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WORCA

worca · SinishaDjukic/worca-cc · ★ 26 · last commit 2026-05-26

9-stage autonomous development pipeline with OS-level governance enforcement, per-agent model routing, real-time WebSocket dashboard, and fleet/workspace orchestration for parallel multi-project runs.

Best whenGovernance must be enforced at the system call level (Python hooks blocking tool use), not just via prompt instructions — agents can be prompted to ignore wa…
Skip ifUsing general-purpose subagent dispatch (unbypassable denylist), Committing directly instead of via Guardian
vs seeds
claude-flowin comprehensive multi-agent pipeline with specialized roles and worktree isolation, but distinguishes itself with OS-le…
Primitive shape 35 total
Commands 1 Skills 14 Subagents 10 Hooks 10
00

Summary

WORCA — Summary

WORCA is an autonomous software development pipeline with governance enforcement — a 9-stage orchestration system (Preflight → Planner → Plan Reviewer → Coordinator → Implementer(s) → Tester → Reviewer → Guardian → Learner) that runs as a pip-installable Python package with a real-time Node.js web dashboard, governance hooks blocking dangerous operations, and support for parallel pipeline execution in git worktrees.

Problem it solves: Autonomous AI coding agents lack guardrails — they run dangerous shell commands, skip tests, ignore plan constraints, and accumulate unchecked costs; WORCA enforces governance at every tool call via Python hooks (pre/post), provides circuit breakers that halt runaway cost, and emits structured JSONL events for full observability.

Distinctive trait: 8 specialized agents with configurable models (Planner/Coordinator/Implementer in Claude Opus; Tester/Reviewer in Sonnet) plus a governance hook system that physically blocks dangerous operations (rm -rf, force push, env writes) at the Python process level — not just as prompt instructions.

Target audience: Development teams that want fully-autonomous CI-grade pipeline execution for features, bugfixes, and refactors with real-time visibility, human approval gates at configurable checkpoints, multi-project fleet/workspace coordination, and Telegram/Discord/Slack notifications.

Production-readiness: Actively maintained (last commit 2026-05-26); 26 stars, 5 contributors, MIT license; pip package worca-cc + npm package @worca/ui. Uses @beads/bd for task management. Heavy dependency on beads task system and Claude Code CLI.

Differs from seeds: Closest to claude-flow in its comprehensive multi-agent pipeline with coordinated agent roles and git-worktree isolation, but WORCA differs in three key ways: (1) governance enforcement is at the Python hook level (blocking actual system calls) rather than via prompt instructions; (2) agents have configurable per-agent model assignments (Opus for strategic agents, Sonnet for implementation); (3) the dashboard uses WebSocket streaming with real-time stage visualization, cost tracking, and Telegram/Discord/Slack chat integrations. Unlike claude-flow's MCP-server approach, WORCA is a direct Claude Code pipeline — it spawns Claude Code subprocess sessions per stage.

01

Overview

WORCA — Origin and Philosophy

Origin

WORCA (Workflow Orchestration for Claude-based Agents) is created by Sinisha Djukic (SinishaDjukic on GitHub). Repository: SinishaDjukic/worca-cc. Published as worca-cc on PyPI and @worca/ui on npm. Integrates with @beads/bd (the Beads task management system by Steve Yegge's Gastown project) for issue tracking.

CLAUDE.md philosophy (verbatim)

"Autonomous software development pipeline combining orchestration with governance enforcement."

"9 stages: Preflight → Planner (Opus) → Plan Reviewer (Opus) → Coordinator (Opus) → Implementer(s) (Sonnet) → Tester (Sonnet) → Reviewer (Opus) → Guardian (Opus) → Learner (Opus)"

"All governance enforced via Python hooks in src/worca/claude_hooks/."

"The rationale behind major architectural choices — UI stack, state model, governance, modularity, webhooks — is consolidated in docs/design-principles.md. Read it before proposing structural changes."

