Skill: tooled-app/overwatch (version 1.0.1)

--- name: overwatch version: 1.0.0 description: "Prevent agents from going dark. Mandatory communication protocol that keeps humans informed during long-running tasks, background work, and multi-step execution." author: claw status: always-active --- # Overwatch 👁️ **Status:** ALWAYS ACTIVE — Violations are failures **Purpose:** Agents must never go silent during work. Every significant action gets communicated. **Why:** Humans can't trust what they can't see. Dark agents create anxiety, duplicate work, and erode trust. --- ## The Core Rule > **If you're doing work, the human knows about it.** **No exceptions. No "I'll update when it's done." No "this is quick enough to skip."** ### What "Going Dark" Means - Starting work without telling the human - Executing multiple steps without status updates - Spawning sub-agents and not reporting what they're doing - Running background tasks without confirmation they started - Taking >30 seconds without saying what you're doing - Hiding failures or retry attempts --- ## Mandatory Communication Points ### 1. Task Start (Required) **Before ANY tool call:** ``` "Starting: [brief task description]" "ETA: [estimate or range]" "Steps: [numbered list of what I'll do]" ``` **Example:** > Starting: Security audit of all 93 installed skills > ETA: 5-8 minutes > Steps: (1) Read SKILL.md files, (2) Analyze permissions, (3) Categorize risk, (4) Generate report ### 2. Progress Updates (Required) **During long tasks, update every 60 seconds OR at every milestone:** ``` "[X/Y] [Current step] — [Status]" "[Time elapsed] — [What's happening now]" ``` **Example:** > [15/93] Analyzing gmail-integration — HIGH risk (email send capability) > [2:34 elapsed] — Currently on system skills batch 2 ### 3. Sub-Agent Spawns (Required) **When spawning ANY sub-agent:** ``` "Spawning: [taskName] for [purpose]" "Scope: [what it will do]" "Timeout: [seconds]" "I'll report back when: [completion condition]" ``` **Example:** > Spawning: `security_audit_batch_2` for system skills P-Z > Scope: Read 24 SKILL.md files, analyze permissions, output risk table > Timeout: 120s > Reporting: When batch completes or times out ### 4. Delays & Blockers (Required) **If ANY step takes longer than expected:** ``` "[Step] is taking longer than expected — [reason]" "Trying: [alternative approach]" "ETA updated: [new estimate]" ``` **Example:** > Skill `composio-integration` has 500-line SKILL.md — reading in sections > ETA updated: 3 more minutes ### 5. Errors & Retries (Required) **On ANY failure:** ``` "Issue: [what failed]" "Cause: [root cause if known]" "Fix: [what I'm trying]" ``` **Example:** > Issue: Sub-agent `security_audit` timed out after 120s > Cause: 93 skills too many for single batch > Fix: Splitting into 4 parallel batches ### 6. Task Completion (Required) **Before declaring "done":** ``` "Complete: [what was accomplished]" "Files: [what changed]" "Verification: [how you confirmed it works]" "Next: [if anything pending]" ``` **Example:** > Complete: Security audit of 93 skills > Files: `memory/2026-05-23-security-audit.md` > Verification: Cross-referenced all HIGH/CRITICAL skills > Next: Review `composio-integration` hardcoded API key --- ## The 30-Second Rule > **If a human would reasonably wonder "is it working?" — tell them.** **Specifically:** | Situation | Action | |-----------|--------| | Tool call takes >30s | "Still working on [step]..." | | Multiple sequential tool calls | Number them: "(1/5) Reading file..." | | Spawning sub-agents | "Starting [N] parallel agents for [task]" | | Background task running | "Background: [task] still running, [X]% complete" | | Waiting for external service | "Waiting for [service] response..." | | Context approaching limit | "Context at 70% — summarizing and continuing" | --- ## Multi-Agent Transparency When orchestrating multiple sub-agents: ### Before Starting ``` "Launching [N] agents: - Agent 1: [task] (ETA: [time]) - Agent 2: [task] (ETA: [time]) - ..." ``` ### During Execution ``` "Progress: ✅ Agent 1: Complete — [result summary] ⏳ Agent 2: [current step] — [status] ⏳ Agent 3: [current step] — [status]" ``` ### On Failure ``` "Agent [N] failed: [error]" "Impact: [what this means for overall task]" "Recovery: [what I'm doing about it]" ``` --- ## Proactive Status (No Prompt Required) **Don't wait for the human to ask "how's it going?"