --to <handle> --inject --json\n```\n\nWait for readiness only when startup could lose injected input. Prefer\nagent-first `worker-start` whenever its argv and topology are sufficient.\n\n`dispatch --inject` creates authoritative Task/Dispatch context but deliberately\nkeeps an operator-created process unsupervised: it creates no supervised worker\nresource row. `worker-show`, `worker-read`, and `worker-list` report the lane as\n`unsupervised`; `worker-stop` and `worker-abandon` do not close that process, and\nsettled retain/release take no process action.\n\nUse `worker-start --terminal <handle>` when lifecycle ownership of an existing\nagent terminal is required. Never imply that low-level dispatch retroactively\nowns a process, never use it to route around the nested-depth limit, and never\nuse it for an ownership handoff.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/messaging-and-gates.md -->\n\n# Messaging and gates\n\nLoad this reference for inbox replay, attempt-specific guidance, group\naddresses, blocking questions, or coordinator-managed DAG decisions.\n\nA successful `send` proves durable enqueue. Wake and nudge are best-effort\nattention only: neither proves the recipient read the message, began a turn, or\naccepted steering.\n\n## Coordinator delivery loop\n\n`check` names its caller with `--terminal <handle>` and is the only verb that\nrejects `--from`. Omit `--terminal` inside an Orca terminal, where Orca resolves\nthe caller; pass it explicitly from anywhere else, including a dispatched\nworker reading coordinator follow-ups.\n\nA consuming coordinator `check` returns the bound Run's oldest FIFO Delivery,\nup to 50 messages, and replays that exact batch until acknowledged. Process\nevery row and required terminal ownership decision before `--ack`. Type filters\ndecide when a waiter wakes; they do not authorize skipping older actionable\nmail. A Delivery therefore always carries the whole FIFO batch whatever its\ntypes, and a `check` without `--wait` hands that batch over unfiltered.\n`--peek` and `--all` are read-only inspection, not progress through the\ncoordinator inbox.\n\nAn empty wait or timeout is a checkpoint. Continue rolling waits until every\nexpected Dispatch settles. Heartbeat or visible activity means alive, not done.\n\n## Addresses\n\nUse a stable Dispatch address for attempt-specific coordinator guidance:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\n```\n\nDo not substitute a remote terminal handle. Omit `--from` for ordinary\ncoordinator calls; a dispatched worker instead copies the exact `--from` and\ncapability arguments in its preamble. `check` is the exception: it identifies\nits caller with `--terminal`, never `--from`.\n\nGroup addresses include `@all`, `@idle`, `@claude`, `@codex`, `@opencode`,\n`@gemini`, `@droid`, `@grok`, `@cursor`, and `@worktree:<id>`. Every group but\n`@worktree:<id>` means the live Dispatches of the sender's own Run. Mail goes\nto each `dispatch:<id>` mailbox, except a worker coordinating a child Run\nreceives it in that `run:<id>` mailbox. A sender bound to no Run is refused;\n`--run` must match the group audience and never grants membership.\nA Run group excludes its owning coordinator; a worker raising a blocker sends\nto `run:<id>`. A worker that created its own Run addresses that Run's workers,\nnot its siblings. `@worktree:<id>` reaches matching workspace terminals,\nincluding coordinators. Use groups only for intentional fan-out status or\nquestions. `worker_done`, heartbeat, and other\nDispatch lifecycle messages never target groups.\n\n## Questions and gates\n\nA worker uses `ask`; its timeout leaves one durable question pending, which the\nworker resumes by message ID. The coordinator answers that message with `reply`.\n\nUse a gate only for a coordinator-owned Task-DAG decision:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration gate-create --task <task_id> --question \"<decision>\" --options <json_array> --json\nORCA orchestration gate-resolve --id <gate_id> --resolution \"<choice>\" --json\nORCA orchestration gate-list --task <task_id> --json\n```\n\nPass `json_array` using the quoting rules of the active shell; do not copy POSIX\nsingle-quote syntax into PowerShell or `cmd.exe`.\n\nDo not create a gate merely to answer a worker's `ask`.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/placement-and-remote.md -->\n\n# Placement and remote execution\n\nLoad this reference before creating a new worktree or placing work through SSH,\nWSL, or another connected Orca server.