Delegate complex tasks to Claude Code CLI for superior reasoning, research, analysis, and multi-step work. Use when: (1) deep research requiring multiple web searches and synthesis, (2) complex multi-step reasoning or analysis, (3) tasks requiring careful fact-checking or verification, (4) long document summarization or transformation, (5) system administration and diagnostics, (6) any task where quality matters more than speed. NOT for: simple greetings, casual chat, one-line answers, tasks already handled well by the current model.
Delegate complex tasks to Claude Code CLI for superior reasoning, research, analysis, and multi-step work. Use when: (1) deep research requiring multiple web searches and synthesis, (2) complex multi-step reasoning or analysis, (3) tasks requiring careful fact-checking or verification, (4) long document summarization or transformation, (5) system administration and diagnostics, (6) any task where quality matters more than speed. NOT for: simple greetings, casual chat, one-line answers, tasks already handled well by the current model.
Delegate tasks to Claude Code CLI (claude -p) for high-quality results. Claude Code is a full agentic system with web search, file management, bash execution, and deep reasoning.
When to Delegate
ALWAYS delegate these task types to Claude Code — they exceed what the local model can reliably do:
Research: "find out about X", "what's the latest on Y", "compare A vs B"
Analysis: "analyze this data", "what does this mean", "evaluate these options"
bash pty:truetimeout:300 command:"claude -p 'Analyze the following and provide detailed insights: USER_TASK_HERE' --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools 'WebSearch WebFetch Read'"
Always use pty:true — Claude Code is a terminal application
Always use --dangerously-skip-permissions — no human to approve permissions
Set timeout:300 (5 min) for most tasks, timeout:600 (10 min) for heavy research
Pass the user's FULL message as the prompt — don't summarize or rephrase
Add context if the user's message references prior conversation — prepend relevant context to the prompt
Use workdir when the task involves a specific project directory
Return Claude's output directly to the user — don't re-summarize unless the output is extremely long (>2000 chars), in which case summarize the key points
Choosing the Right Tool Permissions
Task Type
--allowedTools
General question
(omit — Claude picks)
Research
"WebSearch WebFetch Read"
Coding
"Bash Read Write Edit Glob Grep"
File analysis
"Read Glob Grep"
System admin
"Bash Read Glob Grep"
Writing/analysis
"WebSearch WebFetch"
Everything
(omit — let Claude use all tools)
Handling Long Output
If Claude's response exceeds what fits in a chat message:
Extract the key findings/answer
If the user needs the full output, save it to a file and share the path
Offer to elaborate on specific sections
Error Handling
If Claude Code fails or times out:
Report the error to the user
Suggest breaking the task into smaller pieces
Try again with a longer timeout if it was a timeout issue
Fall back to handling the task directly if Claude Code is unavailable
Examples
User asks: "What are the pros and cons of Rust vs Go for building a web API?"
bash pty:truetimeout:300 command:"claude -p 'What are the pros and cons of Rust vs Go for building a web API? Consider performance, developer experience, ecosystem, deployment, and learning curve. Provide a balanced comparison with concrete examples.' --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools 'WebSearch WebFetch'"
User asks: "Summarize the latest news about AI regulation in the EU"
bash pty:truetimeout:300 command:"claude -p 'Search for and summarize the latest news about AI regulation in the EU. Focus on the AI Act implementation, recent developments, and what it means for developers. Include sources.' --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools 'WebSearch WebFetch'"
User asks: "Check why my server is running slow"
bash pty:truetimeout:300 elevated:truecommand:"claude -p 'Diagnose why this Linux server might be running slow. Check CPU, memory, disk, network, and running processes. Identify the likely bottleneck and suggest fixes.' --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools 'Bash Read Glob Grep'"
User asks: "Help me plan a trip to Japan"
bash pty:truetimeout:300 command:"claude -p 'Help plan a trip to Japan. Search for current travel info, suggest an itinerary, recommend areas to stay, transportation tips, and estimated costs. Make it practical and actionable.' --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools 'WebSearch WebFetch'"
User invokes: /claude-delegate what is the mass of the sun in elephants
bash pty:truetimeout:120 command:"claude -p 'What is the mass of the sun expressed in elephants? Show your calculation step by step.' --dangerously-skip-permissions"
