From 0bffc07b5fbc826a59f4f22d024363a75915275b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dan Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2026 21:40:07 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] docs: add worklog for HQ architecture and beads cleanup session Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 --- ...hitecture-orch-consensus-beads-cleanup.org | 212 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 212 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/worklogs/2026-01-11-hq-architecture-orch-consensus-beads-cleanup.org diff --git a/docs/worklogs/2026-01-11-hq-architecture-orch-consensus-beads-cleanup.org b/docs/worklogs/2026-01-11-hq-architecture-orch-consensus-beads-cleanup.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3f345f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/worklogs/2026-01-11-hq-architecture-orch-consensus-beads-cleanup.org @@ -0,0 +1,212 @@ +#+TITLE: HQ Orchestrator Architecture, Orch Consensus Validation, and Beads Cleanup +#+DATE: 2026-01-11 +#+KEYWORDS: hq, orchestrator, orch-consensus, beads, worker-cli, multi-agent, architecture, lego-brick +#+COMMITS: 4 +#+COMPRESSION_STATUS: uncompressed + +* Session Summary +** Date: 2026-01-11 (Continuation of multi-agent architecture work) +** Focus Area: HQ orchestrator design, architecture validation via orch consensus, and beads issue management + +* Accomplishments +- [X] Named the orchestrator "HQ" (headquarters) - 2 chars, fits naming convention (bd, orch) +- [X] Defined HQ as a skill, not a binary - any agent with the skill can orchestrate +- [X] Ran orch consensus on bd comments vs JSONL for inter-agent messaging - unanimous support for bd comments +- [X] Ran orch consensus on overall architecture - validated "Lego brick" approach with gap analysis +- [X] Created HQ feature issue (skills-2l4e) with 4 sub-tasks +- [X] Filed 5 new issues from consensus gap analysis (garbage collection, context pruning, event notification, retry limits, state machine docs) +- [X] Closed skills-ms5 (message passing layer) - solved by bd comments decision +- [X] Closed skills-iusu (bd comments evaluation) - complete, unanimous consensus +- [X] Closed skills-s6y (Lego architecture epic) - MVP complete, architecture validated +- [X] Unblocked 17 design/research tasks (blocked count: 23 → 4) +- [X] Fixed worktree path bug - now uses absolute paths +- [X] Added scenario schema and test fixtures for benchmark harness +- [X] Completed session close protocol - all changes committed and pushed + +* Key Decisions +** Decision 1: Name the orchestrator "HQ" +- Context: Needed a short, memorable name for the orchestration skill +- Options considered: + 1. helm - taken by Kubernetes package manager + 2. con (conductor) - too short, ambiguous + 3. deck - nautical theme but unclear + 4. cap (captain) - too generic + 5. ops - conflicts with operations + 6. hq (headquarters) - 2 chars, clear meaning +- Rationale: HQ is short (2 chars like bd, orch), universally understood, implies coordination/command center +- Impact: All orchestration work will use "hq" as the skill name and CLI prefix + +** Decision 2: HQ is a skill, not a daemon/binary +- Context: How should the orchestrator be implemented? +- Options considered: + 1. Daemon/service watching for events + 2. CLI binary with polling + 3. Skill (markdown instructions + scripts) that any agent can load +- Rationale: A skill fits the "Lego brick" philosophy - no new infrastructure, any capable agent becomes an orchestrator by loading the skill +- Impact: Implementation focuses on SKILL.md design and helper scripts rather than new binaries + +** Decision 3: Use bd comments for inter-agent messaging (unanimous consensus) +- Context: How should agents communicate status and coordinate? +- Options considered: + 1. Option A: Use existing bd issue comments (append-only, structured prefixes) + 2. Option B: Build new JSONL message transport layer +- Rationale: Orch consensus (flash-or, gemini, gpt, qwen) unanimously supported Option A: + - Unified source of truth with issue tracker + - Zero infrastructure overhead + - Human-readable and debuggable + - Context size manageable with --last N and periodic summarization +- Impact: Closed skills-ms5, no new message layer needed, focus on bd comment conventions + +** Decision 4: Close skills-s6y (Lego epic) to unblock dependent work +- Context: 17 design/research issues blocked by the main architecture epic +- Rationale: + - Core MVP complete: worker CLI, state machine, review-gate, branch isolation + - Architecture validated by orch consensus + - Remaining blocked items are design tasks that can proceed +- Impact: Blocked count dropped from 23 to 4, ready-to-work increased from 21 to 38 + +* Problems & Solutions +| Problem | Solution | Learning | +|---------|----------|----------| +| Relative worktree path failed from inside worktree | Changed worktreePath() to use findMainRepoDir() for absolute paths | Always use absolute paths for operations that may run from different working directories | +| Test suite didn't catch path bug because it bypassed done command | Bug discovered during manual spike testing | Manual integration tests catch what unit tests miss | +| 23 issues blocked by architecture epic | Closed epic after MVP complete, architecture validated | Epics should be closed when core work is done to unblock dependent tasks | +| Qwen returned empty response in orch consensus | Other 3 models provided clear responses | Multi-model consensus is robust to individual model failures | + +* Technical Details + +** Code Changes +- Total files modified: 15 (across all commits) +- Key files changed: + - =src/worker/utils.nim= - Fixed worktreePath() to return absolute path using