Council

Multi-agent debate with visible transcripts where agents respond to each other. USE WHEN council, debate, perspectives, weigh options, deliberate, multiple viewpoints. Unlike RedTeam (adversarial), Council is collaborative-adversarial.

11,146 stars

Best use case

Council is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Multi-agent debate with visible transcripts where agents respond to each other. USE WHEN council, debate, perspectives, weigh options, deliberate, multiple viewpoints. Unlike RedTeam (adversarial), Council is collaborative-adversarial.

Teams using Council should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

  • You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

  • You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
  • You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/Council/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmiessler/Personal_AI_Infrastructure/main/Packs/Thinking/src/Council/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/Council/SKILL.md inside your project
  3. Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How Council Compares

Feature / AgentCouncilStandard Approach
Platform SupportNot specifiedLimited / Varies
Context Awareness High Baseline
Installation ComplexityUnknownN/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Multi-agent debate with visible transcripts where agents respond to each other. USE WHEN council, debate, perspectives, weigh options, deliberate, multiple viewpoints. Unlike RedTeam (adversarial), Council is collaborative-adversarial.

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

Related Guides

SKILL.md Source

## Customization

**Before executing, check for user customizations at:**
`~/.claude/PAI/USER/SKILLCUSTOMIZATIONS/Council/`

If this directory exists, load and apply any PREFERENCES.md, configurations, or resources found there. These override default behavior. If the directory does not exist, proceed with skill defaults.


## 🚨 MANDATORY: Voice Notification (REQUIRED BEFORE ANY ACTION)

**You MUST send this notification BEFORE doing anything else when this skill is invoked.**

1. **Send voice notification**:
   ```bash
   curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"message": "Running the WORKFLOWNAME workflow in the Council skill to ACTION"}' \
     > /dev/null 2>&1 &
   ```

2. **Output text notification**:
   ```
   Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Council** skill to ACTION...
   ```

**This is not optional. Execute this curl command immediately upon skill invocation.**

# Council Skill

Multi-agent debate system where specialized agents discuss topics in rounds, respond to each other's points, and surface insights through intellectual friction.

**Key Differentiator from RedTeam:** Council is collaborative-adversarial (debate to find best path), while RedTeam is purely adversarial (attack the idea). Council produces visible conversation transcripts; RedTeam produces steelman + counter-argument.


## Workflow Routing

Route to the appropriate workflow based on the request.

**When executing a workflow, output this notification directly:**

```
Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Council** skill to ACTION...
```

| Trigger | Workflow |
|---------|----------|
| Full structured debate (3 rounds, visible transcript) | `Workflows/Debate.md` |
| Quick consensus check (1 round, fast) | `Workflows/Quick.md` |
| Pure adversarial analysis | RedTeam skill |

## Quick Reference

| Workflow | Purpose | Rounds | Output |
|----------|---------|--------|--------|
| **DEBATE** | Full structured discussion | 3 | Complete transcript + synthesis |
| **QUICK** | Fast perspective check | 1 | Initial positions only |

## Context Files

| File | Content |
|------|---------|
| `CouncilMembers.md` | Agent roles, perspectives, voice mapping |
| `RoundStructure.md` | Three-round debate structure and timing |
| `OutputFormat.md` | Transcript format templates |

## Core Philosophy

**Origin:** Best decisions emerge from diverse perspectives challenging each other. Not just collecting opinions - genuine intellectual friction where experts respond to each other's actual points.

**Speed:** Parallel execution within rounds, sequential between rounds. A 3-round debate of 4 agents = 12 agent calls but only 3 sequential waits. Complete in 30-90 seconds.

## Examples

```
"Council: Should we use WebSockets or SSE?"
-> Invokes DEBATE workflow -> 3-round transcript

"Quick council check: Is this API design reasonable?"
-> Invokes QUICK workflow -> Fast perspectives

"Council with security: Evaluate this auth approach"
-> DEBATE with Security agent added
```

## Integration

**Works well with:**
- **RedTeam** - Pure adversarial attack after collaborative discussion
- **Development** - Before major architectural decisions
- **Research** - Gather context before convening the council

## Best Practices

1. Use QUICK for sanity checks, DEBATE for important decisions
2. Add domain-specific experts as needed (security for auth, etc.)
3. Review the transcript - insights are in the responses, not just positions
4. Trust multi-agent convergence when it occurs

---

**Last Updated:** 2025-12-20

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