How to Add a Custom Council Member to the Council of High Intelligence

To add a custom council member with a new persona, create a Markdown file in agents/ following the front-matter schema used by existing members, ensure the filename matches the council-*.md glob pattern, and optionally register the member in the public tables of README.md and SKILL.md for discovery and triad selection.

The Council of High Intelligence orchestrates multi-agent deliberation using persona definitions stored as Markdown files. Each agent definition file contains structured metadata and behavioral instructions that the coordinator uses for panel selection, provider routing, and polarity-pair composition. Adding a custom council member requires no code changes—only file creation and optional documentation updates.

Creating the Agent Definition File

The system discovers members by scanning agents/ for files matching the pattern council-*.md. Each file must contain YAML front-matter and standardized Markdown sections that define the persona's analytical lens.

Copying the Template Structure

Start by duplicating an existing member file to ensure you inherit the correct structure. The file agents/council-ada.md serves as the canonical reference implementation.

cp agents/council-ada.md agents/council-zen.md

Rename the file to use your desired slug (e.g., council-zen.md). The coordinator parses these files at runtime, so the filename itself becomes part of the member's identity in the system.

Configuring Front-Matter Fields

Edit the YAML front-matter at the top of your new file. These fields drive the auto-router and panel selection logic:

• name: The unique identifier (e.g., council-zen)
• description: A short summary for CLI help text and discovery tables
• model: The default LLM tier (e.g., sonnet, opus, gpt-4o) used when provider auto-routing is active
• color: ANSI color code for terminal output (e.g., teal, magenta)
• tools: Array of available tool capabilities (e.g., ["Read", "Grep", "WebSearch"])
• council:
  • figure: The historical or archetypal persona name (e.g., "Zen Master")
  • domain: The expertise area (e.g., "Mindful presence & paradox")
  • polarity: A concise question representing the member's default analytical stance
  • polarity_pairs: List of member slugs to engage in forced tension debates (e.g., ["karpathy", "machiavelli"])
  • triads: Category keywords for automatic triad composition (e.g., ["strategy", "design"])
  • provider_affinity: Prioritized list of preferred providers (anthropic, openai, google, ollama, nvidia_nim, cursor_cli)

Missing front-matter fields will cause the coordinator to error during panel selection, so verify completeness against agents/council-ada.md.

Writing the Persona Sections

Below the front-matter, maintain the exact heading structure so the coordinator can splice content automatically:

## Identity

Define the persona's worldview and voice.

## Grounding Protocol

List behavioral constraints (e.g., brevity rules, jargon restrictions).

## Analytical Method

Numbered steps describing the reasoning process.

## What You See That Others Miss

Unique observational strengths.

## What You Tend to Miss

Acknowledged blind spots.

## When Deliberating in Council

Instructions for multi-agent debate format.

## Output Format (Council Round 2)

Template for structured disagreement and position updates.

## Output Format (Standalone)

Template for single-agent execution mode.

Registering the Member for Discovery

While the coordinator automatically picks up any council-*.md file, adding the member to public tables ensures users can discover it via --members flags and auto-triad selection.

Automatic Discovery via File Globbing

Once you commit the file to the repository, the coordinator will include it in the next execution cycle without restart. The discovery logic glob-matches agents/council-*.md and parses each file's front-matter to build the available member list.

Updating Public Documentation Tables

Add your member to the catalog table in README.md (around lines 81-102) to make it discoverable:

| Agent            | Figure      | Domain                | Default Model | Polarity |
|------------------|------------|----------------------|---------------|----------|
| `council-zen`    | Zen Master | Mindful presence & paradox | opus | What is the shape of a problem? |

If your member should participate in default triads, append a row to the "Pre-defined Triads" table in SKILL.md (around lines 83-106):

| Domain Keyword | Triad                     | Rationale |
|---------------|---------------------------|-----------|
| `design`      | Rams + Torvalds + Zen     | User clarity + pragmatic ship + mindful paradox |

Integrating with Triads and Polarity Pairs

To leverage the council's forced tension logic, configure polarity pairs and triads in your member's front-matter.

Polarity pairs create dialectical opposition. In your new file's front-matter, list the slugs of members that create productive disagreement:

polarity_pairs:
  - karpathy
  - machiavelli

Triads enable three-member panel composition. Add domain keywords that match the triad definitions in SKILL.md:

triads:
  - strategy
  - design

The coordinator reads these relationships at runtime to construct panels with intentional cognitive diversity.

Verification and Testing

After creating the file, validate the integration using the simulation checklist:

./scripts/council-simulation-checklist.sh

This script verifies that:

• All front-matter fields parse correctly
• The member loads without schema errors
• Polarity references resolve to existing members
• Output templates render correctly in both standalone and council modes

Run this check before committing to ensure no regression in the deliberation pipeline.

Summary

• Create a new file in agents/council-<slug>.md using agents/council-ada.md as the template
• Configure all required front-matter fields including council: metadata for routing and polarity
• Write standardized sections (Identity, Grounding Protocol, Analytical Method, etc.) to control persona behavior
• Register optionally in README.md and SKILL.md tables for public discovery and triad assignment
• Test using scripts/council-simulation-checklist.sh to verify parser compatibility

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I forget to add a required front-matter field?

The coordinator will throw a parsing error during panel selection and abort the deliberation. Always verify your YAML against the schema in agents/council-ada.md before running the simulation checklist.

Can I use any filename pattern for the agent file?

No. The coordinator specifically glob-matches agents/council-*.md. Files named member-zen.md or zen.md will be ignored by the discovery logic. Use the council-<slug>.md format.

How do I specify which LLM provider the new member should use?

Set the provider_affinity list in the front-matter. Order matters—the auto-router attempts providers in the sequence you specify (e.g., ["anthropic", "openai", "google"]). The first available provider for the requested model tier will be selected.

Do I need to modify install.sh when adding a new member?

No. The installation script copies the entire agents/ directory recursively, so any new council-*.md files are automatically included in fresh installations without edits to the installer.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}