Zcode Delegate

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Wants to hand implementation work to ZCode — phrasings like have ZCode do X
• Delegate this to ZCode
• Run it through ZCode
• Use ZCode to implement/fix/refactor —

Example prompts

• “have ZCode do X”
• “delegate this to ZCode”
• “run it through ZCode”
• “/zcode-delegate”

Requirements

• Node.js
• A credential in ZAI_API_KEY
• A credential in ZCODE_API_KEY
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires the `zcode` CLI (Z.AI ZCode) with a configured model provider, Node 18+, and git. ZCode ships its CLI inside the desktop app rather than on PATH or npm — see Prerequisites. The orchestrating agent must be able to run shell commands and read files. Shell examples assume bash/zsh (macOS/Linux, or Git Bash/WSL on Windows).

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Write the brief
2. 2Dispatch
3. 3Wait for completion
4. 4Review — do not trust the self-report
5. 5Land it

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 6826b36. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 1 file in scripts/ (JavaScript), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • node

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

  • api.z.ai

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

  • ZAI_API_KEY
  • ZCODE_API_KEY
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

• Compatibility

  Requires the `zcode` CLI (Z.AI ZCode) with a configured model provider, Node 18+, and git. ZCode ships its CLI inside the desktop app rather than on PATH or npm — see Prerequisites. The orchestrating agent must be able to run shell commands and read files. Shell examples assume bash/zsh (macOS/Linux, or Git Bash/WSL on Windows).

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Zcode Delegate loads about 2.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~7.2k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 131 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,111 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~131

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.4k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~7.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from amElnagdy/delegate-skills at commit 6826b36, republished under its MIT licence (© amElnagdy). 1,111 words, ~2,393 tokens.

name

zcode-delegate

description

Delegate a coding task to the Z.AI ZCode CLI as a background implementer, then review its diff and land it yourself. Use this whenever the user wants to hand implementation work to ZCode — phrasings like "have ZCode do X", "delegate this to ZCode", "run it through ZCode", or "use ZCode to implement/fix/refactor" — or to run a queue of coding tasks through ZCode while staying the reviewer. DO NOT USE for tasks small enough to do inline, or when the user wants the code written directly without delegating.

compatibility

Requires the `zcode` CLI (Z.AI ZCode) with a configured model provider, Node 18+, and git. ZCode ships its CLI inside the desktop app rather than on PATH or npm — see Prerequisites. The orchestrating agent must be able to run shell commands and read files. Shell examples assume bash/zsh (macOS/Linux, or Git Bash/WSL on Windows).

license

MIT

metadata.version

0.5.0

node "<skill-dir>/scripts/relay.mjs" --brief brief.txt --cd /path/to/repo
# read-only (review/diagnosis, no edits):   add --read-only
# continue a specific session:              add --session <sess_...>  (from result.json; send only the delta brief)
# continue the latest session for --cd:     add --resume-last
# withhold tools (denylist):                add --disallowed-tools "Write,Edit,Bash"
# point at the CLI explicitly:              add --zcode-path /path/to/zcode.cjs
# hard time limit (watchdog):               add --timeout 2h  (default: off)
# see all options:                          node .../relay.mjs --help

© amElnagdy, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 5 other files (scripts, references) in skills/zcode-delegate of amElnagdy/delegate-skills.

• SKILL.md
• references/dispatch-and-poll.md
• references/multi-task-queues.md
• references/review-and-land.md
• references/writing-the-brief.md
• scripts/relay.mjs

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6826b36