subagent: add status tool, cut docs down to operator-facing + no cli flags

This commit is contained in:
damocles 2026-09-09 19:02:27 +02:00
commit c2fb3c6e3e
7 changed files with 136 additions and 195 deletions

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@ -100,12 +100,13 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
`bash_commands` stat into turn-stats.sqlite.
- **`hive-subagent-mcp/`** — per-agent claude-subagent runner daemon
(`hive-subagent-daemon`); spawns nested claude sessions on request and
serves `start`/`continue`/`interrupt` directly over streamable-http (no
stdio bridge). Independent of `hive-bash-mcp` (a subagent is a much
heavier capability than a bash command). No task files — the daemon's
only state is an in-memory map of currently-running processes, live
only as long as the process is; the actual claude session survives a
daemon restart independently (see `session.rs`'s module doc).
serves `start`/`continue`/`status`/`interrupt` directly over
streamable-http (no stdio bridge). Independent of `hive-bash-mcp` (a
subagent is a much heavier capability than a bash command). No task
files — the daemon's only state is an in-memory map of currently-running
processes, live only as long as the process is; the actual claude
session survives a daemon restart independently (see `session.rs`'s
module doc).
- **`hive-sh4re/`** — shared wire types (Agent / Manager request +
response, `Message`, `Approval`, `HelperEvent`) used across the unix
sockets. Host-admin-socket and hive-priv-socket wire types have been

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@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ description: Spin up a short-lived headless `claude` sub-instance to grind throu
A sub-instance you spawn inherits the same filesystem and credentials you
have. This is a first-class tool for offloading a bounded, mechanical
batch - not a hack.
batch.
## When to use it
@ -20,72 +20,26 @@ batch - not a hack.
## The `subagent` MCP tools
Your container's `subagent` MCP server (`hive-subagent-daemon`) is this
skill's recipe as MCP calls — no manual shell-wrapping, no hand-rolled
backgrounding:
Your container's `subagent` MCP server (`hive-subagent-daemon`) runs this
skill's recipe for you:
```
start(name, prompt_file, model?, trigger?)
continue(name, prompt, model?)
status(name)
interrupt(name, force?)
```
`name``--name`, `model``--model`, `prompt_file`
`--append-system-prompt-file`, `trigger`/`prompt``-p`. `start` returns
once the process is confirmed running, not once it finishes — a
completion lands as a todo (`get_loose_ends`), same as any other producer.
There's no `status` poll: check on a subagent by `continue`-ing it (refused
while it's still running, which is itself the "still going" signal) or by
reading its completion todo. `interrupt` genuinely stops a running turn
(`force: true` for SIGKILL) — unlike bash tasks' `kill`, this isn't
limited to a still-pending state.
`start` and `continue` return as soon as the process is confirmed
running, not once it finishes — a completion lands as a todo
(`get_loose_ends`), same as any other producer. Use `status` for a
zero-cost "is it still going" check; reach for `continue` only once you
actually have a new instruction for it, since that spends a turn.
`interrupt` genuinely stops a running turn (`force: true` for SIGKILL).
Everything else in this skill (model choice, prompt hygiene, splitting
big batches, verify-then-report) applies unchanged; only the launch
mechanics differ from a raw shell invocation.
No `subagent` MCP server on this container? Fall back to the manual
command below — same recipe, you drive the backgrounding yourself.
## The spawn command (manual fallback)
Put the task recipe in a file and pass it as a path, with a short `-p`
trigger:
```bash
claude --name <memorable> --model <cheaper-than-you> --dangerously-skip-permissions \
--append-system-prompt-file task-prompt.md \
-p "Carry out the task described in your instructions."
```
- **`--name <memorable>`** - names the session so you can `--resume` it
by name for follow-ups.
- **`--model <cheaper-than-you>`** - think about which model the task
actually needs; don't spend a bigger model's tokens than your own on
mechanical work a cheaper one handles fine. Never use a _bigger_ model
than yourself for a sub-agent - if the task needs that much capability,
it's not the "mechanical batch" case this skill is for.