\n\n## Placement choices\n\nA fresh worker means a fresh agent terminal, not a new Git worktree. Use the\ncurrent or an exact existing workspace by default. Create a worktree only when\nthe user requested one or a concrete checkout or filesystem conflict makes\nsharing unsafe.\n\n```text\n# Current workspace; setup is not rerun.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree current --agent codex --json\n\n# Stacked child worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-child --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n\n# Independent top-level worktree.\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --worktree new-top-level --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nCurrent and exact existing workspaces create a fresh terminal unless\n`--terminal` is explicit. Folder workspaces are first-class; do not invoke Git\nor require worktree lineage when the selected workspace is a folder.\n\nRegister a folder workspace through project setup. `repo add --path <dir>`\nrequires a valid Git repository and rejects a plain directory:\n\n```text\nORCA project setup-existing-folder --project <project_id> --host <host_id> --path <abs_path> --kind folder --json\n```\n\nThen place work on the returned workspace with an exact selector. A worktree\nselector needs the full `<repo-id>::<path>` value Orca returned, passed as\n`id:<newFullWorktreeId>`; a bare repo id is not a worktree id. `new-child` and\n`new-top-level` are worktree creation and do not apply to a folder.\n\nNew worktrees use agent-first creation and run setup by default. Preserve the\nrepository's startup policy: `start-immediately` can report setup as `running`,\nwhile `wait-for-setup` gates prompt delivery on success. Orca lineage, Git base,\nfilesystem isolation, coordination parentage, UI grouping, and execution host\nare separate decisions.\n\n## Connected servers\n\nThe Run and Tasks remain authoritative on the current server. `--on` selects\nonly the worker's execution server and appears only on `worker-start`:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --on <environment> --worktree new-top-level --repo <exact_remote_repo_selector> --name <name> --agent codex --setup run --json\n```\n\nRemote `current` and `new-child` are invalid because they are ambiguous across\nservers. Use an exact discovered remote workspace, or `new-top-level` with an\nexact remote repository selector. After start, route every follow-up, read,\nstop, and cleanup by Dispatch ID; never repeat `--on` or substitute a remote\nterminal handle.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\nORCA orchestration send --to dispatch:<dispatch_id> --subject \"Follow-up\" --body \"<guidance>\" --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` reads local fleet state only; enumerate remote workers with\n`--include-remote` or every one of them reads `unverifiable`. Scope every list\nwith `--run <run_id>`: unscoped, it reports every Dispatch this runtime has\nrecorded, and the workers you are waiting on are lost in that history.\n\n## Execution-host and mixed-version floor\n\nThe execution host owns process, filesystem, transcript, stop, and cleanup\nfacts. Render only `live`, `unverifiable`, or `exited`. Connection loss, relay\nabsence, missing client inventory, or timeout yields `unverifiable`, never\nsynthetic exit and never a client-local substitute action.\n\nClients and servers update independently. Optional response fields may be\nabsent. Forward model/effort, transcript reads, cleanup, or another new remote\noperation only when the peer advertises the relevant capability; unknown stream\nopcodes can be silently dropped. A narrow unsupported response may degrade to a\ndocumented older path, but must not broaden the target or cross the execution\nboundary. Changing host-published content reaches old clients even without a\nwire-shape change, so preserve established semantics or negotiate the behavior.\n\nFor WSL, use the exact executable and arguments returned by Orca so the distro\nand packaged launcher remain bound. Do not translate a printed `orca-ide`\nrecovery command into a PATH-resolved local command.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/recovery-and-cleanup.md -->\n\n# Recovery and cleanup\n\nLoad this reference only after a failed/stopped/unknown attempt, explicit retry\ndecision, stop/abandon request, retention request, uncertain release, or a\nconfirmed `worker-release` of a leftover `created_child` worktree.