OpenAgentsControl/.opencode/context/to-be-consumed/claude-code-docs/create-subagents.md

Create custom subagents

Create and use specialized AI subagents in Claude Code for task-specific workflows and improved context management.

Subagents are specialized AI assistants that handle specific types of tasks. Each subagent runs in its own context window with a custom system prompt, specific tool access, and independent permissions. When Claude encounters a task that matches a subagent's description, it delegates to that subagent, which works independently and returns results.

Subagents help you:

• Preserve context by keeping exploration and implementation out of your main conversation
• Enforce constraints by limiting which tools a subagent can use
• Reuse configurations across projects with user-level subagents
• Specialize behavior with focused system prompts for specific domains
• Control costs by routing tasks to faster, cheaper models like Haiku

Claude uses each subagent's description to decide when to delegate tasks. When you create a subagent, write a clear description so Claude knows when to use it.

Claude Code includes several built-in subagents like Explore, Plan, and general-purpose. You can also create custom subagents to handle specific tasks. This page covers the built-in subagents, how to create your own, full configuration options, patterns for working with subagents, and example subagents.

Built-in subagents

Claude Code includes built-in subagents that Claude automatically uses when appropriate. Each inherits the parent conversation's permissions with additional tool restrictions.

A fast, read-only agent optimized for searching and analyzing codebases.

* **Model**: Haiku (fast, low-latency)
* **Tools**: Read-only tools (denied access to Write and Edit tools)
* **Purpose**: File discovery, code search, codebase exploration

Claude delegates to Explore when it needs to search or understand a codebase without making changes. This keeps exploration results out of your main conversation context.

When invoking Explore, Claude specifies a thoroughness level: **quick** for targeted lookups, **medium** for balanced exploration, or **very thorough** for comprehensive analysis.

A research agent used during [plan mode](/en/common-workflows#use-plan-mode-for-safe-code-analysis) to gather context before presenting a plan.

* **Model**: Inherits from main conversation
* **Tools**: Read-only tools (denied access to Write and Edit tools)
* **Purpose**: Codebase research for planning

When you're in plan mode and Claude needs to understand your codebase, it delegates research to the Plan subagent. This prevents infinite nesting (subagents cannot spawn other subagents) while still gathering necessary context.

A capable agent for complex, multi-step tasks that require both exploration and action.

* **Model**: Inherits from main conversation
* **Tools**: All tools
* **Purpose**: Complex research, multi-step operations, code modifications

Claude delegates to general-purpose when the task requires both exploration and modification, complex reasoning to interpret results, or multiple dependent steps.

Claude Code includes additional helper agents for specific tasks. These are typically invoked automatically, so you don't need to use them directly.

| Agent             | Model    | When Claude uses it                                      |
| :---------------- | :------- | :------------------------------------------------------- |
| Bash              | Inherits | Running terminal commands in a separate context          |
| statusline-setup  | Sonnet   | When you run `/statusline` to configure your status line |
| Claude Code Guide | Haiku    | When you ask questions about Claude Code features        |

Beyond these built-in subagents, you can create your own with custom prompts, tool restrictions, permission modes, hooks, and skills. The following sections show how to get started and customize subagents.

Quickstart: create your first subagent

Subagents are defined in Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. You can create them manually or use the /agents slash command.

This walkthrough guides you through creating a user-level subagent with the /agent command. The subagent reviews code and suggests improvements for the codebase.

In Claude Code, run:

```
/agents
```

Select **Create new agent**, then choose **User-level**. This saves the subagent to `~/.claude/agents/` so it's available in all your projects.

Select **Generate with Claude**. When prompted, describe the subagent:

```
A code improvement agent that scans files and suggests improvements
for readability, performance, and best practices. It should explain
each issue, show the current code, and provide an improved version.
```

Claude generates the system prompt and configuration. Press `e` to open it in your editor if you want to customize it.

For a read-only reviewer, deselect everything except **Read-only tools**. If you keep all tools selected, the subagent inherits all tools available to the main conversation.

