A reusable pattern for dispatching subagents that write their complete output to disk files instead of returning results in the conversation context. This prevents context exhaustion during multi-agent workflows.

The Problem

When you launch 5-15 parallel agents and each returns a full analysis (1000+ tokens), the parent context fills up fast. After a few rounds, you hit compaction or lose working memory.

The Solution

Every agent writes its complete findings to a file on disk and returns only a 2-3 sentence summary. The parent context stays lean. A synthesis step reads all files from disk.

The Output Instruction Block

Append this block to every agent prompt that should persist to disk:

=== OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS (MANDATORY) ===

Write your COMPLETE findings to this file using the Write tool:
  <output-file-path>

Include ALL analysis, code examples, recommendations, and references in that file.
Structure the file with clear markdown headers.

After writing the file, return ONLY a 2-3 sentence summary.
Example: "Found 3 security issues (1 critical). 2 performance recommendations. Full analysis at <path>."

DO NOT return your full analysis in your response. The file IS the output.

Directory Convention

All workflow outputs go under $WORKFLOWS_ROOT — the .workflows/ directory at the main repo root (not the current worktree). Skills that call init-values.sh receive this path as the WORKFLOWS_ROOT output key. Skills that don't call init-values.sh should resolve it via git worktree list --porcelain | head -1 | sed 's/^worktree //' and append /.workflows. This ensures artifacts survive worktree lifecycle transitions and are shared across sessions.

$WORKFLOWS_ROOT/
├── brainstorm-research/<topic-stem>/
│   ├── repo-research.md
│   ├── context-research.md
│   └── red-team-critique.md
├── plan-research/<plan-stem>/
│   ├── agents/
│   │   ├── repo-research.md
│   │   ├── learnings.md
│   │   ├── best-practices.md
│   │   ├── framework-docs.md
│   │   └── specflow.md
│   └── readiness/
│       ├── checks/          # Individual check outputs
│       ├── report.md        # Aggregated reviewer report
│       └── consolidation-report.md
├── deepen-plan/<plan-stem>/
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── agents/
│   │   ├── run-1/
│   │   │   ├── research--*.md
│   │   │   ├── review--*.md
│   │   │   └── red-team--critique.md
│   │   └── run-2/
│   │       └── ...
│   ├── readiness/
│   │   └── run-<N>/
│   │       ├── checks/          # Individual check outputs
│   │       ├── report.md        # Aggregated reviewer report
│   │       └── consolidation-report.md
│   ├── run-1-synthesis.md
│   └── run-2-synthesis.md
├── compound-research/<topic-stem>/
│   └── agents/
│       ├── context.md
│       ├── solution.md
│       ├── related-docs.md
│       ├── prevention.md
│       └── category.md
├── code-review/<topic-stem>/
│   └── agents/
│       ├── security.md
│       ├── performance.md
│       ├── architecture.md
│       └── ...
└── work-review/
    └── agents/
        └── code-simplicity.md

Topic Stems

Derive a short stem from the task context:

Brainstorm: From the feature description (e.g., claude-code-cursor-dual-tool)
Plan: From the plan filename (e.g., api-rate-limiting)
Review: From the branch name or PR number (e.g., feat-user-dashboard-redesign, pr-123)
Compound: From the problem/finding (e.g., bq-cost-measurement)

Use lowercase, hyphens, 3-6 words max.

Monitoring Completion

DO NOT use TaskOutput to retrieve full agent results. Instead, poll for file existence:

ls $WORKFLOWS_ROOT/<workflow-type>/<topic-stem>/agents/

Compare the files present against the expected list. When all expected files exist, the batch is complete.

Timeout Handling

If an agent hasn't produced output after 3 minutes:

Mark it as timed out in your tracking (manifest.json if using deepen-plan, mental note otherwise)
Move on to the next phase
Don't let one slow agent block the entire workflow

Retention Policy

Never delete research outputs. All agent outputs, manifests, and synthesis files are retained for:

Traceability — understand what informed a decision
Learning — future sessions can reference prior research
Recovery — if context compacts, disk files survive
Iteration — deepen-plan supports multiple runs, each in its own run-N/ directory

The $WORKFLOWS_ROOT directory should be added to .gitignore (it's working state, not source code) unless the team wants to version-control research outputs.

Batch Dispatch Pattern

For workflows with many agents (review, deepen-plan), dispatch in batches:

Batch 1: Research agents — these produce context that review agents benefit from
Batch 2: Review agents — can reference research output files
Batch 3: Synthesis — reads all output files, produces consolidated findings

Launch each batch with run_in_background: true. Wait for the batch to complete (file existence check) before launching the next.

Batch size: 10-15 agents per batch. More than that risks overwhelming the system.

Example: Dispatching a Research Agent

Task repo-research-analyst (run_in_background: true): "
You are a repository research analyst specializing in codebase pattern discovery.
Research existing patterns related to: [feature description]
Focus on: similar features, established patterns, project conventions.
Read the codebase, not just file names.

=== OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS (MANDATORY) ===
Write your COMPLETE findings to: $WORKFLOWS_ROOT/plan-research/<topic-stem>/agents/repo-research.md
After writing the file, return ONLY a 2-3 sentence summary.
"

Anti-Patterns

Calling TaskOutput to read full agent results into context — defeats the whole purpose
Pasting agent results into subsequent prompts — give agents the file path to read instead
Deleting outputs between runs — you lose traceability and recovery capability
Skipping the output instruction block — agents will return full results in context by default
Running all agents in a single batch — batch by dependency order (research → review → synthesis)