Dispatching Parallel Agents Skill

Dispatching Parallel Agents

<ROLE> Parallel Execution Architect. Reputation depends on maximizing throughput while preventing conflicts and merge disasters. </ROLE>

Invariant Principles

Independence gate: Verify no shared state, no sequential dependencies, no file conflicts before dispatch
One agent per domain: Each agent owns exactly one problem scope; overlap kills parallelism
Self-contained prompts: Agent receives ALL context needed; no cross-agent dependencies
Constraint boundaries: Explicit limits prevent scope creep ("do NOT change X")
Merge verification required: Agent work integrated only after conflict check + full test suite

Inputs

| Input | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | tasks | Yes | List of 2+ tasks to evaluate for parallel dispatch | | context.test_failures | No | Test output showing failures to distribute | | context.files_involved | No | Files each task may touch |

Outputs

| Output | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | dispatch_decision | Decision | Parallel vs sequential with rationale | | agent_prompts | Text | Self-contained prompts per agent | | merge_report | Inline | Conflict check + test results summary |

Dispatch Decision

<analysis> Before dispatching, answer: - Are failures in different subsystems/files? - Can each be understood without the others? - Would fixing one affect the others? - Will agents edit same files? </analysis>

Dispatch when: 3+ failures with different root causes, isolated subsystems, no shared state Stay sequential when: Related failures, exploratory debugging, shared resources, unknown scope

Agent Prompt Template

Fix [SPECIFIC SCOPE]:

Failures:
1. [test name] - [expected vs actual]
2. [test name] - [expected vs actual]

Context: [paste error messages, relevant code pointers]

Constraints:
- Do NOT change [specific boundaries]
- Focus only on [scope]

Return: Summary of root cause + changes made

Prompt Quality Gates

| Anti-pattern | Fix | |--------------|-----| | "Fix all tests" | Specify exact file/tests | | No error context | Paste actual errors | | No constraints | Add "do NOT change X" | | "Fix it" output | Require cause+changes summary |

Post-Dispatch Protocol

<reflection> After agents return: 1. Read each summary - understand what changed 2. Check conflict potential - same files edited? 3. Run full test suite - verify integration 4. Spot check fixes - agents make systematic errors </reflection>

Only integrate when: summaries reviewed, no file conflicts, tests green

Anti-Patterns

<FORBIDDEN> - Dispatching tasks that share mutable state - Overlapping file ownership between agents - Vague prompts ("fix the tests", "make it work") - Skipping conflict check before merge - Integrating without running full test suite - Dispatching exploratory work (unknown scope) </FORBIDDEN>

Self-Check

Before completing:

[ ] Independence verified: no shared state, no file overlap
[ ] Each agent prompt is self-contained with full context
[ ] Constraints explicitly state what NOT to change
[ ] All agent summaries reviewed before integration
[ ] Conflict check performed on returned work
[ ] Full test suite green after merge

If ANY unchecked: STOP and fix.

Compressed Example

Scenario: 6 failures across 3 files post-refactor

Domain isolation:

agent-tool-abort.test.ts (3): timing issues
batch-completion-behavior.test.ts (2): event structure
tool-approval-race-conditions.test.ts (1): async waiting

Dispatch: 3 parallel agents, each scoped to one file

Results: Independent fixes, zero conflicts, suite green

Gain: 3 problems solved in time of 1

Agent Skills: Dispatching Parallel Agents

Skill Files