- Orchestration Planner
- Plan multi-step workflows using capability graph and Codex-powered goal decomposition
- Purpose
- Takes high-level goals and decomposes them into executable workflows using the capability graph. Uses Codex to understand goal semantics, find matching capabilities, validate preconditions, and generate Hierarchical Task Network (HTN) plans with alternatives and scoring.
- When to Use
- Converting user goals into executable plans (e.g., "build RAG system")
- Finding optimal capability sequences for complex tasks
- Validating that project state supports a capability
- Generating alternatives when primary path is blocked
- Explaining why certain capabilities are recommended
- Key Capabilities
- Goal Decomposition
-
- Uses Codex to break goals into required effects
- Capability Matching
-
- Finds capabilities that produce desired effects
- Precondition Validation
-
- Checks if current project state satisfies requirements
- HTN Planning
-
- Builds hierarchical task networks with subtasks
- Scoring & Ranking
-
- Evaluates paths by cost, latency, risk, diversity
- Alternative Generation
-
- Provides fallback options when primary path fails
- Decision Logging
- Captures rationale for capability selection Inputs inputs : goal : string
User goal (e.g., "implement RAG")
project_state : object
Current project state (files, dependencies, env vars)
capability_graph : string
Path to capability-graph.json
preferences : object
User preferences (cost_weight, risk_tolerance, etc.)
context : array
Recently used capabilities (for cooldown)
Process Step 1: Goal Analysis with Codex
Use Codex to understand goal and extract required effects
- codex
- exec
- "
- Analyze this goal and determine what effects are needed:
- GOAL:
- ${USER_GOAL}
- Examples of effects:
- - creates_vector_index
- - adds_auth_middleware
- - configures_database
- - implements_api_endpoint
- - adds_tests
- Task: Extract the effects needed to achieve this goal.
- Output JSON:
- {
- \"
- goal
- \"
- :
- \"
- original goal
- \"
- ,
- \"
- required_effects
- \"
-
- [
- \"
- effect1
- \"
- ,
- \"
- effect2
- \"
- ],
- \"
- optional_effects
- \"
-
- [
- \"
- effect3
- \"
- ],
- \"
- domains
- \"
- [
\"
rag
\"
,
\"
api
\"
],
\"
reasoning
\"
:
\"
explanation
\"
}
"
/tmp/goal-analysis.json Step 2: Find Candidate Capabilities
Query capability graph for matching capabilities
python3 << EOF import json
Load goal analysis
with open('/tmp/goal-analysis.json') as f: goal_analysis = json.load(f)
Load capability graph
with open('META/capability-graph.json') as f: graph_data = json.load(f) graph = graph_data['graph']
Find capabilities by effect
candidates = [] for effect in goal_analysis['required_effects']: if effect in graph['effects']: for capability in graph['effects'][effect]:
Get full capability data
node = next((n for n in graph['nodes'] if n['id'] == capability), None) if node: candidates.append({ 'capability': capability, 'effect': effect, 'required': True, 'node': node })
Find optional capabilities
for effect in goal_analysis.get('optional_effects', []): if effect in graph['effects']: for capability in graph['effects'][effect]: node = next((n for n in graph['nodes'] if n['id'] == capability), None) if node and capability not in [c['capability'] for c in candidates]: candidates.append({ 'capability': capability, 'effect': effect, 'required': False, 'node': node })
Write candidates
with open('/tmp/candidates.json', 'w') as f: json.dump(candidates, f, indent=2) EOF Step 3: Validate Preconditions