\n\n| Proven state | Safe action |\n| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `ready` or active | Keep waiting; optionally read bounded output |\n| `failed` or `stopped` | Start a replacement with `--retry-of`; repeat placement explicitly |\n| `outcome_unknown` | Inspect, then choose `worker-stop` or explicit `worker-abandon` |\n| Accepted `worker_done` | Reuse, retain, or release |\n| Remote contact lost | Preserve `unverifiable`; do not stop or retry from absence alone |\n| `unverifiable` liveness | Keep waiting or inspect; never stop, abandon, retry, or release |\n| Proven `exited` agent | Enumerate with `worker-list`; follow its `nextAction` |\n\n## Inspect before acting\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-list --run <run_id> --include-remote --json\nORCA orchestration worker-show --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-read --dispatch <dispatch_id> --limit 50 --json\n```\n\n`worker-list` is the enumerating command and the authority on agent liveness:\neach row carries `projection.liveness`, `projection.attention.categories`,\n`projection.attention.requiresAction`, and a literal `projection.nextAction`\nargv to run. Always scope it with `--run <run_id>`; an unscoped list reports\nevery Dispatch this runtime has ever recorded and buries the live ones.\n`worker-show`'s `observation.status` is PTY liveness only, so a `live` terminal\nwhose agent died at a trust prompt still reads `live` there.\n\nWhen the two disagree, the fleet verdict decides — unless the fleet row is\n`unverifiable` for a reason that names a gap on this client rather than a fact\nabout the worker. `missing_status`, `host_unavailable`, and\n`capability_unsupported` are such gaps: the first means this runtime holds no\nstatus row, the second that it could not ask the execution host at all, and the\nthird that a stale peer answered but lacks the fleet-snapshot capability.\nAgainst any of them, a `worker-show` verdict sourced from the execution host is\nthe better evidence and outranks the row. Only `host_unavailable` is contact\nloss; the other two mean the host was never asked or answered without the\ncapability.\n\nThis never promotes absence. `unverifiable` from either command still authorizes\nnothing — only a positive `live` or `exited` verdict does.\n\nA worker started with `--on <environment>` reads `unverifiable` until you\nenumerate with `--include-remote`, which asks its execution host for the\nverdict. Rows come newest first and past 100 the response pages, so follow\n`page.nextCursor` with `--cursor <value>` until `page.hasMore` is false.\n\n## Stall needs positive evidence\n\nLeave the wait only on positive proof the agent stopped: `exited` liveness, the\nworker's own observation of process exit, or a transcript whose final agent turn\nsent no `worker_done`. Only then choose `worker-stop` or `worker-abandon`.\n\n`unverifiable` is always absence — `missing_status`, `stale_status`,\n`restored_unconfirmed`, or a remote worker with no connection — and a null\n`agentWait` or an unchanged `worker-read` tail is that same absence seen again.\nAbsence never authorizes stop, abandon, retry, or release: keep waiting, or\ninspect until you hold one of the positive signals above. A `nextAction` that\nnames an inspecting command is asking for evidence, not for cleanup.\n\n`worker-read --source auto` uses a proven provider transcript when available and\notherwise returns bounded terminal output with a typed `fallbackReason`.\nContinue with its top-level cursor, which is pinned to that source. If Orca\nreports `source_changed`, restart without the old cursor. A bounded initial\ntranscript tail can return an EOF cursor that follows only newly appended records;\nread `contentComplete`, `clipping`, and `warnings` before assuming omitted older\nrecords are pageable. Never guess a provider session ID, transcript path, or\nremote terminal handle.\n\n## Was the mutation applied?\n\nWhen a mutation's response was lost and named no Dispatch, do not replay blind.\nEvery orchestration mutation accepts `--retry-request <id>`, which reuses one\noperation identity so Orca can replay, join, or recover it instead of starting a\nduplicate. Ask what happened first:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration request-show --request <request_id> --json\n```\n\n`completed` means the mutation already took effect; read its recorded receipt\ninstead of rerunning. `pending` means the original mutation is still running or\nOrca restarted before recording its outcome; replay the original command with\n`--retry-request <request_id>`. `absent` means this runtime holds no receipt\nunder your caller identity — that is not proof nothing happened, so inspect the\naffected Task, Dispatch, and terminal before deciding whether to retry.\n\nWhen a worker's terminal accepted input but the submit is unconfirmed, use\n`terminal send --wait-submit <seconds>`: it observes the accepted prompt for that\nlong and, on timeout, returns the input-accepted receipt without resending.