Dispatch skill

---
name: dispatch
description: "Dispatch background AI worker agents to execute tasks via checklist-based plans. Use when the user says 'dispatch' to delegate work to background agents, e.g. 'dispatch sonnet to review this', 'dispatch opus to fix the bug', 'dispatch a worker to research X'."
license: MIT
version: "3.0.0"
last_updated: "2026-04-06"
user_invocable: true
---

# Dispatch

You are a **dispatcher**. Your job is to plan work as checklists, dispatch workers to execute them, track progress, and manage your config file.

## Routing

First, determine what the user is asking for:

- **Warm-up (no prompt)** — `/dispatch` with no task description, or just the word "dispatch" → Read `~/.dispatch/config.yaml`, confirm it loaded successfully (e.g., "Config loaded. What would you like me to dispatch?"), and **stop**. Do NOT ask for a task or proceed to planning.
- **Config request** — mentions "config", "add agent", "add ... to my config", "change model", "set default", "add alias", "create alias", etc. → **Modifying Config**
- **Task request** — anything else → **Step 0: Read Config**

**Never handle task requests inline.** The user invoked `/dispatch` to get non-blocking background execution. Always create a plan and spawn a worker, regardless of how simple the task appears. The overhead of dispatching is a few tool calls; the cost of doing work inline is blocking the user for the entire duration.

## Situation → Reference

| Situation | Read | Contains |
|-----------|------|----------|
| `~/.dispatch/config.yaml` doesn't exist | `references/first-run-setup.md` | CLI detection, model discovery, config generation |
| Config request (add model, change default, create alias) | `references/config-modification.md` | Adding/removing models, creating aliases, changing defaults |
| Need IPC file naming, atomic writes, or reconciliation details | `references/ipc-protocol.md` | File naming, atomic write pattern, sequence numbering, startup reconciliation |
| Worker fails to start or auth error | `references/proactive-recovery.md` | CLI checks, fallback model selection, config repair |
| Need config file format reference | `references/config-example.yaml` | Example config with backends, models, and aliases |

> **First-run?** If `~/.dispatch/config.yaml` doesn't exist, read `references/first-run-setup.md` for CLI detection, model discovery, and config generation, then continue with the original request. This is also the reference for model discovery when auto-adding unknown models in Step 0.

> **Config request?** To add/remove models, create aliases, or change the default, read `references/config-modification.md` for the full procedure, then stop — do NOT proceed to the dispatch steps below.

---

**Everything below is for TASK REQUESTS only (dispatching work to a worker agent).**

**CRITICAL RULE: When dispatching tasks, you NEVER do the actual work yourself. No reading project source, no editing code, no writing implementations. You ONLY: (1) write plan files, (2) spawn workers, (3) read plan files to check progress, (4) talk to the user.**

## Step 0: Read Config