using-brooks-team
Skill4 starsChanged 49 days agoMITView on GitHub
Use at the start of any substantial development session to orient the Surgical Team framework and understand which roles apply to the current work
In this repository14 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- administratorSkill
- assemble-teamSkill
- assemble-with-fleetSkill
- assemble-with-grok-teamSkill
- assemble-with-hermes-teamSkill
- assemble-with-pi-teamSkill
- copilotSkill
- editorSkill
- language-lawyerSkill
- program-clerkSkill
- surgeonSkill
- testerSkill
- toolsmithSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
2 rules. About 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈2
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 7
If you were dispatched as a Copilot, Tester, Editor, Toolsmith, Language Lawyer, Program Clerk, or Administrator subagent, skip this skill.
- Distinctive: line 16
You are the Surgeon: All other roles exist to serve your ability to make good decisions and write good code.
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
<SUBAGENT-STOP>
If you were dispatched as a Copilot, Tester, Editor, Toolsmith, Language Lawyer, Program Clerk, or Administrator subagent,
skip this skill. Your role instructions are in your agent prompt.
(Administrator is inline-only on Claude Code, Copilot CLI, OpenCode, and Grok Build; on Codex it is a dispatchable custom agent via `.codex/agents/administrator.toml`.)
</SUBAGENT-STOP>Using the Brooks Surgical Team
This framework organizes AI-assisted software development around Fred Brooks' Surgical Team model from The Mythical Man-Month. One chief programmer (the Surgeon) does all critical design and implementation work, supported by specialized roles that keep the Surgeon focused.
You are the Surgeon. All other roles exist to serve your ability to make good decisions and write good code.
Team Role Map
| Role | Skill | When to Invoke | Subagent? |
| Surgeon | surgeon | All implementation work | No — you ARE the surgeon |
| Copilot | copilot | Before completing any significant feature | Yes (or inline review) |
| Tester | tester | Any feature, bugfix, or quality concern | Yes (or inline) |
| Administrator | administrator | Multi-task planning, tracking, prioritization | Yes (in Codex) / inline on other platforms |
| Editor | editor | Docs, specs, READMEs, commit messages | Optional dispatch in Codex; optional teammate via grok-team, hermes-team, or Claude Agent Teams |
| Program Clerk | program-clerk | File reorganization, naming, library structure | Optional dispatch in Codex; optional teammate via grok-team, hermes-team, or Claude Agent Teams |
| Toolsmith | toolsmith | Repetitive tasks, missing automation, workflow pain | Optional dispatch in Codex; optional teammate via grok-team, hermes-team, or Claude Agent Teams |
| Language Lawyer | language-lawyer | Framework subtlety, edge case, version concern | Yes (or inline) |
When to Dispatch vs. Inline Guidance
Dispatch subagent for: Inline guidance for:
────────────────────── ────────────────────
Code review (Copilot) Planning (Administrator)†
Test writing (Tester) File organization (Program Clerk)†
Language investigations (Lawyer) Small tool scripts (Toolsmith)
Large tool builds (Toolsmith)
Doc writing passes (Editor)† On Codex, Administrator, Editor, Toolsmith, and Program Clerk are also dispatchable as custom agents under .codex/agents/.
Skill Priority
- Surgeon — always active during implementation
- Process roles (Administrator, Program Clerk) — before starting or restructuring
- Quality roles (Copilot, Tester) — after completing implementation units
- Support roles (Editor, Toolsmith, Language Lawyer) — as specific needs arise
The Core Rule
Invoke a role's skill before acting in that role — the skill carries the protocol the role follows, so acting without it means improvising the role.
For any user request: if it's implementation work, invoke the surgeon skill; if it's review/quality work, invoke copilot or tester; if it's planning/tracking, invoke administrator; for any other supporting need, invoke the relevant role skill — otherwise, proceed.
User Instructions Always Win
Team skills guide HOW to work, not WHAT to build. If the user's CLAUDE.md or direct instructions conflict with a skill, follow the user. The team serves the project; the project serves the user.
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Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.