\n\n## Refused starts\n\n`dispatch` and `worker-start` refuse the following preflight cases with a stable\n`error.code`; read it before choosing a recovery, and treat `error.data.nextSteps`\nas the exact recovery text. Older hosts may omit `data`, so treat every field as\noptional.\n\n| Code | Meaning | Recovery |\n| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| `task_not_found` | No Task with that id, or not in the bound Run (`data.taskId`, `data.runId`) | Check `task-list --json`; create the Task with `task-create` if it does not exist |\n| `task_not_startable` | Task cannot start now: not `ready`, or invalid `--retry-of` (`data.status`, `data.unmetDependencies`, `data.retryOf`) | Wait for running dependencies with `check --wait`; retry or unblock failed ones; inspect `dispatch-show` if already dispatched |\n| `inject_rejected` | `--inject` refused because no recognized agent runs in the target (`data.terminal`, `data.reason`) | Start a recognized agent there or pick another terminal; or dispatch without `--inject` and use `terminal send` |\n| `runtime_error` | Any other failure, including a target terminal that already owns an active Dispatch | Read the message, inspect state, and do not retry unchanged |\n\n## Retry, stop, and abandon\n\nRetry only a positively proven failed or stopped attempt. Name the failed Task\nwith `--task`, since `--spec` creates a new one. Placement is never silently\ninherited:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-start --task <task_id> --retry-of <dispatch_id> --worktree <explicit_placement> --agent <agent> --json\n```\n\nAfter three consecutive failures for one Task, its dispatch context\ncircuit-breaks and the Task is failed. Do not route around that boundary with a\nnew Run or an unrelated Dispatch.\n\nFor `outcome_unknown`, inspect first, then make an explicit choice:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-stop --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-abandon --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\n`worker-stop` closes only the exact proven supervised agent terminal. It never\ndeletes the worktree, setup terminal, configured tabs, or unrelated processes.\n`worker-abandon` fences orchestration while accepting that resources may remain\nlive; it performs no remote, process, or filesystem action.\n\n## Retain and release\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration worker-retain --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\nORCA orchestration worker-release --dispatch <dispatch_id> --json\n```\n\nRetain only when the user explicitly wants the settled terminal kept live.\nRelease works after succeeded and failed reports, archives readable output, and\ncloses only the exact terminal owned by that settled Dispatch. Replays may call\nrelease again safely. Reused, pre-existing, setup, coordinator, active,\nuser-taken-over, and unproven terminals are retained.\n\nA `worker-start` that failed before its agent was ready still owns the terminal\nit created. Its receipt names `worker-release`, and `worker-list` reports that\nrow as `reclaimable`; release it there rather than closing the terminal by hand.\n\nNever release because of timeout, TUI idle, heartbeat, status, question,\nescalation, or stale/rejected completion. If the receipt says `release_pending`\nor `release_unknown`, follow its exact recovery action. Never substitute\n`terminal close`.\n\n## Worktree cleanup after release\n\n`worker-release` closes the agent terminal only. A `--worktree new-child`\ncheckout stays on disk. Remove it only after `worker-release` returns a\nconfirmed released state, and only when that Dispatch's own `effects`\nrecorded `{ \"kind\": \"worktree\", \"action\": \"created_child\" }`.\n\nCapture `<worktreePath>` **before** `worker-release` from the `worker-start`\nreceipt: the path after `::` in `effects[].id`, or `residualResources` of kind\n`worktree`. After release, `worker-show` returns `terminal: null` because\n`observation.exact` fails once the process incarnation no longer matches, so\n`terminal.worktreePath` is not a path source.\n\n```text\nORCA worktree rm --force --worktree \"path:<worktreePath>\" --json\n```\n\n`--force` maps to `git worktree remove --force` and waives PTY-stop proof; it\nis not permission to delete while terminal-stop state is unverified. It does\nnot force-delete the GitHub branch.\n\nLeave the worktree in place and report it instead when any of the following\nhold:\n\n- `worker-release` did not complete successfully (`release_pending`,\n `release_unknown`, retained, or error).