> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://smithers.sh/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # > Recursive tiered delegation with risk probes, per-node backpressure, live edits, budgets, and scoring. `` is the composite behind the [`delegation-chain` workflow](/workflows/delegation-chain): a `` of seven phases running in `` with a live-edit signal listener. Every phase is reactive: it re-derives its slice of the delegation tree from the `dc*` output rows on each render, so fan-out materializes level by level as rows land, and user edits or probe findings replan the affected subtree without restarting anything. ```ts theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} // Props import { DelegationChain } from "smithers-orchestrator"; type Tier = "fable" | "opus" | "sonnet" | "haiku"; type DelegationAgents = Partial>; type DelegationSharedProps = { idPrefix?: string; // physical node-id prefix; default "dc" agents: DelegationAgents; // one agent (or failover chain) per tier label outputs: DelegationOutputs; // the dc* output targets (see below) approvalPolicy?: string; // absent = no approval gates anywhere tierOrder?: Tier[]; // strongest first; default ["fable","opus","sonnet","haiku"] maxDepth?: number; // default 3 maxConcurrency?: number; // default 4 maxDeriskRounds?: number; // default 3 poll?: boolean; // default true budget?: { maxUsd?: number; maxMinutes?: number }; scorers?: { exec?: ScorersMap; review?: ScorersMap; run?: ScorersMap }; skipIf?: boolean; }; type DelegationChainProps = DelegationSharedProps & { prompt: string; // the original (possibly ambiguous) ask maxQuestions?: number; // default 10 prefetchDepth?: number; // question forms rendered ahead; default 10 maxAttempts?: number; // exec/review attempts per leaf; default 3 maxEdits?: number; // live edits accepted per run; default 25 }; ``` ```tsx theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} import { CodexAgent, DelegationChain, createSmithers, delegationSchemas } from "smithers-orchestrator"; const { Workflow, smithers, outputs } = createSmithers({ ...delegationSchemas }); // The legacy tier keys are labels, not provider or model ids. Point them at // Codex tiers by strength; the seeded workflow uses generated pools instead. const sol = new CodexAgent({ model: "gpt-5.6-sol" }); const terra = new CodexAgent({ model: "gpt-5.6-terra" }); const luna = new CodexAgent({ model: "gpt-5.6-luna", config: { model_reasoning_effort: "medium" } }); const lunaCheap = new CodexAgent({ model: "gpt-5.6-luna", config: { model_reasoning_effort: "medium" } }); export default smithers((ctx) => ( )); ``` Register `delegationSchemas` in `createSmithers` and pass the matching `outputs` subset. Tiers are labels only; missing tiers fall back to the nearest configured tier in `tierOrder`. When `budget.maxMinutes` is set the whole chain is wrapped in `` with a wall-clock `latencySlo`; dollar budgets are enforced by per-leaf guard tasks over rolled-up `dcExec` actuals (hard error over the limit, warning row at 80%). ## Phase composites Each phase is exported separately for standalone use and takes `DelegationSharedProps` (plus the extras noted): | Component | Phase | Extra props | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `` | Question forecast, prefetched forms, one durable question at a time, refined-prompt approval | `prompt`, `maxQuestions`, `prefetchDepth` | | `` | Recursive decomposition fan-out until the frontier is all leaves | `prompt?` (standalone root brief; otherwise waits for the approved goal) | | `` | Zero-backpressure expected-output previews, skippable via `dc-skip-preview` | none | | `` | Every node declares gates and dependencies before execution | none | | `` | Risk probes, findings to the nearest parent, replan/reaffirm cascades | none | | `` | Dependency-ordered leaf pipelines: exec, gates, approvals, developer previews, budget guards | `maxAttempts` | | `` | Run-level score digest plus the satisfaction poll | none | | `` | Re-arming `dc-edit` signal wait feeding the derisk loop | `until?