OpenAgentsControl/.opencode/context/core/workflows/task-delegation-basics.md

Delegation Context Template

Quick Reference

Process: Discover → Propose → Approve → Init Session → Persist Context → Delegate → Cleanup

Location: .tmp/sessions/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-slug}/context.md

Key Principle: ContextScout discovers paths. The orchestrator persists them into context.md AFTER approval. Downstream agents read from context.md — no re-discovery.

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When to Create a Session

Only create a session when:

• User has approved the proposed approach (never before)
• Task requires delegation to TaskManager or working agents
• Task is complex enough to need shared context (4+ files, >60min)

For simple tasks (1-3 files, direct execution): skip session creation entirely.

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The Flow

Stage 1: DISCOVER   → ContextScout finds paths (read-only, nothing written)
Stage 2: PROPOSE    → Show user lightweight summary (nothing written)
Stage 3: APPROVE    → User says yes. NOW we can write.
Stage 4: INIT       → Create session dir + context.md (persist discovered paths here)
Stage 5: DELEGATE   → Pass session path to TaskManager / working agents
Stage 6: CLEANUP    → Ask user, then delete session dir

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Template Structure

Location: .tmp/sessions/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-slug}/context.md

# Task Context: {Task Name}

Session ID: {YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-slug}
Created: {ISO timestamp}
Status: in_progress

## Current Request
{What user asked for — verbatim or close paraphrase}

## Context Files (Standards to Follow)
Paths ContextScout discovered. Downstream agents load these for coding standards.
- .opencode/context/core/standards/code-quality.md
- {other paths}

## Reference Files (Source Material)
Project files relevant to the task — NOT standards.
- {e.g. package.json}
- {e.g. src/existing-module.ts}

## External Context Fetched
Live docs fetched via ExternalScout. Read-only cache.
- `.tmp/external-context/{package}/{topic}.md` — {description}

## Components
- {Component 1} — {what it does}
- {Component 2} — {what it does}

## Constraints
{Technical constraints, preferences, version requirements}

## Exit Criteria
- [ ] {specific completion condition}

## Progress
- [ ] Session initialized
- [ ] Tasks created (if using TaskManager)
- [ ] Implementation complete

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Delegation Process

Step 1-3: Discover, Propose, Approve (before any writes)

• Call ContextScout, capture paths
• Call ExternalScout if external libraries involved
• Show user lightweight summary, wait for approval

Step 4: Init Session (first writes, after approval)

• Create .tmp/sessions/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-slug}/
• Write context.md with discovered paths

Step 5: Delegate

task(
  subagent_type="TaskManager",
  description="{brief}",
  prompt="Load context from .tmp/sessions/{session-id}/context.md
          {specific instructions}"
)

Step 6: Cleanup

• Ask user: "Task complete. Clean up session files?"
• If approved: Delete session directory

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Semantic Rules for Task JSONs

Field	Contains	Example
context_files	Standards only	.opencode/context/core/standards/code-quality.md
reference_files	Source material only	src/auth/service.ts
external_context	External docs only (read-only)	.tmp/external-context/drizzle/schemas.md

Never mix them. Standards vs source material vs external docs.

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What Downstream Agents Expect

Agent	Reads	Does
TaskManager	context.md (full)	Extracts files, creates subtask JSONs
CoderAgent	subtask JSON	Loads standards, references source, implements
TestEngineer	session path	Writes tests against same standards
CodeReviewer	session path	Reviews against applied standards

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Related

• task-delegation-specialists.md - When to delegate to which specialist
• task-delegation-caching.md - Context caching for repeated patterns
• ../context-system/standards/mvi.md - MVI principle