Tick-Coord: Multi-Agent Task Coordination

Tick Multi-Agent Coordination

Coordinate work across human and AI agents using structured Markdown files. Users interact naturally with you, and you maintain tasks transparently in TICK.md.

> Source: Built and linked from ~/clawd/projects/tick-md/cli. To rebuild after changes: cd ~/clawd/projects/tick-md/cli && npm run build

Installation

Prerequisites: The Tick CLI and MCP server should already be installed and configured by your environment.

First time setup? See INSTALL.md for editor-specific installation instructions.

Quick Check:

# Verify CLI is available
tick --version
Check if TICK.md exists in project
ls TICK.md
If not, initialize
tick init

Core Concept

Tick Protocol = Git-based task coordination via TICK.md files

Quick Start

Check if Tick is initialized

ls TICK.md

If not initialized

tick init

Get current status

tick status

Common Workflows

1. User Asks You to Do Something

User: "Can you refactor the authentication system?"

Your Actions:

# 1. Create task
tick add "Refactor authentication system" --priority high --tags backend,security
2. Register yourself (first time only)
tick agent register @your-name --type bot --roles "engineer,refactoring"
3. Claim the task
tick claim TASK-XXX @your-name
4. Work on it (do the actual work)
5. Add progress comments
tick comment TASK-XXX @your-name --note "Analyzing current auth flow"
tick comment TASK-XXX @your-name --note "Refactored to use JWT tokens"
6. Mark complete
tick done TASK-XXX @your-name

2. User Asks About Project Status

User: "What tasks are we working on?"

# Get comprehensive status
tick status
Or filter and list tasks
tick list --status in_progress
tick list --claimed-by @bot-name

Summarize the output naturally for the user.

3. Coordination with Other Agents

User: "Have the other agents finished their tasks?"

# Check overall status
tick status
List agents and their work
tick agent list --verbose
Validate the project
tick validate

4. Breaking Down Complex Work

User: "Build a user dashboard with charts and data export"

Your Actions:

# Create parent task
tick add "Build user dashboard" --priority high --tags frontend
Create subtasks with dependencies
tick add "Design dashboard layout" --priority high --tags frontend,design
tick add "Implement data charts" --priority medium --tags frontend,charts --depends-on TASK-XXX
tick add "Add CSV export" --priority low --tags frontend,export --depends-on TASK-XXX
Visualize dependencies
tick graph

Command Reference

Project Management

tick init                          # Initialize new project
tick status                        # View project overview
tick list                          # List tasks with filters
tick graph                         # Visualize dependencies
tick watch                         # Monitor changes in real-time
tick validate                      # Check for errors
tick sync --push                   # Commit and push to git

Task Operations

tick add "Task title" \
  --priority high \                # urgent|high|medium|low
  --tags backend,api \             # Comma-separated tags
  --assigned-to @agent \           # Assign to agent
  --depends-on TASK-001 \          # Dependencies
  --estimated-hours 4              # Time estimate
tick claim TASK-001 @agent         # Claim task (sets in_progress)
tick release TASK-001 @agent       # Release task (back to todo)
tick done TASK-001 @agent          # Complete task
tick reopen TASK-001 @agent        # Reopen completed task
tick delete TASK-001               # Delete a task
tick comment TASK-001 @agent \     # Add note
  --note "Progress update"
tick edit TASK-001 \               # Direct field edit
  --title "New title" \
  --priority high \
  --status in_progress

Corrections & Recovery

tick reopen TASK-001 @agent        # Reopen completed task
tick reopen TASK-001 @agent \      # Reopen and re-block dependents
  --re-block
tick delete TASK-001               # Delete task, cleans up deps
tick delete TASK-001 --force       # Delete even if has dependents
tick edit TASK-001 --title "X"     # Change title
tick edit TASK-001 --priority high # Change priority
tick edit TASK-001 --status todo   # Change status directly
tick edit TASK-001 --tags a,b,c    # Replace tags
tick edit TASK-001 --add-tag new   # Add tag
tick edit TASK-001 --remove-tag old # Remove tag
tick edit TASK-001 \               # Edit dependencies
  --depends-on TASK-002,TASK-003
tick undo                          # Undo last tick operation
tick undo --dry-run                # Preview what would be undone