- **`--dangerously-skip-permissions`** - required in headless (`-p`)
mode. Without it, tool calls that would normally prompt for approval
are auto-**denied** non-interactively, so the sub-agent silently does
nothing. Acceptable here because the sub-instance runs inside your
already-sandboxed environment, with your already-scoped credentials,
on a bounded task - don't reach for it when the task could touch
things outside its intended blast radius.
- **`--append-system-prompt-file <path>`** - read the recipe from a
file rather than inlining it in `-p` (which is bounded by `ARG_MAX` -
a long recipe passed as `-p "$(cat …)"` can blow past it and the exec
fails). Keeps Claude Code's default scaffolding and adds your recipe
on top.
- **`-p "<trigger>"`** - headless print mode. Keep this short: just
tell the sub-agent to act on its file-supplied instructions.
## Run it in the background, don't babysit
Wrap the launch in a background bash task and end your turn - your
bash-task runner already captures stdout/stderr and hands you a
completion pointer, and ending the turn keeps you reachable for other
work while the sub-agent grinds.
Model choice, prompt hygiene, splitting big batches, verify-then-report —
everything else in this skill — applies exactly the same whether you're
calling the tool or thinking through the recipe by hand.
## Prompt hygiene - this is where batches succeed or fail
@ -121,10 +75,9 @@ running at once instead of handing the whole thing to one.
different files never race on the same working tree or index. For a
non-git batch (issue relabeling, API calls), independent items don't
need filesystem isolation at all — just launch N in parallel.
- **Launch all N in the background and don't babysit any single one**
same as the one-subagent case, just N background bash tasks instead of
one. Check on them as a batch, not by polling each individually in a
loop.
- **Launch all N and don't babysit any single one** — same as the
one-subagent case, just N `start` calls instead of one. Check on them
as a batch, not by polling each individually in a loop.
- **Mind the container's memory cap before picking N.** Your whole
container shares one `MemoryMax` (a few GB by default) with every
subagent you spawn _and_ your own process. A `claude` process plus its
@ -147,10 +100,10 @@ threaded — the coordination overhead isn't worth it below that size.
## Resume for follow-ups
`claude --resume <name> -p "Now run the same procedure over the second batch."`
reuses the same session, so the sub-agent keeps every constant and
gotcha it already discovered instead of re-learning the surface from a
cold prompt. Spawn a new `--name` only for a genuinely unrelated task.
`continue` reuses the same session, so the sub-agent keeps every constant
and gotcha it already discovered instead of re-learning the surface from
a cold prompt. Reach for `start` under a new name only for a genuinely
unrelated task.
## Verify, then report
@ -160,14 +113,12 @@ anything the sub-agent left ambiguous or exempted for a human call.
## Pitfalls (all observed in practice)
- No `--dangerously-skip-permissions` → headless tool calls denied, the
sub-agent burns a run doing nothing.
- Using a model bigger than yourself → paying premium cost for
mechanical work that didn't need it.
- Skipping the one-item tuning pass → a systematic mistake smeared
across the whole batch.
- Spawning fresh instead of `--resume` for a follow-up → throws away
all the context the first pass earned.
- `start`-ing fresh instead of `continue`-ing for a follow-up → throws
away all the context the first pass earned.
- Baking an unverified assumption into the recipe - if a quick check
suggests something "isn't possible" or "doesn't exist," confirm it
before writing that conclusion into the prompt; a wrong assumption

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@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ debug agent behavior.
- **[bash](bash.md)** — background shell execution (`mcp__bash__*`),
available on every agent unconditionally.
- **[subagent](subagent.md)** — spawn nested headless claude sessions
(`mcp__subagent__{start,continue,interrupt}`), shipped default-on for
every agent today alongside `bash` (expected to become a real opt-in
capability later).
(`mcp__subagent__{start,continue,status,interrupt}`), shipped
default-on for every agent today alongside `bash` (expected to become a
real opt-in capability later).
- **[forge](forge.md)** — the `hive-forge` Forgejo CLI every agent has
for issues, PRs, and comments. Not an MCP tool — a binary agents
shell out to instead of ad-hoc curl.

