dispatching-parallel-agents

name	dispatching-parallel-agents
description	Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies

When you have multiple independent problems, dispatch one agent per problem domain and let them work concurrently. Each agent gets isolated context — never your session's history. This preserves your context for coordination. Use when 2+ independent tasks exist (different test files, subsystems, bugs). Use when each problem can be understood without context from others. Use when agents won't interfere (no shared state, no same-file edits). ```dot digraph when_to_use { "Multiple failures?" [shape=diamond]; "Independent?" [shape=diamond]; "Can parallelize?" [shape=diamond]; "Single agent" [shape=box]; "Parallel dispatch" [shape=box]; "Sequential agents" [shape=box];

  "Multiple failures?" -> "Independent?" [label="yes"];
  "Independent?" -> "Single agent" [label="no - related"];
  "Independent?" -> "Can parallelize?" [label="yes"];
  "Can parallelize?" -> "Parallel dispatch" [label="yes"];
  "Can parallelize?" -> "Sequential agents" [label="shared state"];
}
```

**Identify independent domains** — Group failures by what's broken. Each domain is one agent's scope. **Create focused prompts** — Each agent gets: specific scope (one file/subsystem), clear goal, constraints (don't change other code), expected output format. **Dispatch in parallel** — Use Task tool for all agents concurrently. **Review and integrate** — Read each summary, verify fixes don't conflict, run full test suite, integrate changes.

Prompt structure

Good agent prompts are focused, self-contained, and specific about output:

Fix the 3 failing tests in src/agents/agent-tool-abort.test.ts:

1. "should abort tool with partial output" - expects 'interrupted at'
2. "should handle mixed completed and aborted" - fast tool aborted
3. "should track pendingToolCount" - expects 3 results, gets 0

These are timing/race condition issues. Your task:
1. Read test file, understand what each verifies
2. Identify root cause
3. Fix (don't just increase timeouts)

Return: Summary of root cause and changes made.

Each agent gets narrow, self-contained scope. Never dispatch without specific error messages and test names. Always run full test suite after integrating all fixes. Spot-check agent work — agents can make systematic errors. "Fix all the tests" — too broad, agent gets lost. Be specific: one file or subsystem per agent. Dispatching agents for related failures — fix one might fix others. Investigate together first.