Cicada

Multi-agent terminal orchestrator for Windows Terminal and GitHub Copilot CLI.

Launch a team of role-assigned Copilot agents in an adaptive pane layout with MCP-powered coordination, a shared task board, message passing, and a live monitor sidebar.

Four agents building a Netflix clone — task board, messaging, needs-rework cycle, and live monitor.

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Release baseline

This repository is the clean open-source baseline for Cicada:

• adaptive Windows Terminal layouts for 1-6 agents
• shared prompts and role-based agent startup
• optional MCP coordination via SQLite-backed team tools
• live sidebar monitor for team, board, and activity state
• exact session reopening via --resume / --continue
• separate --yolo and --autopilot launch modes

For the operator workflow and common launch patterns, see USAGE.md.

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Requirements

• Windows Terminal -- winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal
• GitHub Copilot CLI -- winget install GitHub.CopilotCLI
• PowerShell 7+ -- winget install Microsoft.PowerShell
• Python 3.10+ (optional, for MCP coordination)

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Installation

git clone https://github.com/lewiswigmore/cicada.git
cd cicada
pwsh -File .\Install-Cicada.ps1

Then add to your PowerShell profile so cicada is available in every session:

Import-Module Cicada

Verify with:

cicada --doctor

New to this? See INSTALL.md for a complete step-by-step guide starting from a fresh Windows machine — covers installing every prerequisite via the CLI, authentication, troubleshooting, and edge cases.

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Usage

Launch a team

cicada

Opens Windows Terminal with four agents (PM, Engineer, Reviewer, Tester) in a 2x2 grid plus a monitor sidebar on the right.

Custom team

cicada --team "engineer,reviewer"

Pick 1-6 roles from roles.json. Duplicate roles get an automatic suffix (engineer-1, engineer-2). The layout adapts to the team size.

Resume or continue a session

cicada --resume
# or
cicada --continue

Relaunches the last session with the same team, directory, prompt, mode flags, and saved Copilot session IDs for each pane when they were previously captured. Cicada also auto-detects dead sessions and offers to resume on next launch.

Launch modes

cicada --yolo
cicada --autopilot
cicada --icebreaker

• --yolo enables Copilot's full permission mode
• --autopilot enables Copilot autopilot continuation mode and also implies --yolo
• --icebreaker adds a random team warm-up prompt to start collaboration

Clean up

cicada --clear

Removes session state directories and resets the state file.

All options

cicada [options]

  --help, -h              Show help
  --doctor                Check dependencies
  --update                Update a git install or show safe reinstall guidance
  --resume, --continue    Relaunch last session in place
  --clear                 Delete session data
  --no-monitor            Launch without the sidebar monitor
  --no-mcp                Disable Cicada MCP and block other Copilot MCP servers
  --yolo                  Auto-approve all tools, paths, and URLs
  --autopilot             Enable Copilot autopilot mode (implies --yolo)
  --max-cycles <n>        Re-prompt idle agents up to n times (requires MCP; --autopilot defaults to unlimited)
  --icebreaker            Add a random team warm-up prompt at launch
  --prompt <text>         Shared context for all agents on launch
  --team <roles>          Custom team (comma-separated, 1-6 roles)
  -d, --directory <path>  Override working directory

By default, Cicada isolates Copilot MCP loading so each agent only gets the shared Cicada coordination server, not your other global Copilot MCP servers. The --no-mcp flag disables Cicada's MCP injection as well, leaving the session without MCP servers. The --yolo flag extends approvals to all tools, paths, and URLs. The --autopilot flag enables Copilot's autopilot continuation mode and also turns on --yolo. The --icebreaker flag adds a random kickoff prompt so teams align before implementation starts.

Trust model

• Git installs: cicada --update uses git pull --ff-only
• Module-copy installs: Cicada does not auto-download and execute remote update scripts
• Installer: Install-Cicada.ps1 installs only from local files you already downloaded or cloned

This keeps install and update behavior auditable and avoids mutable remote code execution in normal flows.

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Roles

Role	Title	Focus
pm	PM	Coordination -- planning, delegation, tracking
engineer	Engineer	Implementation -- building assigned work
reviewer	Reviewer	Review -- quality, correctness, completeness
tester	Tester	Testing -- validation, defect reporting
researcher	Researcher	Research -- investigation, analysis, insights

Roles are defined in roles.json. Edit prompts, colors, and titles there.

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MCP Coordination

When Python is available, each agent gets MCP tools backed by a shared SQLite database (~/.cicada/cicada.db, WAL mode for concurrent access):

• whoami -- identity, teammates, unread count
• list_team -- full team roster and status
• send_message / get_messages -- direct or broadcast messages
• list_tasks / create_task / claim_task / update_task -- shared task board with needs-rework cycle
• get_agent_activity -- recent task events and messages from a teammate

Without Python, agents launch in prompt-only mode with team context in the system prompt. MCP features are disabled but everything else works. Cicada also disables Copilot's built-in and globally configured MCP servers for these sessions unless you deliberately launch Copilot outside Cicada.

Session IDs captured during launch are also persisted into cicada.db, which lets teammate activity lookups and the monitor follow the same Copilot sessions after --resume / --continue.

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Layout

Adaptive grid based on team size, with a monitor sidebar on the right:

+----------+----------+--------+
|    PM    | Engineer |Monitor |
+----------+----------+        |
| Reviewer |  Tester  |        |
+----------+----------+--------+

Layouts for 1-6 agents are built-in. Zoom any pane with Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Staggered launch — each agent waits a role-appropriate interval before joining, with randomized loading visuals per pane.

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License

MIT