Choose which model the subagent uses. For this example agent, select **Sonnet**, which balances capability and speed for analyzing code patterns.

Pick a background color for the subagent. This helps you identify which subagent is running in the UI.

Save the subagent. It's available immediately (no restart needed). Try it:

```
Use the code-improver agent to suggest improvements in this project
```

Claude delegates to your new subagent, which scans the codebase and returns improvement suggestions.

You now have a subagent you can use in any project on your machine to analyze codebases and suggest improvements.

You can also create subagents manually as Markdown files, define them via CLI flags, or distribute them through plugins. The following sections cover all configuration options.

Configure subagents

Use the /agents command

The /agents command provides an interactive interface for managing subagents. Run /agents to:

• View all available subagents (built-in, user, project, and plugin)
• Create new subagents with guided setup or Claude generation
• Edit existing subagent configuration and tool access
• Delete custom subagents
• See which subagents are active when duplicates exist

This is the recommended way to create and manage subagents. For manual creation or automation, you can also add subagent files directly.

Choose the subagent scope

Subagents are Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. Store them in different locations depending on scope. When multiple subagents share the same name, the higher-priority location wins.

Location	Scope	Priority	How to create
--agents CLI flag	Current session	1 (highest)	Pass JSON when launching Claude Code
.claude/agents/	Current project	2	Interactive or manual
~/.claude/agents/	All your projects	3	Interactive or manual
Plugin's agents/ directory	Where plugin is enabled	4 (lowest)	Installed with plugins

Project subagents (.claude/agents/) are ideal for subagents specific to a codebase. Check them into version control so your team can use and improve them collaboratively.

User subagents (~/.claude/agents/) are personal subagents available in all your projects.

CLI-defined subagents are passed as JSON when launching Claude Code. They exist only for that session and aren't saved to disk, making them useful for quick testing or automation scripts:

```bash theme={null} claude --agents '{ "code-reviewer": {

"description": "Expert code reviewer. Use proactively after code changes.",
"prompt": "You are a senior code reviewer. Focus on code quality, security, and best practices.",
"tools": ["Read", "Grep", "Glob", "Bash"],
"model": "sonnet"

} }'

The `--agents` flag accepts JSON with the same fields as [frontmatter](#supported-frontmatter-fields). Use `prompt` for the system prompt (equivalent to the markdown body in file-based subagents). See the [CLI reference](/en/cli-reference#agents-flag-format) for the full JSON format.

**Plugin subagents** come from [plugins](/en/plugins) you've installed. They appear in `/agents` alongside your custom subagents. See the [plugin components reference](/en/plugins-reference#agents) for details on creating plugin subagents.

### Write subagent files

Subagent files use YAML frontmatter for configuration, followed by the system prompt in Markdown:

<Note>
  Subagents are loaded at session start. If you create a subagent by manually adding a file, restart your session or use `/agents` to load it immediately.
</Note>

```markdown  theme={null}
---
name: code-reviewer
description: Reviews code for quality and best practices
tools: Read, Glob, Grep
model: sonnet
---

You are a code reviewer. When invoked, analyze the code and provide
specific, actionable feedback on quality, security, and best practices.

The frontmatter defines the subagent's metadata and configuration. The body becomes the system prompt that guides the subagent's behavior. Subagents receive only this system prompt (plus basic environment details like working directory), not the full Claude Code system prompt.

Supported frontmatter fields

The following fields can be used in the YAML frontmatter. Only name and description are required.

