POMASA

Pattern-Oriented Multi-Agent System Architecture

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TL;DR

npx add-skill eXtremeProgramming-cn/pomasa

Then just tell your AI client (e.g. Claude Code or Codex):

Help me create a multi-agent research system for analyzing AI trends in healthcare.

That's it. The agent will guide you through the rest.

Purpose

POMASA is a pattern language and generation toolkit for building Declarative Multi-Agent Systems.

Its core value proposition: Enable AI to rapidly construct new MAS systems guided by patterns.

Overall Approach

Problem

When building multi-agent systems, every team uses their own approach to construct systems and their own terminology to describe architecture. The lack of a common pattern language makes it difficult to:

• Disseminate knowledge
• Reuse experience
• Discuss problems clearly

Solution

POMASA adopts a "pattern language + generator" approach:

1. Pattern Catalog (skills/pomasa/pattern-catalog/): Reusable architectural patterns extracted from real systems, each describing a specific problem and its solution
2. Generator (skills/pomasa/SKILL.md): A prompt that guides AI to build new systems based on patterns

Architecture Overview

POMASA patterns are organized into four categories (shown on the left), governing three architectural layers:

• Definition Layer: Blueprints define Agent behavior; Reference Data provides domain knowledge and methodology
• Execution Layer: Intelligent Runtime executes Blueprints; Orchestrator coordinates Workers through staged pipelines
• Data Layer: File System serves as the data bus, with data progressively refined from Materials → Drafts → Final outputs

Core Principles

• Patterns are knowledge carriers: Transform tacit architectural experience into explicit, shareable patterns
• Patterns have necessity levels: Required, Recommended, Optional—systems can be flexibly composed
• AI is the executor: AI reads pattern documents, understands design principles, and generates pattern-conforming systems
• Continuous evolution: New patterns are added as practice accumulates

Directory Structure

pomasa/
├── README.md                     # This file
├── skills/
│   └── pomasa/                   # POMASA skill (installable)
│       ├── SKILL.md              # Generator instructions
│       ├── user_input_template.md
│       └── pattern-catalog/      # Pattern catalog
│           ├── README.md
│           ├── COR-01-...
│           ├── STR-01-...
│           ├── BHV-01-...
│           └── QUA-01-...
└── references/                   # Background reading materials
    ├── declarative-multi-agent-architecture-part1-en.md
    └── declarative-multi-agent-architecture-part2-en.md

How to Use

Method 1: Install as Skill (Recommended)

Install POMASA as an agent skill for Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, and other compatible agents:

npx add-skill eXtremeProgramming-cn/pomasa

After installation, simply tell the agent what you want:

Help me create a multi-agent research system for analyzing AI trends in healthcare.

The agent will automatically activate the POMASA skill and guide you through the process.

Method 2: Direct Use (Without Skill Installation)

Tell your AI agent:

Please read skills/pomasa/SKILL.md, then help me create a multi-agent system.

The agent will:

1. Ask for your project information (or you can prepare user_input_template.md in advance)
2. Read the relevant patterns in pattern-catalog
3. Select the appropriate pattern combination based on your needs
4. Generate the complete system files

Scenario: Understanding or Improving an Existing System

Please read skills/pomasa/pattern-catalog/README.md, then analyze which patterns [a system directory] uses and what improvements could be made.

Scenario: Learning MAS Architecture

Read the pattern documents under skills/pomasa/pattern-catalog/ directly to learn about declarative MAS design principles and best practices.

Pattern Overview

See skills/pomasa/pattern-catalog/README.md

Tool Compatibility

POMASA patterns are primarily written and tested with Claude Code. The patterns reference these common tool capabilities:

Tool Category	Purpose	Claude Code Example
File Read	Read file contents	Read
File Write	Create or overwrite files	Write
File Edit	Modify existing files	Edit
File Search	Find files by pattern	Glob
Content Search	Search text in files	Grep
Web Search	Find web pages	WebSearch
Web Fetch	Retrieve web page content	WebFetch
Command Execution	Run shell commands	Bash
Subagent Launch	Start a child agent	Task

For other runtimes (Cursor, Cline, Windsurf, etc.): If your runtime uses different tool names or doesn't have a particular tool, find an equivalent in your environment. The patterns describe what capability is needed, not which specific tool to use.

MCP Tools: Some patterns mention MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools with naming format mcp__server__tool. These are specific to runtimes that support MCP. If your runtime doesn't support MCP, use the built-in equivalents (e.g., use WebSearch instead of an MCP search tool).

Publication

Xiong Jie. A Pattern Language for Knowledge Engineering with Large Language Models. In Proceedings of the 32nd Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs, People, and Practices (PLoP 2025), Skamania Lodge, Columbia River Gorge, WA, USA. ACM, 2026. DOI: 10.64346/PLoP2025p02 | Full text