`, `maxEdits` | ## Output tables `delegationSchemas` (from `smithers-orchestrator`) registers every table; `DelegationOutputs` is the matching prop shape. `dcApproval` is only needed with an `approvalPolicy`, `dcBudget` only with a `budget`, and `dcScore` only with run-level `scorers`. | Table | One row per | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `dcGoal` | Refined goal (prompt, assumptions, questions asked) | | `dcQuestion` | Rendered question form / resolved answer | | `dcForecast` | The goal agent's upfront question batch (internal) | | `dcGoalApproval` | The human's `{ approved, refinedPrompt }` decision | | `dcPlan` | A delegating node's plan: children, risks, estimates; replans append superseding rows | | `dcPreview` | A leaf's never-executed expected output | | `dcGates` | A node's declared gates and logical dependencies | | `dcProbe` | A probe's finding (`planImpact`: changes / confirms / none) | | `dcReplan` | A replan decision (`invalidated` or `reaffirmed`) with its trigger | | `dcExec` | One execution attempt, with best-effort `actual` usage and the measured `commitRange` | | `dcReview` | A review/check gate verdict for one attempt | | `dcDevPreview` | A developer-preview build (`builtOk` is required to pass) | | `dcApproval` | An approval-gate decision | | `dcEdit` | A live user edit (signal payload) | | `dcSkip` | The skip-previews signal payload | | `dcPoll` | The end-of-run poll answers | | `dcBudget` | A budget-guard checkpoint (`ok` or `warn`) | | `dcScore` | The run-level scoring digest | ## Physical node ids Every task id follows `dc::` (the `dc` prefix is `idPrefix`). Logical ids are `/`-separated paths (`root/core/reducer`); in physical ids the `/` is encoded as `:` because node ids only allow `[a-zA-Z0-9:_-]`. Row `logicalId` fields keep the `/` form. Phases: * Goal: `dc:goal:forecast`, `dc:goal:forms:question-`, `dc:goal:question-` (the durable human answer), `dc:goal:goal`, `dc:goal:approve` * Planning: `dc::plan`, replan versions `dc::plan-` * Previews: `dc::preview` * Gates: `dc::gates` * Derisk: `dc::probe-`, `dc::replan-` * Execution: `dc::exec`, `dc::review-` (reviews then checks, in declared order), `dc::approval-`, `dc::dev-preview` (then `dev-preview-2`, ...), `dc::budget` * Scoring: `dc:root:score`, `dc:root:poll` ## Signals Two fixed durable signal names (exported as `DC_EDIT_SIGNAL` and `DC_SKIP_PREVIEW_SIGNAL`): * `dc-edit` with payload `{ editId, logicalId, editedOutput, note? }`. Each delivered edit writes a `dcEdit` row that the derisk loop treats exactly like a plan-changing probe finding. * `dc-skip-preview` with payload `{ skipped: true }`. Once a `dcSkip` row exists, no further preview tasks mount. ## Gates A `dcGates` row declares an ordered list of gates: ```ts theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} type Gate = | { method: "review"; tier: Tier; brief: string } | { method: "check"; command: string } | { method: "approval"; policyMatch: string } // honored only under an approvalPolicy | { method: "preview"; kind: "app" | "terminal" | "api" | "throwaway-ui" | "slideshow"; brief: string }; ``` Review gates receive the node's output and its `dcExec.commitRange` values with instructions to inspect the commits themselves; chunk-level reviews get the union of their subtree's ranges (exec agents are wrapped with the exported `withCommitRange`, which measures the working-copy commit before and after the attempt, jj first with a git fallback). `preview` gates build a developer preview after execution; `builtOk: false` fails the attempt like a failed review. The gates prompt requires the root node to declare a `slideshow` preview, so a run always ends showable. ## UI side `smithers-orchestrator/gateway-react` exports the matching read model: [`useDelegationChain`](/reference/gateway-react#usedelegationchain) folds a run's `dc*` rows into a `DelegationGraph` (nodes with status, versions, attention rollups, budget rollup, phase) and returns the `submitEdit`, `skipPreviews`, `answerHuman`, and `submitPoll` actions. The pure reducer `foldDelegation` is exported for tests and non-React use. ## Notes * Approval gates require `outputs.dcApproval`; `` throws `INVALID_INPUT` if the policy produced approval gates without it. * `dcPlan.orchestration` (`"tasks" | "workflow"`) is reserved for planned higher-order orchestration (a node authoring its own workflow as its execution strategy); it is accepted and ignored today. The fold store behind `useDelegationChain` runs on Effect.ts behind the frozen hook signature. * Scoring wiring: `scorers.exec` / `scorers.review` ride the exec and review tasks; `scorers.run` rides the digest task. The delegation scorers live in `smithers-orchestrator/scorers` (see the [scorer reference](/reference/scorers)).