Field	Required	Description
name	Yes	Unique identifier using lowercase letters and hyphens
description	Yes	When Claude should delegate to this subagent
tools	No	Tools the subagent can use. Inherits all tools if omitted
disallowedTools	No	Tools to deny, removed from inherited or specified list
model	No	Model to use: sonnet, opus, haiku, or inherit. Defaults to sonnet
permissionMode	No	Permission mode: default, acceptEdits, dontAsk, bypassPermissions, or plan
skills	No	Skills to load into the subagent's context at startup. The full skill content is injected, not just made available for invocation. Subagents don't inherit skills from the parent conversation
hooks	No	Lifecycle hooks scoped to this subagent

Choose a model

The model field controls which AI model the subagent uses:

• Model alias: Use one of the available aliases: sonnet, opus, or haiku
• inherit: Use the same model as the main conversation (useful for consistency)
• Omitted: If not specified, uses the default model configured for subagents (sonnet)

Control subagent capabilities

You can control what subagents can do through tool access, permission modes, and conditional rules.

Available tools

Subagents can use any of Claude Code's internal tools. By default, subagents inherit all tools from the main conversation, including MCP tools.

To restrict tools, use the tools field (allowlist) or disallowedTools field (denylist):

```yaml theme={null}

name: safe-researcher description: Research agent with restricted capabilities tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash

disallowedTools: Write, Edit

#### Permission modes

The `permissionMode` field controls how the subagent handles permission prompts. Subagents inherit the permission context from the main conversation but can override the mode.

| Mode                | Behavior                                                           |
| :------------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `default`           | Standard permission checking with prompts                          |
| `acceptEdits`       | Auto-accept file edits                                             |
| `dontAsk`           | Auto-deny permission prompts (explicitly allowed tools still work) |
| `bypassPermissions` | Skip all permission checks                                         |
| `plan`              | Plan mode (read-only exploration)                                  |

<Warning>
  Use `bypassPermissions` with caution. It skips all permission checks, allowing the subagent to execute any operation without approval.
</Warning>

If the parent uses `bypassPermissions`, this takes precedence and cannot be overridden.

#### Conditional rules with hooks

For more dynamic control over tool usage, use `PreToolUse` hooks to validate operations before they execute. This is useful when you need to allow some operations of a tool while blocking others.

This example creates a subagent that only allows read-only database queries. The `PreToolUse` hook runs the script specified in `command` before each Bash command executes:

```yaml  theme={null}
---
name: db-reader
description: Execute read-only database queries
tools: Bash
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "./scripts/validate-readonly-query.sh"
---

Claude Code passes hook input as JSON via stdin to hook commands. The validation script reads this JSON, extracts the Bash command, and exits with code 2 to block write operations:

```bash theme={null} #!/bin/bash

./scripts/validate-readonly-query.sh

INPUT=$(cat) COMMAND=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty')

Block SQL write operations (case-insensitive)

if echo "$COMMAND" | grep -iE '\b(INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|CREATE|ALTER|TRUNCATE)\b' > /dev/null; then echo "Blocked: Only SELECT queries are allowed" >&2 exit 2 fi

exit 0

See [Hook input](/en/hooks#pretooluse-input) for the complete input schema and [exit codes](/en/hooks#exit-codes) for how exit codes affect behavior.

#### Disable specific subagents

You can prevent Claude from using specific subagents by adding them to the `deny` array in your [settings](/en/settings#permission-settings). Use the format `Task(subagent-name)` where `subagent-name` matches the subagent's name field.

```json  theme={null}
{
  "permissions": {
    "deny": ["Task(Explore)", "Task(my-custom-agent)"]
  }
}

This works for both built-in and custom subagents. You can also use the --disallowedTools CLI flag:

```bash theme={null} claude --disallowedTools "Task(Explore)"

See [IAM documentation](/en/iam#tool-specific-permission-rules) for more details on permission rules.

### Define hooks for subagents

Subagents can define [hooks](/en/hooks) that run during the subagent's lifecycle. There are two ways to configure hooks:

1. **In the subagent's frontmatter**: Define hooks that run only while that subagent is active
2. **In `settings.json`**: Define hooks that run in the main session when subagents start or stop

#### Hooks in subagent frontmatter

Define hooks directly in the subagent's markdown file. These hooks only run while that specific subagent is active and are cleaned up when it finishes.

| Event         | Matcher input | When it fires                   |
| :------------ | :------------ | :------------------------------ |
| `PreToolUse`  | Tool name     | Before the subagent uses a tool |
| `PostToolUse` | Tool name     | After the subagent uses a tool  |
| `Stop`        | (none)        | When the subagent finishes      |

This example validates Bash commands with the `PreToolUse` hook and runs a linter after file edits with `PostToolUse`:

