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.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: tzachbon
• Source: tzachbon/smart-ralph
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.