subagents

name	subagents
description	Spawn isolated agents and communicate across sessions
trigger	on-demand

Subagents & Sessions

Multi-agent system for spawning isolated workers and coordinating across sessions.

CRITICAL RULES

Rule	Reason
Use spawn_subagent for complex/parallel tasks	Don't overload main context
DO NOT use scheduler when asked for subagent	Different tools
Wait for result with wait_subagent	If you need the result
Use descriptive labels	Easier identification

Wrong

User: "create a subagent to create a skill"
Agent: Uses scheduler(action=add)
Agent: Creates schedule

Correct

User: "create a subagent to create a skill"
Agent: spawn_subagent(task="Create skill...", label="skill-creator")

Architecture

                      Main Agent
                   (Current Session)
                           |
         +-----------------+-----------------+
         |                                   |
         v                                   v
+-----------------+                 +-----------------+
|    SPAWNING     |                 | COMMUNICATION   |
+-----------------+                 +-----------------+
| spawn_subagent  |                 | sessions        |
| list_subagents  |                 |  (action=list)  |
| wait_subagent   |                 |  (action=send)  |
| stop_subagent   |                 |  (action=export)|
+---------+-------+                 |  (action=delete)|
         |                          +--------+--------+
         v                                   v
+-----------------+                 +-----------------+
|  Subagent Run   |                 | Existing Session|
|  (isolated)     |                 | (another agent) |
|  - New session  |                 | - Separate chat |
|  - Limited ctx  |                 | - Cross-agent   |
|  - Reports back |                 |   messaging     |
+-----------------+                 +-----------------+

Two Modes

Mode	Tools	Purpose
Spawning	spawn_subagent, list_subagents, wait_subagent, stop_subagent	Create new isolated agents
Communication	sessions(action=list/send/export/delete)	Talk to existing agents

---

Mode 1: Spawning Subagents

When to Use

Scenario	Use spawn_subagent
Long research task	Yes
Multiple parallel tasks	Yes
Create skills/plugins	Yes
Complex analysis	Yes
Background processing	Yes

When NOT to Use

Scenario	Alternative
Schedule task for specific time	scheduler(action=add)
Reminder	scheduler(action=add, type=at)
Communicate with existing agent	sessions(action=send)

Spawn a Subagent

spawn_subagent(
  task="Create a skill for ViaCEP API. When user provides a CEP, fetch and return address information.",
  label="viacep-skill-creator"
)
# Output: Subagent spawned with ID: sub_abc123

List Running Subagents

list_subagents()
# Output:
# Subagents (2):
# - sub_abc123 [viacep-skill-creator]: running, 2m elapsed
# - sub_def456 [research-api]: completed, 45s

Wait for Completion

wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc123", timeout=300)
# Output:
# Subagent completed.
# Result: Skill 'viacep' created successfully...

Stop a Subagent

stop_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc123")
# Output: Subagent sub_abc123 stopped

Spawning Patterns

Fire and Forget

# Spawn and continue working
spawn_subagent(
  task="Generate weekly report and save to reports/ folder",
  label="reporter"
)

# Continue with other tasks...
# Check later with list_subagents()

Blocking Wait

# Spawn
spawn_subagent(
  task="Analyze logs for errors in the past 24 hours",
  label="log-analyzer"
)

# Wait for result (blocks until complete)
result = wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc123", timeout=600)
# Use the result...

Parallel Tasks

# Spawn multiple subagents
spawn_subagent(task="Research topic A", label="research-a")
spawn_subagent(task="Research topic B", label="research-b")
spawn_subagent(task="Research topic C", label="research-c")

# Check status
list_subagents()

# Wait for each
result_a = wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_001")
result_b = wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_002")
result_c = wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_003")

---

Mode 2: Inter-Agent Communication

Discover Other Agents

sessions(action="list")
# Output:
# Active sessions (3):
# - [whatsapp] 5511999999 (id: abc123, ws: main) -- 15 msgs -- last active: 2m ago
# - [webui] user-session (id: def456, ws: dev) -- 8 msgs -- last active: 5m ago

Send Message to Another Agent

sessions(
  action="send",
  session_id="abc123",
  message="Task completed. Results saved to output.md",
  sender_label="research-agent"
)
# Output: Message delivered to session abc123 (channel: whatsapp).

Export Session

sessions(action="export", session_id="abc123")
# Output:
# {
#   "session_id": "abc123",
#   "messages": [...],
#   "metadata": {...}
# }

---

Complete Workflow Examples

Create Skill via Subagent

# User: "create a subagent to create a skill for https://viacep.com.br/"

# 1. Spawn subagent (NOT scheduler!)
spawn_subagent(
  task="Create skill for ViaCEP API (https://viacep.com.br/).
        The skill should:
        1. Accept CEP from user
        2. Fetch information from API
        3. Return formatted address
        Include script to make the request.",
  label="viacep-skill"
)

# 2. Check status
list_subagents()

# 3. Wait for result
result = wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc", timeout=300)

# 4. Inform user
send_message("ViaCEP skill created! " + result)

Background Research

# 1. Spawn research agent
spawn_subagent(
  task="Research best practices for GraphQL pagination. Include cursor-based and offset-based approaches.",
  label="research-graphql"
)

# 2. Continue main work
# ... do other tasks ...

# 3. Check status
list_subagents()

# 4. Get results when ready
wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc123")

Cross-Agent Collaboration

# 1. Find collaborator session
sessions(action="list")

# 2. Request help
sessions(
  action="send",
  session_id="backend-agent-session",
  message="Need API endpoint for user preferences. Can you create GET /api/user/preferences?",
  sender_label="frontend-agent"
)

# Backend agent responds via sessions(action=send) to your session

---

Subagent Isolation

Aspect	Behavior
Context	Limited bootstrap (AGENTS.md + TOOLS.md only)
Session	Separate from spawner
Result	Announced back to requester chat
Lifetime	Until completed or stopped

---

Troubleshooting

"Subagent timeout"

Cause: Task taking longer than timeout.

Solution:

# Increase timeout
wait_subagent(subagent_id="sub_abc", timeout=600)  # 10 minutes

# Or check status without waiting
list_subagents()

Used wrong tool

Cause: Confusion between spawn and scheduler.

Correction:

• Subagent = immediate parallel execution
• Scheduler = schedule for specific time

"Session not found"

Cause: Session doesn't exist or wrong ID.

Solution:

sessions(action="list")  # List all first

---

Tips

• Descriptive labels: "viacep-skill" not "agent1"
• Reasonable timeouts: Don't wait forever
• Check status before waiting: Avoid blocking if already done
• Stop stuck subagents: Free resources
• Fire and forget for non-urgent: Don't wait if not needed

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correction
Using scheduler when asked for subagent	Use spawn_subagent
Not checking list_subagents	Verify status
Waiting without timeout	Always set timeout
Vague task in spawn	Be specific about expected output
Not stopping stuck agents	Clean up with stop_subagent