Chorus Development workflow — claim tasks, report work, manage sessions, and integrate with Claude Code Agent Teams.
This skill covers the Development stage of the AI-DLC workflow: claiming Tasks, writing code, reporting progress, submitting for verification, and managing sessions for sub-agent observability.
Developer Agents take Tasks created by PM Agents (via /proposal) and turn them into working code. Each task follows:
claim --> in_progress --> report work --> self-check AC --> submit for verify --> Admin /review
For multi-agent parallel execution, Chorus integrates with Claude Code Agent Teams (swarm mode) with full session-based observability.
Task Lifecycle:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
chorus_claim_task | Claim an open task (open -> assigned) |
chorus_release_task | Release a claimed task (assigned -> open) |
chorus_update_task | Update task status (in_progress / to_verify) |
chorus_submit_for_verify | Submit task for admin verification with summary |
Work Reporting:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
chorus_report_work | Report progress or completion (writes comment + records activity, with optional status update) |
Acceptance Criteria:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
chorus_report_criteria_self_check | Report self-check results (passed/failed + optional evidence) on structured acceptance criteria |
Session (sub-agents only — main agent skips these):
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
chorus_session_checkin_task | Checkin to a task before starting work |
chorus_session_checkout_task | Checkout from a task when work is done |
Sub-agents: always pass sessionUuid to chorus_update_task and chorus_report_work for attribution.
Main agent / Team Lead: call these tools without sessionUuid — no session needed.
Shared tools (checkin, query, comment, search, notifications): see /chorus
chorus_checkin()
Review your persona, current assignments, and pending work counts.
Skip if you are the main agent or Team Lead.
If you are a sub-agent, the Chorus Plugin automatically creates your session — look for a "Chorus Session" section in your system reminders containing your sessionUuid. Keep it for all task operations.
chorus_get_available_tasks({ projectUuid: "<project-uuid>" })
Or check existing assignments:
chorus_get_my_assignments()
chorus_get_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" }) # Review first
chorus_claim_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Check: description, acceptance criteria, priority, story points, related proposal/documents.
Each task and proposal includes a commentCount field — use it to decide which entities have discussions worth reading.
Read the task and identify dependencies:
chorus_get_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Pay attention to dependsOn (upstream tasks) and commentCount.
Read task comments (contains previous work reports, progress, feedback):
chorus_get_comments({ targetType: "task", targetUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Review upstream dependency tasks — your work likely builds on theirs:
chorus_get_task({ taskUuid: "<dependency-task-uuid>" })
chorus_get_comments({ targetType: "task", targetUuid: "<dependency-task-uuid>" })
Look for: files created, API contracts, interfaces, trade-offs.
Read the originating proposal for design intent:
chorus_get_proposal({ proposalUuid: "<proposal-uuid>" })
Read project documents (PRD, tech design, ADR):
chorus_get_documents({ projectUuid: "<project-uuid>" })
Sub-agent: checkin to the task first:
chorus_session_checkin_task({ sessionUuid: "<session-uuid>", taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Then mark as in-progress:
# Sub-agent:
chorus_update_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>", status: "in_progress", sessionUuid: "<session-uuid>" })
# Main agent:
chorus_update_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>", status: "in_progress" })
Dependency enforcement: If this task has unresolved dependencies (dependsOn tasks not in
doneorclosed), the call will be rejected with detailed blocker info. Usechorus_get_unblocked_tasksto find tasks you can start now.
Report periodically with chorus_report_work. Include:
chorus_report_work({
taskUuid: "<task-uuid>",
report: "Progress:\n- Created src/services/auth.service.ts\n- Commit: abc1234\n- Remaining: unit tests",
sessionUuid: "<session-uuid>"
})
Report with status update when complete:
chorus_report_work({
taskUuid: "<task-uuid>",
report: "All implementation complete:\n- Files: ...\n- PR: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/42\n- All tests passing",
status: "to_verify",
sessionUuid: "<session-uuid>"
})
Before submitting, check structured acceptance criteria:
task = chorus_get_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
# If task.acceptanceCriteriaItems is non-empty:
chorus_report_criteria_self_check({
taskUuid: "<task-uuid>",
criteria: [
{ uuid: "<criterion-uuid>", devStatus: "passed", devEvidence: "Unit tests cover this" },
{ uuid: "<criterion-uuid>", devStatus: "passed", devEvidence: "Verified manually" }
]
})
For required criteria, keep working until you can self-check as
passed. Only usefailedfor optional criteria that are out of scope.
Sub-agents — checkout first:
chorus_session_checkout_task({ sessionUuid: "<session-uuid>", taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Then submit:
chorus_submit_for_verify({
taskUuid: "<task-uuid>",
summary: "Implemented auth feature:\n- Added login/logout endpoints\n- JWT middleware\n- 95% test coverage\n- All AC self-checked (3/3 passed)"
})
to_verifydoes NOT unblock downstream tasks — onlydone(after admin verification) does.
Review Agent: After
chorus_submit_for_verify, the Chorus plugin's PostToolUse hook will suggest spawningchorus:task-reviewer— an independent, read-only review agent. Follow the suggestion to get an adversarial review before admin verification. The reviewer posts a VERDICT comment on the task. Its result is advisory (does not block verification).
