Claude Code Agent Development
anthropics/claude-plugins-official
Explains how to write agents for Claude Code plugins: the markdown file with YAML frontmatter, trigger descriptions, model and color settings, and system prompt design.
How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice.
Install Subagent Delegation
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegation --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .claude/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .claude/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegationType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegation --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .agents/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .agents/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegation --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .cursor/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .cursor/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git --path Skills/subagent-delegation--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegation --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .gemini/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .gemini/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegationInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .github/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .github/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding subagent-delegation --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/subagent-delegation .opencode/skills/subagent-delegation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "subagent-delegation" agent skill from https://github.com/sammcj/agentic-coding/tree/main/Skills/subagent-delegation into .opencode/skills/subagent-delegation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "subagent-delegation", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
subagent-delegation- GitHub stars
- 162
- Token cost
- ~503 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 242 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 64
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
At a glance
How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice.
- Delegating to one
- SKILL.md covers Briefing a sub-agent and Named vs forked
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
- More sub-agents
What it does
Subagent Delegation is an agent skill from sammcj/agentic-coding. How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice. Use when delegating to one or more sub-agents, deciding between a named agent and a fork, or splitting parallel work across agents.
Its SKILL.md is about 500 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Subagents. The repository describes itself as: Agentic Coding Rules, Templates etc... The licence is Apache-2.0.
When your agent uses it
- Delegating to one
- More sub-agents
- Deciding between a named agent and a fork
- Splitting parallel work across agents
Example prompts
- “/subagent-delegation”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2f25ced. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Subagent Delegation loads about 503 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 85 tokens; SKILL.md has 242 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from sammcj/agentic-coding at commit 2f25ced, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© sammcj). 242 words, ~503 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/subagent-delegation/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- subagent-delegation
- description
- How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice. Use when delegating to one or more sub-agents, deciding between a named agent and a fork, or splitting parallel work across agents.
Sub-agent delegation
Delegation is authorised standingly (see CLAUDE.md). This skill covers how to do it well.
Briefing a sub-agent
- Instruct them to return only key information
- Define clear boundaries per agent. Specify which files each agent owns
- Include "you are one of several agents" in instructions
- Set explicit success criteria. Combine small updates to prevent over-splitting
- Sub-agents can compete and erase each other's changes - ensure no overlap
- If the task is simple and does not require careful consideration, reasoning or creativity (for example summarising simple web searches) you may use the sonnet model
Named vs forked
Named (standard) sub-agents have their own context window - good for parallel research, inspection, or separate features. Default to a named sub-agent.
A fork inherits the main session's full conversation history, system prompt, tools, and model. Output isolation is preserved (only the final result returns) but input isolation is lost.
Fork only when the accumulated nuance of the main conversation is genuinely useful to the subtask AND the task doesn't benefit from a fresh perspective.
- Never fork code review, premise-checking, or any task that needs an adversarial reading - the fork inherits its own bias along with its context
- Fork suits: parallel design variations that must respect prior decisions, MCP queries whose answer depends on session context, multi-step tangents you'd otherwise need to recap
- Pass
isolation: "worktree"when a fork will edit files speculatively, so its changes land in a separate git worktree instead of the working tree
© sammcj, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in Skills/subagent-delegation of sammcj/agentic-coding.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2f25ced
Compare with similar skills
Subagent Delegation next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subagent Delegation this skillsammcj/agentic-coding | 162 | — | ~503 | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Claude Code Agent Developmentanthropics/claude-plugins-official | 38k | 7 repos | ~2.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Subagent Driven DevelopmentAsvarox/allkaraoke | 261 | 37 repos | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Dispatching Parallel Agentsultralisp/ultralisp | 258 | 40 repos | ~1.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Paseo Advisor Second Opiniongetpaseo/paseo | 20k | 1 repos | ~756 | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Task Observerrebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all | 3.2k | 1 repos | ~11k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-4.0 |
Similar skills
- Official
Subagent Driven Development
Asvarox/allkaraoke
A skill your agent uses when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session
Dispatching Parallel Agents
ultralisp/ultralisp
A skill your agent uses when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
Paseo Advisor Second Opinion
getpaseo/paseo
Launches one separate agent through Paseo to give a second opinion on the current task, with a self-contained briefing and no permission to edit files.
Task Observer
rebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all
Monitors task execution for skill improvement opportunities.
O2 Review Loop
openobserve/openobserve
Splits a change into planner, coder and independent reviewer roles: you confirm a spec, a subagent implements it, and a separate reviewer checks each round's local WIP commit.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Subagent Delegation
What does Subagent Delegation do?
How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice. Subagent Delegation is an agent skill from sammcj/agentic-coding. How to scope, brief and choose sub-agents when delegating work with the Agent tool - named vs forked agents, file ownership boundaries, model selection, and when a fork is the wrong choice.
When should I use Subagent Delegation?
Subagent Delegation fits situations like: delegating to one; more sub-agents; deciding between a named agent and a fork; splitting parallel work across agents.
How do I install Subagent Delegation in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (Skills/subagent-delegation in sammcj/agentic-coding) into .claude/skills/subagent-delegation in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Subagent Delegation in Codex?
Run `npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (Skills/subagent-delegation in sammcj/agentic-coding) into .agents/skills/subagent-delegation in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Subagent Delegation in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill subagent-delegation -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/subagent-delegation, .gemini/skills/subagent-delegation, .github/skills/subagent-delegation and .opencode/skills/subagent-delegation in your project.
What does Subagent Delegation need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Subagent Delegation is instructions for the agent only.
Does Subagent Delegation access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Subagent Delegation safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Subagent Delegation use?
Subagent Delegation is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Subagent Delegation use?
About 503 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Subagent Delegation?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Subagent Delegation: Claude Code Agent Development (anthropics/claude-plugins-official, 38k stars), Subagent Driven Development (Asvarox/allkaraoke, 261 stars), Dispatching Parallel Agents (ultralisp/ultralisp, 258 stars) and Paseo Advisor Second Opinion (getpaseo/paseo, 20k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Subagent Delegation?
sammcj (a GitHub user) maintains it in sammcj/agentic-coding, which has 162 GitHub stars. The repository holds 64 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.
Source: sammcj/agentic-coding on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.