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AsideContext (v3.2+)

::: warning Not User Asides AsideContext (this page) is an internal orchestrator subcontext. For user-declared parallel work tracks (worktree-like), see Parallel Work Tracks and User Asides. :::

AsideContext is a bounded sub-investigation layer in the MCP orchestrator. It lets multi-step orchestration spawn structured subcontexts that inherit session state, accumulate observations from governance/orchestration/complexity flows, and feed results back into the pipeline.

Restored and wired in v3.2.0 (was briefly removed as dead code in v3.0 cleanup). Plugin module split shipped alongside it in v3.1.1.

What it does​

orchestrate-task / analyze-complexity / govern-and-apply
 │
 ▼
 spawnAside(options) ──► ActiveAside (observations[], inheritedContext)
 │
 ├── addObservations (governance, orchestration, complexity extractors)
 ├── get-orchestration-status reports activeAsideCount
 └── closeAside / closeAllAsides on completion or cancel
ConceptDescription
AsideShort-lived subcontext with asideId, description, structured observations
AsideObservation{ key, value, source } — audit trail from subsystems
inheritedContextOptional record passed in (e.g. Repertoire memoryRouting from execution plan)
priorVerdictContextGovernance verdict hints (e.g. decision: approve)

Module location​

FileRole
src/mcps/orchestrator/aside-context.tsCore: spawnAside, closeAside, observation extractors
src/mcps/orchestrator/types.tsAsideContextOptions, AsideResult, AsideObservation
src/mcps/orchestrator/index.tsBarrel export
src/__tests__/unit/mcps/orchestrator/aside-context.test.tsUnit tests

MCP orchestrator wiring​

orchestrate-task​

Spawns aside with task count + execution mode; passes asideId to taskHandler:

const aside = await spawnAside({
 description: `Orchestration: ${description}`,
 sessionId,
 inheritedContext: { taskCount, executionMode },
});
// taskHandler receives { asideId: aside.asideId }

analyze-complexity​

Spawns aside per complexity analysis batch; observations extracted via extractComplexityObservations.

govern-and-apply​

Spawns aside around InferenceCycle.governExternalProposals(); extractGovernanceObservations records vote counts, corpus stats.

get-orchestration-status​

Reports activeAsideCount and activeAsideIds from live aside registry.

cancel-orchestration​

force or session-wide cancel calls closeAllAsides() or per-session closeAside.

Memory routing + Repertoire integration (v3.3+)​

When memory routing is enabled, ExecutionPlanner attaches Repertoire context to the execution plan:

plan.memoryContext = provider.buildInheritedContext(memoryTasks);

task-handler spawns an aside with that context:

await spawnAside({
 description: `Orchestrate: ${description}`,
 sessionId,
 inheritedContext: {
 memoryRouting: executionPlan.memoryContext,
 },
});

This links Repertoire matched signals / synthesis excerpt into the aside layer for layered exploration without a separate MCP round-trip.

Flow:

Repertoire.buildInheritedContext(tasks)
 → ExecutionPlan.memoryContext
 → AsideContext.inheritedContext.memoryRouting
 → observations + governance loop

Observation extractors​

FunctionSource data
extractGovernanceObservationsInferenceCycleResult — votes, corpus summary
extractOrchestrationObservationsOrchestrationResult — tasks completed/failed
extractComplexityObservationsComplexityAnalysis — per-agent scores

API summary​

// Spawn
const result = await spawnAside({
 description: string;
 sessionId?: string;
 parentAsideId?: string; // nested asides: parent.aside-N
 inheritedContext?: Record<string, unknown>; // Repertoire memoryRouting
 priorVerdictContext?: Record<string, unknown>;
});

// Lifecycle
closeAside(asideId);
closeAllAsides();
getActiveAsideCount();
getActiveAsideIds();
addObservations(asideId, observations);

Plugin module split (v3.1.1 / v3.2.0)​

AsideContext restoration shipped with the plugin codex-injection split into modules — orchestrator MCP handlers now import aside-context directly rather than monolithic plugin paths.

Testing​

npm test -- src/__tests__/unit/mcps/orchestrator/aside-context.test.ts

Covers: spawn/close lifecycle, nested aside IDs, priorVerdictContext → governanceDecision observation, governance/orchestration/complexity extractors.