What are Claude Code Subagents

Specialized assistants Claude can delegate work to

Subagents are specialized assistants that Claude Code can delegate work to.

Each subagent has:

  • A focused role
  • A custom prompt
  • Its own context window

In aibuilder.sh, subagents are referred to as agents and installed as Markdown files at:

.claude/agents/<agent-name>.md

How Subagents work

When Claude encounters a task that matches a subagent's role, it can delegate that work to the subagent.

This allows:

  • Better focus
  • Cleaner separation of responsibilities
  • More predictable outputs

Examples:

  • A code review agent
  • A frontend testing agent
  • A documentation agent

When to use a Subagent

Use a subagent when:

  • The task benefits from a specialist mindset
  • You want clear boundaries between responsibilities
  • The work is complex or multi-step

Subagents pair well with skills and commands.

Installing a Subagent

Install an agent with:

npx ai-builder add agent <agent-name>