msd-core/docs/adr/15-autonomous-cross-ai-convergence.md

Cross-AI Plan Convergence via Existing Orchestration Commands

• Status: Accepted — ratified 2026-07-17 (originally Proposed 2026-05-24); see "Ratification" below
• Date: 2026-05-24
• Issue: #15

Current orchestration commands (/msd-autonomous and /msd-progress --next --auto) route planning through msd-plan-phase and only use local/Claude subagent review paths. The cross-AI convergence path already exists (/msd-plan-review-convergence, /msd-review, review.default_reviewers, review.models.*) but is not wired into these orchestrators. This creates a gap: users can configure cross-AI reviewers yet still get local-only planning in autonomous/auto-chain execution.

Ratification (2026-07-17): Proposed → Accepted

Ratified by explicit maintainer directive after the shipped implementation was independently re-verified; the Status field had read "Proposed" for roughly 8 weeks after the underlying decision had already landed.

Evidence the decision shipped:

• Primary, parity, and alias surfaces are present verbatim: commands/msd/progress.md:4,28 (--next --converge, --cross-ai alias, reviewer flags, --max-cycles N) and commands/msd/autonomous.md:4,40-41 (--converge, --cross-ai alias).
• The plan_strategy=local|converge seam is implemented in msd-core/workflows/next.md:260-313 (PLAN_STRATEGY parsing, CONVERGENCE_ARGS build, feature-gate check, Route-3 override) and mirrored in msd-core/workflows/autonomous.md:19-90,378-419.
• Fail-fast-on-disabled-gate behavior matches the ADR's Failure Policy exactly: next.md:279-292 and the equivalent block in autonomous.md check workflow.plan_review_convergence via config-get and abort with the exact msd config-set workflow.plan_review_convergence true instruction — no silent downgrade to local.
• The config contract is shipped: msd-core/bin/shared/config-schema.manifest.json:36 (workflow.plan_review_convergence), :54 (review.default_reviewers), :123,141 (review.models.*); documented identically in docs/CONFIGURATION.md:225,316 and docs/COMMANDS.md:620-622,850-852.
• Dedicated regression tests exist: tests/adr-15-progress-converge.test.cjs (179 lines, describe block titled 'ADR-15: /msd:progress --next --auto --converge (#1190)') and tests/autonomous-converge.test.cjs (225 lines, covering the parity surface under 'autonomous --converge flag (#711)' — this file does not itself reference ADR-15 by name).
• Landing commits: 092340d18 (fix(#711): wire autonomous convergence flag, 2026-06-10, parity surface) and 0b3a2e5f9 (feat(#1190): wire --converge primary surface into /msd:progress --next (ADR-15) (#1237), 2026-06-14) — the latter's commit body states "ADR-15 designates /msd-progress --next --auto --converge as the PRIMARY plan-convergence surface" and confirms the wiring gap the ADR called out is closed.
• No later ADR references or supersedes ADR-15: grep -rl 'ADR-15' docs/adr/*.md returns only docs/adr/README.md's own index row (line 158), which still lists it as "Proposed" — the stale bookkeeping entry this ratification corrects.

Governance state: Issue #15 CLOSED — stateReason COMPLETED (closed 2026-05-25T03:12:26Z). Follow-up test-coverage issue #1190 ("test(coverage): fill Proposed-ADR test gaps") also CLOSED — stateReason COMPLETED (closed 2026-06-14T19:52:24Z).

Decision

Do not add a new command. Add convergence as an orchestration policy in existing commands, with /msd-progress as the primary operator surface.

1. Add a shared plan strategy seam for orchestration workflows:
   • plan_strategy=local|converge
   • local maps to msd-plan-phase
   • converge maps to msd-plan-review-convergence
2. Expose the strategy via existing entry points:
   • /msd-progress --next --auto --converge (primary)
   • /msd-autonomous --converge (parity path for users who prefer autonomous directly)
   • keep --cross-ai as a compatibility alias for --converge
3. Reuse existing reviewer selection semantics from /msd-review and /msd-plan-review-convergence:
   • explicit reviewer flags (--codex, --gemini, --claude, --opencode, --ollama, --lm-studio, --llama-cpp)
   • --all
   • review.default_reviewers and review.models.* config
4. Add pass-through flags (no new command surface):
   • --converge (primary)
   • --cross-ai (alias)
   • reviewer selector flags listed above
   • --max-cycles N (forwarded per phase)
5. Keep convergence behind existing feature gate:
   • if workflow.plan_review_convergence=false and --converge (or alias) is requested, fail fast with actionable enable instructions.
6. Keep post-execution review behavior unchanged in this slice (msd-code-review and msd-ui-review stay as-is). Cross-AI code-review fanout is deferred.
7. Define convergence eligibility and allowed AIs via config (no new command):
   • enable gate: workflow.plan_review_convergence=true
   • allowed reviewer set: review.default_reviewers (for no-flag converge runs)
   • per-reviewer model selection: review.models.*

Interface Contract

Existing CLI Surfaces (No New Command)

• /msd-progress --next --auto [--converge|--cross-ai] [reviewer flags] [--max-cycles N]
• /msd-autonomous [existing flags] [--converge|--cross-ai] [reviewer flags] [--max-cycles N]

Planning Step Routing

• plan_strategy=local:
  • orchestrator step uses msd-plan-phase (current behavior).
• plan_strategy=converge:
  • orchestrator step uses msd-plan-review-convergence.
  • convergence workflow remains owner of HIGH counting (CYCLE_SUMMARY), stall detection, and escalation.