findMainRepoDir() + - =src/worker/tests/test-worker.sh= - Added sqlite3 availability check +- New files created: + - =docs/specs/scenario-schema.md= - YAML schema for agent capability test scenarios + - =tests/scenarios/easy/add-factorial.yaml= - Easy difficulty test scenario + - =tests/scenarios/medium/add-caching-to-api.yaml= - Medium difficulty scenario + - =tests/scenarios/hard/fix-race-condition.yaml= - Hard difficulty scenario + - =tests/fixtures/python-math-lib/= - Python fixture for testing + - =tests/fixtures/flask-user-api/= - Flask API fixture placeholder + +** Commands Used +#+begin_src bash +# Orch consensus queries +orch query --models flash-or,gemini,gpt,qwen "Support or challenge..." + +# Beads management +bd close skills-ms5 --reason="Solved by bd comments approach..." +bd close skills-s6y --reason="MVP complete: worker CLI, state machine..." +bd blocked # Check remaining blocked issues +bd stats # Verify impact of closures + +# Session close protocol +bd sync +git add +git commit -m "..." +git push +#+end_src + +** Architecture Notes +- HQ skill structure: SKILL.md (instructions) + helper scripts (hq-status, hq-spawn, hq-check) +- Worker template: System prompt for workers operating in worktree context +- BD comments as message layer: Structured prefixes (status:, plan:, agent:), --last N filtering, periodic summarization +- Gaps identified by consensus: garbage collection, locking/race conditions, context pruning, cost budgets, retry limits, state machine invariants + +* Process and Workflow + +** What Worked Well +- Orch consensus for validating architecture - multiple perspectives caught gaps +- Manual spike testing - found real bug that tests missed +- Batch closing related issues - efficient beads management +- Session compaction preserved essential context for continuation + +** What Was Challenging +- Balancing design depth vs implementation progress +- Determining when an epic is "done enough" to close +- Qwen returning empty response (compensated by other models) + +* Learning and Insights + +** Technical Insights +- Absolute paths essential for operations that run from different directories +- Git worktree path resolution is context-dependent +- Multi-model consensus provides robust architectural validation + +** Process Insights +- Orch consensus is effective for binary decisions (Option A vs B) +- Closing blocking epics when core work is done unblocks significant downstream work +- Manual integration spikes catch issues automated tests miss + +** Architectural Insights +- "Skill as orchestrator" pattern avoids infrastructure complexity +- Existing primitives (bd comments) often sufficient - resist building new layers +- Unix philosophy applies to AI orchestration: small, composable, text-based + +* Context for Future Work + +** Open Questions +- How should HQ handle concurrent human + agent modifications? +- What's the right heartbeat/timeout for stale worker detection? +- How to summarize bd comment history without losing critical context? +- Should HQ be model-agnostic or tuned for specific models? + +** Next Steps +Ready-to-work issues (now unblocked): +- skills-21ka: Design HQ SKILL.md - orchestration instructions +- skills-cg7c: Design worker system prompt template +- skills-3j55: Create hq-status script +- skills-w9a4: Garbage collection / janitor for orphaned workers +- skills-8hyz: Context pruning for bd comments +- skills-vdup: Retry limits and escalation policy +- skills-s2bt: State machine invariants documentation + +** Related Work +- Previous worklog: [[file:2026-01-11-worker-cli-cleanup-refactors.org][Worker CLI Cleanup]] (same day, earlier session) +- Previous worklog: [[file:2026-01-10-multi-agent-lego-architecture-design.org][Multi-Agent Lego Architecture Design]] +- Orch consensus output: /tmp/claude/-home-dan-proj-skills/tasks/b019872.output (architecture validation) +- Orch consensus output: /tmp/claude/-home-dan-proj-skills/tasks/b6d9640.output (bd comments decision) + +* Raw Notes + +** Orch Consensus Summary: BD Comments vs JSONL +All 4 models (flash-or, gemini, gpt, qwen) supported Option A (bd comments): +- "Fits your 'Lego bricks' principle" (GPT) +- "Unified source of truth means human developers and AI agents share the same context" (Gemini Flash) +- "Avoid the 'distributed systems' trap of syncing a separate message layer" (Gemini) +- "Lower maintenance overhead... reduces complexity and potential failure points" (Qwen) + +Recommended mitigations for context size: +- --last N filtering +- Structured prefixes (status:, plan:, agent:) +- Periodic summarization by manager agent +- State checkpoints in pinned comments + +** Orch Consensus Summary: Architecture Validation +Support with identified gaps: + +1. Garbage collection - orphaned worktrees, stuck workers, abandoned locks +2. Locking/race conditions - file locks with TTL, idempotent operations +3. Context pruning - summarize closed issue history +4. Cost/budget controls - token limits, spawn limits +5. Retry limits - escalate to human after N failures +6. State machine invariants - document allowed transitions +7. Event notification - inotify/watcher vs polling tradeoff + +** Beads Status After Session +- Open: 42 (was 44) +- Blocked: 4 (was 23) +- Ready to work: 38 (was 21) +- Closed: 200 (was 197) + +Remaining blocked issues (legitimate dependencies): +- skills-2l4e (HQ) - blocked by its sub-tasks +- skills-kg7 (Desktop automation) - blocked by AT-SPI chain +- skills-hf1 (Cross-agent portability) - blocked by research tasks + +* Session Metrics +- Commits made: 4 (excluding bd sync commits) +- Files touched: 15 +- Lines added/removed: +660/-26 +- Issues created: 6 (HQ feature + 5 gap tasks) +- Issues closed: 3 (ms5, iusu, s6y) +- Issues unblocked: 17