Agent Messaging

NO AGENT DISPATCH WITHOUT A STRUCTURED BRIEF

BEFORE dispatching any agent or sending any message:

1. RECIPIENT: Who receives this? (subagent, teammate, team lead)
2. OBJECTIVE: What must they DO? (implement, investigate, review, report)
3. CONTEXT: What must they KNOW? (only what is relevant to their task)
4. DELIVERABLE: What must they RETURN? (format, content, detail level)
5. CONSTRAINTS: What must they NOT do? (scope limits, file restrictions)

Skip any step = unfocused agent, wasted tokens

digraph context_decision {
    "Task follows existing pattern?" [shape=diamond];
    "Task depends on other tasks?" [shape=diamond];
    "Lean context" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];
    "Full context" [shape=box];

    "Task follows existing pattern?" -> "Lean context" [label="yes - supply pattern ref"];
    "Task follows existing pattern?" -> "Task depends on other tasks?" [label="no"];
    "Task depends on other tasks?" -> "Full context" [label="yes"];
    "Task depends on other tasks?" -> "Lean context" [label="no - standalone"];
}

You are implementing: [1-2 sentence description]

File to modify: [exact path]
Pattern to follow: [reference to existing function/test]
What to implement: [specific requirement]
Verification: [exact command to run]

You are implementing Task N: [task name]

## Task Description
[FULL TEXT of task - paste it, do not make the subagent read a file]

## Context
[Where this fits, what preceded it, architectural decisions]

Fix the tests in the auth module. They're failing.

[Paste entire 500-line plan file]
Your task is Task 7, which is about auth tests.

You are resolving 3 failing tests in src/auth/session.test.ts.

Failures:
1. "should reject expired sessions" - expects 401, gets 200
2. "should renew valid sessions" - timeout after 5s
3. "should handle concurrent sessions" - race condition

Context: Session management was refactored in commit def456.
The validateSession() function now returns a Promise instead of sync.

Files:
- Fix: src/auth/session.test.ts
- Reference: src/auth/session-manager.ts (the refactored code)
- Do NOT modify: src/auth/session.ts (production code is correct)

Verification: npm test -- --testPathPattern=session.test

Report: Root cause per test, what you changed, test results.

[WHAT] - One line summary of the point
[DETAIL] - Supporting information (if needed)
[ACTION] - What you need from the recipient (if anything)

SendMessage -> backend teammate:
"The profile API needs a PUT /profile/preferences endpoint.
Frontend needs to update preferences without replacing the full profile.
Can you add this to the contract before implementing?"

SendMessage -> backend teammate:
"Hey, I was working on the frontend and I noticed we need
some changes. The profile page has this preferences feature where
users can update without replacing everything and I think we need
a new endpoint for that. What do you think? Also I noticed..."

digraph message_type {
    "Who needs this information?" [shape=diamond];
    "Entire team?" [shape=diamond];
    "broadcast (expensive)" [shape=box];
    "SendMessage to specific teammate" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];

    "Who needs this information?" -> "Entire team?";
    "Entire team?" -> "broadcast (expensive)" [label="yes - convention change, critical blocker"];
    "Entire team?" -> "SendMessage to specific teammate" [label="no - most cases"];
}

COMPLETED: [task name]
RESULT: [one-line summary]
FILES CHANGED: [list]
FINDINGS: [anything the lead or other teammates should know]
CONCERNS: [anything that might affect other tasks]

## What Was Built
[Summary - what changed and why]

## Files Changed
[Exact paths, one per line]

## Test Results
[Pass/fail counts, any notable results]

## Self-Review Notes
[Issues found and resolved during self-review]
[Remaining concerns]

## Verification Command
[Exact command to run]

## Issues Identified
[List each issue with file:line reference]

## Priority
- Blocking: [must resolve before approval]
- Important: [should resolve]
- Suggestion: [consider for improvement]

## Scope Boundaries
[Do not refactor while fixing — stay focused]

## Hypothesis Under Test
[What was being investigated]

## Evidence
- Supporting: [evidence favoring the hypothesis]
- Contradicting: [evidence against the hypothesis]

## Confidence
[High/Medium/Low with reasoning]

## Recommendation
[Next steps based on findings]

## Cross-Cutting Discoveries
[Anything that affects other investigations]