Work with Subagents in Chat
A primary agent can delegate a bounded part of the work to a subagent and use the returned result in the parent session. Subagents suit focused investigation or specialist work that stays connected to one request.
Follow delegated work
While subagents run, the transcript shows a row for each one with its status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | The subagent is working. The row shows how long ago its last activity arrived. |
| Waiting for your authorization | A tool needs your approval. |
| Waiting for an answer | The subagent asked a question. |
| Retrying | The model request failed and is being retried. |
| Done | The result was delivered to the parent session. |
| Error | The subagent could not finish. |
A summary such as Waiting for subagents · 2 active · 1 done tracks the group. A row that shows No new activity for a long time may be stuck; open it to check.
Open a subagent session
Select a subagent row to open its session. In the sidebar it opens in an editor tab; in Agent Manager it opens in the panel on the right. The child session keeps its own transcript and stays linked to the parent.
A result is useful to the parent only after it is delivered back to that session.
Run subagents in the background
A background subagent keeps working while the parent session continues. The session header shows how many are running; open one, open all, or Stop them from there. When a background agent needs input, it is marked Needs input.
To run every delegation in the background, turn on Background Subagents in Settings → Experimental.
Choose the subagent model
Subagents use the Subagent Model from Settings → Models, or the calling agent's model when it is unset. To ask for a specific model in one request, mention it with @ and select Model; the primary agent can then assign that model, provider, and reasoning effort to the subagent.
Share a board between subagents
AI Cockpit Swarm, in Settings → Agents, gives a main session and its subagents a shared board for parallel attempts or complementary work. Turn it on for tasks that benefit from coordination, not for every task. The board appears in the session header as Board, with options to refresh or reset it.
Respond to a subagent permission
A subagent can raise a permission request in the parent Chat. The request shows that it came from a child session. Review the operation and its target as you would any other permission request.
Subagents differ from Agent Manager sessions. Use Agent Manager for work streams you manage yourself, with separate Git worktrees and terminals.