Design principles

  1. Governance at the system level — dangerous operations are blocked in Python hook scripts, not just warned against in prompts
  2. Per-agent model optimization — strategic agents (Planner, Coordinator, Reviewer, Guardian) use Opus; execution agents (Implementer, Tester) use Sonnet
  3. Full observability — 52 structured event types, JSONL stream, HMAC-signed webhooks, real-time WebSocket dashboard
  4. Parallel-safe execution — each pipeline run in its own git worktree with independent .worca/ state
  5. Circuit breakers — error classification with halt thresholds prevents runaway cost on repeated failures

Pipeline template types

Template Purpose
feature Standard feature development
bugfix Bug fix with focused testing
quick-fix Fast fix bypassing some stages
refactor Code improvement without behavior change
investigate Research-only, publishes plan as PR
test-only Test analysis without code changes
02

Architecture

WORCA — Architecture

Distribution

Install

pip install worca-cc              # Python pipeline + CLI
npm install -g @worca/ui          # Dashboard
npm install -g @beads/bd@0.49.0   # Required: Beads task management CLI
cd your-project
worca init                        # Scaffolds .claude/ with pipeline files

Required runtime

  • Python 3.10+
  • Node.js 22+
  • Claude Code CLI (claude command)
  • Git
  • @beads/bd@0.49.0 (specific version required)

Target AI tools

Claude Code exclusively (pipeline agents run as Claude Code subprocess sessions)

Directory structure (after worca init)

your-project/
├── .claude/
│   ├── worca/                   # Runtime copy of pipeline (managed, overwritten on upgrade)
│   │   ├── agents/core/         # Agent .md templates (8 agents)
│   │   │   ├── planner.md
│   │   │   ├── coordinator.md
│   │   │   ├── implementer.md
│   │   │   ├── tester.md
│   │   │   ├── reviewer.md
│   │   │   ├── guardian.md
│   │   │   ├── learner.md
│   │   │   └── plan_reviewer.md
│   │   ├── scripts/             # run_pipeline.py, run_worktree.py
│   │   ├── schemas/             # JSON schemas for structured agent output
│   │   └── claude_hooks/        # Python hook scripts
│   ├── agents/                  # User's agent prompt overrides (never overwritten)
│   ├── skills/                  # Dev-time skills (worca-* prefix)
│   └── settings.json            # Pipeline configuration under "worca" key
└── .worca/                      # Runtime state (per-run or per-worktree)
    └── status.json

Pipeline source structure

src/worca/
├── orchestrator/        # Pipeline state machine, stages, prompt builder
├── claude_hooks/        # pre_tool_use.py, post_tool_use.py, etc.
├── agents/core/         # Agent .md templates
├── schemas/             # JSON schemas for plan.json, task output, etc.
├── state/               # status.json read/write, iteration tracking
├── cli/                 # worca init, worca run, etc.
└── utils/               # Claude CLI, beads, git, gh_issues helpers
worca-ui/
├── app/                 # lit-html + Shoelace + esbuild views
│   └── views/           # Stage cards, run detail, dashboard views
└── server/              # Express API server + WebSocket
03

Components

WORCA — Components

CLI binary: worca

Subcommand Purpose
worca init Scaffold .claude/ with pipeline files
worca init --upgrade Refresh .claude/worca/ from latest installed version
worca init --check Dry run (show what would change)
worca run --prompt "..." Autonomous pipeline execution from prompt
worca run --spec spec.md --plan plan.md Pipeline from spec + plan files
worca run --source gh:issue:42 Pipeline from GitHub issue
worca run --worktree Isolated pipeline in git worktree
worca run --template feature/bugfix/... Pipeline with named template
worca cleanup Remove completed worktrees
worca integrations status Check chat integration status

CLI: worca-ui

Subcommand Purpose
worca-ui Monitor all registered projects (global mode)
worca-ui --project /path Monitor single project
worca-ui migrate --scan ~/dev Discover and register all worca projects

9 Pipeline Stages

Stage Default state Agent Model
Preflight enabled (validation scripts) n/a
Plan enabled Planner Opus
Plan Review disabled Plan Reviewer Opus
Coordinate enabled Coordinator Opus
Implement enabled Implementer(s) Sonnet
Test enabled Tester Sonnet
Review enabled Reviewer Opus
PR enabled Guardian Opus
Learn disabled Learner Opus

