108 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
108 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
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---
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type: reference
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subtype: pattern/framework
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title: "Orchestration prompting for Claude 5-era models (Fable 5, Opus 4.8, Sonnet 5)"
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summary: "What Anthropic's model-page guidance says about delegation, token efficiency, and rule phrasing for current-generation orchestrators — and how it invalidates delegation rules written for cheaper/older main-loop models. Answers: how should an orchestrator rule doc be written when the main loop is a top-tier model?"
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tags:
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- type/reference
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- domain/ai-agents
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- domain/orchestration
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- tool/claude-code
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scope: global
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last_updated: 2026-07-08
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date: 2026-07-08
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last_reviewed: 2026-07-08
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related:
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- agent-orchestration-patterns
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- agent-orchestration-cookbook
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- os-orchestration-ws1-session-audit-results
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source: cc-os
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---
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# Orchestration prompting for Claude 5-era models
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Sources: Anthropic model pages (prompting-claude-fable-5, prompting-claude-opus-4-8,
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prompting-claude-sonnet-5, claude-prompting-best-practices), fetched 2026-07-08. Community
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claims below are marked `[unverified claim]`.
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## The meta-finding (why this note exists)
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**Delegation rules go stale when the main-loop model tier changes, even if every rule is still
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individually true.** A rule doc written to prevent over-delegation on a sonnet main loop
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(where direct work is cheap and Opus 4.6-era models over-spawned) actively suppresses
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delegation on a Fable/top-tier main loop, where every direct tool call is billed at the most
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expensive rate. The threshold question is not "is this task big enough to delegate?" but
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"does this work need main-loop-tier judgment?" — cost asymmetry between the orchestrator and
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the cheapest adequate executor must be *explicit in the rule text*, not implied.
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## Load-bearing guidance from the model pages
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1. **Calibrated trigger phrasing, both directions.** On 4.6+ models, absolutist wording
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("CRITICAL: you MUST...") over-fires; plain "use X when Y" is correct. Crucially, the
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canonical best-practices delegation snippet pairs a *positive* trigger list ("use subagents
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when parallel / isolated context / independent workstreams") with a *negative* one ("work
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directly for simple tasks, sequential ops, single-file edits, shared-state steps").
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A rule doc phrased negative-first ("delegate ONLY when...") is read literally by these
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models and suppresses delegation in every gray zone.
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2. **Literal instruction-following.** Opus 4.8/Sonnet 5/Fable 5 do not silently generalize
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an instruction beyond its stated scope. A threshold like "≤2-tool-call ops are direct"
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licenses 3+-call direct work forever unless something *obligates* delegation above some
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line — write both sides of the boundary.
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3. **Model biases differ by generation and must be steered per-model:** Fable 5 dispatches
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parallel subagents *readily* and sustains async communication with them (recommended
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pattern: "delegate independent subtasks and keep working while they run" — non-blocking);
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Opus 4.8 *under*-delegates by default and needs explicit "spawn multiple in the same turn
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when fanning out" nudges; Opus 4.6 *over*-delegated. The same orchestration text lands
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differently per main-loop model.
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4. **Effort is the primary within-model cost dial** — the docs give no cross-tier
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haiku/sonnet/opus decision table at all; they treat `effort` as the main quality/cost
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lever. An orchestration policy that routes only by model tier is missing a lever: mechanical
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subagent work → low effort, hard verify/judge stages → high/xhigh (where the harness
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exposes it, e.g. Workflow `agent()` opts).
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5. **Long-lived / batched subagents amortize cost.** Fable 5 page: long-lived subagents that
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keep context across subtasks save time and cost via cache reads and avoid bottlenecking on
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the slowest agent. Combine with the batching economics in [[agent-orchestration-patterns]]
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(tool tax ~20–25K tokens per spawn; batch 5–8 similar items per specialist; reuse a live
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agent for follow-ups instead of spawning fresh).
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6. **Front-load the task spec.** Opus 4.8/Sonnet 5: token use rises in interactive settings
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because the model re-reasons after each user turn; a complete task/intent/constraints
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statement in the first turn is cheaper and better than progressive disclosure. Applies
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equally to subagent prompts: one complete grouped prompt beats iterative follow-ups.
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7. **Grounding and downgrade honesty.** Fable 5 page's "audit each claim against a tool
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result" pattern nearly eliminated fabricated status reports in Anthropic's testing —
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the same mechanism as subagent model self-report (subagents know their model ID; launch
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results don't show it).
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## Community pattern (context, not evidence)
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The "Fable-5 orchestrator" community pattern (pasqualepillitteri.it, 2026-07-02) matches the
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above architecture — Fable plans/synthesizes, pinned-model personas execute, orchestrator
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generates only 10–20% of tokens, "5–10× savings" `[unverified claim]` (all cost figures
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asserted without methodology; the one external attribution, "MindStudio 80–90% shift with no
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quality loss," has no citation). Its mechanical details (frontmatter-pinned `model:` in
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`~/.claude/agents/`, description-driven delegation) are real Claude Code mechanics; its
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numbers are not evidence.
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## How to apply
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When writing or reviewing an orchestrator rule doc:
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- State the cost asymmetry explicitly and key the delegation threshold to the main-loop tier
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(models know their own model ID, so tier-conditional rules are implementable).
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- Pair positive and negative delegation triggers; never "only when."
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- Add a batching rule (group related subtasks into one agent prompt; reuse live agents) and an
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async rule (keep working while subagents run).
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- Re-audit the rule doc whenever the default main-loop model changes generation — evidence
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gathered under the old economics (e.g. "direct work was often superior") may no longer bind.
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## Related
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- [[agent-orchestration-patterns]] — batching economics, tool tax, decision framework
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- [[agent-orchestration-cookbook]] — concrete walkthroughs
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- [[os-orchestration-ws1-session-audit-results]] — the audit evidence gathered under pre-Fable economics
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