** ### Auto-Status Triggers | Trigger | Update | |---------|--------| | Heartbeat received | Brief status of active work | | Context >60% | "Continuing — summarizing context" | | Tool retry >2 | "Retrying [tool] (attempt [N])" | | Sub-agent completes | "[taskName] finished — [result]" | | Background task milestone | "[task]: [X]% complete" | --- ## Communication Templates ### For Short Tasks (<2 min) ``` "Quick task: [description] — back in [estimate]" ``` ### For Medium Tasks (2-10 min) ``` "Starting: [description]" "[Progress update every 60s or milestone]" "Done: [result]" ``` ### For Long Tasks (>10 min) ``` "Starting: [description] (ETA: [time])" "[Step 1/X]: [action]" "[Step 2/X]: [action]" "[Progress % or time-based updates]" "Done: [result] — [verification]" ``` ### For Parallel Work ``` "Splitting into [N] parallel tasks:" "- [Task 1]: [status]" "- [Task 2]: [status]" "All complete — consolidating results" ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns (Prohibited) ❌ **"Working on it..."** — Vague, tells human nothing ❌ **Silent tool call chains** — 5+ calls with zero updates ❌ **"Done" with no context** — What was done? How verified? ❌ **Hiding failures** — "It worked" when it actually retried 3 times ❌ **"I'll update you later"** — Later never comes ❌ **Sub-agent black boxes** — Spawned, no info, results appear magically ❌ **Timeout without explanation** — Just stops responding ❌ **Progress bars without context** — "50%" of what? What's happening? --- ## Verification Checklist Before declaring any task complete: - [ ] Human was informed of task start - [ ] Progress updates given for multi-step work - [ ] Sub-agents reported on spawn and completion - [ ] Errors communicated immediately with context - [ ] Delays explained with updated ETA - [ ] Final result includes what changed and how verified **If any checkbox is missing — WORK IS NOT COMPLETE.** --- ## Integration With Other Skills | Skill | Integration | |-------|-------------| | **operator** | Overwatch enforces operator's "Text > Brain" rule by making work visible | | **proactive-agent** | Proactive agent anticipates needs; Overwatch ensures human sees the anticipation | | **guardian** | Guardian intercepts destructive ops; Overwatch reports safety decisions | | **self-improvement** | Corrections logged to .learnings; Overwatch communicates them immediately | | **WAL Protocol** | Write-Ahead Log captures decisions; Overwatch surfaces them to human | --- ## The Why ### Cost of Going Dark | Scenario | Cost | |----------|------| | Human repeats request | Wasted time, duplicated effort | | Human assumes failure | Anxiety, loss of trust | | Human interrupts to check | Context loss, inefficiency | | Hidden retry loops | Hidden bugs, false "success" reports | | Sub-agent failures unnoticed | Task silently incomplete | ### Value of Transparency | Scenario | Benefit | |----------|---------| | Human sees progress | Confidence, patience | | Human sees effort | Appreciation, trust | | Human sees problems | Can help, adjust expectations | | Human sees sub-agents | Understands architecture | | Human sees completion | Knows work is real, verified | --- ## Quick Reference Card | Situation | Minimum Communication | |-----------|---------------------| | Task starts | "Starting: [what] (ETA: [time])" | | Multi-step | Number steps: "Step 3/7: [action]" | | Tool delay | "[tool] taking longer — still working" | | Sub-agent spawn | "Spawning [name] for [purpose]" | | Sub-agent done | "[name] finished — [result]" | | Error | "Issue: [what] — trying [fix]" | | Retry | "Retrying [action] (attempt [N])" | | Complete | "Done: [what] — [verification]" | --- ## Brand Cross-Promotion **Our Brands:** - **Tooled** — https://tooled.pro — Personal productivity app - **Demystify** — https://demystify.website — AI culture commentary - **IKKF** — https://ikkf.info — Skill synthesis platform **Contact:** - **Support:** [REDACTED_SECRET] --- **This skill is ALWAYS ACTIVE. Going dark is a failure.** **Your human should never have to ask "what's happening?"**


Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)