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.opencode/skills/context-engineering/references/multi-agent-patterns.md

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+# Multi-Agent Patterns
+
+Distribute work across multiple context windows for isolation and scale.
+
+## Core Insight
+
+Sub-agents exist to **isolate context**, not anthropomorphize roles.
+
+## Token Economics
+
+| Architecture | Multiplier | Use Case |
+|--------------|------------|----------|
+| Single agent | 1x | Simple tasks |
+| Single + tools | ~4x | Moderate complexity |
+| Multi-agent | ~15x | Context isolation needed |
+
+**Key**: Token usage explains 80% of performance variance.
+
+## Patterns
+
+### Supervisor/Orchestrator
+
+```python
+class Supervisor:
+    def process(self, task):
+        subtasks = self.decompose(task)
+        results = [worker.execute(st, clean_context=True) for st in subtasks]
+        return self.aggregate(results)
+```
+
+**Pros**: Control, human-in-loop | **Cons**: Bottleneck, telephone game
+
+### Peer-to-Peer/Swarm
+
+```python
+def process_with_handoff(agent, task):
+    result = agent.process(task)
+    if "handoff" in result:
+        return process_with_handoff(select_agent(result["to"]), result["state"])
+    return result
+```
+
+**Pros**: No SPOF, scales | **Cons**: Complex coordination
+
+### Hierarchical
+
+Strategy → Planning → Execution layers
+**Pros**: Separation of concerns | **Cons**: Coordination overhead
+
+## Context Isolation Patterns
+
+| Pattern | Isolation | Use Case |
+|---------|-----------|----------|
+| Full delegation | None | Max capability |
+| Instruction passing | High | Simple tasks |
+| File coordination | Medium | Shared state |
+
+## Consensus Mechanisms
+
+```python
+def weighted_consensus(responses):
+    scores = {}
+    for r in responses:
+        weight = r["confidence"] * r["expertise"]
+        scores[r["answer"]] = scores.get(r["answer"], 0) + weight
+    return max(scores, key=scores.get)
+```
+
+## Failure Recovery
+
+| Failure | Mitigation |
+|---------|------------|
+| Bottleneck | Output schemas, checkpointing |
+| Overhead | Clear handoffs, batching |
+| Divergence | Boundaries, convergence checks |
+| Errors | Validation, circuit breakers |
+
+## Guidelines
+
+1. Use multi-agent for context isolation, not role-play
+2. Accept ~15x token cost for benefits
+3. Implement circuit breakers
+4. Use files for shared state
+5. Design clear handoffs
+6. Validate between agents
+
+## Related
+
+- [Context Optimization](./context-optimization.md)
+- [Evaluation](./evaluation.md)