Codeman/skills/codeman/reference/recipes.md

Worked orchestration flows

Loaded on demand from the codeman skill. Every flow assumes the SKILL.md §0 preamble is in scope ($API, $SELF, $CID, "${CURL[@]}", delete_session).

⚠️ That preamble does not survive between tool calls, so re-run it at the top of every Bash call that uses these flows, in full. Re-pasting only part of it is the failure mode the fail-closed delete_session exists to contain, and a clientId you rebuild from $$ changes per call, which turns the duplicate-resend loop in Flow 1 into a second typed prompt.

Track every session id you create; delete them (and only them) when done. The two silent killers: every input ends with \r, and markers must be split so the typed-line echo does not match them.

Flow 1: claude worker, end to end

Start a worker, get it truly ready (trust dialog included), give it a task, wait for the turn to finish, read the answer, clean up. Verified live: the stop hook resolves the send-and-wait within seconds of the turn ending.

# 1. start (returns before the CLI inside is ready). ALWAYS check .success: on failure
#    .data.sessionId is null, jq -r yields the string "null", and every step below
#    then runs against /api/v1/sessions/null and reports jq noise, not the cause.
Q=$("${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/quick-start" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"caseName":"worker-tests","mode":"claude"}')
SID=$(jq -r 'if .success then .data.sessionId else empty end' <<<"$Q")
[ -n "$SID" ] || { jq -c '{error, errorCode}' <<<"$Q"; echo "quick-start failed"; exit 1; }
CREATED+=("$SID")   # the cleanup list
SEQ=1               # $CID is the fixed literal from §0; never rebuild it from $$

# 2. readiness. "wait for idle" or "wait for ❯" is NOT readiness: a fresh session
#    reports idle before anything spawned, and the first-run trust dialog contains ❯.
#    Codeman CAN auto-accept that dialog, but the accept misses on some runs (both
#    outcomes seen live), so: composer marker first, dialog only as the bounded
#    fallback (a blind Enter up front would land in an already-ready composer).
#    Stage 1 is SHORT on purpose: an already-trusted case matches in <1 s, while a
#    virgin case can never pass it (the dialog is up) and always pays it in full —
#    the long budget belongs to stage 3, after the dialog is answered.
#    Single-token matches only: TUI text is space-less in the stream.
#    ⚠️ `bypass` is the statusline of ONE permission mode (the default one Codeman
#    spawns). The server's `claudeMode` setting also has auto/allowedTools/normal
#    spawns whose statusline differs, and the mode is not exposed on GET
#    /api/v1/sessions/:id. `shift+tab` is the one token EVERY mode's status bar ends
#    with ('(shift+tab to cycle)'), measured per mode, so match that and not `bypass`.
#    The `+` needs --data-urlencode or it decodes to a space. Stage 4 remains the last
#    resort: proving readiness by making the worker answer rather than by chrome.
for _ in $(seq 1 30); do
  [ "$("${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID" | jq '.data.pid')" != null ] && break; sleep 1
done
# (pid != null proves startup only — a worker that later dies inside its pane keeps
#  status "idle" and a pid. The death check is wait?until=exit.)
R=$("${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait-output" \
    --data-urlencode 'match=shift+tab' --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=5000')
if ! jq -e '.data.wait.matched' <<<"$R" >/dev/null; then
  T=$("${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait-output" \
      --data-urlencode 'match=trust' --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=2000')
  if jq -e '.data.wait.matched' <<<"$T" >/dev/null; then
    "${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/input" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -d '{"input":"\r","useMux":true,"clientId":"'"$CID"'","seq":'$SEQ'}' >/dev/null
    SEQ=$((SEQ+1))
  fi
  R=$("${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait-output" \
      --data-urlencode 'match=shift+tab' --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=45000')
fi
if ! jq -e '.data.wait.matched' <<<"$R" >/dev/null; then
  # stage 4, mode-agnostic and bounded: answering a trivial prompt IS readiness.
  # Costs the worker one turn, so it only runs when the fast marker missed. Split
  # token (the typed line echoes into the stream) and unique per call. Must stay AFTER
  # the dialog fallback: free text plus \r into a trust dialog still up answers it
  # blind, the same footgun as an up-front Enter.
  TOK="${RANDOM}_$$"
  "${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/input" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"input":"reply with the word READY immediately followed by _'"$TOK"' and nothing else\r","useMux":true,"clientId":"'"$CID"'","seq":'$SEQ'}' >/dev/null
  SEQ=$((SEQ+1))
  "${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait-output" \
    --data-urlencode "match=READY_$TOK" --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=60000' \
    | jq -e '.data.wait.matched' >/dev/null || echo "worker $SID not ready; inspect terminal?tail="
fi