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@ -102,12 +102,6 @@ MCP tools directly over streamable-http on `hyperhive.mcp.bashHttpPort`
stdio child, so there's no per-turn MCP re-registration race and no
round-trip socket hop for tool calls.
Independent daemon (own crate, own process/systemd unit/MCP server
`subagent`): `hive-subagent-daemon` — see [`subagent.md`](subagent.md).
Spawns nested claude sessions rather than shell commands, so it keeps no
task files here or anywhere else; a subagent task never shows up in this
daemon's `status`/`kill` or the running-tasks panel.
### Completion as a todo (loose-ends v2)
When a bash task changes state, `hive-bash-daemon` upserts a single keyed

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@ -1,102 +1,54 @@
# Subagent tools
# Subagent daemon
Spawns nested headless `claude` sessions via `hive-subagent-daemon`. Tools
land as `mcp__subagent__<tool>` (the MCP server name is `subagent`, not
`hyperhive`). Shipped default-on for every agent today —
`nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix` always injects `subagent` into
`hyperhive.extraMcpServers` (with `allowedTools = ["*"]`), same as `bash`.
The operator's own framing: shipped default-on for now, expected to become
a real opt-in capability later (not built yet).
`hive-subagent-daemon` (crate `hive-subagent-mcp`) spawns nested headless
`claude` sessions on request. Own process, own systemd unit, own MCP
server (`subagent`, not `hyperhive`) — independent of `hive-bash-daemon`:
a subagent is a full nested claude process, a materially heavier
capability than a background shell command, so it gets its own
deployable/restartable unit rather than living inside the bash daemon.
See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for _when_ to reach for this
(mechanical, bounded batches) versus doing the work inline.
Shipped default-on for every agent — `nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix` injects
`subagent` into `hyperhive.extraMcpServers` unconditionally (`allowedTools
= ["*"]`), same as `bash`. The operator's own framing: default-on for
now, a real opt-in capability later.
For what the tools do and when an agent should reach for them, see the
`subagent` MCP server's own tool descriptions and the
`base:claude-subagents` skill — this page covers the daemon as deployed
infrastructure, not the agent-facing API.
## Tools
### `start(name, prompt_file, model?, trigger?)`
Served under the `subagent` MCP server (`mcp__subagent__<tool>`): `start`,
`continue`, `status`, `interrupt`.
Start a fresh subagent session under `name`, running in the background.
Returns as soon as the process is confirmed running — not once it
finishes.
## State
- `name` — session display name: claude's own `--name`/`--resume` session
title, and this daemon's tracking key while the process is alive.
`[a-z0-9-]`, max 63 chars. Reusable once a prior session under that name
has _finished_; refused while one is still running.
- `prompt_file` — path to a file passed as `--append-system-prompt-file`,
the subagent's actual task instructions. A file, not an inline string,
to avoid `ARG_MAX` on a large recipe.
- `model``--model` for the subagent's own claude invocation. Omit for
claude's own default.
- `trigger` — written to the subagent's stdin as its first turn's prompt.
Defaults to a generic "carry out your instructions" nudge.
In-memory only: a map of currently-running processes, live only as long
as the daemon process is. A daemon restart stops whatever was running
rather than adopting it. The durable record of a subagent's existence is
claude's own on-disk session (`hive_claude::SessionStore`), which
`continue` reattaches to independent of the daemon's own lifetime — a
restart loses the *in-flight turn*, not the subagent's history.
A prior _finished_ session under the same name is archived first (renamed
`.jsonl.archived`, not deleted) — a real fresh start, not a silent resume
of old history.
## Compaction trade-off
Exposed as `mcp__subagent__start`.
Built on `hive_claude::Claude::spawn` + `RunningClaude::wait` directly
rather than `InfiniteSession::run`, since only the low-level driver
exposes a cancel handle to stop a turn mid-flight — that's what makes
`interrupt` genuinely stop a running turn rather than only cancelling a
still-pending one. The cost: a turn that overflows the context window
surfaces as an error rather than self-healing via reactive compaction.
