Subagent
Subagen
An agent spawned by another agent to do one scoped job in its own context.
A subagent is a separate agent run, with its own context, on one scoped task. The parent agent spawns it, waits for the result, and continues. The subagent's intermediate steps never enter the parent's context, only its conclusion does.
That isolation is the point. It lets a heavy exploration happen without filling the main context with file contents and search results, and it gives a review a genuinely fresh set of eyes.
The trade is that the parent only sees what the subagent chose to report. A subagent that goes slightly off-task can return something that looks fine and is quietly wrong, so the instruction to the subagent needs to state what to return, not just what to do.
Related terms
Multi-agent
Several agents with separate roles working on one task, often with one coordinating the others.
Agent
A model with tools, a system prompt, and a loop that lets it act and observe results.
Context Window
Everything the model sees on one request. Finite, and it decides what fits.
Progressive Disclosure
Show the model only the detail it needs right now, and load more when it asks.
Harness
Everything around the model that turns it into an agent: tools, system prompt, permissions, hooks.
Want this working inside your team?
It starts with one conversation about your workflow.