Kilo Code: ship a big feature as isolated subtasks with Orchestrator

The Stack

Tested Against

Prerequisites

• Kilo Code extension installed
• A provider/API key to actually run the modes

Steps

1. 1

   Define the orchestrator's delegate modes and validate

   In .kilocodemodes, define the architect, code, and debug modes the orchestrator hands work to (defining a built-in slug here pins/overrides it for the project). Then switch to Orchestrator and give it the whole feature. Use 'Edit Project Modes' in the app to write valid config. CI parses the file and asserts all three delegate modes are present and enabled.

   cat > .kilocodemodes <<'YAML'
   customModes:
     - slug: architect
       name: Architect
       roleDefinition: You plan the work and produce a clear implementation plan.
       groups:
         - read
     - slug: code
       name: Code
       roleDefinition: You implement the planned changes.
       groups:
         - read
         - edit
     - slug: debug
       name: Debug
       roleDefinition: You diagnose and fix failing tests.
       groups:
         - read
         - edit
         - command
   YAML
   ruby -ryaml -e '
   c = YAML.load_file(".kilocodemodes")
   modes = c["customModes"] || []
   %w[architect code debug].each do |slug|
     m = modes.find { |x| x["slug"] == slug }
     abort "BAD: missing delegate mode #{slug}" unless m
     abort "BAD: #{slug} has no tool groups (not enabled)" if (m["groups"] || []).empty?
   end
   puts "config OK: orchestrator delegates to architect+code+debug, all present and enabled"
   '

2. 2

   Run the feature through Orchestrator (the model step, not checked by CI)

   Switch to Orchestrator and give it the whole feature, e.g. 'add OAuth login: plan it, implement it, then debug the failing tests.' Each subtask runs in isolation and hands back a summary via attempt_completion. Write subtask goals that ask for the specifics you'll need downstream, since the handoff is lossy by design. The decomposition is fenced.