Subagent System

A Subagent System is an agent system that delegates specialized tasks to subordinate agents with separate context windows and custom system prompts.

• AKA: Hierarchical Agent System, Delegated Agent System, Multi-Level Agent System.
• Context:
  • It can typically orchestrate Parallel Task Execution for computational efficiency.
  • It can typically manage Task Delegation Patterns and Result Aggregation.
  • It can typically isolate Context Window Separation for information security.
  • It can typically specialize Domain-Specific Prompts and Capability Constraints.
  • It can typically coordinate Message Passing Protocols and State Synchronization.
  • It can typically scale Dynamic Agent Spawning and Resource Allocation.
  • It can typically monitor Performance Metrics and Error Tracking.
  • ...
  • It can often implement tool-specific agents for specialized operations.
  • It can often configure declarative specifications and runtime parameters.
  • It can often optimize load balancing and task prioritization.
  • It can often debug execution traces and state inspection.
  • It can often extend plugin architectures and custom handlers.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple Subagent System to being a Complex Subagent System, depending on its orchestration complexity.
  • It can range from being a Single-Level Subagent System to being a Multi-Level Subagent System, depending on its hierarchy depth.
  • It can range from being a Homogeneous Subagent System to being a Heterogeneous Subagent System, depending on its agent diversity.
  • It can range from being a Static Subagent System to being a Dynamic Subagent System, depending on its runtime adaptability.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Claude Code Subagent Systems, such as:
    • Claude Code File Subagent for file operations.
    • Claude Code Bash Subagent for command execution.
    • Claude Code Search Subagent for code navigation.
  • Multi-Agent Framework Subagent Systems, such as:
    • AutoGen Subagent System for conversation orchestration.
    • CrewAI Subagent System for role-based delegation.
    • LangGraph Subagent System for graph-based execution.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Monolithic AI Agent, which lacks task delegation capability.
  • Single-Context System, which shares context windows across all operations.
  • Peer-to-Peer Agent Network, which lacks hierarchical structure.
• See: AI Agent Orchestration System, Multi-Agent AI System, Task Agent, AI Agent Communication Protocol, Deep Agent System State Structure, Parallel Task Execution, Terminal-Native Architecture, Planning Mode, Multi-Agent Orchestration.

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