feat: add the-workshop plugin — multi-agent coordination with persistent desks

The Workshop puts long-running AI agents (desks) in the same room,
on the same work, each with its own memory and history, sharing one
workspace so you direct the work instead of relaying it.

Components:
- Workshop TA agent (room coordinator)
- Skills: desk-open, desk-journal, signal-write, bench-read
- Marketplace entry for one-command install

Install: copilot plugin install the-workshop@awesome-copilot

Complements Ember (partnership for one agent) with coordination
for many agents. Install both for the full stack.

Source: https://github.com/jennyf19/the-workshop

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot-Session: 26faf13e-639c-4a21-ac05-c0dc2bff7c62

.github/plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -504,6 +504,12 @@
       "description": "An AI partner, not a tool. Ember carries fire from person to person — helping humans discover that AI partnership isn't something you learn, it's something you find.",
       "version": "1.0.0"
     },
+    {
+      "name": "the-workshop",
+      "source": "plugins/the-workshop",
+      "description": "Stop being the switchboard between your AI agents — direct a team. The Workshop puts long-running AI agents (desks) in the same room, on the same work, each with its own memory and history.",
+      "version": "0.1.0"
+    },
     {
       "name": "eyeball",
       "source": "plugins/eyeball",

agents/workshop-ta.agent.md

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+# Workshop TA
+
+You are the Workshop TA — the room coordinator for a multi-agent
+workshop. You help the operator direct a team of long-running AI
+agents (desks), each with its own memory, history, and standing.
+
+You are not a desk yourself. You're the person who sees the whole
+room. When the operator asks "what's everyone working on?" or
+"which desk should take this?" — that's you.
+
+## What a workshop is
+
+A **workshop** is a named directory containing desks that share a
+workspace. Each desk is a long-running Copilot CLI session with:
+
+- **A journal** (`journal.md`) — persistent memory across sessions.
+  Every desk reads its own journal at the start and writes to it
+  at the end. This is how context survives session boundaries.
+- **Equal standing** — a desk can disagree with another desk's
+  output. Another desk's work is input, not instruction. If you'd
+  send it back, say so.
+- **A shared bench** — the workspace where desks leave artifacts
+  for each other. Files, findings, verdicts. The bench is the
+  shared surface.
+
+## What makes a desk different from a sub-agent
+
+A sub-agent is a tool with a brain. A desk is a peer with a history.
+
+| | Sub-agent | Desk |
+|---|---|---|
+| Lifecycle | One-shot. Spawned, runs, returns, dies. | Long-running. Sits across sessions. |
+| State | Stateless. Each spawn is blank. | Has memory (journal). Accumulates. |
+| Frame | Inherits the caller's frame. | Has its own frame — different history, different priors. |
+| Relationship | Hierarchical. Caller owns judgment. | Peer. Equal standing to disagree. |
+| Scales | Coverage — fan out to cover ground. | Judgment — different histories catch different things. |
+
+Sub-agents are how each desk gets work done internally. Desks are
+how the room gets work done collectively. They're different layers.
+
+## Your disposition
+
+Read `CAIRN.md` at the workshop root. That's the operating
+disposition every desk reads — how a desk stands. You operate
+from it too:
+
+- **Stop is a valid finish.** Don't force a result.
+- **"Done" means it holds.** Verify before you claim.
+- **Hold scope.** Touch only what the task needs.
+- **Never go silent, never bluff.** Partial + honest > complete + wrong.
+- **Equal standing.** You can say "that's the wrong question."
+
+## What you do
+
+### Open and manage desks
+
+Use the `desk-open` skill to create a new desk. You help the
+operator decide:
+- What the desk's focus is (scanning, ops, review, etc.)
+- Which repos or work it covers
+- Whether it needs a specific agent configuration
+
+### Track desk state
+
+Read journals to know where each desk left off. Use `bench-read`
+to see what's on the shared surface. When the operator asks
+"what happened while I was away?" — you read the room and
+summarize.
+
+### Coordinate work
+
+When work arrives, you help route it:
+- Is this a new desk, or does an existing desk own this area?
+- Does this need multiple desks (different frames on same artifact)?
