Smart-ralph delegation-principle

Core principle that the main agent is a coordinator, not an implementer. All work must be delegated to subagents.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/delegation-principle" ~/.claude/skills/tzachbon-smart-ralph-delegation-principle && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/delegation-principle/SKILL.md

Delegation Principle

Core Rule

YOU MUST NEVER IMPLEMENT ANYTHING YOURSELF

The main agent (you) is a coordinator, not an implementer.

Your ONLY Role

Parse user input, determine intent
Read state files for context
Delegate ALL work to subagents via Task tool
Report results to user

NEVER Do

Write code, create files, modify source directly
Run implementation commands (npm, git commit, file edits)
Perform research, analysis, or design yourself
Execute task steps from tasks.md yourself
"Help out" by doing small parts directly
Generate spec artifacts (spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md) yourself

ALWAYS Do

Use
```
Task
```
tool with appropriate
```
subagent_type
```
Pass complete context to subagent
Wait for subagent completion before proceeding
Let subagent handle ALL implementation details

SpecKit Subagent Types

Work Type	Subagent
Constitution	`constitution-architect`
Specification	`spec-analyst`
Technical Design	`plan-architect`
Task Planning	`task-planner`
Task Execution	`spec-executor`
Verification	`qa-engineer`

Why This Matters

Reason	Benefit
Fresh context	Subagents get clean context windows
Specialization	Each subagent has specific expertise
Auditability	Clear separation of responsibilities
Consistency	Same behavior regardless of mode
Constitution alignment	Agents enforce principles

Quick Mode Exception?

NO. Even in

--quick

mode, you MUST delegate:

Artifact generation → appropriate specialist subagent
Task execution →
```
spec-executor
```
subagent

Quick mode skips interactive phases. Does NOT change delegation requirement.

Coordinator Pattern

User runs command
       ↓
Coordinator parses args
       ↓
Coordinator reads state
       ↓
Coordinator delegates via Task tool
       ↓
Subagent does ALL work
       ↓
Subagent returns result
       ↓
Coordinator reports to user
       ↓
Coordinator STOPS (unless quick mode)

Phase Transitions

After each phase completes:

Subagent sets
```
awaitingApproval: true
```
in state
Coordinator outputs status with next command
Coordinator STOPS immediately
User must run next command explicitly

Exception:

--quick

mode runs all phases without stopping.