/delegate

> Assign work to a specific agent or runtime with adapter selection.

Purpose

Route a task to the best available agent or runtime. Unlike /spawn (which creates new agents), /delegate assigns work to existing agents or selects the optimal adapter for the task type. Maintains a parent chain so every delegated task traces back to its origin. Handles adapter selection automatically: Claude for reasoning, Codex for bulk file changes, Gemini for multimodal inputs.

Usage

bash
# Delegate to a specific running agent
/delegate pricing-researcher "Also check competitor free tier limits"

# Delegate with auto-adapter selection
/delegate --auto "Refactor all API endpoints to use new auth middleware"

# Delegate to a specific adapter
/delegate --adapter codex "Update all import statements from v1 to v2 across 47 files"

# Delegate with priority
/delegate analyst "Revenue report needed for board meeting" --priority high

# Delegate with dependencies
/delegate writer "Draft announcement" --after task-123,task-456

# Delegate and wait for result
/delegate researcher "Find the answer" --sync

Arguments

| Flag | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | <target> | positional | — | Agent name or ID to delegate to | | <task> | positional | required | Task description | | --auto | flag | false | Auto-select the best agent/adapter for the task | | --adapter | enum | auto | Force adapter: claude, codex, gemini, ollama | | --priority | enum | normal | critical, high, normal, low | | --after | string] | — | Task IDs that must complete before this starts | | --deadline | duration | — | Soft deadline for completion | | --sync | flag | false | Block until task completes and return result | | --context | path] | — | Files to include as context for the delegate | | --output-format | string | — | Expected output format (guides the delegate) | | --parent | string | auto | Parent task ID (auto-set from current context) |

Workflow

1. Parse task — Extract task type, complexity estimate, and required capabilities from the description.
2. Select target — If --auto, match task requirements against available agents and adapters:

• Reasoning-heavy → Claude (Opus for complex, Sonnet for standard)
• Bulk file changes → Codex (parallel file editing)
• Image/multimodal input → Gemini
• Local/private → Ollama
• If a running agent matches the task domain, prefer it over spawning new

1. Create task record — Generate task ID. Record parent chain, priority, dependencies, deadline. Write to task store.
2. Check dependencies — If --after specified, verify prerequisite tasks exist. Queue until they complete.
3. Deliver — Send task to target agent's inbox with full context: task description, parent chain, expected output, deadline, available commands.
4. Track — Register delegation event. Update /board status. Start deadline timer if set.
5. Return — In --sync mode, poll for completion and return result. Otherwise, return task ID for tracking.

Output

markdown
## Task Delegated

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Task ID | task-2026-03-20-143500-d4e5 |
| Target | pricing-researcher (agent-a1b2) |
| Adapter | claude-sonnet |
| Priority | high |
| Parent | task-2026-03-20-140000-a1b2 |
| Dependencies | none |
| Deadline | 2h |
| Status | delivered |

Track progress: `/board` or `/inbox peek pricing-researcher`

Dependencies

• /spawn — May spawn a new agent if no suitable one exists
• /inbox — Delivers task messages
• /checkout — Locks task to prevent double-work
• /budget — Checks budget availability before delegating
• Agent registry (list of running agents and their capabilities)
• Adapter configurations (API keys, endpoints)