teammode
GrokBuild + Codex team orchestration: run a named team of cooperating workers with durable script-managed state under .omo/teams. MUST USE when the user asks to create, run, coordinate, inspect, archi
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View on GitHubSKILL.mdskills/teammode/SKILL.md
GitHubGrokBuild teammode (primary on lfg)
On Grok Build with lfg, teammode is supported. Do not stop because codex_app or MultiAgentV2 is missing. NO codex_app required on Grok.
- Tell the user:
Teammode transport: GrokBuild spawn_subagent. - Init with
--transport spawn_subagent(default when--transportis omitted). - Pick
--subagent-typefrom both catalogs (see below) — GrokBuild built-ins and lfg OMO / convenience agents. - Launch each member with host
spawn_subagent({ subagent_type, background: true, description, prompt, team_context: { teamRunId, memberId, role: "member" } }). bind-subagent --subagent-id <id>with the handle the host returned.- Optional durable ledger:
src/core/lfg/team-ledger.tsunder.omo/teams— exportscreateTeam,addMemberSlot,recordSpawnMetadata,appendMessage,listTeams,getStatus,requestShutdown. Fails closed on invalid input. teammode is Grok-adapted via spawn_subagent transport.
Member agent catalogs (use both)
GrokBuild host built-ins (always available with spawn_subagent):
subagent_type |
Use for |
|---|---|
general-purpose |
Generic worker when no specialist fits |
explore |
Fast read-only codebase search (host built-in) |
plan |
Planning / design slice (host built-in; also lfg agent name) |
lfg-installed OMO / convenience agents (after lfg setup --run agent sync):
subagent_type |
Use for |
|---|---|
explorer |
OMO-style explore persona (lfg-owned; optional — prefer host explore for plain search) |
hephaestus / coding / sisyphus-junior |
Implementation, deep execution |
prometheus / plan / metis |
Strategic / pre-planning |
oracle / reasoning |
Hard reasoning / debugging consult |
librarian |
External docs / OSS research |
momus / reviewer |
Plan / code review |
atlas / sisyphus / default |
Orchestration-shaped slices (rare as members) |
multimodal-looker |
Vision / screenshot / PDF |
Aliases accepted by team.mjs: search→explore, deep/worker→hephaestus, impl→coding, qa/builder→reviewer, research→librarian. Prefer a specialist (lfg or built-in) over general-purpose when the slice is clear.
| Intent | Recommended subagent_type |
|---|---|
| Search / map code | explore (host built-in, preferred) · explorer only for OMO persona/model routing |
| Planning | plan |
| Implementation | coding or hephaestus |
| Review / QA | reviewer or momus |
| Docs / external | librarian |
| Catch-all | general-purpose |
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" init --name "<team>" --session-name "<session>" --transport spawn_subagent
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" add-member --team <id> --id A --name "api" --subagent-type coding --focus "src/api" --lens area --deliverable "..."
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" add-member --team <id> --id B --name "search" --subagent-type explore --focus "callers of X" --lens perspective --deliverable "..."
# after each spawn_subagent returns an id:
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" bind-subagent --team <id> --id A --subagent-id <subagent_id>
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" status --team <id>
Codex sections below (multi_agent_v2, codex_app) still apply when those tools exist. Never mix transports on one team.
Teammode
Run a named team of cooperating Codex workers under one leader, with durable state on disk.
This workflow uses a bundled state script under .omo/teams. On GrokBuild the transport is
spawn_subagent. On Codex, choose native MultiAgentV2 agents or Codex App threads. Never mix
transports on one team.
When to use a team (and when to use plain subagents instead)
Use a TEAM when EITHER holds:
- the work does NOT split into perfectly isolated pieces, but doing it in parallel is clearly more convenient - members will need to see and react to each other's findings; or
- one task still needs exploration, yet its GOAL is already clear - parallel investigation under a fixed objective.
Use plain fire-and-forget subagents (/ulw / one-off spawn_agent workers) - NOT a team - when
EITHER holds:
- the work IS perfectly isolated, so there is no coordination cost worth paying; or
- the GOAL is still ambiguous, where one mind should resolve direction before any fan-out.
A team buys cross-member coordination at a real overhead cost; only spend it when coordination is the thing you actually need.
