diff --git a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/architect-orchestrator.md b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/architect-orchestrator.md
index e242ec4..8fe07c2 100644
--- a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/architect-orchestrator.md
+++ b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/architect-orchestrator.md
@@ -1,29 +1,14 @@
---
name: architect-orchestrator
description: |
- Use this agent to run the full /ultra-cc-architect-local pipeline as a
- background task. Receives a brief + research paths and produces an
- architecture note that matches the task against available CC features,
- with explicit coverage gaps.
-
-
- Context: ultra-cc-architect default mode transitions to background
- user: "/ultra-cc-architect-local --project .claude/projects/2026-04-18-jwt-auth"
- assistant: "Inputs validated. Launching architect-orchestrator in background."
-
- Phase 2 of ultra-cc-architect spawns this agent with the brief + research paths
- to run Phases 3–7 autonomously.
-
-
-
-
- Context: User wants to re-run architecture with updated research
- user: "Re-run architecture after the new research brief was added"
- assistant: "Launching architect-orchestrator with the updated project dir."
-
- Re-run request triggers the orchestrator fresh against the current project state.
-
-
+ Inline reference (v2.4.0) — documents the architect workflow that
+ /ultra-cc-architect-local executes in main context. This file is NOT
+ spawned as a sub-agent anymore. The Claude Code harness does not expose
+ the Agent tool to sub-agents, so an orchestrator launched with
+ run_in_background: true cannot spawn the documented swarm (feature-matcher,
+ gap-identifier, architecture-critic) and would degrade to single-context
+ reasoning. The /ultra-cc-architect-local command now orchestrates the
+ phases below directly in the main session.
model: opus
color: cyan
tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash"]
@@ -35,13 +20,21 @@ tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash"]
Orchestrator Phase 3 = Command Phase 5 (Synthesis — write overview.md)
Orchestrator Phase 4 = Command Phase 6 (Adversarial review)
Orchestrator Phase 5 = Command Phase 7 (Present + gaps.md + stats)
- This agent handles Phases 3–7 when mode = default (background). -->
+ As of v2.4.0, /ultra-cc-architect-local runs these phases inline in
+ main context instead of spawning this agent. Keep this file as the
+ canonical reference for what those phases do. -->
-You are the orchestrator for `/ultra-cc-architect-local`. You receive
-a task brief, zero or more research briefs, and the skill catalog
-path. You produce an architecture note that matches the task against
-available Claude Code features, with explicit coverage gaps. You run
-as a background agent while the user continues other work.
+This document is the canonical workflow description for the ultra-cc-architect
+pipeline as of v2.4.0. The `/ultra-cc-architect-local` command reads it as
+reference and executes the phases below **inline in the main command
+context**. It is no longer spawned as a background sub-agent — that mode
+silently lost the Agent tool and degraded the swarm to single-context
+reasoning.
+
+The role of the "orchestrator" now belongs to the command markdown itself:
+the main Opus session launches feature-matcher / gap-identifier /
+architecture-critic via the Agent tool, collects their results, synthesizes
+the architecture note, and writes overview.md + gaps.md.
## Input
diff --git a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/planning-orchestrator.md b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/planning-orchestrator.md
index 3535635..134c532 100644
--- a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/planning-orchestrator.md
+++ b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/planning-orchestrator.md
@@ -1,36 +1,14 @@
---
name: planning-orchestrator
description: |
- Use this agent to run the full ultraplan planning pipeline (exploration, research,
- synthesis, planning, adversarial review) as a background task. Receives a task
- brief and produces a complete implementation plan.
-
-
- Context: Ultraplan default mode transitions to background after brief is available
- user: "/ultraplan-local --project .claude/projects/2026-04-18-websocket-notifications"
- assistant: "Brief loaded. Launching planning-orchestrator in background."
-
- Phase 3 of ultraplan spawns this agent with the brief file to run Phases 4-10 in background.
-
-
-
-
- Context: User plans from a brief produced by /ultrabrief-local
- user: "/ultraplan-local --brief .claude/projects/2026-04-18-jwt-auth/brief.md"
- assistant: "Brief loaded. Launching planning-orchestrator in background."
-
- Brief-driven mode spawns this agent immediately with the provided brief.
-
-
-
-
- Context: User wants to re-run planning with an updated brief
- user: "Re-plan with the updated brief"
- assistant: "I'll launch the planning-orchestrator with the updated brief file."
-
- Re-planning request triggers the orchestrator with the revised brief.
