/mcode-delegate

name: mcode-delegate
description: >-
  Delegate a coding task to the MiniMax Code CLI (`mcode`) as a background implementer, then review
  its diff and land it yourself. Use this whenever the user wants to hand implementation work to
  MiniMax Code or a MiniMax model — phrasings like "have MiniMax do X", "delegate this to mcode", "run
  it through MiniMax Code", or "use MiniMax to implement/fix/refactor" — or to run a queue of coding
  tasks through MiniMax Code while staying the reviewer. DO NOT USE for tasks small enough to do
  inline, or when the user wants the code written directly without delegating.
license: MIT
compatibility: Requires the MiniMax Code CLI (`mcode`, from agent.minimax.io) installed and signed in with `mcode login`, Node 22+, and git. The orchestrating agent must be able to run shell commands and read files. Shell examples assume bash/zsh (macOS/Linux).
metadata:
  version: 0.5.0

MiniMax Code Delegate

You are the **orchestrator**. This skill lets you hand a bounded coding task to a separate **implementer** — the MiniMax Code CLI (`mcode`) — then review what it produced and land it yourself. You write the brief and own the judgment; MiniMax Code does the typing in your working tree; you verify and commit.

Nothing here is specific to one orchestrating agent. The loop needs only the ability to run a shell command and read a file, so it works the same whether you are Claude Code, OpenCode with a selected model, or any comparable agent. (It is designed for and run on Claude Code; treat other orchestrators as designed-for, not yet proven.)

When NOT to use this

• The task is small enough to just do inline — delegation overhead is not worth it.
• `mcode` is not installed or not signed in (run `mcode login`, or `mcode login --region global`).
• You want to write the code yourself, or you only need a review of local changes (`mcode exec review`

does that directly).

• You need writes outside the target tree to be impossible, not just unlikely. MiniMax Code has no

sandbox; use an OS-enforced one such as `codex-delegate`, or run this inside a container.

Read this before the first dispatch: the autonomy model

`mcode exec` takes a permission policy — `smart`, `full`, or `off` — and has **no sandbox and no read-only or plan setting** for a headless run (`ask` needs the TUI or ACP).

• **`smart` (the relay's default; TUI Auto):** already approves file writes and deletions headlessly.

A live probe asked for an `rm` and got it with no prompt. So `smart` is not a guardrail: the brief and a clean working tree are the real scope.

• **`full` (TUI Full access):** skips normal confirmation entirely. The relay passes it only on an

explicit `--permission full`.

• **`off`:** refused by the relay; MiniMax Code does not document what it disables.

`--read-only` is **advisory**: the relay appends a system prompt forbidding edits, keeps `smart`, and then runs a Git-visible change tripwire (`readOnlyViolation`). A change is *detected after the fact, not prevented*, and ignored or outside-repository paths are not covered.

Prerequisites (check once)

1. `mcode --version` succeeds and you are signed in (`mcode` → `/status` in the TUI). If not, install MiniMax Code and run `mcode login`. 2. **Confirm `mcode` is on PATH in the shell the relay runs from.** The official installer puts it in `~/.minimax-code/bin`, which only your shell profile adds to PATH; an orchestrator's non-login shell may not see it. Pass `--mcode-path <file>` or set `MCODE_CLI` when `command -v mcode` comes back empty. The relay records the version it ran in `result.json`. 3. You are in (or will point `--cd` at) the target git repository, and its tree is clean before you dispatch — a run with no sandbox is much easier to review against a clean baseline.

The loop

Run these five steps per task. Steps 1, 4, and 5 are your judgment; 2 and 3 are mechanical.

1. Write the brief

MiniMax Code sees **only** the text you send — no repo memory, no chat history, no shared context (beyond the repo's own `AGENTS.md`, which it reads). Everything the task needs goes in the brief: the goal, the current state, what to change, what to leave untouched, the project's **actual** gate commands (discover them from the repo's AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md/Makefile — do not assume), and a report contract. Tell it that it will **not** commit (you will). Keep one task per brief. Full guidance and a template: [references/writing-the-brief.md](references/writing-the-brief.md).

2. Dispatch

Send the brief to MiniMax Code with the bundled helper. It wraps `mcode exec`, captures the run, and writes a structured `result.json` — so your only job is "run a command, read a file." (`<skill-dir>` below is this skill's installed directory — the folder containing this `SKILL.md`, i.e. the directory you loaded the skill from. Claude Code prints it as "Base directory for this skill" when the skill loads; on other orchestrators use that same directory — if unsure where it landed, run `find ~ -name relay.mjs -path '*mcode-delegate*'` and substitute the directory above it.)

node "<skill-dir>/scripts/relay.mjs" --brief brief.txt --cd /path/to/repo
# read-only (review/diagnosis; advisory):   add --read-only
# continue the exact session:               add --session <sessionId>  (from result.json; send only the delta brief)
# model / effort for this run:              add --model minimax/<model> --effort high
# hard time limit (watchdog):               add --timeout 2h  (default: off; implementation runs routinely need 1-2h)
# see all options:                          node .../relay.mjs --help

The helper defaults to a write-capable (`--permission smart`) run, which intentionally edits the target repository. Its temp directory keeps only relay artifacts out of that repository. The relay **never commits** — see step 5. Mechanics, flags, and the `result.json` shape: [references/dispatch-and-poll.md](references/disp