parallel

name	parallel
description	Run a task in a background sub-agent so you can continue working on other things. Use when explicitly invoked via the '/parallel' slash command. Never auto-triggers from natural language.
allowed-tools	["Bash"]
metadata	{"disable-model-invocation":true,"category":"assistant","tags":["agent","parallel","background","sub-agent","workflow"],"status":"ready","version":3,"triggers":{"positive":["/parallel refactor the auth module","/parallel /promptify audit all skills against our findings doc"],"negative":["run this in the background and fix all lint errors in src/","spawn an agent to update the changelog","Fix the bug in the checkout flow.","Review this pull request."],"guidance":"`parallel` is a slash-command-only skill. It MUST be invoked explicitly via `/parallel`.\nNever auto-trigger from natural language like \"in the background\" or \"spawn an agent\".\nOnly the `/parallel` slash command activates this skill."}}

Parallel

Run the given task in a background sub-agent so you can continue working on other things.

Workflow

1. Parse input

The user's input is:

$ARGUMENTS

Determine whether it is a skill invocation or a plain text task.

2. Detect skill invocations

If the input starts with / (e.g., /promptify, /review-pr, /pr-comments-address TICKET-123), it is a skill invocation:

1. Extract the skill name (the word after /) and any remaining text as the skill arguments.
2. In the Agent tool prompt, instruct the sub-agent to use the Skill tool with the extracted skill name and arguments. For example, if the input is /cc fix auth bug, tell the agent: "Use the Skill tool with skill 'cc' and args 'fix auth bug'."

3. Build plain text tasks

If the input does NOT start with /, pass it directly as the Agent tool prompt.

4. Execute

Use the Agent tool with run_in_background: true. Do NOT block on the agent's result. Continue responding to the user immediately after launching it. When the agent completes, report the result.

Examples

Positive Trigger

User: "/parallel /promptify audit all skills against our findings doc."

Expected behavior: Launch a background agent that invokes the promptify skill with args "audit all skills against our findings doc."

Non-Trigger

User: "Fix the bug in the checkout flow."

Expected behavior: Do not use parallel; execute the task directly in the foreground.

Troubleshooting

Agent Does Not Start

• Error: The background agent fails to launch.
• Cause: Missing or malformed Agent tool parameters.
• Solution: Ensure run_in_background: true is set and the prompt is a non-empty string.

Skill Not Found in Sub-Agent

• Error: The sub-agent reports the skill does not exist.
• Cause: The skill name extracted from the / prefix does not match any available skill.
• Solution: Verify the skill name matches an installed skill. Check available skills with /help.