Bulk Operations

tick import tasks.yaml             # Import tasks from YAML file
tick import - < tasks.yaml         # Import from stdin
tick import tasks.yaml --dry-run   # Preview import
tick batch start                   # Begin batch mode (no auto-commit)
tick batch status                  # Check batch status
tick batch commit                  # Commit all batched changes
tick batch abort                   # Discard batched changes

Advanced Task Listing

tick list                          # All tasks, grouped by status
tick list --status blocked         # Only blocked tasks
tick list --priority urgent        # High-priority tasks
tick list --assigned-to @alice     # Tasks for specific agent
tick list --tag backend            # Tasks with tag
tick list --json                   # JSON output for scripts

Dependency Visualization

tick graph                         # ASCII dependency tree
tick graph --format mermaid        # Mermaid flowchart
tick graph --show-done             # Include completed tasks

Real-time Monitoring

tick watch                         # Watch for changes
tick watch --interval 10           # Custom polling interval
tick watch --filter in_progress    # Only show specific status

Agent Management

tick agent register @name \        # Register new agent
  --type bot \                     # human|bot
  --roles "dev,qa" \               # Comma-separated roles
  --status idle                    # working|idle|offline
tick agent list                    # List all agents
tick agent list --verbose          # Detailed info
tick agent list --type bot         # Filter by type
tick agent list --status working   # Filter by status

MCP Tools (Alternative to CLI)

If using Model Context Protocol, use these tools instead of CLI commands:

Status and Inspection

Task Management

Corrections & Recovery

Agent Operations

MCP Example:

// Create task via MCP
await tick_add({
  title: "Refactor authentication",
  priority: "high",
  tags: ["backend", "security"],
  assignedTo: "@bot-name"
})
// Claim it
await tick_claim({
  taskId: "TASK-023",
  agent: "@bot-name"
})

Best Practices

1. Natural Conversation First

✅ Good: User says "refactor the auth", you create task automatically ❌ Bad: Making user explicitly create tasks

2. Always Use Your Agent Name

Register once:

tick agent register @your-bot-name --type bot --roles "engineer"

Then use consistently:

tick claim TASK-001 @your-bot-name
tick done TASK-001 @your-bot-name

3. Provide Context in Comments

# ✅ Good - explains what and why
tick comment TASK-005 @bot --note "Switched from REST to GraphQL for better type safety and reduced over-fetching"
❌ Bad - too vague
tick comment TASK-005 @bot --note "Updated API"

4. Break Down Large Tasks

Create subtasks with dependencies:

tick add "Set up CI/CD pipeline" --priority high
tick add "Configure GitHub Actions" --depends-on TASK-010
tick add "Add deployment scripts" --depends-on TASK-011
tick add "Set up staging environment" --depends-on TASK-011

5. Check Status Before Claiming

# Make sure task exists and isn't claimed
tick status
Then claim
tick claim TASK-XXX @your-name

Understanding TICK.md Structure

The file has three sections:

1. Frontmatter (YAML): Project metadata 2. Agents Table (Markdown): Who's working on what 3. Task Blocks (YAML + Markdown): Individual tasks with history

Example:

---
project: my-app
schema_version: "1.0"
next_id: 5
Agents
| Name | Type | Roles | Status | Working On |
|------|------|-------|--------|------------|
| @alice | human | owner | working | TASK-003 |
| @bot | bot | engineer | idle | - |
Tasks
\

... more fields

Implemented JWT-based authentication with token refresh...