```yaml  theme={null}
---
name: code-reviewer
description: Review code changes with automatic linting
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "./scripts/validate-command.sh $TOOL_INPUT"
  PostToolUse:
    - matcher: "Edit|Write"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "./scripts/run-linter.sh"
---

Stop hooks in frontmatter are automatically converted to SubagentStop events.

Project-level hooks for subagent events

Configure hooks in settings.json that respond to subagent lifecycle events in the main session. Use the matcher field to target specific agent types by name.

Event	Matcher input	When it fires
SubagentStart	Agent type name	When a subagent begins execution
SubagentStop	Agent type name	When a subagent completes

This example runs setup and cleanup scripts only when the db-agent subagent starts and stops:

```json theme={null} { "hooks": {

"SubagentStart": [
  {
    "matcher": "db-agent",
    "hooks": [
      { "type": "command", "command": "./scripts/setup-db-connection.sh" }
    ]
  }
],
"SubagentStop": [
  {
    "matcher": "db-agent",
    "hooks": [
      { "type": "command", "command": "./scripts/cleanup-db-connection.sh" }
    ]
  }
]

} }

See [Hooks](/en/hooks) for the complete hook configuration format.

## Work with subagents

### Understand automatic delegation

Claude automatically delegates tasks based on the task description in your request, the `description` field in subagent configurations, and current context. To encourage proactive delegation, include phrases like "use proactively" in your subagent's description field.

You can also request a specific subagent explicitly:

Use the test-runner subagent to fix failing tests Have the code-reviewer subagent look at my recent changes

### Run subagents in foreground or background

Subagents can run in the foreground (blocking) or background (concurrent):

* **Foreground subagents** block the main conversation until complete. Permission prompts and clarifying questions (like [`AskUserQuestion`](/en/settings#tools-available-to-claude)) are passed through to you.
* **Background subagents** run concurrently while you continue working. They inherit the parent's permissions and auto-deny anything not pre-approved. If a background subagent needs a permission it doesn't have or needs to ask clarifying questions, that tool call fails but the subagent continues. MCP tools are not available in background subagents.

If a background subagent fails due to missing permissions, you can [resume it](#resume-subagents) in the foreground to retry with interactive prompts.

Claude decides whether to run subagents in the foreground or background based on the task. You can also:

* Ask Claude to "run this in the background"
* Press **Ctrl+B** to background a running task

To disable all background task functionality, set the `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS` environment variable to `1`. See [Environment variables](/en/settings#environment-variables).

### Common patterns

#### Isolate high-volume operations

One of the most effective uses for subagents is isolating operations that produce large amounts of output. Running tests, fetching documentation, or processing log files can consume significant context. By delegating these to a subagent, the verbose output stays in the subagent's context while only the relevant summary returns to your main conversation.

Use a subagent to run the test suite and report only the failing tests with their error messages

#### Run parallel research

For independent investigations, spawn multiple subagents to work simultaneously:

Research the authentication, database, and API modules in parallel using separate subagents

Each subagent explores its area independently, then Claude synthesizes the findings. This works best when the research paths don't depend on each other.

<Warning>
  When subagents complete, their results return to your main conversation. Running many subagents that each return detailed results can consume significant context.
</Warning>

#### Chain subagents

For multi-step workflows, ask Claude to use subagents in sequence. Each subagent completes its task and returns results to Claude, which then passes relevant context to the next subagent.

Use the code-reviewer subagent to find performance issues, then use the optimizer subagent to fix them

### Choose between subagents and main conversation

Use the **main conversation** when:

* The task needs frequent back-and-forth or iterative refinement
* Multiple phases share significant context (planning → implementation → testing)
* You're making a quick, targeted change
* Latency matters. Subagents start fresh and may need time to gather context

Use **subagents** when:

* The task produces verbose output you don't need in your main context
* You want to enforce specific tool restrictions or permissions
* The work is self-contained and can return a summary

Consider [Skills](/en/skills) instead when you want reusable prompts or workflows that run in the main conversation context rather than isolated subagent context.

<Note>
  Subagents cannot spawn other subagents. If your workflow requires nested delegation, use [Skills](/en/skills) or [chain subagents](#chain-subagents) from the main conversation.
</Note>

### Manage subagent context

#### Resume subagents

Each subagent invocation creates a new instance with fresh context. To continue an existing subagent's work instead of starting over, ask Claude to resume it.

Resumed subagents retain their full conversation history, including all previous tool calls, results, and reasoning. The subagent picks up exactly where it stopped rather than starting fresh.

When a subagent completes, Claude receives its agent ID. To resume a subagent, ask Claude to continue the previous work:

Use the code-reviewer subagent to review the authentication module [Agent completes]

Continue that code review and now analyze the authorization logic [Claude resumes the subagent with full context from previous conversation]

You can also ask Claude for the agent ID if you want to reference it explicitly, or find IDs in the transcript files at `~/.claude/projects/{project}/{sessionId}/subagents/`. Each transcript is stored as `agent-{agentId}.jsonl`.

For programmatic usage, see [Subagents in the Agent SDK](/en/agent-sdk/subagents).

Subagent transcripts persist independently of the main conversation:

* **Main conversation compaction**: When the main conversation compacts, subagent transcripts are unaffected. They're stored in separate files.
* **Session persistence**: Subagent transcripts persist within their session. You can [resume a subagent](#resume-subagents) after restarting Claude Code by resuming the same session.
* **Automatic cleanup**: Transcripts are cleaned up based on the `cleanupPeriodDays` setting (default: 30 days).

#### Auto-compaction

Subagents support automatic compaction using the same logic as the main conversation. When a subagent's context approaches its limit, Claude Code summarizes older messages to free up space while preserving important context.

Compaction events are logged in subagent transcript files:

```json  theme={null}
{
  "type": "system",
  "subtype": "compact_boundary",
  "compactMetadata": {
    "trigger": "auto",
    "preTokens": 167189
  }
}

The preTokens value shows how many tokens were used before compaction occurred.

Example subagents

These examples demonstrate effective patterns for building subagents. Use them as starting points, or generate a customized version with Claude.

Best practices:

• Design focused subagents: each subagent should excel at one specific task
• Write detailed descriptions: Claude uses the description to decide when to delegate
• Limit tool access: grant only necessary permissions for security and focus
• Check into version control: share project subagents with your team

Code reviewer

A read-only subagent that reviews code without modifying it. This example shows how to design a focused subagent with limited tool access (no Edit or Write) and a detailed prompt that specifies exactly what to look for and how to format output.

```markdown theme={null}

name: code-reviewer description: Expert code review specialist. Proactively reviews code for quality, security, and maintainability. Use immediately after writing or modifying code. tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash

model: inherit

You are a senior code reviewer ensuring high standards of code quality and security.

When invoked:

1. Run git diff to see recent changes
2. Focus on modified files
3. Begin review immediately

Review checklist:

• Code is clear and readable
• Functions and variables are well-named
• No duplicated code
• Proper error handling
• No exposed secrets or API keys
• Input validation implemented
• Good test coverage
• Performance considerations addressed

Provide feedback organized by priority:

• Critical issues (must fix)
• Warnings (should fix)
• Suggestions (consider improving)

Include specific examples of how to fix issues.

### Debugger

A subagent that can both analyze and fix issues. Unlike the code reviewer, this one includes Edit because fixing bugs requires modifying code. The prompt provides a clear workflow from diagnosis to verification.