For each candidate, check if preconditions are satisfied
python3 << EOF import json import os import subprocess
Load candidates
with open('/tmp/candidates.json') as f: candidates = json.load(f)
Load project state
with open('/tmp/project-state.json') as f: project_state = json.load(f) def evaluate_precondition(check, project_state): """Evaluate a precondition check against project state"""
Handle file_exists('path')
if check.startswith('file_exists('): path = check[12:-2] # Extract path from function call return os.path.exists(path)
Handle not file_exists('path')
if check.startswith('not file_exists('): path = check[16:-2] return not os.path.exists(path)
Handle has_dependency('package')
if check.startswith('has_dependency('): package = check[15:-2] return package in project_state.get('dependencies', {})
Handle env_var_set('VAR')
if check.startswith('env_var_set('): var = check[12:-2] return var in project_state.get('env_vars', {})
Handle OR conditions
if ' or ' in check: parts = check.split(' or ') return any(evaluate_precondition(p.strip(), project_state) for p in parts)
Handle AND conditions
if ' and ' in check: parts = check.split(' and ') return all(evaluate_precondition(p.strip(), project_state) for p in parts)
Unknown check type
return False
Validate each candidate
for candidate in candidates: node = candidate['node'] preconditions = node.get('preconditions', []) satisfied = [] unsatisfied = [] for precond in preconditions: check = precond['check'] required = precond.get('required', True) result = evaluate_precondition(check, project_state) if result: satisfied.append(precond) else: unsatisfied.append(precond) if required: candidate['blocked'] = True candidate['missing_precondition'] = precond candidate['satisfied_preconditions'] = satisfied candidate['unsatisfied_preconditions'] = unsatisfied
Write validated candidates
with open('/tmp/candidates-validated.json', 'w') as f: json.dump(candidates, f, indent=2) EOF Step 4: Build HTN Plan with Codex
Use Codex to build hierarchical task network
CANDIDATES
- $(
- cat
- /tmp/candidates-validated.json
- )
- GRAPH
- =
- $(
- cat
- META/capability-graph.json
- )
- codex
- exec
- "
- Build a hierarchical task network (HTN) plan to achieve this goal.
- GOAL:
- $(
- cat
- /tmp/goal-analysis.json
- )
- AVAILABLE CAPABILITIES:
- $CANDIDATES
- CAPABILITY GRAPH:
- $GRAPH
- Task: Create an HTN plan with ordered steps, alternatives, and dependencies.
- HTN Structure:
- {
- \"
- goal
- \"
- :
- \"
- original goal
- \"
- ,
- \"
- plan
- \"
-
- [
- {
- \"
- step
- \"
-
- 1,
- \"
- capability
- \"
- :
- \"
- capability-name
- \"
- ,
- \"
- effect
- \"
- :
- \"
- what this achieves
- \"
- ,
- \"
- required
- \"
-
- true,
- \"
- blocked
- \"
-
- false,
- \"
- alternatives
- \"
-
- [
- \"
- alt-capability-1
- \"
- ,
- \"
- alt-capability-2
- \"
- ],
- \"
- dependencies
- \"
-
- [
- \"
- step-0
- \"
- ],
- \"
- reasoning
- \"
- :
- \"
- why this capability
- \"
- }
- ],
- \"
- total_cost
- \"
- :
- \"
- medium
- \"
- ,
- \"
- total_latency
- \"
- :
- \"
- slow
- \"
- ,
- \"
- max_risk
- \"
- :
- \"
- low
- \"
- ,
- \"
- parallel_steps
- \"
- [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
}
Instructions:
1. Order capabilities by dependencies (requires/enables)
2. For each capability, list alternatives with similar effects
3. Mark parallel-executable steps
4. Validate each step's preconditions
5. Calculate aggregate cost/latency/risk
6. Explain reasoning for each choice
Output ONLY valid JSON.
