OrchestKit · CC adoption · 2026-08-29 · operator page

Claude Code 2.1.243 to 2.1.251: what shipped, where OrchestKit cashes in

276 changelog lines across seven published releases, ten version numbers past what cc-watch marks as known, plus 80 Claude Code bookmarks from your X feed. Six places where the plugin can turn that into leverage, ranked, with three decisions at the bottom.

276changelog bullets since latest_known 2.1.241
10releases behind (2.1.241 → 2.1.251)
1 / 7snapshot missing: 2.1.251 (242, 244, 249 were never published)
20open cc-adoption issues (13 auto-filed 08-28)
2 / 150hook entries with an if: condition; 0 use prompt, agent or http types
80CC bookmarks of 278 (53 since mid-July)
1 · where we stand

cc-watch is running, but the tail is dark

Upstream published seven versions in the window (242, 244 and 249 never existed). Snapshots exist for 243, 245, 246, 247, 248 and 250 (245 and 250 are single "Bug fixes" lines). 2.1.251, the largest release of the run with 71 bullets and two new hook events, has no snapshot, no entry in cc-adoption-gaps.json, and no issues. The pipeline auto-filed 13 issues on 08-28 for 243 to 248 and stopped.

241known 242n/a 24360 244n/a 2451 24661 24733 24849 249n/a 2501 25171 issues filed for 243 to 248 on 08-28 ▶ 251 installed: no snapshot, no issues dot = snapshot exists (number = bullets) · n/a = version never published upstream · red ring = installed, unsnapshotted
What it means#3775 (lag) is real; 2.1.251 needs a manual snapshot and triage today.
If we do nothingThe new hook events ship to users before ork knows they exist.
2 · hooks

Hooks got two new events, conditions, and stricter output rules

Ork registers 30 events and 150 handlers, every one of them type: command; two matchers carry an if: condition (hooks.json:190, :662). Claude Code now offers prompt/agent/http/mcp_tool handler types, asyncRewake, agent-frontmatter hooks:, and treats a malformed JSON stdout as a hook error instead of plain text.

NEW EVENTS PreModelSwitch (block / confirm) PostModelSwitch (annotate) SessionStart on resume now carries staleness + re-cache cost 2.1.251 · docs page not yet updated ork handlers: 0 NEW CONFIG if: "Bash(cat *)" fires only on matching commands type: prompt | agent | http Claude evaluates, not a shell ork: if on 2 matchers, 0 non-command 106 are async, 0 once NOW AN ERROR stdout "{…}" that is not JSON was: plain text (2.1.248) invalid PreToolUse answer named in claude agents (#3770) megabyte hook output now capped 150 entries to audit
CC changeVersionOrchestKit move
PreModelSwitch can block or confirm a switchnew 2.1.251One hook enforces the standing rule "no Fable spend without consent": block a switch to a Fable/Mythos id unless an env or session flag says it was asked. Prerequisite: the three event allowlists (tests/hooks/test-hook-structure.sh:56, tests/schemas/test-plugin-schema.sh:93, spec/cc-output-keys.spec.yml) reject the name today.
Hooks README registry driftorksrc/hooks/README.md says CwdChanged and FileChanged are "not hooked" in seven places while hooks.json registers two handlers each. (A peer agent also flagged the WorktreeRemove forwarder as dead; the docs say it fires on subagent worktree removal, so with 25 isolation: worktree agents it is live. Kept.)
Hook if: matcher conditionsfixed 2.1.24323 PreToolUse Bash guards run on every Bash call and spend the 50 ms e2e budget; only two matchers use if: today. Move the command-shape test into if: so most calls never spawn node.
asyncRewake on async hooksdocs106 of 150 handlers are async and none can wake the session; a background verifier (the #3779 verdict class) could interrupt with its finding instead of waiting for the next turn.
Non-JSON {…} stdout is a hook errorbreaking 2.1.248Audit all 150 handlers for any path that prints a brace-leading string (debug output, partial JSON on exception). Issue #3770 exists; it needs the sweep, not a note.
SessionStart resume carries staleness + re-cache costnew 2.1.251The 20 SessionStart handlers reload context unconditionally; gate the heavy loaders on the staleness field.
type: prompt / agent handlersdocsCandidates: the destructive-command guard and the branch-name guard that today regex the command string (memory: git validator worktree false positive).
What it meansThree cheap wins and one audit; the Fable-consent hook is a day of work.
If we do nothingA handler that prints a stray brace turns into a visible hook error for every user.
3 · cost and cache

Prompt cache and pricing are now first-class settings

Four releases added cache and cost controls: promptCacheTtl and subagentPromptCacheTtl (243), per-agent experimental.cacheTtl (248), a /cost prompt-cache line with a matching status line object (251), a Loops breakdown in /usage (243), and modelPricing for contracted rates (243). Ork's 36 agents set none of these, and its cost estimates still use list price.

cache TTL you can set now main conversation1h via promptCacheTtl subagents (default)5m: every fan-out re-caches after a pause one agent, opted in1h via experimental.cacheTtl ork: 36 agents, 0 declare cacheTtl · long fan-outs: audit-full-mapreduce, skill-fitness, brainstorm, review-pr
What it meansCheapest win on the page: frontmatter on four agents plus one field read.
If we do nothingEvery subagent that idles past five minutes re-caches its whole prompt on the user's bill.
4 · orchestration

The orchestration primitives stopped moving

The Workflow tool now costs about 1k tokens of prompt instead of 5.7k, with the authoring guide in a bundled workflow-authoring skill (248). /loop dynamic mode and ScheduleWakeup are available everywhere and stable across resume. A subagent that hits maxTurns returns a partial result with a hint to continue via SendMessage (246). Cross-session messaging works on every provider (248), and a teammate's final answer now arrives in its idle notification (251).

