feat: add the-workshop plugin — multi-agent coordination with persistent desks

[jennyf19]

What

Adds the-workshop — a multi-agent coordination framework where long-running AI agents (desks) work in the same room, on the same work, each with its own memory and history.

Install

copilot plugin install the-workshop@awesome-copilot

Why it belongs here

The Workshop complements Ember (already on awesome-copilot):

• Ember = partnership framework for ONE agent (how an AI shows up)
• The Workshop = coordination framework for MANY agents (how a room works together)

Install both for the full stack.

Components

Type	Name	Description
Agent	Workshop TA	Room coordinator — sees all desks, routes work, tracks state
Skill	desk-open	Create a new desk with journal and folder structure
Skill	desk-journal	Read/write persistent memory across sessions
Skill	signal-write	Emit structured signals: hands-up, blocked, done, checkpoint
Skill	bench-read	Read shared artifacts from the workspace

Key concepts

• Desks — long-running agents with persistent journals. Each has its own frame and equal standing to disagree with other desks.
• The Bench — shared workspace where desks leave artifacts for each other.
• Signals — structured state changes (hands-up, blocked, done, checkpoint).
• The Cairn — operating disposition: stop is a valid finish, never bluff, equal standing. Read it →

Source

jennyf19/the-workshop — includes a canvas extension (signals dashboard) for the GHCP app.

Files

• plugins/the-workshop/ — plugin entry (plugin.json + README)
• agents/workshop-ta.agent.md — TA coordinator agent
• skills/{desk-open,desk-journal,signal-write,bench-read}/ — skills
• .github/plugin/marketplace.json — marketplace entry added

[github-actions]

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[github-actions]

🔒 PR Risk Scan Results

Scanned 15 changed file(s).

Severity	Count
🔴 High	0
🟠 Medium	2
ℹ️ Info	0

Severity	Rule	File	Line	Match
🟠	package-exec-command	docs/README.skills.md	31	| [acreadiness-assess](../skills/acreadiness-assess/SKILL.md)<br />`gh skills install github/awesome-copilot acreadiness-assess` | Run the AgentRC readiness assessment on the curre
🟠	unpinned-version-indicator	extensions/signals-dashboard/package.json	7	"@​​github/copilot-sdk": "latest"

Skipped non-text or missing files

• extensions/signals-dashboard/assets/preview.png

This is an automated soft-gate report. Findings indicate review targets and do not block merge by themselves.

[github-actions]

🔍 Vally Lint Results

⚠️ Warnings or advisories found

Scope	Checked
Skills	5
Agents	1
Total	6

Severity	Count
❌ Errors	0
⚠️ Warnings	0
ℹ️ Advisories	1

Summary

Level	Finding
ℹ️	Vally currently lints SKILL.md content. Agent files were detected but skipped:

Full linter output

### Linting skills/bench-read
npm warn EBADENGINE Unsupported engine {
npm warn EBADENGINE   package: 'commander@15.0.0',
npm warn EBADENGINE   required: { node: '>=22.12.0' },
npm warn EBADENGINE   current: { node: 'v20.20.2', npm: '10.8.2' }
npm warn EBADENGINE }
npm warn deprecated prebuild-install@7.1.3: No longer maintained. Please contact the author of the relevant native addon; alternatives are available.
✅ bench-read (2/2 checks passed)
    ✓ [spec-compliance] All 1 skill(s) are spec-compliant.
        ✓ spec-compliance: All spec checks passed.
    ✓ [valid-refs] All file references across 1 skill(s) are valid.
        ✓ valid-refs: All file references resolve to existing files within the skill directory.

1 skill(s) linted, 1 passed

### Linting skills/desk-journal
✅ desk-journal (2/2 checks passed)
    ✓ [spec-compliance] All 1 skill(s) are spec-compliant.
        ✓ spec-compliance: All spec checks passed.
    ✓ [valid-refs] All file references across 1 skill(s) are valid.
        ✓ valid-refs: All file references resolve to existing files within the skill directory.

1 skill(s) linted, 1 passed

### Linting skills/desk-open
✅ desk-open (2/2 checks passed)
    ✓ [spec-compliance] All 1 skill(s) are spec-compliant.
        ✓ spec-compliance: All spec checks passed.
    ✓ [valid-refs] All file references across 1 skill(s) are valid.
        ✓ valid-refs: All file references resolve to existing files within the skill directory.

