HCT Patterns Library

Diagnostic and Functional Patterns for Multi-Agent Systems

This library translates the "Musical Ontology" of Harmonic Coordination Theory (HCT) into practical, enterprise-ready diagnostic patterns. It helps engineers identify why their agent swarm is failing and provides drop-in architectural solutions.

The 97% Problem: Most agent systems fail to scale beyond simple demos because coordination costs grow super-linearly. These patterns solve specific coordination failures.

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📂 Functional Patterns (How to build)

Pattern	Musical Map	Use Case
Human-in-the-Loop	Fermata	Pausing for approval/input.
Status Streaming	Ostinato	Long-running task updates.

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🩺 Diagnostic Patterns (How to fix)

⏱️ Timing & Synchronization

Symptom	Diagnosis	Pattern	Matrix Map
Deadlock / Hanging	Stuck Fermata	Escalation Pattern	Supervisory Control
Hallucination / Skipping	Rushing	Tempo Control Pattern	Chain-of-Verification
Analysis Paralysis	Dragging	Urgency Injection Pattern	Least-to-Most
Premature Action	False Entry	Upbeat Pattern	Barrier Patterns
Latency / Out-of-Order	Ensemble Tearing	Syncopation Pattern	A2A Async

🎼 Coherence & Quality

Symptom	Diagnosis	Pattern	Matrix Map
Contradiction	Harmonic Clash	Shared Progressions Pattern	Constitutional AI
Repeating Errors	Deaf Agent	Feedback Injection Pattern	Self-Refine
Context Mismatch	Dissonance	Tuning Pattern	Reference Frame
Scope Creep	Improvisation Drift	Score Compliance Pattern	Constraints
Echo Chamber	Sycophancy	Consensus Pattern	CONSENSAGENT

🔊 Resource & Dynamics

Symptom	Diagnosis	Pattern	Matrix Map
Silent Output	Ghost Notes	Pulse Pattern	Observability
Budget Explosion	Runaway Dynamic	Fade Out Pattern	Token Budget
Context Overflow	Sectional Balance	Mixing Pattern	Context Pruning
Inconsistent Format	Uneven Phrasing	Legato Pattern	Style Prompting
Wrong Tool	Instrument Confusion	Orchestration Pattern	Tool Selection

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Usage

Each pattern document includes:

1. Symptom: How it looks in your logs.
2. Diagnosis: The HCT concept explaining the failure.
3. Solution Code: Python/Pseudocode to fix it using hct-core or principles.