# 3. send-and-wait, looping on the IDENTICAL request (tagged duplicate: no retype).
#    BOUNDED (a \r-less send would otherwise loop forever), body built with jq -n so
#    quotes/backslashes/$ in a real prompt survive; note the appended \r.
PROMPT='run the unit tests and summarize failures in one line'
BODY=$(jq -n --arg p "$PROMPT" --arg c "$CID" --argjson s "$SEQ" \
  '{input:($p+"\r"),useMux:true,clientId:$c,seq:$s,wait:true,waitTimeout:60000}')
for TRY in $(seq 1 10); do
  R=$("${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/input" \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-binary "$BODY")
  if jq -e '.data.wait.timedOut' <<<"$R" >/dev/null; then
    jq -e '.data.limitPaused' <<<"$R" >/dev/null && sleep 60   # usage-limit pause: silence is expected
    [ "$TRY" = 2 ] && "${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/terminal?tail=2000" \
      | jq -r '.data.terminalBuffer' | tail -5   # is the prompt sitting unsubmitted?
    continue
  fi
  # Resolved — but duplicate + immediate is only "the session is idle NOW", which a
  # never-submitted (\r-less) prompt also produces. Check before believing it:
  if jq -e '.data.duplicate and .data.wait.immediate' <<<"$R" >/dev/null; then
    "${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/terminal?tail=2000" \
      | jq -r '.data.terminalBuffer' | tail -5
    # prompt still on the ❯ composer line = never submitted; {"input":"\r"} is the
    # only recovery, then loop again
  fi
  break
done
SEQ=$((SEQ+1))

# 4. interpret
case "$(jq -r '.data.wait.signal' <<<"$R")" in
  stop) : ;;                          # definitive end of turn
  idle) : ;;                          # heuristic — and if it rode a duplicate with
                                      # immediate:true, it proves nothing ran (step 3)
  exit) echo "worker died" ;;
  null) jq -e '.data.wait.ended' <<<"$R" >/dev/null && echo "worker deleted mid-wait" ;;
esac

# 5. read the answer. For a claude worker this is last-response: clean transcript text,
#    no TUI repaint noise. Do NOT scrape the terminal for this — a full-screen TUI
#    draws with cursor moves, so the stripped buffer is nearly one long line and the
#    answer arrives buried in redraw garbage.
#    POLL it: the transcript flush lags the stop signal, so a single read taken the
#    instant step 3 returned comes back "" even though the turn finished (verified live).
for _ in $(seq 1 10); do
  TXT=$("${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/last-response" | jq -r '.data.text')
  [ -n "$TXT" ] && break; sleep 1
done
printf '%s\n' "$TXT"
#    (.data is {text,timestamp}; text is also "" before the first completed turn and
#     always "" for shell/opencode/gemini/antigravity, which have no transcript — use
#     the terminal tail there, and here only to diagnose an unsubmitted prompt.)

# 6. clean up — exact id, own list only, through the fail-closed §0 helper
delete_session "$SID"

Increment SEQ for every new input to the same worker. Reuse the same SEQ only to re-ask about the same delivery (the duplicate-wait loop above).

Flow 2: shell worker running a build, marker-synchronized

shell sessions have no hooks (stop/blocked are a 400 there), and their lifecycle signals are coarse — a short command may emit no idle transition at all (verified live), so send-and-wait can burn its whole timeout. The reliable pattern is a split, unique marker plus wait-output from=buffer:

Q=$("${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/quick-start" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"caseName":"builder","mode":"shell"}')
SID=$(jq -r 'if .success then .data.sessionId else empty end' <<<"$Q")
[ -n "$SID" ] || { jq -c '{error, errorCode}' <<<"$Q"; echo "quick-start failed"; exit 1; }
CREATED+=("$SID")
for _ in $(seq 1 30); do
  [ "$("${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID" | jq '.data.pid')" != null ] && break; sleep 1
done