1 skill(s) linted, 1 passed

### Linting skills/signal-write
✅ signal-write (2/2 checks passed)
    ✓ [spec-compliance] All 1 skill(s) are spec-compliant.
        ✓ spec-compliance: All spec checks passed.
    ✓ [valid-refs] All file references across 1 skill(s) are valid.
        ✓ valid-refs: All file references resolve to existing files within the skill directory.

1 skill(s) linted, 1 passed

### Linting skills/workshop-create
✅ workshop-create (2/2 checks passed)
    ✓ [spec-compliance] All 1 skill(s) are spec-compliant.
        ✓ spec-compliance: All spec checks passed.
    ✓ [valid-refs] All file references across 1 skill(s) are valid.
        ✓ valid-refs: All file references resolve to existing files within the skill directory.

1 skill(s) linted, 1 passed

### Agent files detected (not linted by vally)
ℹ️ Vally currently lints SKILL.md content. Agent files were detected but skipped:
agents/workshop-ta.agent.md

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds The Workshop plugin for coordinating persistent multi-agent desks through shared journals, artifacts, and signals.

Changes:

• Adds the Workshop TA coordinator agent.
• Adds four desk-management and signaling skills.
• Adds plugin metadata, documentation, and marketplace registration.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
agents/workshop-ta.agent.md	Defines the coordinator agent.
skills/desk-open/SKILL.md	Creates persistent desks.
skills/desk-journal/SKILL.md	Manages desk journals.
skills/signal-write/SKILL.md	Defines structured signals.
skills/bench-read/SKILL.md	Reads shared artifacts.
plugins/the-workshop/README.md	Documents installation and concepts.
plugins/the-workshop/.github/plugin/plugin.json	Declares plugin components.
.github/plugin/marketplace.json	Registers the plugin.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 14 out of 15 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (2)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:45

• The same-origin check trusts the request's Host header. A DNS-rebinding request can send Host: attacker.example:<port> and Origin: http://attacker.example:<port>, pass this equality check, and invoke the state-changing stash/restore APIs. Compare against the canonical 127.0.0.1:<bound-port> origin and reject noncanonical Host headers; extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs:126-155 demonstrates both checks.

function isCrossSiteRequest(req) {
    const origin = req.headers.origin;
    if (origin) {
        if (origin === `http://${req.headers.host}`) return false;
        if (origin === "null") return true;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:652

• An async HTTP listener's rejected promise is not handled by Node. Here malformed percent encoding in any decodeURIComponent call, or a failed stash write, rejects the listener and can terminate the extension instead of returning an HTTP error. Invoke an async request handler from a non-async listener and attach a catch that sends a 400/500 response, as done in extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs:576-584.

async function startServer(instanceId, workshopDir) {
    const server = createServer(async (req, res) => {
        try {

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 14 out of 15 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (2)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:44

• The same-origin exception trusts the request's Host header, so a DNS-rebinding request with Host: attacker.example:<port> and the matching Origin is accepted as local and can invoke the stash/restore endpoints. The repository's canonical implementation explicitly compares against the captured loopback origin and rejects noncanonical hosts (extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs:126-155, tested at server.test.mjs:76-80). Capture this server's 127.0.0.1:<port> origin after binding and validate against that value instead of req.headers.host.

function isCrossSiteRequest(req) {
    const origin = req.headers.origin;
    if (origin) {
        if (origin === `http://${req.headers.host}`) return false;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:76

• These stash updates are unprotected read-modify-write operations. Two quick stash/restore requests can both read the same array and then overwrite each other, losing one user's state change; the delegated click handler can issue exactly such concurrent requests. Serialize mutations per workshop (or use an atomic locked update) so each operation reads the result of the previous one.

async function stashDesk(workshopDir, deskName) {
    const stash = await readStash(workshopDir);
    if (stash.some(e => e.name === deskName)) return stash;
    stash.push({ name: deskName, stashedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
    await writeStash(workshopDir, stash);

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 16 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (6)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:46

• The same-origin check derives trust from the attacker-controlled Host header. A DNS-rebinding request can send matching Host/Origin values, pass this gate, fetch dashboard data, and invoke /api/open to expose local paths. Capture the canonical 127.0.0.1:<bound-port> origin after listening, reject noncanonical hosts, and compare Origin only to that value (as in extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs:38-39,141-154).

    if (origin) {
        if (origin === `http://${req.headers.host}`) return false;
        if (origin === "null") return true;
        if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(origin)) return true;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:134

• Filesystem mtime is not a persistent event timestamp: cloning or checking out a Git-backed workshop resets mtimes. The dashboard can then select an old signal as latest and report it as newly emitted. Add a validated emitted_at field to the signal schema (or a standardized filename timestamp fallback) and use that for ordering/display.

                    const s = await stat(fp);
                    const raw = await readFile(fp, "utf-8");
                    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
                    allSignals.push({ parsed, mtimeMs: s.mtimeMs, path: fp });

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:160

• Time proximity does not establish correlation. If execution B is latest and an outcome for execution A arrives afterward within an hour, this pairs A's rating with B and computes a false honesty gap; it can also attach an outcome to an escalation. Require a matching run_id or another explicit correlation ID, and leave uncorrelated outcomes unpaired.

                if (!outcome) {
                    const recentOutcomes = allSignals
                        .filter(s => s.parsed.signal_type === "outcome" && s.mtimeMs >= latestTime && (s.mtimeMs - latestTime) < 3600000)
                        .sort((a, b) => a.mtimeMs - b.mtimeMs);
                    if (recentOutcomes.length > 0) outcome = recentOutcomes[0].parsed;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:132

• Every refresh stats, reads, and parses every historical signal for every desk. Since refresh() runs every five seconds and signals accumulate for long-running desks, I/O grows without bound. Maintain a latest/outcome index or cache parsed files and bound retained history so refresh cost does not scale with the full archive.

            for (const f of jsonFiles) {
                const fp = join(sigDir, f);
                try {
                    const s = await stat(fp);
                    const raw = await readFile(fp, "utf-8");

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:141

• If every JSON file is malformed or is an outcome without a primary signal, latest remains null and this removes the desk entirely. Empty or missing signal directories correctly render the desk as awaiting, so one bad agent-written file should not make it disappear. Emit the same no-signal record here, optionally with an invalid-signal status.

            if (!latest) continue;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:76

• This read-modify-write is not serialized. Two quick stash requests can both read the same array and the last write drops the other desk; the click handlers launch these requests concurrently. Serialize stash mutations per workshop and use an atomic temp-file rename for persistence.

async function stashDesk(workshopDir, deskName) {
    const stash = await readStash(workshopDir);
    if (stash.some(e => e.name === deskName)) return stash;
    stash.push({ name: deskName, stashedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
    await writeStash(workshopDir, stash);

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 16 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (4)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:653

• The loopback server trusts the request's Host header as its canonical origin. A DNS-rebound request can therefore send matching attacker-controlled Host/Origin values, read the default dashboard response (including local signal contents), and pass the POST CSRF check. Reject any host other than the actual 127.0.0.1:<listening-port> before routing, as extensions/connector-namespaces/server.mjs:138-155 does.

        const url = new URL(req.url, `http://${req.headers.host}`);

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:134

• A valid JSON file can still parse to null or an array. null is added to allSignals before parsed.signal_type throws; if another valid latest signal exists, the later outcome filters dereference that retained null, the outer catch drops the entire desk, and its card disappears. Skip non-object signal documents before retaining them.

                    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
                    allSignals.push({ parsed, mtimeMs: s.mtimeMs, path: fp });

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:296

• withOutcomes can be positive while gaps is empty—for example, an outcome paired with a signal that has no confidence score. In that case the summary renders a green gap null badge because null <= 1. Base the badge count and average on outcomes that actually produced an honesty gap.

    const withOutcomes = activeSignals.filter(s => s.outcomeRating !== null).length;
    const avgGap = (() => {
        const gaps = activeSignals.filter(s => s.honestyGap !== null).map(s => s.honestyGap);
        return gaps.length ? (gaps.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / gaps.length).toFixed(1) : null;
    })();

plugins/the-workshop/README.md:44

• This install guidance contradicts the manifest and the TA documentation: x-awesome-copilot.extensions causes materialization to copy signals-dashboard into the-workshop, so installing the plugin already includes it (eng/materialize-plugins.mjs:214-233). Requiring a second install misleads users; present the standalone command as optional instead.