"
/tmp/htn-plan.json Step 5: Score and Rank Plans
Score plan using utility function
python3 << EOF import json with open('/tmp/htn-plan.json') as f: plan = json.load(f)
Scoring weights (configurable by user preferences)
COST_WEIGHT = 0.3 LATENCY_WEIGHT = 0.2 RISK_WEIGHT = 0.3 DIVERSITY_WEIGHT = 0.2
Map qualitative values to scores
cost_scores = {'free': 1.0, 'low': 0.8, 'medium': 0.5, 'high': 0.2} latency_scores = {'instant': 1.0, 'fast': 0.7, 'slow': 0.3} risk_scores = {'safe': 1.0, 'low': 0.8, 'medium': 0.5, 'high': 0.2, 'critical': 0.0}
Calculate scores
cost_score = cost_scores.get(plan['total_cost'], 0.5) latency_score = latency_scores.get(plan['total_latency'], 0.5) risk_score = risk_scores.get(plan['max_risk'], 0.5)
Diversity bonus (using different domains/kinds)
capabilities = [step['capability'] for step in plan['plan']] unique_domains = len(set([cap.split('-')[0] for cap in capabilities])) diversity_score = min(unique_domains / 5.0, 1.0)
Total utility
utility = ( cost_score * COST_WEIGHT + latency_score * LATENCY_WEIGHT + risk_score * RISK_WEIGHT + diversity_score * DIVERSITY_WEIGHT ) plan['scores'] = { 'utility': utility, 'cost_score': cost_score, 'latency_score': latency_score, 'risk_score': risk_score, 'diversity_score': diversity_score }
Write scored plan
with open('/tmp/plan-scored.json', 'w') as f: json.dump(plan, f, indent=2) print(f"Plan utility score: {utility:.2f}") EOF Step 6: Generate Decision Log
Create explainable decision log
cat
/tmp/decision-log.json << EOF { "goal": " $( jq -r .goal /tmp/goal-analysis.json ) ", "timestamp": " $( date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ ) ", "selected_plan": $( cat /tmp/plan-scored.json ) , "alternatives_considered": [ { "capability": "alternative-1", "reason_rejected": "Higher cost", "score": 0.65 } ], "precondition_checks": $( cat /tmp/candidates-validated.json ) , "reasoning": "Selected capabilities optimizing for low risk and moderate cost" } EOF Scoring Function function scoreCapability ( capability , context ) { // Base scores from manifest const costScores = { free : 1.0 , low : 0.8 , medium : 0.5 , high : 0.2 } const latencyScores = { instant : 1.0 , fast : 0.7 , slow : 0.3 } const riskScores = { safe : 1.0 , low : 0.8 , medium : 0.5 , high : 0.2 , critical : 0.0 } let score = 0 score += costScores [ capability . cost ] * context . costWeight score += latencyScores [ capability . latency ] * context . latencyWeight score += riskScores [ capability . risk_level ] * context . riskWeight // Diversity bonus: prefer capabilities from underrepresented domains const domainCount = context . usedDomains [ capability . domains [ 0 ] ] || 0 const diversityBonus = 1.0 / ( 1 + domainCount ) score += diversityBonus * context . diversityWeight // Cooldown penalty: reduce score for recently used capabilities const lastUsed = context . recentlyUsed [ capability . name ] if ( lastUsed ) { const stepsSince = context . currentStep - lastUsed if ( stepsSince < 3 ) { score = 0.7 // 30% penalty } } // Novelty bonus: prefer capabilities not yet used in this plan if ( ! context . usedCapabilities . has ( capability . name ) ) { score = 1.2 // 20% bonus } return score } Example Output { "goal" : "Build RAG system for documentation search" , "plan" : [ { "step" : 1 , "capability" : "openai-integration" , "effect" : "enables_embedding_generation" , "required" : true , "blocked" : false , "alternatives" : [ "anthropic-integration" , "local-embeddings" ] , "dependencies" : [ ] , "reasoning" : "Provides embeddings API for vector generation" , "preconditions_met" : true } , { "step" : 2 , "capability" : "pinecone-mcp" , "effect" : "creates_vector_index" , "required" : true , "blocked" : false , "alternatives" : [ "weaviate-mcp" , "qdrant-mcp" ] , "dependencies" : [ 1 ] , "reasoning" : "Managed vector database with low latency" , "preconditions_met" : true } , { "step" : 3 , "capability" : "rag-implementer" , "effect" : "configures_retrieval_pipeline" , "required" : true , "blocked" : false , "alternatives" : [ ] , "dependencies" : [ 1 , 2 ] , "reasoning" : "Orchestrates embedding + retrieval workflow" , "preconditions_met" : true } ] , "total_cost" : "medium" , "total_latency" : "slow" , "max_risk" : "low" , "parallel_steps" : [ [ 1 , 2 ] ] , "scores" : { "utility" : 0.78 , "cost_score" : 0.65 , "latency_score" : 0.7 , "risk_score" : 0.8 , "diversity_score" : 0.8 } } Integration With capability-graph-builder Queries the capability graph to find matching capabilities and relationships. With manifest-generator Uses manifest metadata (preconditions, effects, cost, latency, risk) for planning. With Repository Brain Will integrate into scripts/brain/plan command for interactive planning. Success Metrics ✅ Plans correctly decompose 90%+ of test goals ✅ Precondition validation catches incompatible capabilities ✅ Alternative generation provides 2+ options per step ✅ Decision logs are explainable and traceable ✅ Scoring function produces reasonable rankings