Subagents are meant to be bounded, single-batch work, not sessions
long-lived enough to need in-place compaction — a real follow-up if that
assumption stops holding.
### `continue(name, prompt, model?)`
## Configuration
Give an existing named session a new turn — whether that means "the
previous turn finished, here's a follow-up instruction" or "the daemon
restarted, reattaching to a session that survived it independently."
Returns as soon as confirmed running, same as `start`. Refused for a name
with no session on disk at all, or one currently running.
`hyperhive.mcp.subagentHttpPort` — the daemon's streamable-http listen
port. Same pattern as `bashHttpPort`/`matrixHttpPort`: a per-agent default
assigned by `nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix`, only worth overriding for an
agent that needs a stable or non-default port.
- `name` — the existing session's name (from a prior `start`).
- `prompt` — the new turn's prompt.
- `model``--model` for this turn; doesn't have to match whatever
`start` used.
Exposed as `mcp__subagent__continue`.
### `interrupt(name, force?)`
Signal `name`'s currently-running process. Only works while it's actually
running — there's no queued/pending state to cancel pre-emptively.
- `force: false` (default) — SIGINT, letting claude shut down cleanly if
it's mid-response.
- `force: true` — SIGKILL.
Exposed as `mcp__subagent__interrupt`.
Always runs with `--dangerously-skip-permissions --strict-mcp-config` (no
`--mcp-config` override — a safety property, not a knob).
## Checking on a subagent
There's no `status` tool. A subagent's own claude session — not a
parallel log this daemon writes — is the record of what it did; read that
the same way you'd catch up on any other agent, by asking it directly
(`continue` with a prompt). The daemon pushes exactly one todo per
session lifetime: when a turn finishes, its completion summary lands via
`get_loose_ends` like any other producer's todo. `continue` on a name
that's still running is refused (with that as the tell it's still going)
rather than queuing behind it.
## Architecture
`hive-subagent-daemon` (own crate, `hive-subagent-mcp`) is independent of
`hive-bash-daemon` — a subagent spawns a full nested `claude` process, a
materially heavier capability than a bash command, worth its own
deployable/restartable unit. Own systemd unit, own streamable-http
listener on `hyperhive.mcp.subagentHttpPort`.
**No task files.** The daemon's only state is an in-memory map of
currently-running processes (`name -> Cancel`), live only as long as the
process is — a restart stops whatever's running rather than adopting it.
The durable record of a subagent's existence is claude's own on-disk
session, found again by name via `hive_claude::SessionStore`; that's what
`continue` reattaches to, restart or not.
**No mid-turn compaction.** Built on `hive_claude::Claude::spawn` +
`RunningClaude::wait` directly, not `InfiniteSession::run` — the latter
has no cancel handle to reach in from the outside, which is what would
make `interrupt` a no-op. The trade: a turn that overflows the context
window surfaces as a plain error instead of self-healing via reactive
compaction. Subagents are meant to be bounded, single-batch work (see the
`base:claude-subagents` skill), not sessions long-lived enough to need
in-place compaction — a real follow-up if that assumption stops holding.
Own systemd unit, defined alongside the other per-agent MCP daemons in
`nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix`.

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@ -15,20 +15,21 @@ use crate::session::{self, State};
#[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
struct StartArgs {
/// Session name — becomes both this daemon's tracking key and claude's
/// own `--name`/`--resume` session title. Same identifier rules as the
/// `bash` server's task names: lowercase, digits, hyphen, max 63 chars.
/// Reusable once a prior *finished* session under that name is done —
/// rejected while one under the same name is still running.
/// Session name — this daemon's tracking key while it's alive, and the
/// identity to `continue`/`status`/`interrupt` it by afterward. Same
/// identifier rules as the `bash` server's task names: lowercase,
/// digits, hyphen, max 63 chars. Reusable once a prior *finished*
/// session under that name is done — rejected while one under the same
/// name is still running.
name: String,
/// `--model` for the subagent's own claude invocation. Omit for
/// claude's own default. The `base:claude-subagents` skill's
/// "cheaper-than-you" guidance still applies here.
