Agents and delegated work

An agent definition describes a role: its instructions and the tools it may use. Select a definition with /agent for your own conversation, or ask Vera to delegate a task to it in a separate conversation.

A delegated child starts without the parent conversation. Put the goal, why it matters, what you already know, paths, and what to return in the spawn description.

Vera’s delegation guidance defaults to direct work, including small changes that span several files. When delegation is justified, it prefers subagent, which waits for the result. Independent calls can run in parallel. async_subagent returns a child ID immediately and delivers its summary on a later turn. The guidance reserves it for substantial independent work the parent can continue without the child’s answer.

Definitions can restrict the conversation’s permissions. They cannot grant access beyond what the conversation allows.

Use the explorer

Explorer is an included role for investigating questions. It reads, searches, and lists material, then returns findings with references. It cannot edit files, run shell commands, or invoke skills.

1. Open /models, choose Defaults, and assign a model to eco.
2. Ask Vera to use explorer for a question and name the material to inspect.
3. Read the returned findings. The result also identifies the definition, model, and reasoning effort used.

Delegated explorer tasks use eco. That model does not also need a Subagents assignment. If eco is unavailable, fix that assignment and retry.

Selecting explorer with /agent instead changes the current conversation’s instructions and tools. It leaves the conversation model unchanged.

Allow models for subagents

Open Defaults from /models and choose Subagents. Add the models delegated tasks may use, in fallback order. Models can come from different connected providers. Type to search the list, then press Enter to add the highlighted model, or to remove it if it is already assigned. Favorites are listed first. Subagents only run models in your favorites, so assigning a model that is not a favorite, here or to any other default, also adds it to favorites.

Spawning session model is a separate option. Turn it on to allow the parent conversation’s model after the assigned list. It is off by default.

A requested model must be in the list, or be the parent model with that option enabled. An unassigned model is refused.

If a model is unavailable

Vera tries the remaining assigned models in order. It reports a substitution with the requested model, the model used, and the reason. It does not choose an unassigned model.

If no model is assigned and parent fallback is off, an interactive client opens the Subagents settings. An unattended client returns a failure. Once a child starts, request retries apply to its selected model; exhausting retries does not restart the assignment search.

Message another conversation

Two conversations open in the same folder can message each other. Ask one to send a note to the other by its title or its identity, for example “tell lookout the crow’s nest tests pass”. Vera finds the other conversation and stores the note. When the recipient starts a turn for it, the whole note arrives in its transcript, marked as coming from that conversation and not from you. A recipient that does not start a turn reads the note when it next checks its inbox. The sender is not told when it is read.

If you are watching the recipient, Vera asks once whether messages from other conversations may start a turn. You can allow it once, for this conversation, or always. A conversation running in the background with auto or full access permissions starts a turn on its own. One with ask permissions keeps the message until you return to it.

Create a definition

Use /create-agent to describe a recurring job and review a proposed definition before saving it. See Create an agent definition.

Definition reference

An omitted tool list allows all available tools. An empty list allows none.

A definition can bind delegated launches to a particular assignment with subagent_assignment in Markdown frontmatter, or subagentAssignment in an extension registration. That assignment replaces the ordinary Subagents list and disables parent fallback. Explorer’s eco assignment works this way. Explicit model requests must remain inside the bound assignment.

The parent-model option is stored as model_assignments.subagents.allow_self; an absent value means off.