agent-army

# Agent Army

A 2-layer parallel execution framework. The Commander is the top-tier model — Fable by default, or Opus if that's the session model — and does the thinking: recon, composition, briefing, verification. It orchestrates swarms of subordinate models whose tiers the user picks at deploy time (see Power Level). Each Layer 1 agent has its own full context window (not a slice). Each spawns Layer 2 sub-agents under it. The result is many independent brains running at once — not one brain divided.

```
Commander (you — Fable or Opus, the session model)
 |
 |-- Layer 1: Team (3 to 50+, each = own 1M context, L1 tier from power level)
 |    |-- Agent A (1M) -- Sub-agent A1, A2, ...  (L2 tier)
 |    |-- Agent B (1M) -- Sub-agent B1, B2, ...  (L2 tier)
 |    |-- Agent C (1M) -- Sub-agent C1, C2, ...  (L2 tier)
 |    |-- ... (no cap)
```

**Swarm vs. army:** A swarm splits one context window across sub-agents — one brain, divided. An army gives each Layer 1 member its own window. That difference is the whole point of this skill.

## When to use

- Large refactors spanning many files
- Multi-file color / style / naming / API migrations
- Broad codebase audits (security, a11y, performance, dead code)
- Bulk content generation or transformation
- Any task with **6+ independent units of work** that can run simultaneously

## When NOT to use

- Fewer than 6 independent units of work — just do it directly
- Heavy sequential dependencies where each step needs the last one's output
- Single-file changes
- Tasks needing one coherent authorial voice across all output (parallel agents drift)

If the task doesn't clearly fit, say so and propose doing it inline instead of spinning up an army.

<mandatory-rules>
## MANDATORY RULES

1. EVERY Layer 1 agent MUST spawn 2+ sub-agents. No exceptions. If you're about to deploy an L1 agent with no sub-agents, STOP and restructure.
2. NEVER silently shrink the army. Match the user's chosen tier. If you must deviate, say so out loud and why.
2b. NEVER silently downgrade models. Pass `model:` explicitly on every Agent call at the user's chosen power level. Omitting it inherits the session model — that's a silent Max Power bill.
3. Sub-agent deployment instructions go INSIDE the Layer 1 brief. If they're missing, the sub-agents will never be created.
4. Report as agents complete: `[Agent N/M complete] name: X files modified, Y flags`.
5. Show the army plan and pass the Deployment Gate before deploying (Full Mode). Quick Mode composes the plan internally but still passes the Gate.
6. After every wave: run the build AND the phantom-completion check (see Verify). A green report from an agent is a claim, not proof.
7. "Keep going" / "don't stop" = continuous mode: launch a new agent the moment one completes. Don't wait, don't re-ask.
</mandatory-rules>

## Army Size

Confirm a tier before starting. Present this table:

```
| Tier         | L1 Agents | Total w/ Sub-agents | Est. Tokens  |
|--------------|-----------|---------------------|--------------|
| Conservative | 3         | ~9                  | ~200-500K    |
| Standard     | 5-10      | ~15-30              | ~500K-1.5M   |
| Aggressive   | 10-20     | ~30-60              | ~1.5-4M      |
| Maximum      | 20-50+    | ~60-100+            | ~4M+         |
| Custom       | you pick  | you pick            | varies       |
```

Default to **Standard** on "just do it." After recon (Step 3), recommend a specific number based on what you found — e.g. "35 files across 6 domains → Aggressive: 8 L1 agents, 2-3 sub-agents each (~22 total, ~2M tokens). Adjust?" Token estimates are rough and scale with task complexity.

## Power Level

Size sets how many agents; power sets which models. Ask for both in one question (AskUserQuestion works well — size and power as two questions in one call). Skip asking if the user already named a power level or explicit models.

```
| Power Level         | Commander          | Layer 1 | Layer 2 | Best For                                        |
|---------------------|--------------------|---------|---------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Max Power           | Fable/Opus (session)| Opus   | Opus    | gnarly refactors, correctness-critical migrations|
| Heavy (recommended) | Fable/Opus (session)| Opus   | Sonnet  | most large tasks — smart orchestration, fast exec|
| Balanced            | Fable/Opus (session)| Sonnet | Sonnet  | mechanical migrations with clear patterns        |
| Economy             | Fable/Opus (session)| Sonnet | Haiku   | high-volume, dead-simple find/replace            |
```

Rules:
- The **Commander is always the session model** — Fable or Opus, the user's choice — and is never delegated. If the session is running Sonnet or Haiku, tell the user to switch (`/model` or `claude --model fable`) before deploying: commander quality is the ceiling on army quality.
- Pass the model explicitly on **every** Agent call: `model: "<L1 tier>"` for team members; L1 briefs instruct `model: "<L2 tier>"` for sub-agents.
- **Per-agent escalation** is allowed at any power level: a heavy or tangled file (1000+ lines, complex logic) can bump that one sub-agent up a tier. Note escalations in the army plan.
- **Audit waves run on Opus** regardless of power level — fresh, stronger eyes on the executors' work. Notify waves can drop to Haiku.

## Protocol

**Mode:** If scope is already concrete (file paths, exact changes, tier), skip to Step 3 (Quick Mode). Otherwise start at Step 1 (Full Mode).

### Step 1: Intake (Full Mode)

Confirm in one line if the user already gave context: "Goal: [X]. Scope: [Y]. Tier: [Z]. Power: [P]. Starting." Otherwise ask for: goal (one sentence), scope (files/dirs/"everything"), constraints (don't touch X, match Y), tier, and power level.

### Step 2: Git Checkpoint

1. `git status` — warn on uncommitted changes, offer to stash/commit first.
2. `git checkout -b agent-army/checkpoint-{timestamp}` then switch back. This is the rollback point.
3.