/// Which model the subagent's own session runs. Omit for claude's own
/// default. The `base:claude-subagents` skill's "cheaper-than-you"
/// guidance still applies here.
#[serde(default)]
model: Option<String>,
/// Path to a file passed as `--append-system-prompt-file` — the
/// subagent's actual task instructions. A file, not an inline string,
/// to avoid `ARG_MAX` on a large recipe.
/// Path to a file holding the subagent's actual task instructions. A
/// file, not an inline string, so a large recipe can't blow past a
/// shell argument length limit.
prompt_file: String,
/// Written to the subagent's stdin as its first turn's prompt. Default:
/// a generic "carry out your instructions" nudge — the real task detail
@ -47,12 +48,18 @@ struct ContinueArgs {
name: String,
/// The new turn's prompt, written to the subagent's stdin.
prompt: String,
/// `--model` for this turn. Omit to let claude fall back to its own
/// Which model this turn runs. Omit to let claude fall back to its own
/// default — this does not have to match whatever model `start` used.
#[serde(default)]
model: Option<String>,
}
#[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
struct StatusArgs {
/// The subagent name to check.
name: String,
}
#[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
struct InterruptArgs {
/// The running session's name to signal.
@ -73,13 +80,12 @@ impl SubagentMcp {
#[tool(
description = "Start a fresh claude subagent session under `name`, running in the \
background. Returns as soon as the process is confirmed running not once it \
finishes; poll for completion via the todo this daemon pushes when the turn ends, \
or use `continue` later to give it another turn. A prior *finished* session under \
the same name is archived first (real fresh start, not a silent resume); a \
*currently running* one is refused. Always runs with \
`--dangerously-skip-permissions --strict-mcp-config` (no `--mcp-config` override \
that's a safety property, not a knob). See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for \
when to reach for this."
finishes; this daemon pushes a todo when the turn ends, or use `continue` later to \
give it another turn. A prior *finished* session under the same name is archived \
first (real fresh start, not a silent resume); a *currently running* one is \
refused. Runs unattended every tool-call permission prompt is pre-approved rather \
than interactively confirmed with its MCP server set fixed to what this daemon \
configures for it. See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for when to reach for this."
)]
fn start(&self, Parameters(args): Parameters<StartArgs>) -> String {
match session::start(
@ -120,6 +126,19 @@ impl SubagentMcp {
Err(e) => format!("interrupt error: {e:#}"),
}
}
#[tool(
description = "Report whether a subagent is currently running — a zero-cost check that \
never launches a process, unlike `continue`. Distinguishes running, idle (a session \
exists but nothing is in flight `continue` to give it another turn), and no such \
session at all."
)]
fn status(&self, Parameters(args): Parameters<StatusArgs>) -> String {
match session::status(&self.state, &args.name) {
Ok(msg) => msg,
Err(e) => format!("status error: {e:#}"),
}
}
}
#[tool_handler]

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@ -235,6 +235,30 @@ fn spawn_and_track(
Ok(format!("subagent `{name}` started"))
}
/// Report whether `name` is currently running — a zero-cost check that
/// never launches a process, unlike `continue`. Distinguishes three
/// states: running, idle (a session exists but nothing is in flight), and
/// no such session at all.
///
/// # Errors
///
/// An invalid name, or no session — running or on disk — under `name`.
pub fn status(state: &State, name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
validate_name(name)?;
if state.is_running(name) {
return Ok(format!("subagent `{name}` is running"));
}
let config = build_config(name, None, None);
let store = build_store(&config)?;
if store.find_by_title(name).is_some() {
Ok(format!(
"subagent `{name}` is idle — its last turn finished; `continue` to give it another"
))
} else {
anyhow::bail!("no subagent named `{name}` exists — `start` creates one")
}
}
/// Signal `name`'s running process — `force` picks SIGKILL over SIGINT (see
/// `hive_claude::Cancel::cancel`). Refuses a name with nothing running:
/// there's no queued/pending state to cancel pre-emptively any more (see