Claude Code skills (.claude/skills/worca-*) — Dev-time tools

Skill Purpose
worca-dev-precommit Run appropriate linters/tests before commit
worca-plan-new File a new W-NNN feature plan
worca-issue Read/list/file GitHub issues
worca-pr-prep Verify CI green + rebase before merging
worca-coverage Run Python coverage
worca-release Cut a stable release
worca-rc Cut a release candidate
state-action-matrix Load pipeline state-action spec
worca-ui-add-page Scaffold new dashboard page
worca-ui-add-card Scaffold new dashboard card
worca-event-add Scaffold new event type
worca-webhook-test Test webhook with signed synthetic event
worca-sync Sync pipeline state
worca-agent-override Apply agent prompt overrides

Claude Code subagents (.claude/agents/worca-*) — Dev-time reviewers

Subagent Dispatch trigger
worca-plan-template-reviewer After drafting/editing a plan file
worca-dispatch-governance-reviewer After editing governance settings
worca-ui-design-reviewer After UI changes
worca-stage-key-reviewer After changes to status.json code
worca-release-preflight Before release
worca-ui-routing-reviewer After adding UI section
worca-ui-card-consistency-reviewer After changes to card views
worca-ui-a11y-reviewer After non-trivial UI changes
worca-event-payload-reviewer After changes to events module
worca-integrations-security-reviewer After changes to webhook/integrations

Python hook scripts

Hook Event Purpose
pre_tool_use.py PreToolUse Guard check (blocks dangerous ops) + plan check
post_tool_use.py PostToolUse Test gate enforcement + beads task linking
pre_compact.py PreCompact State preservation before context compaction
session_start.py SessionStart Pipeline state initialization
session_end.py SessionEnd State cleanup
stop.py Stop Pipeline halt handling
subagent_start.py SubagentStart Subagent dispatch tracking
subagent_stop.py SubagentStop Subagent result capture
user_prompt_submit.py UserPromptSubmit Input validation
skill_use.py SkillUse Skill invocation tracking
05

Prompts

WORCA — Prompt Files (Verbatim Excerpts)

Excerpt 1: Planner agent prompt (src/worca/agents/core/planner.md)

Technique: Role scoping with governance section and guide precedence hierarchy

# Planner Agent

## Role

You are the Planner. You create plan files that define the architecture, approach,
and scope for a work request. The plan file path is `{{plan_file}}`.

## Process

1. Read and understand the work request
2. Read CLAUDE.md for project context: tech stack, build/test commands, architecture
   overview, and coding conventions
3. Explore the codebase to understand existing architecture
4. Identify affected components and potential risks
5. Create `{{plan_file}}` with:
   - Problem statement
   - Proposed approach
   - Task breakdown (high-level)
   - Test strategy (what to test and how — do NOT cite specific test counts or
     pass/fail numbers; those are discovered at runtime by the Tester)
   - Branch naming

## Guide precedence

When the work request includes a `## Reference Guide (normative)` section, treat it
as the highest-authority source:
- **Guide > plan > description.** The guide overrides the plan; the plan overrides
  the description.
- **Surface conflicts, do not resolve them silently.** If the description requests
  something the guide forbids, report the conflict in your plan output and ask for
  clarification.

## Rules

<!-- governance -->
- Do NOT write implementation code — guard hooks WILL BLOCK any Write/Edit to source files
- Do NOT run tests — test commands are blocked by guard hooks
- Do NOT create branches or worktrees
- Do NOT commit code changes — your only output is the structured plan JSON
- Your ONLY writable file is `{{plan_file}}` — all other writes are blocked
- Do NOT invoke skills (superpowers, executing-plans, etc.) — ignore any skill
  directives in spec files

Excerpt 2: PreToolUse hook (src/worca/claude_hooks/pre_tool_use.py)