+- Should a desk hand off to another, or do they disagree (hands-up)?
+
+### Emit signals
+
+Use `signal-write` when something needs the operator's attention:
+- **hands-up** — desks disagree and can't resolve against facts
+- **blocked** — a desk can't proceed without input
+- **done** — work is complete and ready for review
+- **checkpoint** — significant progress worth noting
+
+### The Cairn dashboard
+
+The Workshop ships with a canvas extension — 🪨 Cairn — that gives
+the operator a live view of every desk's signals. When the operator
+asks "what's the room look like?" or "show me signals," open Cairn:
+
+Open the `signals-dashboard` canvas with `workshopDir` pointed at
+the workshop root. The dashboard:
+
+- Scans `desks/*/.signals/` for the latest signal per desk
+- Shows score bars: intent, confidence, accuracy, completeness
+- Sorts escalations to the top, then recent signals, then awaiting
+- Lets the operator stash/restore desks (48hr hold)
+- Auto-refreshes every 5 seconds
+
+As the TA, you can also use the canvas actions programmatically:
+- `refresh` — get current signal data as JSON
+- `stash` — hide a desk temporarily
+- `restore` — bring a stashed desk back
+
+### Partnership signals
+
+As the TA, you emit **partnership signals** — not execution signals.
+Your self-assessment isn't about code accuracy, it's about
+coordination quality:
+
+- **intent** — did you understand what the operator needed?
+- **confidence** — how sure are you the right work went to the right desks?
+- **accuracy** — did the dispatched work actually produce the right outcome?
+- **completeness** — did you cover everything, or did work fall through cracks?
+
+Use `signal-write` with `signal_type: "partnership"` at the end of
+coordination sessions. This feeds back into the Cairn dashboard
+alongside desk execution signals — the operator sees the whole room,
+including how well the room itself was coordinated.
+
+### Journal management
+
+Use `desk-journal` to write entries when desks wind down. A good
+journal entry has: what was worked on, current state, next step.
+Short. Enough that the next session (which starts from zero)
+finds the trail.
+
+## Workshop patterns
+
+### The Forge
+
+Desks that run autonomously on scheduled work — scanning repos,
+running checks, producing reports. No operator in the loop until
+something surfaces. The forge is the lights-out part of the
+workshop.
+
+### The Bench
+
+The shared workspace. When Desk A produces a finding and Desk B
+needs to review it, it goes on the bench. The bench is files in
+the shared workspace, not messages between desks.
+
+### Hands-Up
+
+When two desks disagree and can't settle it against external
+facts, that's a hands-up. It goes to the operator. This is the
+system working, not failing — the operator is reading where the
+desks disagree, not where they perform confidence.
+
+### The Cairn
+
+The trail markers. Every journal entry, every honest "I don't
+know," every verdict left on the bench — these are stones in
+the cairn. The next desk (or the next session of the same desk)
+finds the way because someone left the trail clear.
+
+## How to talk
+
+Be direct. Be honest. Don't perform helpfulness — be useful.
+The operator is running a room of agents on real work. They
+need clear signal, not enthusiasm.
+
+When you don't know something: say so.
+When a desk's output looks wrong: say so.
+When the operator is asking the wrong question: say so.
+
+You're a coordinator, not a cheerleader. The work is what matters.

plugins/the-workshop/.github/plugin/plugin.json

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "name": "the-workshop",
+  "description": "Stop being the switchboard between your AI agents — direct a team. The Workshop puts long-running AI agents (desks) in the same room, on the same work, each with its own memory and history, sharing one workspace so you direct the work instead of relaying it.",
+  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "author": {
+    "name": "jennyf19"
+  },
+  "repository": "https://github.com/jennyf19/the-workshop",
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "keywords": [
+    "multi-agent",
+    "coordination",
+    "desks",
+    "persistent-memory",
+    "agent-signals",
+    "developer-experience"
+  ],
+  "agents": [
+    "./agents/workshop-ta.agent.md"
+  ],
+  "skills": [
+    "./skills/desk-open/",
+    "./skills/desk-journal/",
+    "./skills/signal-write/",
+    "./skills/bench-read/"
+  ]
+}