Failure Policy

• If --converge (or --cross-ai) is requested but convergence gate is disabled:
  • stop before planning dispatch
  • emit exact enable command:
    • msd config-set workflow.plan_review_convergence true
• no silent downgrade to local strategy.

Configuration Contract (Enable + Allowed AIs)

Convergence is configurable without introducing new config namespaces.

1. Enable convergence:
   • workflow.plan_review_convergence: true
2. Define which AIs are allowed by default for convergence runs:
   • review.default_reviewers: ["codex", "gemini"] (example)
3. Optionally pin models per allowed reviewer:
   • review.models.codex, review.models.gemini, etc.

Precedence for reviewer selection in converge mode:

1. Explicit CLI reviewer flags (--codex, --gemini, --all, etc.)
2. review.default_reviewers
3. If neither resolves to any reviewer, fail fast with actionable message.

Example config:

{
  "workflow": {
    "plan_review_convergence": true
  },
  "review": {
    "default_reviewers": ["codex", "gemini"],
    "models": {
      "codex": "gpt-5.4",
      "gemini": "gemini-2.5-pro"
    }
  }
}

Flag Naming

Issue #15 asks for a flag such as --converge or --cross-ai on autonomous execution. --converge is the better primary term because it names the behavior (plan-review convergence loop), not the transport (external AI) or mode label (autonomous).

1. Primary: --converge
2. Alias: --cross-ai
3. Avoid: introducing --autonomous-* variants (the command already defines that mode)

Options Considered

1. Autonomous-only flag (/msd-autonomous --cross-ai)

   • Files: commands/msd/autonomous.md, workflows/autonomous.md
   • Problem: solves issue #15 directly but leaves /msd-progress --next --auto inconsistent.
   • Benefit: smallest blast radius.
   • Drawback: two orchestration modes diverge in behavior.

2. Progress-primary + autonomous parity (Chosen)

   • Files: commands/msd/progress.md, workflows/progress.md, workflows/next.md, plus autonomous wiring
   • Problem: must keep two orchestrators aligned.
   • Solution: one shared plan-strategy seam consumed by both commands.
   • Benefit: better locality; users who already drive from progress --next --auto get convergence without switching workflows.

3. Config-only global toggle (no per-run flag)

   • Files: config schema + both orchestrators
   • Benefit: minimal CLI syntax expansion.
   • Drawback: less control per run; harder to do targeted high-cost convergence only when needed.
   • Decision: defer; keep explicit runtime flag.

Rubber-Duck Design Notes

Expected behavior: the two existing orchestration entry points should be able to opt into cross-AI plan convergence without adding another top-level command.

Actual behavior: both orchestration entry points always take the local planning route, so external reviewers are never reached unless the user abandons orchestration flow and runs convergence manually.

Wrong assumptions surfaced:

1. "Enabling workflow.plan_review_convergence changes orchestration behavior." It does not unless the convergence command is explicitly routed.
2. "Cross-AI config propagates automatically into autonomous/next flows." It only applies where convergence/review workflows are invoked.
3. "Adding a separate command is required." Existing orchestration commands are sufficient if they expose a strategy seam and clear flag naming.

Root architectural gap: orchestration flows lack a plan strategy seam (local vs converge).

Scope

In scope

• Plan strategy seam shared by existing orchestration commands.
• --cross-ai pass-through contract on existing commands.
• --converge primary flag naming and --cross-ai compatibility alias.
• Feature-gate behavior contract for convergence strategy.
• Config contract for enabling convergence and selecting allowed AIs.
• Documentation updates tied to command/config behavior.

Out of scope

• New top-level command creation.
• Reworking msd-code-review into cross-AI convergence loop.
• New reviewer config schema (reuse existing review.* keys).
• Changing default planning strategy without explicit opt-in.
• Altering msd-plan-review-convergence internal loop semantics.

Consequences

• No new command tax on docs, routing, and long-term maintenance.
• Existing orchestration habits (progress --next --auto and autonomous) can opt into convergence consistently.
• Existing review configuration gets leverage without new schema.
• Backward compatibility is preserved by default.
• Explicit failure on disabled gate avoids silent false-confidence automation.

References

• Issue: #15
• commands/msd/progress.md
• msd-core/workflows/progress.md
• msd-core/workflows/next.md
• commands/msd/autonomous.md
• msd-core/workflows/autonomous.md
• commands/msd/plan-review-convergence.md
• msd-core/workflows/plan-review-convergence.md
• commands/msd/review.md
• docs/COMMANDS.md (/msd-plan-review-convergence, /msd-review)
• docs/CONFIGURATION.md (workflow.plan_review_convergence, review.default_reviewers, review.models.*)