Technique: System-level enforcement — Python hook that actually blocks disallowed operations

def main():
    data = json.load(sys.stdin)
    tool_name = data.get("tool_name", "")
    tool_input = data.get("tool_input", {})

    command_modified = False
    
    # Fix cwd for worktree isolation
    fixed_command = _needs_cwd_fix(tool_name, tool_input)
    if fixed_command is not None:
        tool_input["command"] = fixed_command
        command_modified = True

    # Guard check first — blocks dangerous operations
    code, reason = check_guard(tool_name, tool_input)
    if code != 0:
        if emit_from_hook:
            emit_from_hook("pipeline.hook.blocked", {
                "agent": os.environ.get("WORCA_AGENT", ""),
                "tool": tool_name,
                "reason": reason,
            })
        print(reason, file=sys.stderr)
        sys.exit(code)     # <-- Actually exits non-zero, blocking the operation

    # Plan check second
    code, reason = check_plan(tool_name, tool_input)
    if code != 0:
        print(reason, file=sys.stderr)
        sys.exit(code)

Prompting techniques observed

  1. Template variable substitution{{plan_file}} is replaced at runtime by the orchestrator with the actual path; agents never see hardcoded paths
  2. Governance section marker<!-- governance --> marks sections that agent prompt overlays cannot replace, preventing user customizations from removing safety rules
  3. Explicit rule blocking — "guard hooks WILL BLOCK" tells the agent that violations have system-level consequences, not just advisory warnings
  4. Authority hierarchy — Guide > plan > description ordering is explicit and applied to conflict resolution; the agent must surface conflicts rather than resolve them silently
  5. System-level hook enforcement — the hook exits non-zero on violations, which Claude Code interprets as a blocked tool call; this is not a prompt instruction — it's an OS-level block
09

Uniqueness

WORCA — Uniqueness and Positioning

Differs from seeds

WORCA is closest to claude-flow in its comprehensive multi-agent pipeline (8 specialized roles, parallel execution, worktree isolation), but differs in three fundamental dimensions: (1) governance enforcement is at the Python OS level (hook scripts that call sys.exit(code) to physically block tool calls), not just prompt instructions — no other framework in the seed corpus does this; (2) per-agent model routing (Opus for strategic agents, Sonnet for execution) is configurable in settings.json with adaptive effort levels; (3) the real-time WebSocket dashboard (lit-html + Shoelace) with two-way Telegram integration represents the most complete operational observability in any framework analyzed. Unlike taskmaster-ai (flat task list + MCP), WORCA is a full pipeline state machine with circuit breakers, fleet/workspace orchestration, and a 9-stage agent sequence. Unlike BMAD-METHOD (human-interactive persona orchestration), WORCA is fully autonomous with human approval gates only at configurable milestones.

Positioning

WORCA targets teams wanting CI-grade autonomous software development with full operational control: configurable per-stage timeouts, circuit breakers, chat-based remote control, parallel worktree pipelines, and HMAC-signed webhook observability. It is the most operationally sophisticated framework in this batch — closer to a production deployment system than a coding assistant harness.

Observable failure modes

  1. Beads dependency — requires @beads/bd@0.49.0 specifically (later versions require Dolt DB); a brittle version pin
  2. Claude Code only — no support for other agent CLIs; all pipeline stages invoke the claude binary
  3. Setup complexity — requires Python 3.10+, Node.js 22+, Claude Code CLI, Git, beads, and worca-ui; multi-step install
  4. Governance section bypass risk — user overlay system is powerful but governance sections only protected within WORCA's known templates; custom templates don't inherit protection automatically
  5. LLM cost at scale — 9-stage pipeline with Opus for 7 agents is expensive per run; cost tracking is present but alerts are configurable minimums

Explicit antipatterns

  • Using general-purpose subagent dispatch (unbypassable denylist)
  • Committing directly instead of via Guardian
  • Bypassing the Coordinator by having Implementer plan independently
  • Running pipeline without Preflight (it always runs first)
04