ork fan-out skills already a workflow (3) audit-full-mapreduce skill-fitness heal-loop still hand-rolled Agent() fan-out (candidates) brainstorm (10+ ideas, 7-dim scoring) review-pr (5 reviewers) explore (3-5 angles) implement (backend/frontend/test/security) a script gets resume, per-agent cache, and the size guideline for free
What it meansTwo skill ports and one contract update; the substrate is finally stable enough to build on.
If we do nothingOrk keeps paying 5.7k-token-era orchestration costs in its own skill prose.
5 · hardening

Hardening that reaches into plugins

2.1.248 added --restricted (no command tools, file tools fenced to cwd, user and project settings ignored). 2.1.251 blocks symlink swaps in Read/Write/Edit, applies Read(...) deny rules through symlinked Grep/Glob paths, rejects plugin commands that point outside the plugin directory, and stops project settings from setting CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or TMPDIR. 2.1.246 warns on allow rules shaped Bash(git * main) because they also match options inserted before the subcommand.

ChangeVersionWhere ork is exposed
Wildcard-before-subcommand allow rules warned2.1.246Lint src/settings/*.settings.json permission rules for that shape before the warning shows up in users' startup output.
Sandbox cleanup deleted a dotfile-managed settings symlink2.1.247#3769 is filed; close it with a note, it was a CC bug, not an ork surface.
--restricted / CLAUDE_CODE_RESTRICTED=12.1.248Run the plugin smoke test under it in CI: every hook that shells out will fail loudly, which is the point (#3774).
Project settings env no longer sets TMPDIR / CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR2.1.251Grep ork settings and hooks for any reliance on those keys coming from project scope.
Plugin command paths outside plugin dir rejected2.1.251The build assembles plugins/ork from src/; verify no generated command resolves through a symlink out of the tree.
sandbox.enabled to retire the regex egress guardopen#3322, still the right fix; the 251 sandbox output-file change makes the regex guard even less load-bearing.
What it meansMostly verification work; one CI job and one settings lint cover it.
If we do nothingA user on 2.1.251 sees an ork rule warning or a rejected command before we do.
6 · the bookmarks

What your feed says the field is doing

80 of 278 bookmarks are about Claude Code or its neighbourhood; 53 were saved since mid-July. They cluster into five themes, and three of them map onto things ork already half-has.

Grok Bot as the competitor packaging16 named bots, routines, teach-by-demo, one shared trust zone self-improving skills and harnesses12 Warp write-up, skillopt, autoresearch, self-repairing harness release trackers and CC tips10 @ClaudeCodeLog, @ClaudeDevs, @dani_avila7, @trq212 context and harness engineering9 Claude 5 context rules (80% prompt cut), TrueForge, Google ADK skills marketplaces, MCP-first buying7 PM skills, HF skills, WebMCP, "no MCP is a dealbreaker" counts by keyword and folder; 26 more are adjacent (agents, evals, harness talks) and not shown
SignalOrk todayCapitalize
Warp: a second agent reviews feedback and opens a PR against the Skill; humans merge (Anthropic write-up, 08-28)skill-autoheal bot already regens and pushes to PR branchesFrame it as the same loop and write it up; ork has the pattern in production, the write-up has the audience.
@trq212 ELI5 skill, 33k bookmarks: "HTML artifact with big pictures and few words"User-level glyph front door has the novice page route; ork:glyph is chat-onlyPromote the two-dial router into ork:glyph v3 so /ork:glyph --eli5 exists for every user (decision below).
"New rules of context engineering for Claude 5" (80% of the CC system prompt removed)106 SKILL.md files written for the old prompt regime; skill-authoring rule caps at 500 linesRead the article, then run skill-fitness with a "does this skill over-instruct a Claude 5 model" rubric.
@ClaudeCodeLog posts every release with highlights within hourscc-watch parses the same CHANGELOG, files issues, lags 10 versionsFix the lag (beat 1), then the auto-filed issue bodies are already the content @ClaudeCodeLog sells.
Grok Bot: named bots with routines, approval before consequential actions, one shared trust zone/loop, routines via /schedule, ork agents with background: trueContent angle, not a build: ork already has the safer shape (per-worktree isolation, confirm-gated skills).
What it meansTwo of the five themes are things ork has and has not told anyone about.
If we do nothingThe Warp pattern and the ELI5 skill get credited to whoever writes them up first.
decide · 1 of 3

How do we burn the 20-issue cc-adoption backlog plus 2.1.251?

after you pick
decide · 2 of 3

Adopt if: conditions and prompt-type hooks now, or after the JSON audit?

after you pick
decide · 3 of 3

Does the two-dial glyph front door move into ork:glyph?

Today: ork:glyph is the chat ASCII engine (budget, vocabulary, tokens.json); the user-level glyph skill routes audience × surface and owns the novice explainer page. This page was produced by that route.

after you pick

    

Ranked next steps

  1. Snapshot 2.1.251, advance latest_known, add the two hook events to the three validators, file them (closes the #3775 lag).
  2. #3770 audit: grep 150 handlers for any brace-leading non-JSON stdout path; fix the class, not the instance.
  3. PreModelSwitch consent hook for Fable/Mythos ids (the standing rule finally has a mechanism).
  4. experimental.cacheTtl: "1h" on the four long-running agents; read prompt_cache into analytics.
  5. if: conditions on the 23 PreToolUse Bash guards; measure e2e in hook-timing.jsonl.
  6. Port brainstorm and review-pr fan-outs to workflow scripts.
  7. Decide the glyph merge; if yes, this page's route is the spec.