What is Sub-agent?
A sub-agent is a specialised AI agent started by another agent to handle one part of a larger task, with its own instructions, tools and permissions.
Large tasks are easier to handle when they are split up. A lead agent can start sub-agents for focused work, for example one to analyse requirements, one to implement the backend, one to write tests and one to review the result, and then combine what they return.
Why teams use sub-agents
- Focus: each sub-agent gets a narrow brief and a clean context.
- Parallelism: independent parts of the work can run at the same time.
- Least privilege: a reviewer sub-agent can read code without being able to change it.
Sub-agents are a building block of agent orchestration and map naturally to familiar team roles.
Related terms
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