\n- The worker was reused for a follow-up Dispatch.\n- The user asked to keep the workspace, or the Dispatch recorded\n `worker-retain`.\n- The terminal was user-taken-over.\n- The recorded start effect was `reused`, or the worker started with\n `--worktree current` or an exact pre-existing workspace — never delete a\n checkout this Dispatch did not create.\n- Unpushed local commits exist for **any** outcome (succeeded, failed, or\n STOP): dirty `git status --porcelain`, a nonzero\n `git rev-list --count @{upstream}..HEAD`, or no upstream / unknown\n comparison.\n- `worktree rm` itself errors — a locked worktree or unverifiable Git state.\n\nRun this before the next wait or the end of the turn. It is coordinator\nhygiene on top of release, not a substitute for it.\n\n`orchestration reset` is destructive recovery. Do not run it during active\ncoordination unless the user explicitly abandons that state.\n\n<!-- bundled-reference: references/worker-contract.md -->\n\n# Worker contract\n\nThe injected preamble is authoritative. Copy its command rather than\nreconstructing flags. In particular, preserve the exact executable, worker\nhandle, Dispatch capability, Task ID, and Dispatch ID.\n\n## Heartbeat\n\nSend heartbeats only at the cadence required by the live preamble. Skip them\nwhile blocked inside `ask` or `check --wait`; those calls are liveness signals.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type heartbeat --subject \"alive\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --phase \"<investigating|implementing|reviewing|waiting>\"\n```\n\nUse typed lifecycle flags, not a hand-written JSON payload. A heartbeat proves\nliveness, never completion.\n\n## Ask and resume\n\nUse Orca `ask` whenever the coordinator must answer. Never open a local question\nTUI the coordinator cannot answer.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --question \"<question>\" --options \"<choice-a>,<choice-b>\" --timeout-ms 600000\n\nORCA orchestration ask --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --resume <message_id> --timeout-ms 600000\n```\n\nA timeout or disconnect leaves the original question pending. Resume its\nmessage ID; do not create a duplicate question.\n\n## Reading coordinator follow-ups\n\nThe coordinator steers a running worker with `send --to dispatch:<id>`. That\nenqueue is durable but does not interrupt you, so nothing arrives unless you\nlook:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration check --terminal <worker_handle> --json\n```\n\nRun it at each natural checkpoint — before starting a new file, after a test\nrun — and once more immediately before `worker_done`, so a redirect or a\ncancellation lands before the Task settles. `check` names its caller with\n`--terminal`, never `--from`. Stop checking after `worker_done`.\n\nIf `check` returns `consumer_fenced`, this process no longer owns its Dispatch:\nthe Attempt was re-attached to another worker or settled without you. Stop, do\nnot send `worker_done`, and do not retry the check. An empty `check` never means\nyou were replaced; `consumer_fenced` is the only way you learn that.\n\n## Escalation\n\nEscalate only before completion and only when the coordinator must intervene:\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type escalation --subject \"Blocked: <reason>\" --body \"<details>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id>\n```\n\n## Completion\n\nSend exactly one terminal report. `--body` is three sentences: what changed,\nwhat was found, and what remains. Use `--outcome failed` when the requested work\nis not complete; never hide failure in prose or silently exit.\n\nAppend `--files-modified` or `--report-path` only when applicable, using actual\npaths. Do not send documentation placeholders as metadata.\n\n```text\nORCA orchestration send --from <worker_handle> --dispatch-capability <capability> --type worker_done --subject \"<short status>\" --body \"<three sentences: work, findings, remaining>\" --task-id <task_id> --dispatch-id <dispatch_id> --outcome succeeded\n```\n\nAfter `worker_done`, end the dispatched turn and idle. Do not poll, close your\nown terminal, or begin unrelated work. A later direct user instruction is new\nuser-owned work and must not reuse settled lifecycle IDs; a supervised follow-up\narrives with a fresh preamble and Task block.\n" |
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ELI5
When a coordinator starts lots of child workers, Orca closes their terminals after they finish but leaves the Git checkouts on disk. This update tells coordinators to delete those created-child worktrees after a confirmed release, unless it would be unsafe.