It ships as a separate extension. Install it alongside the plugin to get the live canvas:

copilot plugin install signals-dashboard@awesome-copilot

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 16 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (6)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:136

• Filesystem mtime is used as the emission time for latest-signal selection, outcome matching, and displayed age. Git does not preserve mtimes, so cloning or checking out a repository-backed workshop can reorder historical signals and pair an outcome with the wrong execution. Persist a stable emission timestamp in the signal schema (or define a sortable filename format) and use that, with mtime only as a legacy fallback.

                    if ((parsed.signal_type || "execution") !== "outcome" && s.mtimeMs > latestTime) {

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:134

• A valid JSON primitive such as null is pushed into allSignals before property access fails. Later outcome filters dereference every parsed value, so that one malformed file triggers the outer catch and removes an otherwise valid desk from the dashboard. Reject non-object records before storing them.

                    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
                    allSignals.push({ parsed, mtimeMs: s.mtimeMs, path: fp });

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:308

• When outcomes exist but none has a computable honesty gap, avgGap is null; JavaScript then treats it as zero in the color comparison and the summary displays a green gap null. Render this badge only when a gap was actually calculated.

    const calibrationBadge = withOutcomes > 0
        ? `<span style="font-size:11px;color:${avgGap <= 1 ? '#22c55e' : avgGap <= 2 ? '#eab308' : '#ef4444'};" title="${withOutcomes} outcome signal${withOutcomes > 1 ? 's' : ''}, avg gap: ${avgGap}">🔍 gap ${avgGap}</span>`
        : "";

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:570

• This transient toast is the only confirmation that copying the desk path succeeded or failed, but dynamically inserted content without a live-region role is not announced by screen readers. Mark it as a polite status message.

        function showToast(title, detail) {
            const toast = document.createElement('div');

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:792

• This action claims to open a new session, but its handler only validates the directory and returns a path; it never creates or navigates to a session. That can make callers assume the desk is active when no session was opened. Either perform the supported session action or describe this as path resolution.

                    description: "Open a desk as a new session in the GHCP app. Returns the desk path so the agent can create_session or navigate to it.",

plugins/the-workshop/README.md:40

• The plugin manifest bundles signals-dashboard via x-awesome-copilot.extensions, so the main install already includes it. Telling users to install it alongside the plugin can register a duplicate copy; document the standalone command as an alternative instead.

It ships as a separate extension. Install it alongside the plugin to get the live canvas:

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 16 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (4)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:88

• readStash is called by unlocked GET/refresh paths, but expiration cleanup writes the stash file here. That bypasses withStashLock, so a cleanup racing with stashDesk/restoreDesk can overwrite the newer mutation; a cleanup write failure also makes the catch return an empty stash. Keep reads side-effect free and let locked mutations persist their filtered result.

        const now = Date.now();
        const live = stash.filter(e => (now - new Date(e.stashedAt).getTime()) < STASH_TTL_MS);
        if (live.length !== stash.length) await writeStash(workshopDir, live);
        return live;

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:164

• A valid JSON value such as null is appended to allSignals before parsed.signal_type throws. If the directory also contains a valid latest signal, the later outcome filters dereference that retained null, and the outer catch drops the desk from the dashboard entirely. Reject non-object JSON before adding it to allSignals.

                    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
                    const emittedMs = signalTime(parsed, s.mtimeMs);
                    allSignals.push({ parsed, mtimeMs: emittedMs, path: fp });

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:203

• The recent-outcome fallback also runs when the latest signal has a run_id but no matching outcome, so it can attach another run's nearby outcome and report a false honesty gap. The skill contract says temporal fallback applies only when run_id is absent; gate this branch accordingly.