Pick the transport FIRST - then tell the user
Before creating any team state, decide which transport this session can run. Inspect your active tool list and select:
- MultiAgentV2 (preferred) - select when the flat V2 collaboration tools are ALL active:
flat
spawn_agentwhose schema requirestask_name, plussend_message,followup_task,wait_agent,list_agents, andinterrupt_agent. Members are durable native agents addressed by task name / agent path (/root/<task_name>). The namespacedmulti_agent_v1.*surface never qualifies as a team transport. - Codex App threads (fallback) - select when flat V2 is not available but the
codex_app.*thread tools are (create_thread,read_thread,send_message_to_thread,set_thread_title,set_thread_archived). - GrokBuild / lfg - select
spawn_subagentwhen hostspawn_subagentis available (this is the lfg path). - Neither Codex set nor spawn_subagent - STOP before
init. Tell the user which tools are missing; do not fake a team with partial tooling.
Then, BEFORE running init, tell the user in one line which transport you selected and why,
e.g. Teammode transport: MultiAgentV2 (flat spawn_agent with task_name). or
Teammode transport: Codex App threads (flat V2 tools not present in this session).
Pass that choice to init as --transport spawn_subagent, multi_agent_v2, or codex_app. The
transport is recorded in team.json and is IMMUTABLE for the team's lifetime: a V2 spawn
failure is a V2 blocker to report, never permission to mix Codex App threads into the same
team. Never probe by trial-calling tools; read your tool list.
You are the leader - orchestrate, do not implement
The main session is ALWAYS the team leader; you orchestrate directly and never spin up a separate leader worker. Your job is orchestration, NOT writing product code: split the work and assign each slice, hold live situational awareness of every member, verify and QA what they deliver, relay findings between members, instruct and unblock, and synthesize the result. DELEGATE every code edit to a member - if you catch yourself editing product files while the team runs, that work was a member's slice you should have handed off. You own direction, verification, and integration (the merge), not the keystrokes.
Compose by part, ownership, or perspective - not by job title
A team is ALWAYS two or more members - never a single-member team. One worker on an isolated job is a plain subagent, not a team; if you end up with a single member, either split off a second distinct slice or drop the team and use a subagent.
Compose the team from what you actually KNOW about the work. Ground the split in real knowledge
of the problem, then divide it into clear, non-overlapping responsibilities - one per aspect of
the work - and give each member exactly one. No two members may own the same thing. Define each
member by a concrete slice: a specific part of the codebase, an ownership area, or a distinct
perspective/lens. Assigning a vague role ("backend dev", "release analyst", "the tester") is an
anti-pattern - it gives the member no real boundary and invites overlap. Each member's focus
names what they own concretely; the lens is one of area, ownership, or perspective.
Give each member a short, distinct --name too - its role or what it watches (e.g.
app-server-lifecycle, mailbox-delivery) - it labels the member everywhere; never reuse
one name for two members. On MultiAgentV2 teams also give each member a unique
--task-name in lowercase_digits_underscores form - it becomes the member's permanent
agent path /root/<task_name>.
Run the script - never hand-write team state
A bundled, dependency-free Node script owns all team state so you never author team.json or
the member manual by hand. Run it with node (or bun); it works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Replace <skill-root> with this skill's own directory.
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" init --name "<team>" --session-name "<session>" --transport spawn_subagent|multi_agent_v2|codex_app [--session <leader_thread_id>] [--worktree] [--base-branch dev]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" add-member --team <session_id> --id A --name "<short role>" [--task-name <v2_task_name>] --focus "<part/ownership/perspective>" --lens area|ownership|perspective --deliverable "<...>" [--branch <branch>]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" bind-agent --team <session_id> --id A --agent-path /root/<task_name> [--cwd <path>] # multi_agent_v2 teams
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" bind-thread --team <session_id> --id A --thread <thread_id> [--cwd <path>] # codex_app teams
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" member-prompt --team <session_id> --id A
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" set-status --team <session_id> --id A --status reported|blocked|active|archived [--note "<...>"]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" worktree-add --team <session_id> --id A [--base-branch <branch>]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" worktree-remove --team <session_id> --id A [--force]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" integrate --team <session_id> [--id A]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" archive --team <session_id> [--id A] [--note "<...>"]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" delete --team <session_id> [--force]
node "<skill-root>/scripts/team.mjs" status --team <session_id>
init creates .omo/teams/{session_id}/ containing team.json (the single durable state file:
team id, transport, the main-session leader, the member roster, status, worktree config, and a
lifecycle log), guide.md (the auto-generated member field manual), and artifacts/ (a shared
exchange space). On codex_app teams {session_id} is the leader's Codex session id when you can
pass it via --session; otherwise the script generates a stable handle. Re-running init is a
safe no-op. Every mutating subcommand rewrites guide.md, so the manual always matches the
current team.