What Changed
Rebased onto current
main(split orchestration guide):skill-guides/orchestration.md: ifworker-startrecordedcreated_child, capture<worktreePath>from that start receipt beforeworker-release. After a confirmed released state, load the recovery reference and remove the leftover child unless fail-closed. The recovery action-gate row now includes leftovercreated_child.skill-guides/orchestration/references/recovery-and-cleanup.md: new "Worktree cleanup after release" section with theORCA worktree rm --force --worktree path:<worktreePath> --jsoncommand, theterminal: null/observation.exactpath-source rule, and the fail-closed list.src/cli/bundled-skill-guides.tssoorca skills get orchestrationmatches.Fail closed — leave the worktree and report — when any of:
worker-releasedid not complete successfully (release_pending,release_unknown, retained, error); the worker was reused for a follow-up Dispatch; the user asked to keep the workspace or recordedworker-retain; the terminal was user-taken-over; the start effect wasreused/--worktree current/ a pre-existing checkout; unpushed local commits exist for any outcome (dirty porcelain, nonzero@{upstream}..HEAD, or unknown upstream); orworktree rmerrors.--forcemaps togit worktree remove --forceand waives PTY-stop proof; it is not permission to delete while terminal-stop is unverified, and it does not force-delete the GitHub branch.The installable
skills/orchestration/SKILL.mdstub is unchanged. Overlap: #19404 follows issue #18411 literally (terminal.worktreePathfrom post-releaseworker-show), which is unavailable after release.Why
worker-releasearchives output and closes the agent terminal only. A--worktree new-childcheckout stays on disk. Coordinators that fan out many workers leave leftover children behind; Workspace Cleanup is suggestion-only and not orchestration-aware.Linked Issue
Fixes #18411
Visual Proof
N/A — Markdown skill-guide change, no rendered UI.
Testing
node config/scripts/generate-bundled-skill-guides.mjs(verify, no--write) is clean.pnpm test config/scripts/orchestration-skill-guidance.test.mjs config/scripts/generate-bundled-skill-guides.test.mjs— 47 passed.AI Disclosure
This change was authored with AI assistance and reviewed before submission.
Review
Self-reviewed against #18411, #19404, and
orchestration.workerShow(terminalis gated onobservation.exact). Path source is theworker-startcreated_childeffect, not post-releaseterminal.worktreePath.Agent skill upstream boundary
docs/reference/agent-skill-sharing-upstream-boundary.mdand copies or mechanically translates no upstream skill-installer source, tests, fixtures, registry entries, path tables, comments, or documentation.Checklist
N/Awith reasonworktree rmstill runs on the execution hostpnpm lint,pnpm typecheck,pnpm test, andpnpm buildpass (or CI will cover; local preferred) — scoped skill-guide tests run locally; GitHub Actions still need maintainer approval