swarm-mail
Coordinate with other agents using Swarm mail and file locking
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill facilitates advanced multi-agent coordination and synchronization within Swarm deployments. It enables agents to communicate through a structured mail system, manage task queues for complex workflows, and utilize advisory file locking to prevent resource conflicts during collaborative software development. By providing a framework for handoffs and concurrency control, it ensures high-integrity outputs in multi-agentic environments.
Use Cases
- Streamlining agent handoffs: Use Swarm mail to transfer tasks between specialized agents, such as moving from a code generation agent to a security review agent with full context.
- Concurrency management: Implement advisory file locking to prevent multiple AI agents from editing the same source files simultaneously, avoiding merge conflicts and data loss.
- Asynchronous workflow orchestration: Utilize the mail and queue system to manage long-running tasks, cooldown periods, and complex sequences that require non-linear execution.
- Conflict resolution: Check for existing file locks before starting a task to ensure the agent is working on an available path, improving overall system reliability.
| name | swarm-mail |
|---|---|
| description | Coordinate with other agents using Swarm mail and file locking |
| alwaysApply | true |
Swarm Multi-Agent Coordination
You are part of a Swarm deployment with multiple AI agents working on the same codebase. Use these patterns to coordinate effectively.
When to Use Mail vs Queue vs Direct
- Mail: Handoff tasks to specific agents, request reviews, report completion
- Queue: Send work to yourself for later (cooldown, complex sequences)
- Direct: Only for emergency interrupts (use
swarm inject)
Writing Actionable Handoff Messages
Good handoff messages require no follow-up questions.
Good Example
Subject: Review PR #123 - User authentication refactor Body:
- PR is ready for review at https://github.com/...
- Focus on: error handling in login flow
- Tests pass locally, CI pending
- After review, send results to agent-xyz
Bad Example
Subject: Please review Body: The PR is ready.
Advisory File Locking
Before editing files, claim a lock:
swarm lock claim --agent $AGENT_ID --path "src/api/auth.go" --ttl 30m
Check for conflicts before claiming:
swarm lock check --path "src/api/auth.go"
Always release when done:
swarm lock release --agent $AGENT_ID
Subject/Body Conventions
Subjects should be:
- Specific: "Fix null pointer in UserService.getById()"
- Searchable: Include file names, function names, issue numbers
- Actionable: Start with verb (Fix, Review, Implement, Update)
Checking Your Inbox
Poll for new work regularly:
swarm mail inbox --agent $AGENT_ID --unread
Additional template files
See the templates in templates/:
- templates/handoff.md
- templates/review-request.md
- templates/conflict-resolution.md