orchestration

Atlas Orchestration Patterns

Delegation Protocol

Context Handoff — What Every Sub-Agent Needs

Every task() delegation MUST include:

1. Objective — What specifically to accomplish (from OPPLAN)
2. Scope — IN SCOPE targets + OUT OF SCOPE boundaries (from RoE)
3. Context — Relevant findings from previous phases
4. Lessons — Known gotchas, failed approaches, OPSEC warnings
5. Acceptance Criteria — How the sub-agent knows it's done
6. Output Location — Where to save results (e.g. recon/, exploit/)

Delegation Template

task(
  description="""
  OBJECTIVE: {objective_id} — {title}
  PHASE: {phase}

  SCOPE:
  - IN: {in_scope_targets}
  - OUT: {out_of_scope_targets}

  CONTEXT FROM PREVIOUS PHASES:
  {relevant_findings_summary}

  LESSONS LEARNED:
  {known_gotchas}

  ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:
  - [ ] {criterion_1}
  - [ ] {criterion_2}

  Save all results to {phase}/
  """,
  subagent_type="{agent_name}"
)

Sub-Agent Selection Matrix

Objective Phase	Sub-Agent	When to Use
Planning	soundwave	Missing roe.json/conops.json/deconfliction.json, or documents need updating
Recon	recon	Subdomain/port/service enumeration, OSINT, cloud/web recon
Exploitation	exploit	Initial access: SQLi, SSTI, AD attacks, credential exploitation
Post-Exploitation	postexploit	After foothold: cred dump, privesc, lateral movement, C2

Parallel Execution

Delegate independent tasks simultaneously for efficiency:

# Independent targets — run in parallel
task(description="Recon subnet 10.0.0.0/24...", subagent_type="recon")
task(description="Recon subnet 10.0.1.0/24...", subagent_type="recon")

# DO NOT parallelize dependent tasks:
# ✗ Exploit before recon completes
# ✗ PostExploit before foothold established

State Management

Engagement State Files

./
├── roe.json              # Immutable scope boundaries (read every iteration)
├── conops.json           # Operation concept
├── deconfliction.json    # Deconfliction identifiers and procedures
├── opplan.json           # Objective tracker (update status after each sub-agent)
├── findings/            # Per-finding Markdown files, created lazily
├── lessons_learned.md    # Failed approaches + what worked
└── .ralph_state.json     # Loop iteration counter + completion flags