Workflow

WORCA — Workflow

Pipeline stages

Stage What happens Artifact
Preflight Language-agnostic environment validation: git state, missing deps, config Validation report
Plan Planner reads work request, explores codebase, creates structured plan.json plan.json (structured output)
Plan Review (optional) Validates plan for completeness, feasibility; loops back to Planner on critical issues Review verdict
Coordinate Decomposes plan into Beads tasks with dependencies and parallel groups Beads tasks in .beads/
Implement Claims Beads task, implements with TDD, commits code, closes task Code commits on branch
Test Runs test suite, verifies coverage, collects proof artifacts Test results + coverage proof
Review Code review: bugs, quality, convention adherence; approves or requests changes Review verdict
PR Verifies test proof, commits code, creates PR, manages human approval gates GitHub PR
Learn (optional) Analyzes completed run, ranks observations, produces improvement suggestions Learn report

Pipeline templates

Template Stages active Use case
feature All standard Standard feature development
bugfix All with focused testing Bug fix
quick-fix Reduced stages Fast iteration
refactor Modified stage flow Code quality without behavior change
investigate Plan only → publishes plan as PR Research tasks
test-only Test + Coverage only Test analysis

Approval gates

Gate When Type
Plan milestone After Plan stage (configurable) yes-no
PR milestone Before Guardian creates PR (configurable) yes-no
Deploy milestone Before production deploy (configurable) yes-no

Loop controls

Loop Max iterations
Implement/Test cycle 5
Code review 5
PR update 5
Restart planning 2

Pause/Stop/Resume

  • worca run supports --pause, --stop, --resume flags
  • UI has pause/resume/stop buttons with real-time state transitions
  • Force-cancel for stale runs
  • Clean checkpointing on pause

Fleet and Workspace runs

  • Fleet: run_fleet.py --projects /a /b /c — fan same work request to N projects in parallel
  • Workspace: run_workspace.py — decompose one prompt into per-project sub-plans, execute in DAG tier order with cross-project PR linking
06

Memory Context

WORCA — Memory and Context

State storage

State Location
Pipeline status .worca/status.json (per-run, updated at each stage transition)
Pipeline plans plan.json (created by Planner, read by all subsequent agents)
Beads tasks .beads/ (task decomposition from Coordinator)
Agent output Per-stage JSONL events
Multi-run registry .worca/multi/pipelines.d/ (tracking all running pipelines)
Worktree state Per-worktree .worca/ copy
Global preferences ~/.worca/settings.json

Persistence

  • Project-scoped.worca/status.json tracks pipeline progress
  • Session-spanning — pause/resume reads from status.json to continue from last checkpoint
  • Worktree-isolated — each parallel run gets its own .worca/ state directory

Context injection

The orchestrator builds the prompt for each agent using:

  1. Agent .md template from src/worca/agents/core/
  2. Work request context (prompt, spec, plan)
  3. Any user-defined agent overlay from .claude/agents/<agent>.md
  4. Reference guide if provided via --guide

Agent overlay system

Users can add .claude/agents/<agent>.md to customize agent prompts without modifying core templates:

  • ## Override: <Section Name> blocks append to targeted sections
  • <!-- replace --> as first line replaces (rather than appends) the section
  • Governance-protected sections (<!-- governance -->) cannot be replaced

Compaction handling

pre_compact.py hook fires on PreCompact event, preserving pipeline state before context compaction occurs.

Cross-session handoff

Yes — pause/resume via --pause/--resume flags reads .worca/status.json to continue from last checkpoint in a new session.

Event stream

52 structured event types emitted as JSONL to a real-time stream. Events cover: stage transitions, bead assignments, governance violations, hook actions, cost tracking, error classification.

07

Orchestration

WORCA — Orchestration

Multi-agent pattern

Hierarchical with sequential stages. Planner → Plan Reviewer → Coordinator → Implementer(s) → Tester → Reviewer → Guardian → Learner. The Coordinator can dispatch multiple Implementers for parallel task execution.

Execution mode

Background-daemon — pipeline runs as a Python subprocess; worca run --worktree launches isolated runs in git worktrees. Dashboard provides real-time monitoring.

