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CLI Agent Orchestrator
Supervisor-and-worker multi-agent coordination across coding CLIs — handoffs over MCP.
Quick answer
What it does
Runs a supervisor agent that decomposes work and dispatches subtasks to worker agents in isolated tmux sessions. Exposes MCP tools for synchronous handoff, asynchronous assignment, inter-agent messaging, and session lifecycle management.
Best for
- Supervisor-worker multi-agent coding
- Parallelizing large builds across agents
- Coordinating multiple coding CLIs
- Isolated per-agent working sessions
Not for
- Single-agent tasks
- Environments without tmux
Setup recipe
Pick your client, then follow the three steps.
- 1
Install
claude_desktop_config.jsonjson{ "mcpServers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } }Paste under mcpServers. Fully quit and reopen Claude after editing.
CLI or .mcp.jsonshellclaude mcp add cli-agent-orchestrator -- uv tool install git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main --upgradeRun from your repo. Commit .mcp.json to share with your team.
.cursor/mcp.jsonjson{ "mcpServers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } }Global path: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Reload window after editing.
.vscode/mcp.jsonjsonc{ "servers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } }VS Code uses the "servers" key (not "mcpServers").
~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonjson{ "mcpServers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } }Open via Cascade → hammer icon → Configure.
cline_mcp_settings.jsonjson{ "mcpServers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } }Open via the Cline sidebar → MCP Servers → Edit.
~/.continue/config.jsonjson{ "experimental": { "modelContextProtocolServers": [ { "transport": { "type": "stdio", "command": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } ] } }Continue uses modelContextProtocolServers with a transport block.
~/.codex/config.tomlshell# ~/.codex/config.toml [mcp_servers.cli-agent-orchestrator] command = "uv" args = [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade", ]Codex uses TOML. Each server is a [mcp_servers.<name>] subtable.
~/.config/zed/settings.jsonjsonc{ "context_servers": { "cli-agent-orchestrator": { "command": { "path": "uv", "args": [ "tool", "install", "git+https://github.com/awslabs/cli-agent-orchestrator.git@main", "--upgrade" ] } } } }Zed calls them "context_servers". Settings live-reload on save.
ChatGPT → Apps directorynoneCLI Agent Orchestrator doesn't ship a hosted HTTPS endpoint today. ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers only — to use this server in ChatGPT you'll need to deploy it to a public HTTPS URL first (e.g. via Cloudflare Workers or Vercel) or wait for an official remote build.
- 2
Set required secrets
No credentials required — this MCP runs over stdio without authentication.
- 3
Try a minimum working prompt
Minimum working prompt pending verification. Try any prompt from the MCP’s README once installed.
Tools & permissions
| Tool | Description | Args | Side effects |
|---|---|---|---|
handoff | Synchronously delegate a task to another agent and wait for the result. | target: string, task: string | Write |
assign | Asynchronously assign a task to a worker agent. | target: string, task: string | Write |
send_message | Send a message to another agent in the session. | target: string, message: string | Write |
list_sessions | List active agent sessions. | — | Read |
Security & scope
- Access scope
- Read + write
- Sandbox
- Each agent runs in an isolated tmux session on the local machine. The orchestrator coordinates them over MCP; the agents themselves hold whatever credentials their CLI is configured with.
- Gotchas
- Worker agents inherit the credentials and write access of the CLI they run — scope those before letting a supervisor dispatch unattended.
- Some CLI integrations are experimental; do not assume every supported CLI is equally stable.
- Parallel agents can race on a shared filesystem — keep each agent scoped to its own working directory.
Agent prompt pack
— copy into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT.Recommend the best MCP servers for [task: e.g. agent orchestration work] in [client: Claude Code]. Constraints: - Prefer tools that are [official | open-source | read-only] — pick what matters for my use case. - Exclude MCPs that require [e.g. a paid plan, OAuth-only flows, remote-only transport]. - Return at most 3 picks, ranked. For each pick include: 1. One-sentence rationale. 2. The ready-to-paste install snippet for my client. 3. Any required secrets I need to create before installing. Cross-check the top-mcps.com listing: https://top-mcps.com/top-mcps-for-agent-orchestration
Compare CLI Agent Orchestrator MCP vs [Claude Task Master MCP] for the following job: [describe the job, e.g. "let an agent create GitHub issues on bug triage"]. Judge them on: - Setup time and complexity (what a new user hits first). - Auth model (none / API key / OAuth 2.1) and credential risk. - Transport (stdio / Streamable HTTP / SSE) and where the server runs. - Required secrets and the blast radius if they leak. - Operational risk in an unattended agent loop. - Which one is "good enough" for a weekend prototype vs. production. End with one sentence: which should I pick for my scenario, which is: [my scenario]. References: - https://top-mcps.com/mcp/cli-agent-orchestrator - top-mcps.com listing for Claude Task Master
Install the CLI Agent Orchestrator MCP server for my [client: Claude Code] at the default config path for that client. Use the exact install snippet published at https://top-mcps.com/mcp/cli-agent-orchestrator (fetch https://top-mcps.com/mcp/cli-agent-orchestrator.json for the canonical server.json if you can read URLs). Before finishing: 1. Create the required secrets (no secrets) and put them in the appropriate env block — do not hard-code them. 2. Restart or reload the client so it picks up the new server. 3. Verify the server is connected (green / running state) and at least one tool is listed. 4. If anything fails, read the client's MCP logs and report the exact error — do not silently retry. Confirm when done and list the tools the server now exposes.
Frequently asked questions
What changed
— 2 updates tracked.Refreshed install snippets and fact sheet; verified for 2026.
Initial directory listing.
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