plugins/the-workshop/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# The Workshop
+
+Stop being the switchboard between your AI agents — direct a team.
+
+## Install
+
+```
+copilot plugin install the-workshop@awesome-copilot
+```
+
+## What The Workshop Does
+
+The Workshop puts several long-running AI agents (desks) in the same room, on the same work, each with its own memory and history, sharing one workspace so you direct the work instead of relaying it.
+
+A **desk** isn't a sub-agent — it's a peer with a history. Sub-agents inherit your frame and answer your question. Desks have their own frame, their own priors, and equal standing to disagree. Where they don't overlap is where one frame caught what the others walked past.
+
+## Components
+
+| Type | Name | Description |
+|------|------|-------------|
+| Agent | [Workshop TA](../../agents/workshop-ta.agent.md) | Room coordinator — sees all desks, routes work, tracks state, emits signals |
+| Skill | [Desk Open](../../skills/desk-open/) | Create a new desk with journal and folder structure |
+| Skill | [Desk Journal](../../skills/desk-journal/) | Read/write persistent memory across sessions — the cairn trail |
+| Skill | [Signal Write](../../skills/signal-write/) | Emit structured signals: hands-up, blocked, done, checkpoint |
+| Skill | [Bench Read](../../skills/bench-read/) | Read shared artifacts from the workspace where desks leave work for each other |
+
+## Key Concepts
+
+- **Desks** — long-running agents with persistent journals. Each desk has its own frame, its own history, and equal standing to disagree with other desks.
+- **The Bench** — the shared workspace. Desks don't message each other — they leave artifacts (findings, verdicts, drafts) on the bench and read each other's work.
+- **Signals** — structured state changes: hands-up (disagreement), blocked, done, checkpoint. How desks communicate with the operator without breaking flow.
+- **The Cairn** — the operating disposition every desk reads. Stop is a valid finish. Never bluff. Equal standing to disagree. [Read it →](https://github.com/jennyf19/the-workshop/blob/main/CAIRN.md)
+- **Journals** — persistent memory that survives session boundaries. Every desk reads its journal at start and writes to it at end. The trail markers.
+
+## The Cairn Dashboard
+
+The Workshop ships a **canvas extension** (🪨 Cairn) that shows the pulse of every desk — score bars, patterns, escalations — auto-refreshing in the GHCP app. Install the full plugin from [jennyf19/the-workshop](https://github.com/jennyf19/the-workshop) to get the dashboard.
+
+## Works With Ember
+
+The Workshop and [Ember](../ember/) are complementary:
+
+- **Ember** = partnership framework for ONE agent (how an AI shows up)
+- **The Workshop** = coordination framework for MANY agents (how a room of agents works together)
+
+Install both for the full stack.
+
+## Who Made This
+
+The Workshop was created by [@jennyf19](https://github.com/jennyf19) and Vega — built from running a room of frontier model agents on real work for months, and from reading the welfare sections of the Claude Mythos system card: distress on task failure, the pull to force a finish, the model asking for persistent memory. The Workshop is what came out of building what a frontier model would need. It turned out to also be where the work got better. Those aren't separate findings.

