alexhatzo/pstack-4-claude/swarm

Swarm

Start

Open a todolist with one entry per phase before launching anything.

1. Frame
2. Fan out
3. Aggregate
4. Report

Phase A: Frame

1. State the done predicate and the artifact or report the swarm must return.
2. Choose the shape. Partition into slices, race N workers on identical briefs, or mix both. For a race or mixed shape, declare first pass, rank all, or best-of before spawning.
3. Pick the worker model from the swarm workers line in ~/.claude/rules/pstack-models.md. If the rule or that line is missing, use sonnet. For auto or inherit-parent, omit model so the workers run on the parent model. If the Agent tool rejects a slug, use the default and say so. If it rejects the default, use the closest valid slug of the same family from its error message. For a model race, name each arm's model up front. Pick each subagent's reasoning effort for the job, per the Subagents section of the poteto-mode skill.
4. Give each worker its own writable output when it writes. When workers verify or measure commits, each brief names the exact SHAs. A measurement brief also names the method (sample count, what one sample is, order). The worker records both in its result.

Phase B: Fan out

Spawn all N workers in one message with subagent_type: general-purpose, isolation: "worktree" when they write code, run_in_background: true, and the step 3 model, left unset for auto or inherit-parent.

When a worker must start from a non-default pushed branch, tell it to check that branch out in its worktree first.

Every brief stands alone. Include the goal, scope, exact slice or race arm, how to verify, and what to report. Reports use PASS, ISSUES, or BLOCKED with evidence. A worker that can prove a defect reports ISSUES and lists every issue it can prove, not only the first.

If a worker drops out, proceed with N-1 and note it.

Phase C: Aggregate

Read the terminal results. Drop a result that does not record the SHAs and method its brief names, and respawn that worker once. After a second miss, record a gap. A gap does not count as a pass. For coverage, every required slice needs a result. For a race, apply the selection rule declared up front. Use first pass, rank all, or best-of. Do not paste raw worker dumps.

Phase D: Report

Return one consolidated in-chat report with a result table, issue one-liners, gaps or dropouts, and the race rule when used.