Team Communication Protocols

1---2name: team-communication-protocols3description: Structured messaging protocols for agent team communication including message type selection, plan approval, shutdown procedures, and anti-patterns to avoid. Use this skill when establishing communication norms for a newly spawned team, when deciding whether to send a direct message or a broadcast, when a team-lead needs to review and approve an implementer's plan before work begins, when orchestrating a graceful team shutdown after all tasks are complete, or when debugging why teammates are not coordinating correctly at integration points.4version: 1.0.25---6 7# Team Communication Protocols8 9Protocols for effective communication between agent teammates, including message type selection, plan approval workflows, shutdown procedures, and common anti-patterns to avoid.10 11## When to Use This Skill12 13- Establishing communication norms for a new team14- Choosing between message types (message, broadcast, shutdown_request)15- Handling plan approval workflows16- Managing graceful team shutdown17- Discovering teammate identities and capabilities18 19## Message Type Selection20 21### `message` (Direct Message) — Default Choice22 23Send to a single specific teammate:24 25```json26{27  "type": "message",28  "recipient": "implementer-1",29  "content": "Your API endpoint is ready. You can now build the frontend form.",30  "summary": "API endpoint ready for frontend"31}32```33 34**Use for**: Task updates, coordination, questions, integration notifications.35 36### `broadcast` — Use Sparingly37 38Send to ALL teammates simultaneously:39 40```json41{42  "type": "broadcast",43  "content": "Critical: shared types file has been updated. Pull latest before continuing.",44  "summary": "Shared types updated"45}46```47 48**Use ONLY for**: Critical blockers affecting everyone, major changes to shared resources.49 50**Why sparingly?**: Each broadcast sends N separate messages (one per teammate), consuming API resources proportional to team size.51 52### `shutdown_request` — Graceful Termination53 54Request a teammate to shut down:55 56```json57{58  "type": "shutdown_request",59  "recipient": "reviewer-1",60  "content": "Review complete, shutting down team."61}62```63 64The teammate responds with `shutdown_response` (approve or reject with reason).65 66## Communication Anti-Patterns67 68| Anti-Pattern                            | Problem                                  | Better Approach                        |69| --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |70| Broadcasting routine updates            | Wastes resources, noise                  | Direct message to affected teammate    |71| Sending JSON status messages            | Not designed for structured data         | Use TaskUpdate to update task status   |72| Not communicating at integration points | Teammates build against stale interfaces | Message when your interface is ready   |73| Micromanaging via messages              | Overwhelms teammates, slows work         | Check in at milestones, not every step |74| Using UUIDs instead of names            | Hard to read, error-prone                | Always use teammate names              |75| Ignoring idle teammates                 | Wasted capacity                          | Assign new work or shut down           |76 77## Plan Approval Workflow78 79When a teammate is spawned with `plan_mode_required`:80 811. Teammate creates a plan using read-only exploration tools822. Teammate calls `ExitPlanMode` which sends a `plan_approval_request` to the lead833. Lead reviews the plan844. Lead responds with `plan_approval_response`:85 86**Approve**:87 88```json89{90  "type": "plan_approval_response",91  "request_id": "abc-123",92  "recipient": "implementer-1",93  "approve": true94}95```96 97**Reject with feedback**:98 99```json100{101  "type": "plan_approval_response",102  "request_id": "abc-123",103  "recipient": "implementer-1",104  "approve": false,105  "content": "Please add error handling for the API calls"106}107```108 109## Shutdown Protocol110 111### Graceful Shutdown Sequence112 1131. **Lead sends shutdown_request** to each teammate1142. **Teammate receives request** as a JSON message with `type: "shutdown_request"`1153. **Teammate responds** with `shutdown_response`:116   - `approve: true` — Teammate saves state and exits117   - `approve: false` + reason — Teammate continues working1184. **Lead handles rejections** — Wait for teammate to finish, then retry1195. **After all teammates shut down** — Call `TeamDelete` to remove team resources120 121### Handling Rejections122 123If a teammate rejects shutdown:124 125- Check their reason (usually "still working on task")126- Wait for their current task to complete127- Retry shutdown request128- If urgent, user can force shutdown129 130## Teammate Discovery131 132Find team members by reading the config file:133 134**Location**: `~/.claude/teams/{team-name}/config.json`135 136**Structure**:137 138```json139{140  "members": [141    {142      "name": "security-reviewer",143      "agentId": "uuid-here",144      "agentType": "team-reviewer"145    },146    {147      "name": "perf-reviewer",148      "agentId": "uuid-here",149      "agentType": "team-reviewer"150    }151  ]152}153```154 155**Always use `name`** for messaging and task assignment. Never use `agentId` directly.156 157## Troubleshooting158 159**A teammate is not responding to messages.**160Check the teammate's task status. If it is idle, it may have completed its task and is waiting to be assigned new work or shut down. If it is still active, it may be mid-execution and will process messages once the current operation finishes.161 162**The lead is sending broadcasts for every status update.**163This is a common anti-pattern. Broadcasts are expensive — each one sends N messages. Use direct messages (`type: "message"`) for point-to-point updates. Reserve broadcasts for critical shared-resource changes like an updated interface contract.164 165**A teammate rejected a shutdown request unexpectedly.**166The teammate is still working. Check the rejection reason in the `shutdown_response` content field, wait for the work to finish, then retry. Never force-terminate a teammate that has unsaved work.167 168**A plan_approval_request arrived but the request_id is missing.**169The teammate called `ExitPlanMode` without the required request context. Have the teammate re-enter plan mode, complete exploration, and call `ExitPlanMode` again. The `request_id` is generated automatically by the plan mode system.170 171**Two teammates are waiting on each other and neither is making progress.**172This is a deadlock: both are blocked waiting for the other to finish first. The lead should send a direct message to one teammate with a stub or partial result so it can unblock and proceed.173 174## Related Skills175 176- [team-composition-patterns](../team-composition-patterns/SKILL.md) — Select agent types and team size before establishing communication norms177- [parallel-feature-development](../parallel-feature-development/SKILL.md) — Use communication protocols to coordinate integration handoffs between parallel implementers