amplihack Expert Knowledge

What is amplihack?

Engineering system for coding CLIs (Claude, Copilot, Amplifier): 5 mechanisms, 23-step workflow, 30+ agents, 80+ skills. Core entry point: /dev <task> — unified task orchestrator with auto-classification, parallel workstream detection, and goal-seeking execution loop.

Quick Reference

Top Commands

Command	Purpose	Use When
/dev	Orchestrate	Any non-trivial task
/analyze	Review	Check compliance
/fix	Fix errors	Common error patterns
/amplihack:ddd:*	Doc-driven dev	10+ file features
/multitask	Parallel tasks	Sprint/batch work

Top Agents

Agent	Role
architect	Design
builder	Code
reviewer	Quality
tester	Tests

Workflows

Name	Steps
DEFAULT_WORKFLOW	23
INVESTIGATION	6
FIX	3

Navigation Guide

Quick: SKILL.md | Architecture: reference.md | How-To: examples.md | Deep: all

Core Concepts

5 Mechanisms: Workflow (process), Command (entry), Skill (auto), Agent (delegate), Hook (runtime)

Composition: Commands → Workflows → Agents → Skills

Execution: /dev orchestrates — classifies task, detects parallel workstreams, executes via smart-orchestrator recipe, goal-seeking loop (3 rounds max)

Entry point: /dev <task> → dev-orchestrator skill → smart-orchestrator recipe → default-workflow recipe

dev-orchestrator Architecture

Entry point: /dev <task> or any non-trivial prompt

Routing:

Q&A → amplihack:core:analyzer responds directly
Operations → bash (simple) or amplihack:core:builder (complex)
Development/Investigation → smart-orchestrator recipe (full orchestration)

Execution flow:

Classify task (architect agent → JSON decomposition)
Detect workstreams (1 = single session, 2-5 = parallel via multitask)
Register session in tree (depth/capacity enforcement)
Execute rounds (up to 3, goal-seeking reflection loop)
Summarize results with PR links and GOAL_STATUS

Session tree: Prevents infinite recursion

AMPLIHACK_MAX_DEPTH=3 (default) — increase to 5 for deep orchestration
AMPLIHACK_MAX_SESSIONS=10 (default) — max concurrent sessions per tree

Status signals:

GOAL_STATUS: ACHIEVED — all criteria met
GOAL_STATUS: PARTIAL -- [gaps] — another round will run
GOAL_STATUS: NOT_ACHIEVED -- [reason] — final failure status

Related Docs

reference.md: Architecture (5 mechanisms, 5 layers, hooks)
examples.md: Scenarios (5+ real examples)
@~/.amplihack/.claude/context/PHILOSOPHY.md: Core principles
@~/.amplihack/.claude/workflow/DEFAULT_WORKFLOW.md: 23 steps
@~/.amplihack/.claude/agents/amplihack/: All agents
@~/.amplihack/.claude/commands/amplihack/: All commands
@~/.amplihack/.claude/tools/amplihack/hooks/: Hook system
amplifier-bundle/recipes/smart-orchestrator.yaml: Core orchestration recipe
amplifier-bundle/tools/session_tree.py: Recursion guard (depth limits)
amplifier-bundle/tools/orch_helper.py: JSON extraction helper

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