# Conflicts: # docs/cookbook/adding-a-tool.i18n.yaml # examples/acp-agent/tests/snapshots/cordis-inspect-jsdoc/session.jsonl # examples/acp-agent/tests/snapshots/cordis-inspect-jsdoc/stdout.expected.jsonl # packages/bash/tool-bash/src/index.ts # packages/core/agent-loop/README.md # packages/core/tools/README.md # packages/core/tools/tests/scoped.spec.ts # packages/fs/tool-fs-search/tests/tools.spec.ts # website/zh-CN/api/harness/events.md # website/zh-CN/api/harness/tools.md
subagent/ — subagent capability family
The subagent seam: an agent delegating work to a child agent. Like the bash and llm families this is a capability seam (see capability seams) — but with one defining difference: multiple provider implementations coexist in one context, registered by name, rather than the single-implementation bash shape. The registry mirrors the LLM adapter registry.
| Package | Role | ctx key |
|---|---|---|
subagent/ |
Abstract subagent seam: named-provider registry + vocabulary | ctx.subagents |
subagent-inprocess/ |
Shared in-process run driver (no provider; one cleanup effect per run) | — |
subagent-spawn/ |
In-process backend: a fresh child agent | (registers on ctx.subagents) |
subagent-fork/ |
In-process backend: a child seeded with the parent's completed-turn prefix | (registers on ctx.subagents) |
subagent-subprocess/ |
Shared out-of-process machinery: env scrub, dispose ladder, isolated config dirs (pure lib; registers nothing) | — |
subagent-acp/ |
Out-of-process backend: a child agent in a spawned subprocess, driven over ACP | (registers on ctx.subagents) |
tool-subagent/ |
Model-facing subagent delegation tool over ctx.subagents |
(registers on ctx.tools) |
The interface lives at subagent/subagent/. The in-process subagent-spawn / subagent-fork backends share the subagent-inprocess driver (a library with no provider of its own — both depend on it, neither on the other), and the out-of-process subagent-acp backend builds on the subagent-subprocess library (the credential env scrub, the dispose ladder, isolated config dirs). Tests replace only the child boundary with package-local fixtures.
The proposal and design rationale: .agents/notes/implemented/feature/2026-06-21-subagent-capability-seam.md.