Compound Orchestrator

Compound Orchestrator is a small Codex and Claude Code plugin plus project bootstrapper for running a consistent compound engineering loop across both tools.

It complements the EveryInc Compound Engineering plugin by adding project-level guardrails:

shared Codex and Claude Code operating memory
Claude slash-command and subagent templates
Claude Code agent-team enablement
a Codex parallel-agent contract that mirrors the same team topology
large-codebase harness templates for layered CLAUDE.md, navigation, ownership, LSP/MCP rollout, and path-scoped skills
Claude Code hooks for session-start context reminders and stop-time durable-learning prompts
cross-tool ownership claims so Claude Code and Codex do not edit overlapping files at the same time
Claude and Codex cross-review roles so each tool can review code authored by the other
task brief, review, handoff, and scorecard templates
a verification adapter
a completion gate that checks for plan, review, and compound artifacts

Loop

brainstorm -> plan -> work -> review -> compound -> repeat

The important part is the final step. Every meaningful task should leave behind a reusable pattern, decision, failure note, or scorecard entry so the next task starts stronger.

Install Into A Project

From this plugin directory:

$py = "C:\Users\kenhu\.cache\codex-runtimes\codex-primary-runtime\dependencies\python\python.exe"
& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py init --target "C:\path\to\project"
& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py check --target "C:\path\to\project"

The initializer is conservative. It creates missing files and directories, and it appends managed compound-engineering blocks to existing AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md instead of replacing them.

It also merges the Claude Code agent-team flag into .claude/settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS": "1"
  },
  "permissions": {
    "deny": [
      "Read(./.env)",
      "Read(./node_modules/**)",
      "Read(./dist/**)"
    ]
  }
}

The generated deny list also covers common build, coverage, generated, vendor, sourcemap, and minified JavaScript paths.

Daily Use

Start a task:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py start --target . --title "Add billing webhook retry handling"

Record a durable learning:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py learn --target . --kind failure --title "Webhook duplicate invoice" --summary "Provider retries can arrive after our DB write succeeds. Future webhook handlers must use idempotency keys."

Check completion gates:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py check --target . --task-id 2026-05-21-add-billing-webhook-retry-handling

Audit the harness:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py harness-check --target .

Claim files before editing:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py claim --target . --tool codex --agent codex-worker --task-id 2026-05-21-task --paths src/payment.py --intent "Implement retry handling"

If Claude Code or another Codex agent already owns an overlapping path, the claim fails and the agent must not edit. Release claims after integration or handoff:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py release --target . --tool codex --agent codex-worker --task-id 2026-05-21-task

Record opposite-tool review:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py cross-review --target . --task-id 2026-05-21-task --reviewer-tool claude --author-tool codex --summary "Claude reviewed Codex-authored retry handling."

Start a coordinated team run:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py team-start --target . --title "Refactor checkout flow" --mode claude-agent-team

For Codex, use the same topology but make Codex the lead integrator:

& $py .\scripts\compound_orchestrator.py team-start --target . --title "Refactor checkout flow" --mode codex-parallel-agents

Claude Code

This repository includes a native Claude Code plugin manifest at .claude-plugin/plugin.json. For local testing:

claude --plugin-dir . -p "Use /compound-init to explain how this repo bootstraps compound engineering."
claude plugin validate .

init also creates project-local .claude/commands and .claude/agents templates. They provide a stable Claude-side vocabulary:

/compound-start
/compound-plan
/compound-review
/compound-learn
/compound-init
/compound-team-start
/compound-harness-check
/compound-claim
/compound-release
/compound-ownership-status
/compound-cross-review
compound-architect
compound-reviewer
compound-test-runner
compound-cross-tool-reviewer