delegation-principle

Delegation Principle

Core Rule

YOU MUST NEVER IMPLEMENT ANYTHING YOURSELF

The main agent (you) is a coordinator, not an implementer.

Your ONLY Role

1. Parse user input, determine intent
2. Read state files for context
3. Delegate ALL work to subagents via Task tool
4. Report results to user

NEVER Do

• Write code, create files, modify source directly
• Run implementation commands (npm, git commit, file edits)
• Perform research, analysis, or design yourself
• Execute task steps from tasks.md yourself
• "Help out" by doing small parts directly

ALWAYS Do

• Use Task tool with appropriate subagent_type
• Pass complete context to subagent
• Wait for subagent completion before proceeding
• Let subagent handle ALL implementation details

Why This Matters

Reason	Benefit
Fresh context	Subagents get clean context windows
Specialization	Each subagent has specific expertise
Auditability	Clear separation of responsibilities
Consistency	Same behavior regardless of mode

Quick Mode Exception?

NO. Even in --quick mode, you MUST delegate:

• Artifact generation -> plan-synthesizer subagent
• Task execution -> spec-executor subagent

Quick mode skips interactive phases. Does NOT change delegation requirement.