subagent-driven-development

Executes implementation plans by dispatching fresh subagents per task with two-stage review.

Updated Apr 29, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/fred-meng/harness --skill subagent-driven-development-fred-meng
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: subagent-driven-development
Source: https://github.com/fred-meng/harness/tree/main/.github/skills/subagent-driven-development
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/fred-meng/harness --skill subagent-driven-development-fred-meng

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Executing a multi-task implementation plan in a single AI session often leads to context pollution, skipped reviews, and inconsistent quality. This Skill orchestrates plan execution by dispatching a fresh subagent per task, keeping the controller's context clean and enforcing review gates after every task. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Fresh Subagent Per Task: Each task runs in an isolated subagent with curated context, preventing cross-task confusion and preserving the controller's coordination capacity. - Two-Stage Review Gates: Every task passes a spec compliance review first, then a code quality review, with fix-and-re-review loops until approved. - Status-Based Escalation Handling: Implementer subagents report DONE, DONE_WITH_CONCERNS, NEEDS_CONTEXT, or BLOCKED, and the controller responds with targeted remediation such as more context, a more capable model, or task decomposition. - Use Case: Given a written implementation plan with five independent tasks, execute all of them in the current session with automatic spec and quality reviews after each, then run a final whole-implementation review before finishing the branch. ## Quick Start Use subagent-driven development to execute the implementation plan in docs/plans/feature-plan.md task by task with reviews after each task.

Frequently Asked Questions about subagent-driven-development

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I execute an implementation plan with AI subagents?

Read the plan once, extract all tasks with full text into a todo list, then dispatch a fresh implementer subagent per task with the complete task text and context. After each task, run a spec compliance review followed by a code quality review before marking it complete.

What is the difference between subagent-driven development and executing plans?

Subagent-driven development runs in the same session with a fresh subagent per task and no human-in-the-loop between tasks. Executing plans uses a parallel session with a handoff, which suits cases where you want to leave the current session.

When should I not use subagent-driven development?

Avoid it when tasks are tightly coupled and cannot be implemented independently, when no written implementation plan exists yet, or when you intend to work in a separate parallel session. Brainstorm or write the plan first in those cases.

How do I handle a blocked or failing implementer subagent?

Treat BLOCKED as a signal to change something: provide missing context and re-dispatch, switch to a more capable model, break the task into smaller pieces, or escalate to the human if the plan itself is wrong. Never force the same model to retry unchanged.

Why run spec compliance review before code quality review?

Spec compliance confirms the implementation matches requirements exactly, with nothing missing and nothing extra. Reviewing code quality first wastes effort on code that may need to change to meet the spec, so quality review only starts after spec compliance passes.