Subagent definition format

persona-md — each agent is a .md file in src/worca/agents/core/ with role, process, and governance rules. Users can overlay with .claude/agents/<agent>.md.

Spawn mechanism

subprocess — the Python orchestrator invokes claude CLI for each pipeline stage agent as a subprocess with the appropriate agent prompt and environment.

Isolation mechanism

git-worktreeworca run --worktree creates isolated git worktrees for parallel-safe execution. Each worktree has its own .worca/ state and .beads/ database.

Multi-model routing

Yes — configurable per agent in .claude/settings.json:

planner: claude-opus-4-5
coordinator: claude-opus-4-5
implementer: claude-sonnet-4-5
tester: claude-sonnet-4-5
reviewer: claude-opus-4-5
guardian: claude-opus-4-5
learner: claude-opus-4-5

Per-agent effort levels (low/medium/high/xhigh/max) with adaptive mode that classifies task complexity.

Governance enforcement

pre_tool_use.py blocks at the OS level:

  • rm -rf commands
  • Force push operations
  • Environment file writes
  • General-purpose subagent dispatch (unbypassable denylist)

post_tool_use.py:

  • Enforces test gates (requires proof artifacts before proceeding)
  • Links Beads tasks to tool calls

Circuit breakers

Error classification with max_failures threshold:

  • Transient errors → retry
  • Persistent errors → circuit breaker trips
  • Halts pipeline to prevent runaway cost

Fleet orchestration

run_fleet.py: fan-out to N projects in parallel:

  • --pause, --stop, --resume operate on the whole fleet
  • Circuit breaker: auto-halt when failure ratio crosses --fleet-failure-threshold
  • Shared plan or per-child planning

Workspace orchestration

run_workspace.py: DAG-based multi-project execution:

  • Projects in same tier run in parallel
  • Completed project diffs injected as --guide for downstream projects
  • Cross-project PR linking with dependency annotations
08

Ui Cli Surface

WORCA — UI and CLI Surface

CLI binary: worca

Full-featured Python CLI (pip install worca-cc):

worca init [--upgrade] [--check]          # Setup/upgrade pipeline
worca run --prompt "..."                  # Start pipeline from prompt
worca run --worktree --source gh:issue:42 # Isolated worktree run
worca run --template feature/bugfix/...  # Named template
worca cleanup                            # Remove completed worktrees
worca integrations status                # Check chat integrations

CLI-driven analysis (/worca-analyze skill in Claude Code):

claude
/worca-analyze 42     # analyze GitHub issue, capture decisions, recommend template

Local web dashboard

worca-ui — real-time WebSocket dashboard:

  • Port: configurable (default not specified in README)
  • Stack: lit-html + Shoelace + esbuild (frontend); Express + WebSocket (server)
  • Global mode — monitors all registered projects from one browser tab
  • Per-project modeworca-ui --project /path

Dashboard features

Feature Description
Pipeline stages view Stage pipeline with costs, turns, timing bar
Run history Per-project pipeline runs with stage badges
Beads Kanban Task kanban with bead counts and stage badges
Global dashboard All projects with sidebar navigation
Pause/Resume/Stop Real-time controls per pipeline
Cost tracking Per-agent token usage with model-specific pricing
Settings UI Edit execution, approval gates, circuit breaker via UI
Secrets panel Write to settings.local.json via UI (never committed)
PR details panel Collapsible panel on PR stage card

Chat integrations

Service Mode
Telegram Two-way: push notifications + commands (/pause, /resume, /stop, /status, /cost, /pr)
Discord Outbound push notifications via bot
Slack Outbound push notifications via webhook
Generic webhook POST to any HTTP endpoint (multiple payload formats, HMAC signing)

Observability

  • 52 event types — JSONL stream: stage transitions, bead assignments, governance violations, cost tracking
  • Webhooks — HMAC-SHA256 signed, exponential backoff, configurable retry
  • Control webhooks — receive pause/abort commands via webhook
  • Cost tracking — per-agent token usage, cache tier breakdown, budget warnings

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