Customization

Before executing, check for user customizations at: ~/.claude/skills/CORE/USER/SKILLCUSTOMIZATIONS/Council/

If this directory exists, load and apply any PREFERENCES.md, configurations, or resources found there. These override default behavior. If the directory does not exist, proceed with skill defaults.

Council Skill

Multi-agent debate system where specialized agents discuss topics in rounds, respond to each other's points, and surface insights through intellectual friction.

Key Differentiator from RedTeam: Council is collaborative-adversarial (debate to find best path), while RedTeam is purely adversarial (attack the idea). Council produces visible conversation transcripts; RedTeam produces steelman + counter-argument.

Voice Notification

When executing a workflow, do BOTH:

Send voice notification:

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Running the WORKFLOWNAME workflow from the Council skill"}' \
  > /dev/null 2>&1 &

Output text notification:

Running the **WorkflowName** workflow from the **Council** skill...

Full documentation: ~/.claude/skills/CORE/SkillNotifications.md

Workflow Routing

Route to the appropriate workflow based on the request.

When executing a workflow, output this notification directly:

Running the **WorkflowName** workflow from the **Council** skill...

Trigger	Workflow
Full structured debate (3 rounds, visible transcript)	`Workflows/Debate.md`
Quick consensus check (1 round, fast)	`Workflows/Quick.md`
Pure adversarial analysis	RedTeam skill

Quick Reference

Workflow	Purpose	Rounds	Output
DEBATE	Full structured discussion	3	Complete transcript + synthesis
QUICK	Fast perspective check	1	Initial positions only

Context Files

File	Content
`CouncilMembers.md`	Agent roles, perspectives, voice mapping
`RoundStructure.md`	Three-round debate structure and timing
`OutputFormat.md`	Transcript format templates

Core Philosophy

Origin: Best decisions emerge from diverse perspectives challenging each other. Not just collecting opinions - genuine intellectual friction where experts respond to each other's actual points.

Speed: Parallel execution within rounds, sequential between rounds. A 3-round debate of 4 agents = 12 agent calls but only 3 sequential waits. Complete in 30-90 seconds.

Examples

"Council: Should we use WebSockets or SSE?"
-> Invokes DEBATE workflow -> 3-round transcript

"Quick council check: Is this API design reasonable?"
-> Invokes QUICK workflow -> Fast perspectives

"Council with security: Evaluate this auth approach"
-> DEBATE with Security agent added

Integration

Works well with:

RedTeam - Pure adversarial attack after collaborative discussion
Development - Before major architectural decisions
Research - Gather context before convening the council

Best Practices

Use QUICK for sanity checks, DEBATE for important decisions
Add domain-specific experts as needed (security for auth, etc.)
Review the transcript - insights are in the responses, not just positions
Trust multi-agent convergence when it occurs

Last Updated: 2025-12-20