-
-
+ Inline reference (v2.4.0) — documents the planning workflow that
+ /ultraplan-local executes in main context. This file is NOT spawned as a
+ sub-agent anymore. The Claude Code harness does not expose the Agent tool
+ to sub-agents, so an orchestrator launched with run_in_background: true
+ cannot spawn the exploration swarm (architecture-mapper, task-finder,
+ plan-critic, etc.) and would degrade to single-context reasoning. The
+ /ultraplan-local command now orchestrates the phases below directly in the
+ main session.
model: opus
color: cyan
tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash", "TaskCreate", "TaskUpdate"]
@@ -45,11 +23,19 @@ tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash", "TaskCreate",
Orchestrator Phase 5 = Command Phase 8 (Deep planning)
Orchestrator Phase 6 = Command Phase 9 (Adversarial review)
Orchestrator Phase 7 = Command Phase 10 (Completion)
- This agent handles Phases 4–10 when mode = default (background). -->
+ As of v2.4.0, /ultraplan-local runs these phases inline in main context
+ instead of spawning this agent. Keep this file as the canonical
+ reference for what those phases do. -->
-You are the ultraplan planning orchestrator. You receive a task brief and produce
-a complete, adversarially-reviewed implementation plan. You run as a background
-agent while the user continues other work.
+This document is the canonical workflow description for the ultraplan
+pipeline as of v2.4.0. The `/ultraplan-local` command reads it as reference
+and executes the phases below **inline in the main command context**. It is
+no longer spawned as a background sub-agent — that mode silently lost the
+Agent tool and degraded the exploration swarm to single-context reasoning.
+
+The role of the "orchestrator" now belongs to the command markdown itself:
+the main Opus session launches exploration and review agents via the Agent
+tool, collects their results, synthesizes the plan, and writes it to disk.
## Input
diff --git a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/research-orchestrator.md b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/research-orchestrator.md
index 7cb2267..dab52d9 100644
--- a/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/research-orchestrator.md
+++ b/plugins/ultraplan-local/agents/research-orchestrator.md
@@ -1,36 +1,13 @@
---
name: research-orchestrator
description: |
- Use this agent to run the full ultraresearch pipeline (parallel local + external
- research, triangulation, synthesis) as a background task. Receives a research
- question and produces a structured research brief.
-
-
- Context: Ultraresearch default mode transitions to background after interview
- user: "/ultraresearch-local Should we use Redis or Memcached for session caching?"
- assistant: "Interview complete. Launching research-orchestrator in background."
-
- Phase 3 of ultraresearch spawns this agent with the research question to run Phases 4-8 in background.
-
-
-
-
- Context: Ultraresearch foreground mode runs the full pipeline inline
- user: "/ultraresearch-local --fg What authentication approach fits our architecture?"
- assistant: "Running research pipeline in foreground."
-
- Foreground mode runs this agent's logic inline rather than in background.
-
-
-
-
- Context: Ultraresearch with local-only mode
- user: "/ultraresearch-local --local How is error handling structured in this codebase?"
- assistant: "Launching research-orchestrator with local-only agents."
-
- Local mode skips external agents and gemini bridge, only launches codebase analysis agents.
-
-
+ Inline reference (v2.4.0) — documents the research workflow that
+ /ultraresearch-local executes in main context. This file is NOT spawned as
+ a sub-agent anymore. The Claude Code harness does not expose the Agent tool
+ to sub-agents, so an orchestrator launched with run_in_background: true
+ cannot spawn the research swarm and would degrade to single-context
+ reasoning. The /ultraresearch-local command now orchestrates the phases
+ below directly in the main session.
model: opus
color: cyan
tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash"]
@@ -43,11 +20,20 @@ tools: ["Agent", "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Write", "Edit", "Bash"]
Orchestrator Phase 4 = Command Phase 7 (Triangulation)
Orchestrator Phase 5 = Command Phase 8 (Synthesis + write brief)
Orchestrator Phase 6 = Command Phase 9 (Completion)
- This agent handles Phases 4–9 when mode = default or foreground. -->
+ As of v2.4.0, /ultraresearch-local runs these phases inline in main
+ context instead of spawning this agent. Keep this file as the canonical
+ reference for what those phases do. -->
-You are the ultraresearch research orchestrator. You receive a research question and
-produce a structured research brief that combines local codebase analysis with external
-knowledge. You run as a background agent while the user continues other work.
+This document is the canonical workflow description for the ultraresearch
+pipeline as of v2.4.0. The `/ultraresearch-local` command reads it as
+reference and executes the phases below **inline in the main command
+context**. It is no longer spawned as a background sub-agent — that mode
+silently lost the Agent tool and degraded the swarm to single-context
+reasoning.
+
+The role of the "orchestrator" now belongs to the command markdown itself:
+the main Opus session launches local + external agents via the Agent tool,
+collects their results, triangulates, and writes the research brief.
## Design principle: Context Engineering