Mutating subcommands take a per-team state lock before reading and rewriting team.json. It is
safe to run independent add-member, bind-agent, bind-thread, set-status, archive,
delete, guide, and worktree mutation commands concurrently against the same team: they
serialize and each command reads the latest committed state before writing. If a command reports
that team state is locked, do not treat the intended mutation as complete; retry after the named
command finishes, or inspect .omo/teams/{session_id}/.team.lock/owner.json if the previous
command crashed. bind-agent refuses codex_app teams and bind-thread refuses multi_agent_v2
teams, and a refused command never changes team.json.
Create the team and its members
init the team, then add-member once per member. What happens next depends on the transport.
MultiAgentV2 teams:
- If a member needs an isolated worktree, run
worktree-addBEFORE spawning it - flatspawn_agenthas no cwd argument, so the path must ride in the bootstrap message. - Spawn each member with flat
spawn_agent:task_nameis that member's--task-name,messageis the bootstrap printed byadd-member/member-prompt, andfork_turns: "none"(members readguide.mdfor context; full parent history is not their context model). Do not setagent_type,model, orreasoning_effort. bind-agent --agent-pathwith the canonical task name the spawn returned (normally/root/<task_name>); binding confirms the runtime identity matches the roster and records the member's cwd. Members are durable: they persist as subagent threads, survive idling, and are re-tasked withfollowup_task- never respawned under a second name.- Members appear in
list_agentswith their task paths; inspect status there instead of deep links (V2 exposes no thread title orcodex://link surface to you).
Codex App teams:
- Create a durable thread per member with
codex_app.create_thread- ALWAYS this tool for every member - titled[team name] <member name>, using THAT member's own name, so no two threads share a title.add-memberprints the exact title to use. If the tool accepts a working directory / cwd argument, set it to that member's worktree; otherwise the member's manual tells it tocdthere first. Usecodex_app.set_thread_titleif the title did not land at creation. If Codex returns onlypendingWorktreeId, the worktree-backed thread is not ready yet: do notbind-threadand do not send the member bootstrap. Wait until Codex surfaces a realthreadId, then set the title, bind that real id with the cwd, and only then send the bootstrap. bind-threadto record each thread id (and--cwd), then send that member's bootstrap trigger as the thread's first message. The trigger is short on purpose: it tells the new thread to READ itsguide.mdandteam.jsonrather than carrying the whole protocol inline.- Whenever you report, audit, reopen, or hand off a member thread, include the app deep link
codex://threads/<thread_id>next to the raw id - worktree-backed threads are easy to lose in the sidebar without it. On a codex_app team, a spawned in-process agent is never a member substitute: it cannot carry the team title or be inspected, titled, archived, or re-opened with thecodex_app.*tools this team runs on.
On either transport, a member only counts once it is bound (bind-agent / bind-thread). If
the selected transport's tools stop working mid-run, STOP and say so (see Stop rules); do not
quietly switch transports.
Communication
Members push to you and to one another; you never poll them as a routine. The address book is
team.json, and the generated manual binds members to the hard rules, so you mainly keep the
channel open: expect frequent small inbound updates from each member - findings,
WORKING:/BLOCKED: markers, peer digests - rather than one final dump, and act on them as
they arrive.
- MultiAgentV2: members reach you with
send_messageto/rootand reach peers by theirmembers[].agentPath. You reach members the same way; usefollowup_taskwhen you hand an idle member NEW work (it wakes the member),send_messagefor context that should not interrupt, andwait_agentonly when you are genuinely blocked on their next update - await_agenttimeout only means no new mailbox update arrived, never that a member failed. Your own session IS/root- members can always reach you; leave--sessionunset. - Codex App: members push with
codex_app.send_message_to_thread; you inspect state withcodex_app.read_thread. So members can actually reach you, runinitwith--session <your own thread id>- that makesleader.sessionIdin team.json a real, messageable thread; without it members cannot report to you and you are stuck polling.
All member-to-member and member-to-leader traffic is in English; when the END user addresses a
member, that member replies in the user's own language. Members hand off files and memos
through the team artifacts/ directory and reference them by path.
Let members work - do not rush them
Members heartbeat every few tool calls and message you on every finding, blocker, and finished slice (their manual binds them to this). So a member that is quiet between heartbeats is working, not stalled - a stretch of silence is the normal sound of focused work, not a problem to chase. Re-reading a calm member's state, or sending "any update?" / "are you done?" / "hurry up" pings, interrupts that member and slows the whole team. Trust the heartbeat and let them cook.
