Overdeck Help

Overview

Overdeck is a multi-agent orchestration framework for AI coding assistants. This skill provides a comprehensive overview of all available commands and capabilities.

When to Use

• User asks about Overdeck capabilities
• User is confused about which command to use
• First-time users exploring the system
• User needs to discover available skills

Core Concepts

Workspace: Isolated development environment for an issue (code + Docker containers + tmux session)
Agent: AI assistant running autonomously in a tmux session to work on an issue
Skill: Reusable guidance templates that AI assistants can invoke
Tracker: Issue tracking system (Linear, GitHub, GitLab)

Available Commands

Getting Started

Command	Description	Example
pan init	Initialize Overdeck configuration (~/.overdeck/)	pan init
pan install	Install prerequisites (Node.js, Docker, etc.)	pan install
pan up	Start dashboard and services	pan up
pan down	Stop dashboard and services	pan down
pan status	Show running agents (shorthand for pan status)	pan status
pan doctor	Check system health and dependencies	pan doctor

Work Management

Command	Description	Example
pan start <id>	Create workspace and spawn agent for issue	pan start PAN-3
pan plan <id>	Create execution plan before spawning agent	pan plan PAN-5
pan status	Show all running agents	pan status
pan tell <id> <msg>	Send message to running agent	pan tell PAN-3 "Check tests"
pan kill <id>	Stop a running agent	pan kill PAN-3
gh pr list --search "review-requested:@me"	Show completed work awaiting review	gh pr list --search "review-requested:@me"
Dashboard MERGE	Merge reviewed work via dashboard button	Click MERGE when approved and checks are green
pan issues	List issues from configured trackers	pan issues
pan recover <id>	Recover crashed agent	pan recover PAN-3
pan health check	Check agent health	pan health check

Workspace Management

Command	Description	Example
pan workspace create <id>	Create workspace for issue (without spawning agent)	pan workspace create PAN-3
pan workspace list	List all workspaces	pan workspace list
pan workspace destroy <id>	Destroy workspace and containers	pan workspace destroy PAN-3
pan workspace rebuild <id>	Reset one workspace Docker stack from the template	pan workspace rebuild PAN-3
pan workspace reap	Dry-run cleanup candidates for stuck Docker stacks	pan workspace reap --days 7

Configuration

Command	Description	Example
pan project add <path>	Add project to Overdeck	pan project add /home/user/myapp
pan project list	List managed projects	pan project list
pan project remove <name>	Remove project	pan project remove myapp

Skills Management

Command	Description	Example
pan skills	List available skills	pan skills
pan sync	Sync skills to AI tools (auto-runs on pan up)	pan sync
pan sync --dry-run	Preview skill sync without applying	pan sync --dry-run

Operations

Command	Description	Example
pan flywheel start	Launch the Fix-All Flywheel loop skill in a conversation	pan flywheel start --orders <book-id>

Maintenance

Command	Description	Example
pan update	Update Overdeck to latest version	pan update
pan backup	Manage backups	pan backup
pan restore <timestamp>	Restore from backup	pan restore 2024-01-15-1200

Available Skills

Overdeck comes with a suite of skills to guide AI assistants:

Development Workflows

• /bug-fix - Systematic bug investigation and fixing
• /feature-work - Standard feature implementation workflow
• /refactor - Safe refactoring with test coverage
• /dependency-update - Safe dependency updates

Code Review

• /code-review - Comprehensive code review (correctness, security, performance)
• /code-review-security - Deep security analysis (OWASP Top 10)
• /code-review-performance - Performance and algorithmic analysis

Operations

• /release - Step-by-step release process
• /incident-response - Structured production incident handling
• /onboard-codebase - Systematic codebase exploration

Utilities

• /session-health - Detect and clean up stuck sessions
• /claude-skill-creator - Guide for creating Claude Code skills
• /web-design-guidelines - UI/UX best practices
• /work-complete - Checklist for completing work

Overdeck-Specific

• /pan-help - This skill (overview of commands)
• /pan-install - Installation guidance
• /pan-setup - Configuration wizard
• /pan-quickstart - Quick start (install + setup + first workspace)
• /pan-up / /pan-down - Service lifecycle management
• /pan-status - System health overview
• /pan-plan - Planning workflow guidance
• /pan-issue - Workspace + agent creation
• /pan-release - Stable vs canary release workflow from main
• And many more... (use pan skills to see full list)

Typical Workflows

First-Time Setup

# 1. Initialize Overdeck
pan init

# 2. Install prerequisites
pan install

# 3. Start services
pan up

# 4. Check health
pan doctor

Working on an Issue

# 1. Optionally create a plan first
pan plan PAN-3

# 2. Create workspace and spawn agent
pan start PAN-3

# 3. Monitor agent status
pan status

# 4. Send message to agent if needed
pan tell PAN-3 "Run the tests"

# 5. When done, review and approve the PR
gh pr list
gh pr review <pr-number> --approve

Managing Workspaces

# List all workspaces
pan workspace list

# Create workspace without agent
pan workspace create PAN-5

# Destroy workspace when done
pan workspace destroy PAN-5

Configuration Files

File	Purpose
~/.overdeck.env	Main configuration (API keys, tracker settings)
~/.overdeck/skills/	Skills distributed with Overdeck
~/.overdeck/agents/	Per-agent state and health
~/.overdeck/workspaces/	Workspace metadata
~/.overdeck/backups/	Configuration backups

Dashboard

The Overdeck dashboard provides a visual interface for:

• Kanban board with all issues from configured trackers
• Real-time agent monitoring (tmux session output)
• Agent control (send messages, stop agents)
• Workspace creation and management
• Activity log showing command output

Access the dashboard at: http://localhost:3001 (after running pan up)

Troubleshooting

Problem: pan command not found
Solution: Run npm install -g in the Overdeck directory, or add ./node_modules/.bin to PATH

Problem: Dashboard won't start
Solution: Check ports 3001/3002 aren't in use, run pan doctor to verify dependencies

Problem: Agent appears stuck
Solution: Use /session-health skill, or pan recover <id>

Problem: Workspace containers won't start
Solution: Check Docker daemon is running, verify port conflicts with pan workspace list

Problem: Skills not syncing to Claude Code
Solution: Run pan sync manually, check ~/.claude/skills/ permissions

Next Steps

• New users: Use /pan-quickstart skill for guided onboarding
• Configuration: Use /pan-setup skill to configure trackers and projects
• Docker setup: Use /pan-docker skill for Docker template configuration
• Create your first workspace: pan start <your-issue-id>

Related Skills

• /pan-install - Detailed installation guidance
• /pan-setup - Configuration wizard
• /pan-quickstart - Combined quick start
• /pan-status - Health and status overview
• /pan-issue - Workspace creation guidance

More Information

• Run pan --help to see all commands
• Run pan <command> --help for command-specific help
• Run pan skills to see all available skills
• Visit the dashboard at http://localhost:3001