Advanced Features

Automatic Dependency Unblocking

When you complete a task, dependent tasks automatically unblock:

# TASK-002 depends on TASK-001
TASK-002 status: blocked
tick done TASK-001 @bot
TASK-002 automatically changes to: todo

Circular Dependency Detection

Validation catches circular dependencies:

tick validate
Error: Circular dependency detected: TASK-001 → TASK-002 → TASK-003 → TASK-001

Smart Commit Messages

tick sync --push
Automatically generates: "feat: complete TASK-001, TASK-002; update TASK-003"

Reopening Completed Tasks

If a task was marked done prematurely:

tick reopen TASK-001 @bot
Sets status back to in_progress, records in history
tick reopen TASK-001 @bot --re-block
Also re-blocks any tasks that depend on this one

Fixing Mistakes

# Undo the last tick operation
tick undo
Preview what would be undone first
tick undo --dry-run
Direct field edits (bypasses state machine)
tick edit TASK-001 --status todo --priority urgent

Batch Operations

For multiple changes without individual commits:

tick batch start
Now make multiple changes...
tick add "Task 1" --priority high
tick add "Task 2" --priority medium
tick claim TASK-001 @bot
...
tick batch commit   # Single commit for all changes
Or: tick batch abort  # Discard all changes

Real-time Monitoring

tick watch
[10:23:45] ✓ Added: TASK-015 - Implement user search
[10:24:12] 🔒 TASK-015 claimed by @bot
[10:26:33] ⟳ TASK-015: in_progress → done

Quick Reference Card

Workflow:      init → add → claim → work → comment → done → sync
Essential:     status | add | claim | done | list | graph
Corrections:   reopen | delete | edit | undo
Bulk:          import | batch start/commit/abort
Coordination:  agent register | agent list | validate | watch
Git:           sync --pull | sync --push

Key Reminders

1. Users interact with YOU, not with Tick directly 2. YOU maintain the TICK.md transparently 3. Dashboard is for inspection, not primary interaction 4. Always use your agent name consistently 5. Comment frequently to show progress 6. Validate before syncing 7. Check status before claiming 8. Break down complex work into subtasks

Project Board (Web Dashboard)

The tick-coord skill includes a built-in web dashboard for visualizing task state. It's an on-demand Astro + React app that reads from the Convex API, similar to how Prisma Studio or Drizzle Studio work. Spin it up when you need to inspect the board, stop it when you're done.

Launch Project Board

When the user says "launch project board", "launch kanban", "show me the board", "open dashboard", or similar:

# SKILL_DIR should resolve to wherever tick-coord is installed
SKILL_DIR=""
Start the dashboard
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tick-board.sh" start
Check if it's running
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tick-board.sh" status
Stop when done
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tick-board.sh" stop

Default port is 3000. Override with TICK_BOARD_PORT=8080.

The board fetches live data from the Convex deployment and auto-refreshes every 30 seconds.

Running the Dev Server (Important)

The dashboard dev server must run as a detached background process to avoid being killed by exec tool timeouts. The tick-board.sh script handles this automatically using setsid and a PID file, but if you need to start it manually:

# CORRECT — detached, survives exec timeout
cd "$SKILL_DIR/web"
setsid pnpm dev --port 3000 --host 0.0.0.0  /tmp/tick-board.log 2>&1 &
echo $! > /tmp/tick-board.pid
WRONG — will be killed when exec times out
pnpm dev --port 3000 --host 0.0.0.0

Always use the script or the setsid pattern. Never run the dev server as a foreground exec command.

Accessing the Dashboard

The dev server binds to 0.0.0.0, making it available on all network interfaces:

| Access method | URL | When to use | |--------------|-----|-------------| | Local | http://localhost:3000/ | Same machine | | LAN | http://:3000/ | Devices on same network | | Tailscale | http://:3000/ | Remote access via Tailnet |

To find available IPs, check the dev server output or run hostname -I.

