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

• Parse user input, determine intent
• Read state files for context
• Delegate ALL work to subagents via Task tool
• 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:

• Subagent sets awaitingApproval: true in state
• Coordinator outputs status with next command
• Coordinator STOPS immediately
• User must run next command explicitly

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