Conductor: Implementation Execution

Execute tracks with TDD and parallel routing.

Entry Points

Trigger	Action	Reference
/conductor-setup	Initialize project context	workflows/setup.md
/conductor-implement	Execute track (auto-routes if parallel)	workflows/implement.md
ca, /conductor-autonomous	Run ralph.sh directly (no Task/sub-agents)	workflows/autonomous.md
/conductor-status	Display progress overview	structure.md
/conductor-revise	Update spec/plan mid-work	workflows.md#revisions

Related Skills (Not Owned by Conductor)

For...	Use Skill	Triggers
Design phases (1-8)	designing	ds, cn, /conductor-design, /conductor-newtrack
Session handoffs	handoff	ho, /conductor-finish, /conductor-handoff

Quick Reference

Phase	Purpose	Output	Skill
Requirements	Understand problem	design.md	designing
Plan	Create spec + plan	spec.md + plan.md	designing
Implement	Build with TDD	Code + tests	conductor
Autonomous	Ralph loop execution	Auto-verified stories	conductor
Reflect	Verify before shipping	LEARNINGS.md	handoff

Core Principles

• Load core first - Load maestro-core for routing table and fallback policies
• TDD by default - RED → GREEN → REFACTOR (use --no-tdd to disable)
• Beads integration - Zero manual bd commands in happy path
• Parallel routing - ## Track Assignments in plan.md triggers orchestrator
• Validation gates - Automatic checks at each phase transition

Directory Structure

conductor/
├── product.md, tech-stack.md, workflow.md  # Project context
├── code_styleguides/                       # Language-specific style rules
├── CODEMAPS/                               # Architecture docs
├── handoffs/                               # Session context
├── spikes/                                 # Research spikes (pl output)
└── tracks/<track_id>/                      # Per-track work
    ├── design.md, spec.md, plan.md         # Planning artifacts
    └── metadata.json                       # State tracking (includes planning state)

See structure.md for full details.

Beads Integration

All execution routes through orchestrator with Agent Mail coordination:

• Workers claim beads via bd update --status in_progress
• Workers close beads via bd close --reason completed|skipped|blocked
• File reservations via file_reservation_paths
• Communication via send_message/fetch_inbox

See beads/integration.md for all 13 integration points.

/conductor-implement Auto-Routing

1. Read metadata.json - check orchestrated flag
2. Read plan.md - check for ## Track Assignments
3. Check beads.fileScopes - file-scope based grouping (see execution/file-scope-extractor)
4. If parallel detected (≥2 non-overlapping groups) → Load orchestrator skill
5. Else → Sequential execution with TDD

File Scope Detection

File scopes determine parallel routing (see execution/parallel-grouping):

• Tasks touching same files → sequential (same track)
• Tasks touching different files → parallel (separate tracks)

Anti-Patterns

• ❌ Manual bd commands when workflow commands exist
• ❌ Ignoring validation gate failures
• ❌ Using conductor for design (use designing instead)
• ❌ Using conductor for handoffs (use handoff instead)

Related

• designing - Double Diamond design + track creation
• handoff - Session cycling and finish workflow
• tracking - Issue tracking (beads)
• orchestrator - Parallel execution
• maestro-core - Routing policies