name: Council
description: Multi-agent debate system. USE WHEN council, debate, perspectives, agents discuss. SkillSearch('council') for docs.
implements: Science
science_cycle_time: meso

Customization

Before executing, check for user customizations at:
~/.claude/skills/PAI/USER/SKILLCUSTOMIZATIONS/Council/

If this directory exists, load and apply any PREFERENCES.md, configurations, or resources found there. These override default behavior. If the directory does not exist, proceed with skill defaults.

🚨 MANDATORY: Voice Notification (REQUIRED BEFORE ANY ACTION)

You MUST send this notification BEFORE doing anything else when this skill is invoked.

1. Send voice notification:
   bash curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"message": "Running the WORKFLOWNAME workflow in the Council skill to ACTION"}' \ > /dev/null 2>&1 &

2. Output text notification:
   Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Council** skill to ACTION...

This is not optional. Execute this curl command immediately upon skill invocation.

Council Skill

Multi-agent debate system where specialized agents discuss topics in rounds, respond to each other's points, and surface insights through intellectual friction.

Key Differentiator from RedTeam: Council is collaborative-adversarial (debate to find best path), while RedTeam is purely adversarial (attack the idea). Council produces visible conversation transcripts; RedTeam produces steelman + counter-argument.

Workflow Routing

Route to the appropriate workflow based on the request.

When executing a workflow, output this notification directly:

Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Council** skill to ACTION...

Quick Reference

Context Files

Core Philosophy

Origin: Best decisions emerge from diverse perspectives challenging each other. Not just collecting opinions - genuine intellectual friction where experts respond to each other's actual points.

Speed: Parallel execution within rounds, sequential between rounds. A 3-round debate of 4 agents = 12 agent calls but only 3 sequential waits. Complete in 30-90 seconds.

Examples

"Council: Should we use WebSockets or SSE?"
-> Invokes DEBATE workflow -> 3-round transcript

"Quick council check: Is this API design reasonable?"
-> Invokes QUICK workflow -> Fast perspectives

"Council with security: Evaluate this auth approach"
-> DEBATE with Security agent added

Integration

Works well with:
- RedTeam - Pure adversarial attack after collaborative discussion
- Development - Before major architectural decisions
- Research - Gather context before convening the council

Best Practices

1. Use QUICK for sanity checks, DEBATE for important decisions
2. Add domain-specific experts as needed (security for auth, etc.)
3. Review the transcript - insights are in the responses, not just positions
4. Trust multi-agent convergence when it occurs

Last Updated: 2025-12-20