// Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
| name | sup-dispatching-parallel-agents |
| description | Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies |
You delegate tasks to specialized agents with isolated context. By precisely crafting their instructions and context, you ensure they stay focused and succeed at their task. They should never inherit your session's context or history — you construct exactly what they need. This also preserves your own context for coordination work.
When you have multiple unrelated failures (different test files, different subsystems, different bugs), investigating them sequentially wastes time. Each investigation is independent and can happen in parallel.
Core principle: Dispatch one agent per independent problem domain. Let them work concurrently.
digraph when_to_use {
"Multiple failures?" [shape=diamond];
"Are they independent?" [shape=diamond];
"Single agent investigates all" [shape=box];
"One agent per problem domain" [shape=box];
"Can they work in parallel?" [shape=diamond];
"Sequential agents" [shape=box];
"Parallel dispatch" [shape=box];
"Multiple failures?" -> "Are they independent?" [label="yes"];
"Are they independent?" -> "Single agent investigates all" [label="no - related"];
"Are they independent?" -> "Can they work in parallel?" [label="yes"];
"Can they work in parallel?" -> "Parallel dispatch" [label="yes"];
"Can they work in parallel?" -> "Sequential agents" [label="no - shared state"];
}
Use when:
Don't use when:
Group failures by what's broken:
Each domain is independent - fixing tool approval doesn't affect abort tests.
Each agent gets:
// In Claude Code / AI environment
Task("Fix agent-tool-abort.test.ts failures")
Task("Fix batch-completion-behavior.test.ts failures")
Task("Fix tool-approval-race-conditions.test.ts failures")
// All three run concurrently
When agents return:
Good agent prompts are:
Fix the 3 failing tests in src/agents/agent-tool-abort.test.ts:
1. "should abort tool with partial output capture" - expects 'interrupted at' in message
2. "should handle mixed completed and aborted tools" - fast tool aborted instead of completed
3. "should properly track pendingToolCount" - expects 3 results but gets 0
These are timing/race condition issues. Your task:
1. Read the test file and understand what each test verifies
2. Identify root cause - timing issues or actual bugs?
3. Fix by:
- Replacing arbitrary timeouts with event-based waiting
- Fixing bugs in abort implementation if found
- Adjusting test expectations if testing changed behavior
Do NOT just increase timeouts - find the real issue.
Return: Summary of what you found and what you fixed.
❌ Too broad: "Fix all the tests" - agent gets lost ✅ Specific: "Fix agent-tool-abort.test.ts" - focused scope
❌ No context: "Fix the race condition" - agent doesn't know where ✅ Context: Paste the error messages and test names
❌ No constraints: Agent might refactor everything ✅ Constraints: "Do NOT change production code" or "Fix tests only"
❌ Vague output: "Fix it" - you don't know what changed ✅ Specific: "Return summary of root cause and changes"
Related failures: Fixing one might fix others - investigate together first Need full context: Understanding requires seeing entire system Exploratory debugging: You don't know what's broken yet Shared state: Agents would interfere (editing same files, using same resources)
Scenario: 6 test failures across 3 files after major refactoring
Failures:
Decision: Independent domains - abort logic separate from batch completion separate from race conditions
Dispatch:
Agent 1 → Fix agent-tool-abort.test.ts
Agent 2 → Fix batch-completion-behavior.test.ts
Agent 3 → Fix tool-approval-race-conditions.test.ts
Results:
Integration: All fixes independent, no conflicts, full suite green
Time saved: 3 problems solved in parallel vs sequentially
After agents return:
From debugging session (2025-10-03):
Answer questions about BrowserOS internal stuff (setup, features, architecture, design decisions) by reading the private internal-docs submodule and the codebase. Use for "how do I X", "where is Y", "what is the deal with Z", or any question that mixes ops/setup knowledge with code knowledge. Can execute steps with per-command confirmation.
Draft a 1-page internal doc (feature, architecture, or design) for the private browseros-ai/internal-docs repo. Use when wrapping up a feature on a branch, after the PR is open or about to be opened. Skill drafts from the diff, asks four sharp questions, enforces voice rules, and opens a PR to internal-docs.
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation.
Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints
Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup
Use when receiving code review feedback, before implementing suggestions, especially if feedback seems unclear or technically questionable - requires technical rigor and verification, not performative agreement or blind implementation