name: babysitter description: Orchestrate .a5c runs via @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk CLI. Run iterations, get requested effects, perform effects, post results.

babysitter

Orchestrate .a5c/runs/<runId>/ through iterative execution. Use the SDK CLI to drive the orchestration loop.

make sure you have the latest version of the cli:

npm i -g @a5c-ai/babysitter @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk @a5c-ai/babysitter-breakpoints

then use the CLI alias: CLI="babysitter"

Alternatively, use the CLI alias: CLI="npx -y @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk"

Core Iteration Workflow

The babysitter workflow has 4 steps:

Run iteration - Execute one orchestration step
Get effects - Check what tasks are requested
Perform effects - Execute the requested tasks
Post results - Tasks auto-record results to journal

1. Run Iteration

$CLI run:iterate .a5c/runs/<runId> --json --iteration <n>

Output:

{
  "iteration": 1,
  "status": "executed|waiting|completed|failed|none",
  "action": "executed-tasks|waiting|none",
  "reason": "auto-runnable-tasks|breakpoint-waiting|terminal-state",
  "count": 3,
  "metadata": { "runId": "...", "processId": "..." }
}

Status values:

"executed" - Tasks executed, continue looping
"waiting" - Breakpoint/sleep, pause until released
"completed" - Run finished successfully
"failed" - Run failed with error
"none" - No pending effects

2. Get Effects

$CLI task:list .a5c/runs/<runId> --pending --json

Output:

{
  "tasks": [
    {
      "effectId": "effect-abc123",
      "kind": "node|agent|skill|breakpoint",
      "label": "auto",
      "status": "requested"
    }
  ]
}

3. Perform Effects

Run the effect externally (by you, your hook, or another worker). After execution, post the outcome into the run by calling task:post, which:

Writes the committed result to tasks/<effectId>/result.json
Appends an EFFECT_RESOLVED event to the journal
Updates the state cache

if the effect is a breakpoint, you need to run the command:

npx @a5c-ai/babysitter-breakpoints breakpoint create --tag <tag> --question "<question>" --title "<title>" --run-id <runId> --file <file,format,language,label> --file <file,format,language,label> --file <file,format,language,label> ...

to create the breakpoint and get the answer from the user

4. Results Posting

$CLI task:post .a5c/runs/<runId> <effectId> --status <ok|error> --json

Effects are executed externally (by you, your hook, or another worker). After execution, post the outcome into the run by calling task:post, which:

Writes the committed result to tasks/<effectId>/result.json
Appends an EFFECT_RESOLVED event to the journal
Updates the state cache

5. repeat orchestration loop by calling run:iterate

Task Kinds

Kind	Description	Executor
`node`	Node.js script	Local node process
`shell`	Shell script	Local shell process
`agent`	LLM agent	Agent runtime
`skill`	Claude Code skill	Skill system
`breakpoint`	Human approval	UI/CLI
`sleep`	Time gate	Scheduler

Agent Task Example

Important: Check which subagents and agents are actually available before assigning the name. if none, pass the generic agent name.

export const agentTask = defineTask('agent-scorer', (args, taskCtx) => ({
  kind: 'agent',  // ← Use "agent" not "node"
  title: 'Agent scoring',
  agent: {
    name: 'quality-scorer',
    prompt: {
      role: 'QA engineer',
      task: 'Score results 0-100',
      context: { ...args },
      instructions: ['Review', 'Score', 'Recommend'],
      outputFormat: 'JSON'
    },
    outputSchema: {
      type: 'object',
      required: ['score']
    }
  },

  io: {
    inputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/input.json`,
    outputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/result.json`
  }
}));

Skill Task Example

Important: Check which skills are actually available before assigning the name.

export const skillTask = defineTask('analyzer-skill', (args, taskCtx) => ({
  kind: 'skill',  // ← Use "skill" not "node"
  title: 'Analyze codebase',

  skill: {
    name: 'codebase-analyzer',
    context: {
      scope: args.scope,
      depth: args.depth,
      analysisType: args.type,
      criteria: ['Code consistency', 'Naming conventions', 'Error handling'],
      instructions: [
        'Scan specified paths for code patterns',
        'Analyze consistency across the codebase',
        'Check naming conventions',
        'Review error handling patterns',
        'Generate structured analysis report'
      ]
    }
  },

  io: {
    inputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/input.json`,
    outputJsonPath: `tasks/${taskCtx.effectId}/result.json`
  }
}));

Packaged Processes

Skills and agents can package processes in <skill-name>/process/:

<skill-name>/
├── SKILL.md
└── process/
    ├── simple-build-and-test.js
    ├── build-test-with-agent-scoring.js
    ├── codebase-analysis-with-skill.js
    └── examples/
        └── *.json

Usage:

$CLI run:create \
  --process-id babysitter/build-test-with-agent-scoring \
  --entry <skill-dir>/process/build-test-with-agent-scoring.js#process \
  --inputs inputs.json

Quick Commands Reference

Create run:

$CLI run:create --process-id <id> --entry <path>#<export> --inputs <path> --run-id <id>

Check status:

$CLI run:status <runId> --json

View events:

$CLI run:events <runId> --limit 20 --reverse

List tasks:

$CLI task:list <runId> --pending --json

Post task result:

$CLI task:post <runId> <effectId> --status <ok|error> --json

Iterate:

$CLI run:iterate <runId> --json --iteration <n>

babysitter

Installation

Details

Usage

Skill Instructions

name: babysitter description: Orchestrate .a5c runs via @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk CLI. Run iterations, get requested effects, perform effects, post results.

babysitter

Core Iteration Workflow

1. Run Iteration

2. Get Effects

3. Perform Effects

4. Results Posting

5. repeat orchestration loop by calling run:iterate

Task Kinds

Agent Task Example

Skill Task Example

Packaged Processes

Quick Commands Reference

See Also

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