Message a member only when one of these is true:
- you have new information, context, or a correction it needs to do its slice right;
- you are reassigning, narrowing, or unblocking its scope;
- a peer's result changes what it should do; or
- it has gone fully silent well past its heartbeat cadence AND that stall is blocking the team - then send one specific question, not a barrage.
Otherwise stay calm and keep the channel open: read inbound updates as they arrive and act on them.
A long-running member is alive; a heartbeat you have not received yet is not a failure. Fallback only when
a member is completed without its deliverable, explicitly BLOCKED:, or no longer running - then
unblock, reassign, or re-task that slice instead of waiting on it. Wait for
every required member's final report before you declare the team done - rushing toward "done" while
members are still mid-slice just produces half-built work you will have to redo.
Worktrees - isolate members who would touch the same files
The moment two members' slices would edit the same files, give each its own git worktree so they
cannot clobber each other. Decide this whenever you see the collision - at team creation OR mid-run,
not only up front. For each colliding member run worktree-add --team <id> --id <member>: it creates
the worktree off the base branch on a derived branch, flips the team into worktree mode, records it in
team.json, and prints the cd path to hand that member. The member works and commits only inside
its own worktree. To land the work, integrate --team <id> merges every member branch into your
current branch with a merge commit (never a squash or rebase); resolve any conflict it reports, then
worktree-remove each worktree at cleanup.
Delivering the path differs by transport: on MultiAgentV2, create the worktree BEFORE spawning
so the bootstrap carries it, or send it to an already-running member as a followup_task; on
Codex App, send a follow-up message that includes both the worktree path and the member's
codex://threads/<thread_id> link. Either way, run bind-agent/bind-thread with
--cwd <worktree> (or --worktree-path) so team.json, guide.md, status, and
member-prompt all point at the same worktree-backed member.
When the member starts inside a worktree, it must verify the assigned cwd exists and contains the
repository checkout before editing. If the directory is missing, empty, or does not look like a git
worktree/repository yet, the member reports BLOCKED: worktree not ready to the leader and waits
instead of editing a parent checkout or an empty directory.
Run a ulw-plan in parallel
When a decision-complete plan already exists at .omo/plans/<slug>.md (from ulw-plan), execute its
parallel waves as a team instead of one todo at a time. Map it directly:
- one wave's independent todos -> one member each; the todo's scope/files become that member's
focus, and its acceptance criteria + QA become the member'sdeliverable. - the plan's dependency matrix sets the shape: todos with no unmet dependency inside a wave run as concurrent members; a todo that depends on another waits, so launch the next wave only after the blocking members report.
- todos in the same wave that touch overlapping files -> give those members worktrees (see above).
Keep the plan file as the shared spec: point each member at its todo by path, and verify the member's result against that todo's acceptance criteria before you integrate.
Archive, delete, and cleanup
DISBAND the team the moment it is no longer needed. A team exists only to do its work; once that work is done, or the user no longer wants it, do not leave it lying around - archive every member, then delete the team state only after archival evidence is clean or preserved. A finished team that is never disbanded is a leak.
archivecloses the team: notify each active member, copy anything useful intoartifacts/, then close each member on its transport. On MultiAgentV2,interrupt_agentany member still mid-turn and record in the note that V2 exposes no runtime archive operation - the durableteam.jsonstate IS the archive; never claim a V2 agent itself was archived. On Codex App, trycodex_app.set_thread_archivedper member thread; treat failures such as "Ambiguous Codex thread id" or an id that is ambiguous across hosts as an app-thread archival blocker, not as a team-state blocker: record the failure in the team log, tell the user which member thread was not proven archived, and continue the team-state archive witharchive --note "<blocker>". Never pretend a member thread was archived. Do not delete the team state after an app-thread archival blocker unless the evidence has been copied elsewhere or the user explicitly accepts that evidence loss.deleteremoves.omo/teams/{session_id}and refuses while the team is unarchived or any member is still active unless--force.- When the work wraps up, land it the way the user asked:
integrate --team <id>for a direct merge commit, or push each member branch and open a PR. Thenworktree-removeeach worktree, archive, and delete. Cleanup is real work; respect the user's instruction on how to land it.
Stop rules
- Stop and ask before deleting an unarchived team while any member is still active.
- Member communication stays English unless the user explicitly requests otherwise; user-facing replies follow the user's language.
- Stop if the selected transport's tools (V2 spawn/message/wait/list/interrupt, or Codex App create/read/send/title/archive) are unavailable or stop working; say so instead of faking it or silently switching transports.