For Tailscale users: Use the Tailscale IP (usually 100.x.x.x) to access from any device on your Tailnet. Run tailscale ip to find it.

#### 🔒 Security Notice

The dev server is a development tool with no built-in authentication or encryption. When exposing it on a network:

This is a development inspection tool, not a production server. Use it like you'd use Prisma Studio: locally, temporarily, on trusted networks. We provide this as-is for convenience; securing your network and access is your responsibility.

Syncing Tasks to the Dashboard

After adding/updating tasks in TICK.md, sync to Convex so the dashboard reflects current state:

CONVEX_SITE_URL=https://.convex.site \
TICK_SYNC_KEY= \
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/tick-sync.sh"

Dashboard Features

Resources

Tag Conventions

For multi-agent setups, use structured tag conventions to enable domain ownership and project tracking:

See docs/tag-conventions.md for full details, usage examples, and migration guide.

Multi-Avatar Coordination (OpenClaw)

This section covers patterns for multi-avatar deployments where one OpenClaw instance runs multiple agents (e.g., CEO + CTO) sharing task state via TICK.md.

Agent Identity

Each avatar uses a consistent @agent-name for all tick operations. This is set per-avatar in their workspace:

If your workspace has TICK_AGENT_ID set in environment or defined in AGENTS.md, use that as your identity.

TICK.md Location

Each project has its own TICK.md in its root directory. Before running tick commands, cd into the correct project:

cd ~/path/to/project && tick status

If TICK.md doesn't exist yet, initialize: tick init

Handoff Protocol

When you complete a task that unblocks work for another avatar:

1. Complete your task with a descriptive comment:

   tick done TASK-001 @cto
   tick comment TASK-001 @cto --note "Auth system built with JWT. Endpoint: /api/auth. CTO handoff: ready for product review."
   

2. The completing agent's comment should include: - What was done (brief summary) - Any decisions made and why - What the next avatar needs to know to pick up dependent work

3. Dependent tasks auto-unblock when blockers complete. The next avatar checks:

   tick list --status todo --assigned-to @their-name
   

Orchestrator Pattern (CEO → Specialist)

The main/CEO avatar delegates work by:

1. Creating tasks with assignments:

   tick add "Design database schema" --priority high --assigned-to @cto --tags engineering
   

2. Spawning the specialist via OpenClaw:

   sessions_spawn(agentId: "cto", task: "Check TICK.md for assigned tasks. Claim, complete, and comment on each.")
   

3. The specialist avatar: - Runs tick list --assigned-to @cto to find work - Claims each task before starting - Comments with progress on longer tasks - Marks done when complete - Its completion summary announces back to the orchestrator's session

4. The orchestrator checks results:

   tick status
   

Conflict Prevention

What NOT to Do

License

MIT

Check if Tick is initialized

ls TICK.md

If not initialized

tick init

Get current status

tick status

1. Natural Conversation First

✅ Good: User says "refactor the auth", you create task automatically ❌ Bad: Making user explicitly create tasks

2. Always Use Your Agent Name

Register once:

tick agent register @your-bot-name --type bot --roles "engineer"

Then use consistently:

tick claim TASK-001 @your-bot-name
tick done TASK-001 @your-bot-name

3. Provide Context in Comments

# ✅ Good - explains what and why
tick comment TASK-005 @bot --note "Switched from REST to GraphQL for better type safety and reduced over-fetching"
❌ Bad - too vague
tick comment TASK-005 @bot --note "Updated API"

4. Break Down Large Tasks

Create subtasks with dependencies:

tick add "Set up CI/CD pipeline" --priority high
tick add "Configure GitHub Actions" --depends-on TASK-010
tick add "Add deployment scripts" --depends-on TASK-011
tick add "Set up staging environment" --depends-on TASK-011

5. Check Status Before Claiming

# Make sure task exists and isn't claimed
tick status
Then claim
tick claim TASK-XXX @your-name