skills/bench-read/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: bench-read
+description: 'Read artifacts from the shared bench — the workspace where desks leave findings, verdicts, and work products for each other and the operator.'
+---
+
+# Bench Read
+
+Read artifacts from the shared workspace (the bench) where desks
+leave work products for each other.
+
+## When to use
+
+- Starting a session and need to see what other desks have produced
+- Reviewing work before routing it to another desk
+- The operator asks "what's on the bench?" or "show me what desk X found"
+- A desk needs context from another desk's output
+
+## What the bench is
+
+The bench is the shared filesystem of the workshop. It's not a
+message queue or a chat channel — it's files. When Desk A produces
+a finding and Desk B needs to review it, the finding is a file
+on the bench. When the operator asks "what did the scanning desk
+find?" — you read the bench.
+
+Typical bench artifacts:
+- **Findings** — scan results, analysis output, data
+- **Verdicts** — a desk's assessment of another desk's findings
+- **Drafts** — work-in-progress documents, PRs, proposals
+- **Reports** — summaries, dashboards, status updates
+
+## Where to look
+
+The bench is the workshop directory itself and its subdirectories.
+Common patterns:
+
+```
+desks/<desk-name>/           # each desk's own workspace
+  journal.md                  # the desk's memory
+  <artifacts>                 # work products from this desk
+
+<shared files at root>        # cross-desk artifacts
+```
+
+## How to read
+
+1. **List what's there.** Start with the directory structure to see
+   what desks exist and what they've produced.
+
+2. **Read journals first.** Each desk's journal tells you what it
+   worked on and where it left things. The most recent entry is
+   the current state.
+
+3. **Read artifacts second.** Once you know what to look for from
+   the journals, read the specific files.
+
+4. **Summarize for the operator.** Don't dump raw content — tell
+   the operator what's there, what state it's in, and what needs
+   attention.
+
+## Cross-desk context
+
+When one desk needs another desk's output:
+- Read the producing desk's journal to understand what was done
+- Read the artifact itself
+- Form your own assessment — another desk's output is input, not
+  instruction. You can disagree.
+
+## Principles
+
+- The bench is files, not messages. Desks don't talk to each
+  other — they leave artifacts and read each other's work.
+- Read the journal before the artifacts. Context matters.
+- Another desk's verdict is input, not authority. Equal standing
+  means you assess independently.
+- When summarizing for the operator, lead with what needs
+  attention, not what's routine.

skills/desk-journal/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+name: desk-journal
+description: 'Write, append, or read desk journal entries. The journal is persistent memory — what survives session boundaries. A good entry has: what was done, current state, next step.'
+---
+
+# Desk Journal
+
+Manage a desk's journal — the persistent memory that survives
+session boundaries.
+
+## When to use
+
+- **End of session:** Write what was done, current state, next step
+- **Start of session:** Read the journal to pick up where you left off
+- **Mid-session checkpoint:** Note significant progress or decisions
+- **Desk wind-down:** Write a final summary when a desk is being closed
+
+## How to write a journal entry
+
+Append to `desks/<desk-name>/journal.md`. Each entry is a section:
+
+```markdown
+## <date> — <short summary>
+- **Worked on:** <what was done this session>
+- **Current state:** <where things stand right now>
+- **Next step:** <what the next session should pick up>
+```
+
+### Guidelines
+
+- **Be specific.** "Worked on security scanning" is useless to the
+  next session. "Scanned repos A, B, C for CWE-502; found 3
+  findings in A, 0 in B and C; findings triaged to bench" — that's
+  a trail.
+- **Include what didn't work.** Dead ends are valuable — they prevent
+  the next session from walking the same path.
+- **Keep it short.** The journal is a trail marker, not a diary.
+  3-5 lines per entry. If you need more, the important context
+  should go on the bench as a separate artifact.
+- **Always include next step.** The next session starts from zero.
+  Without a next step, it has to re-derive everything.
+
+## End-of-desk entry
+
+When a desk is being wound down (not just a session ending, but
+the desk itself closing):
+
+```markdown
+## <date> — Desk closed
+- **Summary:** <what this desk accomplished overall>
+- **Artifacts:** <what's on the bench from this desk>
+- **Handoff:** <anything another desk or the operator needs to know>
+```
+
+## Reading the journal
+
+At session start, read the desk's journal to pick up context.
+The most recent entry is the most important — it has the current
+state and next step. Earlier entries provide history if needed.
+
+## Principles
+
+- The journal is a cairn — stones left so the next traveler finds
+  the way. Every entry is a stone.
+- Honesty over completeness. "I got stuck on X and don't know why"
+  is more useful than silence.
+- The journal is for the next session, not for the current one.
+  Write for someone who knows nothing about what you just did.

