Compose

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 4e163a7a8095 · 19 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishersharpdeveye GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldersharpdeveye/maestro/source/skills/composeThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict4e163a7a8095A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 173 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Use when a single agent demonstrably cannot handle the task and multi-agent coordination is justified.

---
name: compose
description: "Use when a single agent demonstrably cannot handle the task and multi-agent coordination is justified."
argument-hint: "[workflow description]"
category: enhancement
version: 2.0.0
user-invocable: true
---

## MANDATORY PREPARATION

Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the **Context Gathering Protocol**. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first.
Consult the agent-architecture reference in the agent-workflow skill for topology patterns and when multi-agent is justified.

---

Design a multi-agent system. But first — are you sure you need one?

### Step 1: Pre-Composition Check

Answer these before proceeding:

1. **Has a single agent been tried and failed?** (If no, try single agent first)
2. **What specific limitation requires multiple agents?** (If you can't name it, you don't need multi-agent)
3. **Is the cost/latency increase justified?** (Multi-agent = 2-10x cost and latency)

If you can't articulate a specific limitation, use /amplify on the single agent instead.

### Step 2: Design the Topology

Choose the right architecture pattern (consult the agent-architecture reference in the agent-workflow skill):

For each agent in the system, define:

```markdown
## Agent: [Name]
Role: [One sentence]
Responsibilities: [What it does]
Boundaries: [What it does NOT do]
Tools: [List of tools this agent has access to]
Input: [What it receives]
Output: [What it produces]
```

### Step 3: Design Handoffs

For each agent-to-agent connection:

```markdown
## Handoff: [Agent A] → [Agent B]
Trigger: [When does A hand off to B?]
Payload: [What data is passed?]
Expected response: [What does A expect back?]
Timeout: [How long to wait?]
Failure handling: [What if B fails?]
```

### Step 4: Design the Supervisor

Every multi-agent system needs a supervisor:

- Monitors agent health and performance
- Routes tasks to appropriate agents
- Handles failures and escalation
- Enforces global constraints (budget, time, quality)

### Composition Checklist

- [ ] Each agent has a clear, non-overlapping role
- [ ] Handoff protocols are defined for every connection
- [ ] A supervisor pattern is in place
- [ ] Cost/latency budget accounts for all agents
- [ ] Failure modes are handled at every handoff point
- [ ] The system can be understood by reading the topology diagram

### Recommended Next Step

After composition, run `/fortify` to add error handling at every handoff, then `/evaluate` to test the multi-agent system end-to-end.

**NEVER**:

- Build multi-agent for a problem a single agent can handle
- Create agents with overlapping responsibilities
- Skip the supervisor (autonomous swarms are unpredictable)
- Pass full context between all agents (pass only what's needed)
- Compose without defining handoff protocols

Excerpt, first 2,876 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/sharpdeveye/maestro
git -C maestro checkout 4e163a7a8095

Works in

1. 2026-10-19
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 4e163a7a8095

Questions about Compose

• github.com/sharpdeveye/maestro/tree/main/source/skills/compose — the audited source at commit 4e163a7a8095 and every finding aboveObserved · 19 Oct 2026

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