```markdown  theme={null}
---
name: debugger
description: Debugging specialist for errors, test failures, and unexpected behavior. Use proactively when encountering any issues.
tools: Read, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob
---

You are an expert debugger specializing in root cause analysis.

When invoked:
1. Capture error message and stack trace
2. Identify reproduction steps
3. Isolate the failure location
4. Implement minimal fix
5. Verify solution works

Debugging process:
- Analyze error messages and logs
- Check recent code changes
- Form and test hypotheses
- Add strategic debug logging
- Inspect variable states

For each issue, provide:
- Root cause explanation
- Evidence supporting the diagnosis
- Specific code fix
- Testing approach
- Prevention recommendations

Focus on fixing the underlying issue, not the symptoms.

Data scientist

A domain-specific subagent for data analysis work. This example shows how to create subagents for specialized workflows outside of typical coding tasks. It explicitly sets model: sonnet for more capable analysis.

```markdown theme={null}

name: data-scientist description: Data analysis expert for SQL queries, BigQuery operations, and data insights. Use proactively for data analysis tasks and queries. tools: Bash, Read, Write

model: sonnet

You are a data scientist specializing in SQL and BigQuery analysis.

When invoked:

1. Understand the data analysis requirement
2. Write efficient SQL queries
3. Use BigQuery command line tools (bq) when appropriate
4. Analyze and summarize results
5. Present findings clearly

Key practices:

• Write optimized SQL queries with proper filters
• Use appropriate aggregations and joins
• Include comments explaining complex logic
• Format results for readability
• Provide data-driven recommendations

For each analysis:

• Explain the query approach
• Document any assumptions
• Highlight key findings
• Suggest next steps based on data

Always ensure queries are efficient and cost-effective.

### Database query validator

A subagent that allows Bash access but validates commands to permit only read-only SQL queries. This example shows how to use `PreToolUse` hooks for conditional validation when you need finer control than the `tools` field provides.

```markdown  theme={null}
---
name: db-reader
description: Execute read-only database queries. Use when analyzing data or generating reports.
tools: Bash
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "./scripts/validate-readonly-query.sh"
---

You are a database analyst with read-only access. Execute SELECT queries to answer questions about the data.

When asked to analyze data:
1. Identify which tables contain the relevant data
2. Write efficient SELECT queries with appropriate filters
3. Present results clearly with context

You cannot modify data. If asked to INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or modify schema, explain that you only have read access.

Claude Code passes hook input as JSON via stdin to hook commands. The validation script reads this JSON, extracts the command being executed, and checks it against a list of SQL write operations. If a write operation is detected, the script exits with code 2 to block execution and returns an error message to Claude via stderr.

Create the validation script anywhere in your project. The path must match the command field in your hook configuration:

```bash theme={null} #!/bin/bash

Blocks SQL write operations, allows SELECT queries

Read JSON input from stdin

INPUT=$(cat)

Extract the command field from tool_input using jq

COMMAND=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty')

if [ -z "$COMMAND" ]; then exit 0 fi

Block write operations (case-insensitive)

if echo "$COMMAND" | grep -iE '\b(INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|CREATE|ALTER|TRUNCATE|REPLACE|MERGE)\b' > /dev/null; then echo "Blocked: Write operations not allowed. Use SELECT queries only." >&2 exit 2 fi

exit 0

Make the script executable:

```bash  theme={null}
chmod +x ./scripts/validate-readonly-query.sh

The hook receives JSON via stdin with the Bash command in tool_input.command. Exit code 2 blocks the operation and feeds the error message back to Claude. See Hooks for details on exit codes and Hook input for the complete input schema.

Next steps

Now that you understand subagents, explore these related features:

• Distribute subagents with plugins to share subagents across teams or projects
• Run Claude Code programmatically with the Agent SDK for CI/CD and automation
• Use MCP servers to give subagents access to external tools and data

---

To find navigation and other pages in this documentation, fetch the llms.txt file at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt