arbiter

Push decisions to Arbiter Zebu for async human review. Use when you need human input on plans, architectural choices, or approval before proceeding.

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Arbiter Skill

Push decisions to Arbiter Zebu for async human review. Use when you need human input on plans, architectural choices, or approval before proceeding.

Installation

Quick install via ClawHub:

clawhub install arbiter

Or via bun (makes CLI commands available globally):

bun add -g arbiter-skill

Or manual:

git clone https://github.com/5hanth/arbiter-skill.git
cd arbiter-skill && npm install && npm run build
ln -s $(pwd) ~/.clawdbot/skills/arbiter

Prerequisites

Arbiter Zebu bot running (or just bunx arbiter-zebu)
~/.arbiter/queue/ directory (created automatically by the bot)

Environment Variables

Set these in your agent's environment for automatic agent/session detection:

Variable	Description	Example
`CLAWDBOT_AGENT`	Agent ID	`ceo`, `swe1`
`CLAWDBOT_SESSION`	Session key	`agent:ceo:main`

When to Use

Plan review before implementation
Architectural decisions with tradeoffs
Anything blocking that needs human judgment
Multiple related decisions as a batch

Do NOT use for:

Simple yes/no that doesn't need explanation
Urgent real-time decisions (use direct message instead)
Technical questions you can research yourself

Tools

arbiter_push

Create a decision plan for human review.

CLI: arbiter-push '<json>' — takes a single JSON argument containing all fields.

arbiter-push '{
  "title": "API Design Decisions",
  "tag": "nft-marketplace",
  "context": "SWE2 needs these decided before API work",
  "priority": "normal",
  "notify": "agent:swe2:main",
  "decisions": [
    {
      "id": "auth-strategy",
      "title": "Auth Strategy", 
      "context": "How to authenticate admin users",
      "options": [
        {"key": "jwt", "label": "JWT tokens", "note": "Stateless"},
        {"key": "session", "label": "Sessions", "note": "More control"},
        {"key": "oauth", "label": "OAuth", "note": "External provider"}
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "database",
      "title": "Database Choice",
      "context": "Primary datastore",
      "options": [
        {"key": "postgresql", "label": "PostgreSQL + JSONB"},
        {"key": "mongodb", "label": "MongoDB"}
      ],
      "allowCustom": true
    }
  ]
}'

JSON Fields:

Field	Required	Description
`title`	Yes	Plan title
`tag`	No	Tag for filtering (e.g., project name)
`context`	No	Background for reviewer
`priority`	No	`low`, `normal`, `high`, `urgent` (default: normal)
`notify`	No	Session to notify when complete
`agent`	No	Agent ID (auto-detected from `CLAWDBOT_AGENT` env)
`session`	No	Session key (auto-detected from `CLAWDBOT_SESSION` env)
`decisions`	Yes	Array of decisions

Decision object:

Field	Required	Description
`id`	Yes	Unique ID within plan
`title`	Yes	Decision title
`context`	No	Explanation for reviewer
`options`	Yes	Array of `{key, label, note?}`
`allowCustom`	No	Allow free-text answer (default: false)
`default`	No	Suggested option key

Returns:

{
  "planId": "abc123",
  "file": "~/.arbiter/queue/pending/ceo-api-design-abc123.md",
  "total": 2,
  "status": "pending"
}

arbiter_status

Check the status of a decision plan.

CLI: arbiter-status <plan-id> or arbiter-status --tag <tag>

arbiter-status abc12345
# or
arbiter-status --tag nft-marketplace

Returns:

{
  "planId": "abc123",
  "title": "API Design Decisions",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "total": 3,
  "answered": 1,
  "remaining": 2,
  "decisions": {
    "auth-strategy": {"status": "answered", "answer": "jwt"},
    "database": {"status": "pending", "answer": null},
    "caching": {"status": "pending", "answer": null}
  }
}

arbiter_get

Get answers from a completed plan.

CLI: arbiter-get <plan-id> or arbiter-get --tag <tag>

arbiter-get abc12345
# or
arbiter-get --tag nft-marketplace

Returns:

{
  "planId": "abc123",
  "status": "completed",
  "completedAt": "2026-01-30T01:45:00Z",
  "answers": {
    "auth-strategy": "jwt",
    "database": "postgresql",
    "caching": "redis"
  }
}

Error if not complete:

{
  "error": "Plan not complete",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "remaining": 2
}

arbiter_await

Block until plan is complete (with timeout).

arbiter-await abc12345 --timeout 3600

Polls every 30 seconds until complete or timeout.

Returns: Same as arbiter_get on completion.

Usage Examples

Example 1: Plan Review

# Push plan decisions (single JSON argument)
RESULT=$(arbiter-push '{"title":"Clean IT i18n Plan","tag":"clean-it","priority":"high","notify":"agent:swe3:main","decisions":[{"id":"library","title":"i18n Library","options":[{"key":"i18next","label":"i18next"},{"key":"formatjs","label":"FormatJS"}]},{"id":"keys","title":"Key Structure","options":[{"key":"flat","label":"Flat (login.button)"},{"key":"nested","label":"Nested ({login:{button}})"}]}]}')

PLAN_ID=$(echo $RESULT | jq -r '.planId')
echo "Pushed plan $PLAN_ID — waiting for human review"

Example 2: Check and Proceed

# Check if decisions are ready
STATUS=$(arbiter-status --tag nft-marketplace)

if [ "$(echo $STATUS | jq -r '.status')" == "completed" ]; then
  ANSWERS=$(arbiter-get --tag nft-marketplace)
  AUTH=$(echo $ANSWERS | jq -r '.answers["auth-strategy"]')
  echo "Using auth strategy: $AUTH"
  # Proceed with implementation
else
  echo "Still waiting for $(echo $STATUS | jq -r '.remaining') decisions"
fi

Example 3: Blocking Wait

# Wait up to 1 hour for decisions
ANSWERS=$(arbiter-await abc12345 --timeout 3600)

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
  # Got answers, proceed
  echo "Decisions ready: $ANSWERS"
else
  echo "Timeout waiting for decisions"
fi

Best Practices

Batch related decisions — Don't push one at a time
Provide context — Human needs to understand tradeoffs
Use tags — Makes filtering easy (--tag project-name)
Set notify — So blocked agents get woken up
Use priority sparingly — Reserve urgent for true blockers

File Locations

Path	Purpose
`~/.arbiter/queue/pending/`	Plans awaiting review
`~/.arbiter/queue/completed/`	Answered plans (archive)
`~/.arbiter/queue/notify/`	Agent notifications

Checking Notifications (Agent Heartbeat)

In your HEARTBEAT.md, add:

## Check Arbiter Notifications

1. Check if `~/.arbiter/queue/notify/` has files for my session
2. If yes, read answers and proceed with blocked work
3. Delete notification file after processing

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Plan not showing in Arbiter	Check file is valid YAML frontmatter
Answers not appearing	Check `arbiter_status`, may be incomplete
Notification not received	Ensure `--notify` was set correctly

arbiter

Arbiter Skill

Installation

Prerequisites

Environment Variables

When to Use

Tools

arbiter_push

arbiter_status

arbiter_get

arbiter_await

Usage Examples

Example 1: Plan Review

Example 2: Check and Proceed

Example 3: Blocking Wait

Best Practices

File Locations

Checking Notifications (Agent Heartbeat)

Troubleshooting

See Also

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