Sub-Agents

CortexPrism agents can spawn sub-agents — child Deno processes that run independently with their own model, tools, and system prompt. Sub-agents are used for parallel work, specialized tasks, and scope isolation.

Sub-Agent Types

Defined in src/agent/sub-agent-types.ts (13 types total):

Core Types

Type	Label	Description	Tools	Max Turns
`explore`	Explorer	Fast codebase search, structural questions. Read-only.	file_read, file_search, file_list, file_tree, file_info	6
`general`	Generalist	Full tool access for complex multi-step tasks.	All available	12
`plan`	Planner	Creates detailed execution plans with step IDs. Read-only.	Read-only file tools	8
`code`	Coder	Writes and edits code. Runs tests — verification is mandatory.	Full file system + shell + code_exec	10
`research`	Researcher	Web research and information synthesis.	web_search + read-only file tools	8

Domain Specialists

Type	Label	Description	Tools	Max Turns
`security`	Security Auditor	OWASP Top 10, secrets, CVEs. Read-only.	file_read, file_search, file_list, file_tree, file_info, web_search	10
`debug`	Debugger	History → Reproduce → Isolate → Fix → Verify → Regression test.	Full file system + shell + code_exec	12
`architect`	Architect	System design with quantified trade-offs, ADR format. Read-only.	Read-only file tools	10
`devops`	DevOps Engineer	Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD, shell automation.	Full file system + shell + web_search	12
`data`	Data Analyst	Data queries, analysis, insights.	shell + code_exec + db_query + web_search	12
`ui`	UI/UX Designer	Accessible interface design. WCAG 2.1 AA minimum.	Full file system + shell + browser + web_search + code_exec	12

Quality & Documentation

Type	Label	Description	Tools	Max Turns
`reviewer`	Code Reviewer	Structured PR review: BLOCKER / SUGGESTION / NITPICK / QUESTION. Read-only.	file_read, file_search, file_list, file_tree, file_info, web_search	10
`writer`	Technical Writer	Writes/edits docs, changelogs, READMEs, API references.	file_read, file_write, file_edit, file_search, file_list, file_tree, shell, web_search	10

Spawning Flow

Parent Agent → tools/builtin/sub_agent.ts → agent/sub-agent.ts → spawns deno run packages/infra/src/processes/sub-agent-entry.ts. Communication via stdin/stdout JSON-line protocol.

Child sends { type:"ready" } and { type:"done", result:{ ... } }.

Protocol

Parent ↔ Child communication uses stdin/stdout JSON-line protocol:

Parent → Child: { "type": "init", "config": {...}, "agentConfig": {...} }
Child → Parent: { "type": "ready" }, { "type": "chunk", "delta": "..." }, { "type": "done", "result": {...} }, { "type": "error", "error": "..." }

Session Tracking

Every sub-agent session records its parent via parent_session_id. API: GET /api/sessions/:id/children, getChildSessions(parentId), getParentSession(childId), countChildSessions(parentId). Web UI shows channel type badges and ⤷ child indicators.

Parallel Sub-Agent Dispatcher

Task board tracks all active/completed sub-agent tasks with pulsing green indicators, status badges, and 3-second auto-refresh.