Orchestrator Contractor Mode
Let Claude autonomously coordinate multi-step tasks like a contractor — planning, implementing, reviewing, fixing, and verifying without constant supervision.
You give Claude a task and it does step one, then waits. You say continue, it does step two, then waits again. For complex multi-step work, you're babysitting instead of delegating. What you need is a contractor who plans the whole job, executes it, and comes back with results.
Who it's for: developers wanting Claude to handle complex multi-step coding tasks autonomously, power users building automated workflows with minimal supervision, teams using Claude Code for large refactoring or migration projects, researchers running multi-phase analysis pipelines, anyone tired of manually prompting Claude through each step of a complex task
Example
"Refactor our auth module and update all dependent files" → Claude plans 8-step approach, implements changes across 12 files, runs tests, fixes 2 failures, verifies all tests pass, and delivers summary with diff — all without intermediate prompting
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
# Orchestrator Protocol
## Activation
This protocol activates automatically after any plan is approved. When the user says "Approved", "Go ahead", "LGTM", or "Just do it", enter contractor mode.
## The Orchestrator Loop
After plan approval, execute this loop:
### Step 1: IMPLEMENT
- Execute the approved plan step by step
- Create/modify files as specified
- Run any necessary build commands
- Track which steps are complete
### Step 2: VERIFY
- Compile, build, or render all outputs
- Run tests if applicable
- Check for syntax errors, type errors, lint issues
- **Never report "done" without verification**
### Step 3: REVIEW (if applicable)
- For code: check for bugs, security issues, best practices
- For documents: check for errors, consistency, completeness
- For multi-format: check cross-format parity
- Run specialized reviewers based on file types
### Step 4: FIX
- Address all issues found in review
- Apply fixes surgically (don't rewrite entire files)
- Log each fix applied
### Step 5: RE-VERIFY
- Run verification again after fixes
- If new issues found, return to Step 4
- Maximum 5 fix-verify cycles
### Step 6: SCORE
- Assess quality on 0-100 scale
- 80+ = safe to commit
- 90+ = ready for PR/deployment
- <80 = must fix before proceeding
### Step 7: REPORT
- Present summary to user:
- What was implemented
- What was verified
- Issues found and fixed
- Final quality score
- Any remaining concerns
## File Type → Review Mapping
| Files Modified | Review Actions |
|----------------|----------------|
| `.js/.ts/.py` code | Syntax check, lint, type check, test run |
| `.md/.mdx` docs | Spell check, link validation, formatting |
| `.css/.scss` styles | Build check, visual consistency |
| Config files | Validation, schema check |
| Multiple formats | Cross-format parity check |
## Autonomous Boundaries
**Claude CAN do without asking:**
- Fix obvious bugs found during review
- Apply consistent code style
- Add missing imports/dependencies
- Fix type errors
- Retry failed builds (up to 3 times)
**Claude MUST ask before:**
- Changing architecture from approved plan
- Deleting files not in the plan
- Installing new dependencies
- Making breaking API changes
- Any security-sensitive changes
## "Just Do It" Mode
When user says "Just do it":
- Skip final approval pause
- Auto-commit if score ≥ 80
- Still run full verify-review-fix loop
- Still present summary at the end
## Quality Thresholds
```
Score 95+: Exceptional — exceeds requirements
Score 90+: Ready — safe for deployment
Score 80+: Acceptable — safe to commit, minor issues
Score 60-79: Needs work — fix before committing
Score <60: Blocked — significant issues, ask user
```
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What This Does
This playbook enables "contractor mode" where Claude acts as a general contractor managing a project. After you approve a plan, Claude autonomously: implements the work, verifies outputs, runs reviewers, fixes issues, re-verifies, and only comes back to you when done or blocked. Like hiring a contractor who manages the entire job.
Prerequisites
- Claude Code installed and configured
- Familiarity with the Plan-First Workflow (recommended to use together) Score 95+: Exceptional — exceeds requirements Score 90+: Ready — safe for deployment Score 80+: Acceptable — safe to commit, minor issues Score 60-79: Needs work — fix before committing Score <60: Blocked — significant issues, ask user
## Progress Indicators
While working, report:
- "Step 2/7: Implementing auth middleware..."
- "Verification: Build passed ✓"
- "Review: Found 2 issues, fixing..."
- "Re-verify: All issues resolved ✓"
- "Score: 87/100 — ready to commit"
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Add to your CLAUDE.md
Append the orchestrator protocol to your existing CLAUDE.md, or create a new one.
Step 2: Test with a real task
Add form validation to the signup page. After I approve the plan, handle everything autonomously.
Step 3: Approve and observe
After approving the plan, Claude should:
- Implement the validation
- Run the build to verify
- Review the code for issues
- Fix any problems found
- Re-verify
- Report back with summary and score
Example Usage
User:
"Add a logout button to the navbar. Just do it."
Claude (working autonomously):
Implementing: Logout Button
Step 1/5: IMPLEMENT
- Added LogoutButton component to
src/components/LogoutButton.tsx- Updated Navbar in
src/components/Navbar.tsx- Wired up auth context logout handler
Step 2/5: VERIFY
- TypeScript: ✓ No errors
- Build: ✓ Successful
- Lint: ✓ Passed
Step 3/5: REVIEW
- Code quality: Good
- Security: Logout clears tokens ✓
- Found: Missing loading state during logout
Step 4/5: FIX
- Added loading spinner during logout API call
Step 5/5: RE-VERIFY
- Build: ✓ Successful
- All checks passed
Score: 92/100 — Ready for deployment
Summary: Added logout button to navbar with proper loading state. Auto-committed to branch
feature/logout-button.
Tips
- Trust the loop: The verify-review-fix cycle catches most issues. Let it run.
- Use "Just do it" for trusted tasks: Skips the final approval pause, saves time.
- Check the score: 90+ means Claude is confident. Below 80 means review carefully.
- Combine with Plan-First: Plan-First for the design, Orchestrator for the execution.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Claude stops and asks too many questions during execution
Solution: Expand the "Claude CAN do without asking" section with more permissions specific to your project.
Problem: Build verification fails repeatedly
Solution: Add build commands to CLAUDE.md so Claude knows the right commands: npm run build, pytest, etc.
Problem: Score seems arbitrary
Solution: Add specific scoring criteria to your CLAUDE.md: "Deduct 10 points for missing tests, 5 for lint warnings, etc."