Page 6 of 8~120 min topic

Multi-agent in code

Instrument the research-critique coordinator

Page 6 adds signals that distinguish bad input from component failure in the research+critique coordinator.

~15 min this pageTesting and observability

1Learn the idea

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Emit stage signals

Instrument the research+critique coordinator so a run records enough structure to debug offline: counts, latency if relevant, pass/fail of veto rate, and a stable stage name. Redact secrets and raw credentials from every event.

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Emit and assert

const event={stage:'coordinator', veto:true, unsupported_after_merge:0, steps:3};
console.log(JSON.stringify(event));

Expected evidence: coordinator telemetry. Prefer JSON or structured text you can grep in CI over prose logs for multi-agent-in-code.

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Lock signals with a regression test

Turn one historical failure—especially workers sharing mutable state—into a test that fails if the signal disappears for the research-critique coordinator. Observability without a failing test is optional decoration; observability with a test is part of the multi-agent-in-code artifact.

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Lab notebook: signal schema

Draft a three-field event for the research-critique coordinator: stage, ok, and one domain field derived from veto rate; unsupported claim count after merge; total step budget. Add fixture_id or docs_version when content can change. Explicitly list fields that must never appear (tokens, passwords, raw prompts) because critique worker receiving secrets from research scratchpad logs is in scope for this lab.

Wire one assertion that fails if the research-critique coordinator event is missing after a run. Observability that cannot fail a test will not survive contact with a busy multi-agent-in-code repository.

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Worked judgment

Imagine a teammate opens only your event stream after a bad deploy. Could they tell whether two workers with separate step budgets was wrong, whether workers sharing mutable state, or coordinator ignoring critique veto returned, or whether critique worker receiving secrets from research scratchpad logs slipped through? If not, rename fields until those three stories are distinguishable.

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Why this stage matters for the research-critique coordinator

At the testing and observability stage for multi-agent-in-code, the job is narrower than finishing a product demo. You are creating one progressive evidence piece about two workers with separate step budgets that later pages inherit without redefining success. Keep that fixture small enough to inspect by hand, keep outputs copy-pasteable as text, and refuse to narrate this baseline as if it were a production SLA: single agent without critique pass.

For this page specifically, success looks like a structured event schema locked by a test while still centering the user decision to delegate research and critique to two bounded workers, then merge under a coordinator policy. If you cannot point to a file, command, or assertion that proves that for the research-critique coordinator, stay on this page instead of advancing.

Glossary: tool · Glossary: structured output · Cheatsheet: production ops signals

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Before you start

Why this matters

Write the single log line or metric event that would tell you whether a bad result came from input vs implementation for the research-critique coordinator. If your line could not tell them apart, redesign it before coding.

In the wild

See how this idea shows up as a product and a company — then come back to the lesson. Skills transfer across vendors.

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Page assessment

Answer from memory. Completion is saved from this evidence, not from opening the next page.

1. Can input faults be distinguished from component faults in the event?
2. Are secrets redacted from logs?
3. Is there a test that fails if the signal vanishes?
4. Does the event still reference the decision: delegate research and critique to two bounded workers, then merge under a coordinator policy?

All responses are required.