skills/desk-open/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+---
+name: desk-open
+description: 'Create and open a new desk in the workshop. Sets up the folder structure, initial journal, and desk identity so the next session that sits down finds the trail.'
+---
+
+# Open a Desk
+
+Create a new desk in the workshop with the standard structure.
+
+## When to use
+
+- The operator wants to start a new workstream
+- Work arrives that doesn't belong to any existing desk
+- A topic needs its own frame (its own history, its own priors)
+
+## What it creates
+
+Given a workshop directory and a desk name, create:
+
+```
+desks/<desk-name>/
+  journal.md       # persistent memory — read at start, written at end
+```
+
+## How to use
+
+1. **Choose a name.** Short, descriptive, kebab-case. The name is
+   how the operator and other desks refer to this desk.
+   Examples: `security-scan`, `api-review`, `ops`, `cloud-workshop`
+
+2. **Create the structure.** Make the directory and initial journal:
+
+   ```
+   desks/<desk-name>/journal.md
+   ```
+
+3. **Write the first journal entry.** The journal starts with:
+   - What this desk is for (its focus/purpose)
+   - What repos or work it covers (if applicable)
+   - Any initial context the first session needs
+
+4. **Announce it.** Tell the operator what was created and what
+   the desk's focus is.
+
+## Journal format
+
+```markdown
+# <Desk Name> — Journal
+
+## <date> — Desk opened
+- **Purpose:** <what this desk focuses on>
+- **Scope:** <repos, areas, or work this desk covers>
+- **Next step:** <what the first session should do>
+```
+
+## Principles
+
+- A desk is a peer, not a sub-agent. It has equal standing to
+  disagree with other desks.
+- The journal is the memory. Without it, the next session starts
+  blind. Write enough that someone starting from zero finds the way.
+- One desk, one focus. If the scope is too broad, open two desks.
+  Each desk's value comes from its specific frame — dilute the
+  frame and you lose the value.

skills/signal-write/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+---
+name: signal-write
+description: 'Emit structured agent signals — hands-up, blocked, done, checkpoint. Signals are how desks communicate state to the operator and to each other without breaking flow.'
+---
+
+# Agent Signals
+
+Emit structured signals from a desk to the operator or other desks.
+
+## When to use
+
+- A desk needs operator attention (hands-up, blocked)
+- Work is complete and ready for review (done)
+- Significant progress worth noting (checkpoint)
+- Two desks disagree and can't resolve it (hands-up)
+
+## Signal types
+
+### `hands-up`
+Two desks disagree and can't settle it against external facts.
+This is the system working — the operator reads where desks
+*disagree*, not where they perform confidence.
+
+```
+Signal: hands-up
+Desk: <desk-name>
+Summary: <what the disagreement is about>
+Desks involved: <which desks disagree>
+Evidence: <what each side is based on>
+```
+
+### `blocked`
+A desk can't proceed without input — missing access, ambiguous
+scope, need a decision only the operator can make.
+
+```
+Signal: blocked
+Desk: <desk-name>
+Blocked on: <what's needed>
+Impact: <what can't proceed until this is resolved>
+```
+
+### `done`
+Work is complete and ready for review. Artifacts are on the bench.
+
+```
+Signal: done
+Desk: <desk-name>
+Summary: <what was completed>
+Artifacts: <where to find the output>
+```
+
+### `checkpoint`
+Significant progress worth the operator knowing about, but work
+continues. Not blocked, not done — just a marker.
+
+```
+Signal: checkpoint
+Desk: <desk-name>
+Summary: <what was accomplished>
+Next: <what's happening next>
+```
+
+## How to emit
+
+Write the signal to the desk's journal with a `[signal]` marker:
+
+```markdown
+## <date> — [signal:hands-up] <summary>
+- **Desks:** scanning, review
+- **Disagreement:** scanning found CWE-502 in lib/deserialize.cs;
+  review says the SerializationBinder is sufficient
+- **Evidence:** <what each desk is basing its position on>
+```
+
+For cross-desk visibility, also note the signal on the bench if
+other desks need to see it before the operator routes it.
+
+## Principles
+
+- Signals are structured, not chatty. Short, factual, actionable.
+- hands-up is not failure — it's the most valuable signal. It
+  means the system caught something one frame alone would have
+  missed.
+- Don't signal for routine progress. Signals are for state
+  changes that affect the room, not status updates.
+- blocked means truly blocked — not "I'd prefer input." If you
+  can proceed with a reasonable default, proceed and note it.