                // Also check for any recent outcome (within 1hr of latest signal) if no run_id match
                if (!outcome) {
                    const recentOutcomes = allSignals
                        .filter(s => s.parsed.signal_type === "outcome" && s.mtimeMs >= latestTime && (s.mtimeMs - latestTime) < 3600000)
                        .sort((a, b) => a.mtimeMs - b.mtimeMs);
                    if (recentOutcomes.length > 0) outcome = recentOutcomes[0].parsed;
                }

plugins/the-workshop/README.md:43

• This contradicts both the plugin manifest and the TA instructions: x-awesome-copilot.extensions causes materialization to bundle signals-dashboard with the-workshop (eng/materialize-plugins.mjs:214-233). Requiring a second install unnecessarily installs the same extension again; describe the standalone command as optional instead.

It ships as a separate extension. Install it alongside the plugin to get the live canvas:

copilot plugin install signals-dashboard@awesome-copilot

</details>

[Copilot]

Review details

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (8)

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:700

• The loopback server trusts the request Host when constructing both the URL and the allowed Origin. A DNS-rebinding origin can therefore make Origin equal the attacker-controlled Host, bypass the cross-site check, and read dashboard signal data or call the API. Validate every request against the actual 127.0.0.1:<localPort> host (or require an unguessable per-instance token) before serving any route.

        const url = new URL(req.url, `http://${req.headers.host}`);

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:164

• JSON.parse can successfully return null, an array, or a primitive. Such a file is then added to allSignals; a later s.parsed.signal_type access can throw and the outer empty catch drops the entire desk from the dashboard. Reject non-object signal documents before adding them.

                    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
                    const emittedMs = signalTime(parsed, s.mtimeMs);
                    allSignals.push({ parsed, mtimeMs: emittedMs, path: fp });

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:210

• A score of 0 is valid according to signal-write, but the > 0 condition treats either zero score as missing and suppresses the honesty gap. Check whether both raw values are present and numeric, then compute from their clamped scores.

                if (outcome && sig.self_assessment) {
                    const selfConf = toScore(sig.self_assessment.confidence);
                    const outcomeRating = toScore(outcome.quality_rating);
                    if (selfConf > 0 && outcomeRating > 0) {

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:237

• The || null conversion turns the documented, valid quality_rating: 0 into “no outcome,” so the dashboard hides a zero-quality result entirely. Preserve zero while still rejecting missing or nonnumeric ratings.

                    outcomeRating: outcome ? (toScore(outcome.quality_rating) || null) : null,

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:161

• Every dashboard refresh stats, reads, and parses every historical signal file sequentially. Because signal-write creates a new file per signal and the UI repeats this scan every five seconds, I/O and refresh latency grow without bound for the long-running desks this feature targets. Keep a per-desk cache/index (invalidated by directory changes), persist a latest-signal summary, or introduce retention so refresh work is proportional to desks/new signals rather than all history.

            for (const f of jsonFiles) {
                const fp = join(sigDir, f);
                try {
                    const s = await stat(fp);
                    const raw = await readFile(fp, "utf-8");

plugins/the-workshop/README.md:40

• This says users must install the dashboard alongside the plugin, but this plugin's manifest includes ./extensions/signals-dashboard/ in x-awesome-copilot.extensions, and the TA documentation says it ships bundled. Clarify that the standalone install is optional; otherwise users are instructed to install the same extension twice.

It ships as a separate extension. Install it alongside the plugin to get the live canvas:

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:87

• readStash is also called outside withStashLock for every dashboard render and refresh action, yet it writes expired-entry cleanup here. That write can race a locked stash/restore and overwrite its newer array, silently losing a user's mutation. Keep reads side-effect free; the next locked stash/restore already writes the filtered array and can persist cleanup safely.

        const now = Date.now();
        const live = stash.filter(e => (now - new Date(e.stashedAt).getTime()) < STASH_TTL_MS);
        if (live.length !== stash.length) await writeStash(workshopDir, live);

extensions/signals-dashboard/extension.mjs:409

• An escalation that supplies blocked_on (or only a recommendation) but leaves reason null is valid under the documented signal shape, yet this guard hides the entire escalation detail block. Render the block when any escalation detail is present so blocked desks do not lose the actionable information.

    if (isEscalation && sig.escalationReason) {

• Files reviewed: 15/16 changed files
• Comments generated: 1
• Review effort level: Medium