# Split marker: the typed line carries ${M}_N, only the OUTPUT carries DONE_N.
# An unsplit marker matches the echo of your own keystrokes before the build runs.
N="${RANDOM}_$$"; MARK="DONE_$N"
"${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/input" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":"M=DONE; npm run build; echo ${M}_'"$N"' rc=$?\r","useMux":true,"clientId":"codeman-build-1","seq":1}'

for TRY in $(seq 1 30); do   # BOUNDED (30 min): a \r-less send makes an uncapped loop infinite
  R=$("${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait-output" \
      --data-urlencode "match=$MARK" --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=60000')
  jq -e '.data.wait.matched' <<<"$R" >/dev/null && break
  jq -e '.data.wait.ended'   <<<"$R" >/dev/null && { echo "worker gone"; break; }
  [ "$TRY" = 2 ] && "${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/terminal?tail=2000" \
    | jq -r '.data.terminalBuffer' | tail -5   # command still sitting unsubmitted?
done
jq -r '.data.wait.snippet' <<<"$R"    # e.g. "DONE_123_456 rc=0" — the exit code rides the marker line

Flow 3: fan out N workers, gather as each finishes

Start everything first, then gather. One in-flight wait per worker — the per-session waiter cap is 16 and abandoned concurrent waits pile up against it.

declare -A WORKER MARKS
for task in lint typecheck unit; do
  Q=$("${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/quick-start" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"caseName":"fan-'"$task"'","mode":"shell"}')
  SID=$(jq -r 'if .success then .data.sessionId else empty end' <<<"$Q")
  [ -n "$SID" ] || { jq -c '{error, errorCode}' <<<"$Q"; echo "$task: spawn failed"; continue; }
  WORKER[$task]=$SID; CREATED+=("$SID")
done
for task in "${!WORKER[@]}"; do
  SID=${WORKER[$task]}
  for _ in $(seq 1 30); do
    [ "$("${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID" | jq '.data.pid')" != null ] && break; sleep 1
  done
  N="${task}_${RANDOM}"; MARKS[$task]="DONE_$N"
  "${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/input" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"input":"M=DONE; npm run '"$task"'; echo ${M}_'"$N"' rc=$?\r","useMux":true,"clientId":"codeman-fan-'"$task"'","seq":1}'
done
for task in "${!WORKER[@]}"; do        # sequential gather; each wait blocks until that worker is done
  for TRY in $(seq 1 30); do           # BOUNDED per worker, same reasoning as Flow 2
    R=$("${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/${WORKER[$task]}/wait-output" \
        --data-urlencode "match=${MARKS[$task]}" --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' --data-urlencode 'timeout=60000')
    jq -e '.data.wait.matched or .data.wait.ended' <<<"$R" >/dev/null && break
  done
  echo "$task: $(jq -r '.data.wait.snippet // "worker gone"' <<<"$R" | tail -1)"
done

Flow 3b: fan out N CLAUDE workers

Send-and-wait is synchronous, so the shell-flow shape ("send everything, then gather") does not translate directly: the send is the wait, and worker 2's prompt would not go out until worker 1's turn ended. Two working patterns, both verified live (and one anti-pattern, measured failing, replaced by B):

A. Background the send-and-waits (simplest; each resolved on stop while the other was still running):

sendwait() {  # $1=sid $2=prompt $3=seq — assumes the worker passed Flow 1's readiness
  local body; body=$(jq -n --arg p "$2" --argjson s "$3" --arg c "codeman-fan-$1" \
    '{input:($p+"\r"),useMux:true,clientId:$c,seq:$s,wait:true,waitTimeout:600000}')
  "${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/$1/input" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-binary "$body" > "/tmp/fan-$1.json"
}
( sendwait "$SID1" 'refactor module A and reply DONE' 2 & \
  sendwait "$SID2" 'write tests for module B and reply DONE' 2 & wait )
jq -c '.data.wait | {signal, waitedMs}' /tmp/fan-"$SID1".json /tmp/fan-"$SID2".json

One in-flight wait per worker keeps you far from the 16-per-session waiter cap.

B. Fire-and-forget, then gather with output markers. If you must send every prompt before waiting on anything, do not gather with signal waits: signals are edge-triggered with no history, so a stop that fires before the gather reaches that worker is gone and unobservable afterwards — fresh=1 cannot help, and neither can omitting it (measured: worker 2's turn ended at +2 s, its sequential until=stop,exit&fresh=1 gather burned its full bounded 300 s and reported nothing). Gather instead on a marker each worker prints itself, which from=buffer re-finds no matter when it appeared:

# SIDS[1], SIDS[2] = worker ids that already passed Flow 1's readiness.
# The typed prompt must NOT contain the finished marker verbatim (your keystrokes
# echo into the output stream and would match instantly), so ask for it in halves:
declare -A TOK
for i in 1 2; do
  TOK[$i]="${RANDOM}_$i"
  BODY=$(jq -n --arg p "do task $i; when completely done print the word WORKDONE immediately followed by _${TOK[$i]}" \
    --arg c "codeman-fan-$i" --argjson s 2 '{input:($p+"\r"),useMux:true,clientId:$c,seq:$s}')
  "${CURL[@]}" -X POST "$API/api/v1/sessions/${SIDS[$i]}/input" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-binary "$BODY"
done
for i in 1 2; do        # order no longer matters: the marker is latched in the buffer
  "${CURL[@]}" -G "$API/api/v1/sessions/${SIDS[$i]}/wait-output" \
    --data-urlencode "match=WORKDONE_${TOK[$i]}" --data-urlencode 'from=buffer' \
    --data-urlencode 'timeout=600000' | jq -c '.data.wait | {matched, snippet}'
done

Use A unless you genuinely need to send everything before waiting on anything: A needs no marker discipline, and resolves on the definitive stop instead of on the worker remembering to print a token.

Flow 4: watch for a worker stuck on a permission prompt

Claude workers can block on a permission dialog. blocked is a wait signal (claude-mode only), so watch for it and surface the question to the user instead of guessing an answer. Expect it routinely on a server whose claudeMode is not the default bypass one (the same setting that decides whether the readiness marker in Flow 1 ever appears):

ESC=$(printf '\033')   # \x1b is GNU-sed only; BSD sed (macOS) would strip nothing
R=$("${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/wait?until=stop,blocked,exit&timeout=60000")
if [ "$(jq -r '.data.wait.signal' <<<"$R")" = blocked ]; then
  "${CURL[@]}" "$API/api/v1/sessions/$SID/terminal?tail=2000" | jq -r '.data.terminalBuffer' \
    | sed -e "s/${ESC}\[[0-9;?]*[a-zA-Z]//g" | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$' | tail -15
  # show this to the user and ask how to answer; do NOT auto-confirm another
  # session's permission prompt
fi

Flow 5: claude fan-out over cross-session messaging

Preferred over Flow 3b when messaging is available (probe per worker first; see messaging.md): tasks go out as multi-line, exactly-once messages with no \r/marker discipline, and results come back as latched replies that, unlike the edge-triggered signals, cannot be missed by a late gather. Spawn, readiness and cleanup do not change.

1. Spawn N workers with quick-start and run Flow 1's readiness ladder on each (messaging cannot answer a trust dialog).
2. ListAgents once. Map each row to a worker by its tmux codeman-<id8> column (<id8> = first 8 chars of the quick-start sessionId); note each name [ref]. A worker without a row is driven over Flow 3b instead; mixed fleets are fine.
3. SendMessage each worker its task, first contact in the name [ref] form, with a per-worker reply token baked in: "... when done, reply to the sender of this message with one line: RESULT_: ".
4. Gather = the replies themselves; they attach to your subsequent tool results in completion order. Pace the loop with the bounded HTTP backstop per worker still missing a reply: wait until=stop,exit&timeout=60000, then a last-response read (stop can lose the registration race to a fast worker; the poll covers that). Stop fired or last-response non-empty but no reply = the worker ignored the reply instruction: take last-response as its result. Nothing after a few bounded rounds = the message was held or dropped (messaging.md, delivery classes): deliver that one task over HTTP input instead (Flow 3b B), once, and say so in your report.
5. delete_session each worker; the §0 guard as always.

Never resend the same message text as a nag: identical repeats are dropped by the loop throttle. If a second message is genuinely needed, change the text ("status?"), and cap the total.

Cleanup discipline

At the end of the conversation (or on abort), delete exactly what you created:

for id in "${CREATED[@]}"; do
  delete_session "$id"
done

• Only ids from your own CREATED list. Never enumerate /api/v1/sessions and delete by pattern; other sessions belong to the user.
• Always go through delete_session. It refuses an empty id, refuses when $SELF is unset or too short to prove the target is not you, and prefix-checks in both directions. A hand-written curl -X DELETE, or the old is_self "$id" || curl -X DELETE …, has none of that: an undefined is_self exits 127 and the || branch deletes unguarded.
• If you created a case purely as scratch and the user confirmed it is disposable, DELETE /api/v1/cases/:name removes it — but that recursively deletes the directory from disk, so never do it without the user's explicit go-ahead for that exact name.