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Brad Kinnard
Brad Kinnard

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🐝 Copilot Swarm Orchestrator

#devchallenge #githubchallenge #cli #githubcopilot

GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge Submission

This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge

Parallel, evidence-verified orchestration of real GitHub Copilot CLI sessions.

What I Built

Copilot Swarm Orchestrator (CSO) coordinates multiple GitHub Copilot CLI sessions across a dependency-aware plan.

Instead of running Copilot prompts one at a time and manually stitching the results together, this tool:

  • Breaks goals into dependency-aware steps: Uses a local Planner to map out complex tasks.
  • Runs independent steps in parallel waves: Executes multiple copilot -p sessions concurrently in-process using a custom Node.js execution loop.
  • Executes each step as a real subprocess: Spawns the official copilot binary as a child process on its own isolated git branch.
  • Captures and verifies results: Parses /share transcripts for concrete evidence (commands, test output, build output) to ensure work is verified before merging.
  • Maintains a local audit trail: Writes all plans, execution logs, and proof artifacts to local folders /plans, /runs, /proof) for total transparency.

Nothing is simulated. No undocumented flags. No cloud-based middleware.

It exists to make multi-area work like frontend, backend, tests, and integration faster without losing auditability.

Demo

Small update: added a ~5-minute demo scenario so judges can see parallel execution and verification without committing to a full run.

Repository: https://github.com/moonrunnerkc/copilot-swarm-orchestrator

Quick demo command:

npm start demo demo-fast
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This runs two Copilot CLI sessions in parallel in a single wave and prints live, interleaved output so you can see concurrency in action.

Note: The demo is a real end-to-end run and typically takes ~2 to 4 minutes depending on model latency.

Other demos are available if you want a longer, more complete run:

npm start demo dashboard-showcase (quick ~5 min run)
npm start demo todo-app
npm start demo api-server
npm start demo full-stack-app
npm start demo saas-mvp
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Each run produces an auditable trail in the repo (plans/, runs/, proof/) showing:

  • What each agent did (via captured /share transcripts)
  • What evidence was verified (via per-step verification reports)
  • What was merged

Screencast (fresh project interaction):

Screenshots (existing project interaction):

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My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

This project was built with Copilot CLI, not "wrapped around" it.

I treated the Copilot CLI as a "Compute Engine" for intelligence. By spawning the binary as a child process, I was able to design sophisticated guardrails:

  • Dependency Planning: Automating the order of operations.
  • Bounded Agent Scopes: Ensuring agents stay in their lane.
  • Transcript-Based Verification: Moving from "trusting the output" to "verifying the evidence."
  • Per-Step Branch Isolation: Keeping the main codebase clean until work is proven.

Copilot accelerates implementation. The orchestrator adds structure, coordination, and evidence checks.

The result is a workflow where Copilot can move fast, fail safely, and leave behind proof instead of vibes.

Key Constraints (Intentional)

  • Official Integration: Uses only documented Copilot CLI flags (such as -p, --model, --share).
  • Zero Emulation: Does not embed or emulate Copilot; it uses your local authenticated CLI session.
  • Evidence-Based: Does not guarantee correctness; verification is transcript-based (parsing commands and outputs), not just semantic guessing.
  • Local Control: All execution is explicit, inspectable, and reversible (work happens on branches before merge).

Why It Matters

GitHub Copilot CLI is a game-changer for individual commands, but real-world engineering is rarely a single task. It’s a series of parallel move-sets: updating the API, adjusting the frontend, and ensuring the test suite doesn't regress.

Copilot Swarm Orchestrator (CSO) transitions the CLI from a "helper" to a Strategic Partner:

  • Eliminates the "Babysitting" Tax: Instead of waiting for one prompt to finish so you can paste the next, you delegate an entire "Wave" of work. It handles the tedious context-switching and branch management while you stay in the flow.
  • Trust Through Transparency: By generating a local proof/ folder for every run, CSO turns the "black box" of AI into a verifiable audit trail. You aren't just getting code; you're getting a documented history of how that code was validated.
  • Unlocks Professional Scaling: It proves that "Agentic" workflows don't require expensive cloud infrastructure or complex enterprise setups. It brings the power of an automated development department directly to your local terminal.

In short, CSO moves the terminal from a Chat Box to a Mission Control Center. It’s about giving developers the one thing AI is supposed to provide but often costs: Time.

License: ISC

Built with: TypeScript, Node.js 18+, GitHub Copilot CLI

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