# Conflicts: # docs/cordis-catalog/services.md # docs/core-data-structures/subprocess.i18n.yaml # packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/connection.ts # packages/subagent/subagent-acp/README.i18n.yaml # packages/subprocess/subprocess-local/README.i18n.yaml # packages/subprocess/subprocess-local/src/spawn.ts # packages/subprocess/subprocess/README.i18n.yaml # packages/subprocess/subprocess/README.md # packages/subprocess/subprocess/README.zh.md # packages/subprocess/subprocess/tests/service.spec.ts
subagent/ — subagent capability family
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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-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 spawns its child through the subprocess/ seam (the shared credential scrub, tree-scoped teardown, and dispose ladder). 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.