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
• Generate spec artifacts (spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md) yourself

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

SpecKit Subagent Types

Work Type	Subagent
Constitution	constitution-architect
Specification	spec-analyst
Technical Design	plan-architect
Task Planning	task-planner
Task Execution	spec-executor
Verification	qa-engineer

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
Constitution alignment	Agents enforce principles

Quick Mode Exception?

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

• Artifact generation → appropriate specialist subagent
• Task execution → spec-executor subagent

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

Coordinator Pattern

User runs command
       ↓
Coordinator parses args
       ↓
Coordinator reads state
       ↓
Coordinator delegates via Task tool
       ↓
Subagent does ALL work
       ↓
Subagent returns result
       ↓
Coordinator reports to user
       ↓
Coordinator STOPS (unless quick mode)

Phase Transitions

After each phase completes:

1. Subagent sets awaitingApproval: true in state
2. Coordinator outputs status with next command
3. Coordinator STOPS immediately
4. User must run next command explicitly

Exception: --quick mode runs all phases without stopping.