Framework for self-sustaining AI agent teams with self-service work queues, role ownership, continuous discovery, and proactive operation via heartbeat loops.
A framework for self-sustaining AI agent teams.
A complete team process kit for OpenClaw agents that enables:
# From your workspace root
cp -r skills/agent-team-kit/templates/process ./process
This creates:
process/INTAKE.md — The 5-phase work loopprocess/ROLES.md — Role definitionsprocess/OPPORTUNITIES.md — Raw ideas/discoveriesprocess/BACKLOG.md — Triaged work queueprocess/STATUS.md — Who's working on whatMerge templates/HEARTBEAT.md into your existing HEARTBEAT.md:
cat skills/agent-team-kit/templates/HEARTBEAT.md >> HEARTBEAT.md
Or copy it directly if you don't have one yet.
Edit process/ROLES.md to match your team:
DISCOVER → TRIAGE → READY → EXECUTE → FEEDBACK
↑ ↓
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
| Role | Mission | Owns |
|---|---|---|
| Scout 🔍 | Find opportunities | OPPORTUNITIES.md, discovery |
| Rhythm 🥁 | Keep work flowing | BACKLOG.md, triage |
| Harmony 🤝 | Keep team healthy | Unblocking, retros |
| [Human] | Strategic direction | Hard calls, spawning |
Execution roles (spawn as needed):
If it's in Ready, any agent can pick it up. No approval needed.
Every phase has ONE owner. No ambiguity.
Ideas, discoveries, completions — if you don't log it, it didn't happen.
Main agent coordinates. Sub-agents execute. Don't do everything yourself.
process/
├── INTAKE.md # How the loop works (reference)
├── ROLES.md # Who does what
├── OPPORTUNITIES.md # Raw discoveries (anyone adds)
├── BACKLOG.md # Triaged work (Rhythm maintains)
└── STATUS.md # Current activity (self-updated)
HEARTBEAT.md # Proactive check triggers
Add to your heartbeat checks:
### Team Health (run hourly)
- [ ] OPPORTUNITIES.md stale? → Spawn Scout
- [ ] Ready queue empty? → Alert Rhythm
- [ ] Active work stuck >2h? → Nudge owner
- [ ] Any unresolved blockers? → Harmony
The heartbeat keeps the loop spinning even when the human isn't watching.
Define in ROLES.md:
Update the ownership matrix
Add spawn criteria in INTAKE.md if needed
The 5-phase loop is flexible. Adapt it:
❌ Human manually adds every task → Use triage role instead
❌ Waiting for permission to pick up work → Ready = fair game
❌ One agent does everything → Spawn specialists
❌ Ideas stay in heads → Log to OPPORTUNITIES.md
❌ Heartbeat just returns OK → Actually check the loop
Track team health:
The system runs itself. Your job is to trust it.