Coordinate

---
name: coordinate
description: "orchestrate multiple amp agents with bidirectional tmux communication. use for multi-hour autonomous runs with INDEPENDENT parallel tasks. NOT for review courts or generating opinions to reconcile."
---
# coordinate

orchestrate multiple amp agents. you are the coordinator — agents report to you, you delegate and unblock.

## when NOT to use

before coordinating multiple agents, ask:

1. **is there a single source of truth?** if verifiable against one file/spec/query, do it yourself.
2. **will agents produce conflicting findings?** if task is evaluative (judging claims), a single careful pass is cleaner than reconciling disagreements.
3. **do i have explicit exit criteria?** multi-agent work without convergence criteria produces unbounded reconciliation work.

coordinate is for parallelizing INDEPENDENT work. don't spawn review courts when you can read the code yourself.

## spawn

use the `spawn` skill:

```bash
AGENT=$(../spawn/scripts/spawn-amp "<task>")
```

## messaging

agent → coordinator (via pane id from spawn instructions):
```bash
tmux send-keys -t %5 'AGENT $NAME: <message>' C-m
```

coordinator → agent:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t $AGENT "COORDINATOR: <instruction>" C-m
```

direct send-keys is preferred. slash commands (like /queue) are unreliable over tmux — timing issues cause messages to be cut off or missed.

## monitoring

```bash
tmux capture-pane -p -t $AGENT | tail -30
```

ALWAYS capture before any disruptive action (messaging, killing). never act blind.

## control

```bash
tmux list-windows -F '#W'    # list agents
tmux kill-window -t $AGENT   # cleanup (observe first)
```

## pitfalls

- slash commands unreliable over tmux — use direct messages instead
- permission prompts require arrow keys + enter. ask user to handle manually
- agents can't run sudo with password. have user run, then verify
- `send-keys -t name` targets window name (agents), `-t %4` targets pane id (coordinator callback)