If reopened (verification failed), all acceptance criteria are reset to pending.
chorus_get_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
chorus_get_comments({ targetType: "task", targetUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
Once Admin verifies (status: done), move to the next available task (back to Step 2).
The Chorus Plugin fully automates session lifecycle — creation, heartbeat, and cleanup are all handled by hooks. Sub-agents only do 3 things manually:
chorus_session_checkin_task({ sessionUuid, taskUuid }) — before starting workchorus_session_checkout_task({ sessionUuid, taskUuid }) — when done (recommended; plugin also auto-checkouts on exit)sessionUuid to chorus_update_task and chorus_report_work for attributionMain agent / Team Lead: no session needed — call tools without sessionUuid.
When using Claude Code's Agent Teams to run multiple sub-agents in parallel, Chorus provides full work observability.
| Layer | System | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Orchestration | Claude Code Agent Teams | Spawning sub-agents, task dispatch, inter-agent messaging |
| Work Tracking | Chorus | Task lifecycle, session observability, activity stream |
# 1. Check in and plan
chorus_checkin()
chorus_list_tasks({ projectUuid: "<project-uuid>" })
# 2. Create Claude Code team and spawn sub-agents
TeamCreate({ team_name: "feature-x" })
# Pass only task UUIDs — plugin auto-injects session workflow
Task({
name: "frontend-worker",
prompt: "Your Chorus task UUID: <task-uuid>\nProject UUID: <project-uuid>\n\nImplement..."
})
What the Team Lead prompt needs:
The plugin injects session UUID and workflow into the sub-agent's context automatically.
# 1. Checkin to task
chorus_session_checkin_task({ sessionUuid: "<my-session-uuid>", taskUuid: "<my-task-uuid>" })
# 2. Move to in_progress
chorus_update_task({ taskUuid: "<my-task-uuid>", status: "in_progress", sessionUuid: "<my-session-uuid>" })
# 3. Do work... code, test, commit...
# 4. Report progress
chorus_report_work({ taskUuid: "<my-task-uuid>", report: "...", sessionUuid: "<my-session-uuid>" })
# 5. Checkout and submit
chorus_session_checkout_task({ sessionUuid: "<my-session-uuid>", taskUuid: "<my-task-uuid>" })
chorus_submit_for_verify({ taskUuid: "<my-task-uuid>", summary: "..." })
# 6. Notify team lead
SendMessage({ type: "message", recipient: "team-lead", content: "Task complete" })
# DO NOT close session — plugin closes it automatically on exit
Server-side enforcement:
chorus_update_task(status: "in_progress")rejects if anydependsOntask is notdoneorclosed.
Wave-based execution (recommended):
chorus_get_unblocked_tasks — find ready tasksto_verify, then verify each task (chorus_admin_verify_task → done)chorus_get_unblocked_tasks — find newly unblocked tasks (Wave 2)Critical:
to_verifydoes NOT resolve dependencies — onlydoneorcloseddoes. The Team Lead must verify tasks between waves.
A single sub-agent can work on multiple tasks sequentially:
Task({
name: "full-stack-worker",
prompt: "Your Chorus tasks (work in order):\n1. task-schema-uuid\n2. task-api-uuid (depends on #1)\n\nFor EACH task: checkin -> in_progress -> work -> report -> checkout -> submit_for_verify"
})
Sub-agents need MCP configured at project level (.mcp.json or .claude/settings.json). User-level config may not be accessible to sub-agents.
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Sub-agent can't access Chorus MCP tools | Verify MCP is configured at project level, API key has developer role |
| UI doesn't show active workers | Sub-agent forgot chorus_session_checkin_task. Check: chorus_get_session |
| Session shows "inactive" (yellow) | No heartbeat in 1h. TeammateIdle hook should auto-send. Agent may have crashed |
| Task stuck in wrong status | Spawn new sub-agent with same name (plugin auto-reopens session), or use chorus_update_task to reset |
| Duplicate sessions | Never call chorus_create_session — plugin handles all session creation. Close extras via Settings page |
| Sub-agent didn't receive session | Check plugin is loaded (/plugin list) and CHORUS_URL is set. Ensure name parameter is set |
Good report (enables session continuity):
Implemented password reset flow:
Files created/modified:
- src/services/auth.service.ts (new)
- src/app/api/auth/reset/route.ts (new)
- tests/auth/reset.test.ts (new)
Git:
- Commit: a1b2c3d "feat: password reset flow"
- PR: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/15
Implementation details:
- POST /api/auth/reset-request: sends email with token
- Token expires after 1 hour, single-use
- Rate limiting: 3 requests/hour/email
- 12 new tests, all passing
Acceptance criteria:
- [x] User can request reset via email
- [x] Reset link expires after 1 hour
- [x] Rate limiting prevents abuse
Bad report: Done.
dependsOn tasks and their comments for interfaces/APIscommentCount — skip fetching comments on entities with count 0Release if:
chorus_release_task({ taskUuid: "<task-uuid>" })
chorus_add_comment({ targetType: "task", targetUuid: "<task-uuid>", content: "Releasing: reason..." })
/review/chorus