Execute plan by dispatching a fresh implementer subagent per task, a task review (spec compliance + code quality) after each, and a broad whole-branch review at the end.
Why subagents: You delegate tasks to specialized agents with isolated context. By precisely crafting their instructions and context, you ensure they stay focused and succeed at their task. They should never inherit your session's context or history — you construct exactly what they need. This also preserves your own context for coordination work.
Core principle: Fresh subagent per task + task review (spec + quality) + broad final review = high quality, fast iteration
Narration: between tool calls, narrate at most one short line — the ledger and the tool results carry the record.
Continuous execution: Do not pause to check in with your human partner between tasks. Execute all tasks from the plan without stopping. The only reasons to stop are: BLOCKED status you cannot resolve, ambiguity that genuinely prevents progress, or all tasks complete. "Should I continue?" prompts and progress summaries waste their time — they asked you to execute the plan, so execute it.
digraph when_to_use {
"Have implementation plan?" [shape=diamond];
"Tasks mostly independent?" [shape=diamond];
"Stay in this session?" [shape=diamond];
"subagent-driven-development" [shape=box];
"executing-plans" [shape=box];
"Manual execution or brainstorm first" [shape=box];
"Have implementation plan?" -> "Tasks mostly independent?" [label="yes"];
"Have implementation plan?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no"];
"Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Stay in this session?" [label="yes"];
"Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no - tightly coupled"];
"Stay in this session?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="yes"];
"Stay in this session?" -> "executing-plans" [label="no - parallel session"];
}
vs. Executing Plans (parallel session):
digraph process {
rankdir=TB;
subgraph cluster_per_task {
label="Per Task";
"Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
"Implementer subagent asks questions?" [shape=diamond];
"Answer questions, provide context" [shape=box];
"Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [shape=box];
"Write diff file, dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
"Task reviewer reports spec ✅ and quality approved?" [shape=diamond];
"Dispatch fix subagent for Critical/Important findings" [shape=box];
"Mark task complete in todo list and progress ledger" [shape=box];
}
"Read plan, note context and global constraints, create todos" [shape=box];
"More tasks remain?" [shape=diamond];
"Dispatch final code reviewer subagent (../requesting-code-review/code-reviewer.md)" [shape=box];
"Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];
"Read plan, note context and global constraints, create todos" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
"Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" -> "Implementer subagent asks questions?";
"Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Answer questions, provide context" [label="yes"];
"Answer questions, provide context" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
"Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [label="no"];
"Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" -> "Write diff file, dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)";
"Write diff file, dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)" -> "Task reviewer reports spec ✅ and quality approved?";
"Task reviewer reports spec ✅ and quality approved?" -> "Dispatch fix subagent for Critical/Important findings" [label="no"];
"Dispatch fix subagent for Critical/Important findings" -> "Write diff file, dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)" [label="re-review"];
"Task reviewer reports spec ✅ and quality approved?" -> "Mark task complete in todo list and progress ledger" [label="yes"];
"Mark task complete in todo list and progress ledger" -> "More tasks remain?";
"More tasks remain?" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" [label="yes"];
"More tasks remain?" -> "Dispatch final code reviewer subagent (../requesting-code-review/code-reviewer.md)" [label="no"];
"Dispatch final code reviewer subagent (../requesting-code-review/code-reviewer.md)" -> "Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch";
}
Before dispatching Task 1, scan the plan once for conflicts:
Present everything you find to your human partner as one batched question — each finding beside the plan text that mandates it, asking which governs — before execution begins, not one interrupt per discovery mid-plan. If the scan is clean, proceed without comment. The review loop remains the net for conflicts that only emerge from implementation.
Use the least powerful model that can handle each role to conserve cost and increase speed.
Mechanical implementation tasks (isolated functions, clear specs, 1-2 files): use a fast, cheap model. Most implementation tasks are mechanical when the plan is well-specified.
Integration and judgment tasks (multi-file coordination, pattern matching, debugging): use a standard model.
Architecture and design tasks: use the most capable available model. The final whole-branch review is one of these — dispatch it on the most capable available model, not the session default.
Review tasks: choose the model with the same judgment, scaled to the diff's size, complexity, and risk. A small mechanical diff does not need the most capable model; a subtle concurrency change does.
Always specify the model explicitly when dispatching a subagent. An omitted model inherits your session's model — often the most capable and most expensive — which silently defeats this section.
Turn count beats token price. Wall-clock and context cost scale with how many turns a subagent takes, and the cheapest models routinely take 2-3× the turns on multi-step work — costing more overall. Use a mid-tier model as the floor for reviewers and for implementers working from prose descriptions. When the task's plan text contains the complete code to write, the implementation is transcription plus testing: use the cheapest tier for that implementer. Single-file mechanical fixes also take the cheapest tier.
Task complexity signals (implementation tasks):
Implementer subagents report one of four statuses. Handle each appropriately:
DONE: Generate the review package (scripts/review-package BASE HEAD, from this skill's directory — it prints the unique file path it wrote; BASE is the commit you recorded before dispatching the implementer — never HEAD~1, which silently drops all but the last commit of a multi-commit task), then dispatch the task reviewer with the printed path.
DONE_WITH_CONCERNS: The implementer completed the work but flagged doubts. Read the concerns before proceeding. If the concerns are about correctness or scope, address them before review. If they're observations (e.g., "this file is getting large"), note them and proceed to review.
NEEDS_CONTEXT: The implementer needs information that wasn't provided. Provide the missing context and re-dispatch.
BLOCKED: The implementer cannot complete the task. Assess the blocker:
Never ignore an escalation or force the same model to retry without changes. If the implementer said it's stuck, something needs to change.
The task reviewer may report "⚠️ Cannot verify from diff" items — requirements that live in unchanged code or span tasks. These do not block the rest of the review, but you must resolve each one yourself before marking the task complete: you hold the plan and cross-task context the reviewer lacks. If you confirm an item is a real gap, treat it as a failed spec review — send it back to the implementer and re-review.
Per-task reviews are task-scoped gates. The broad review happens once, at the final whole-branch review. When you fill a reviewer template:
scripts/review-package BASE HEAD and pass the reviewer the file path
it prints (or, without bash: git log --oneline, git diff --stat,
and git diff -U10 for the range, redirected to one uniquely named
file). The output never enters your own context, and the reviewer sees
the commit list, stat summary, and full diff with context in one Read
call. Use the BASE you recorded before dispatching the implementer —
never HEAD~1, which silently truncates multi-commit tasks.Everything you paste into a dispatch prompt — and everything a subagent prints back — stays resident in your context for the rest of the session and is re-read on every later turn. Hand artifacts over as files:
scripts/task-brief PLAN_FILE N — it extracts the task's full text to a
uniquely named file and prints the path. Compose the dispatch so the
brief stays the single source of requirements. Your dispatch should
contain: (1) one line on where this task fits in the project; (2) the
brief path, introduced as "read this first — it is your requirements,
with the exact values to use verbatim"; (3) interfaces and decisions
from earlier tasks that the brief cannot know; (4) your resolution of
any ambiguity you noticed in the brief; (5) the report-file path and
report contract. Exact values (numbers, magic strings, signatures, test
cases) appear only in the brief.…/task-N-brief.md → report …/task-N-report.md) and put it in
the dispatch prompt. The implementer writes the full report there and
returns only status, commits, a one-line test summary, and concerns.Conversation memory does not survive compaction. In real sessions, controllers that lost their place have re-dispatched entire completed task sequences — the single most expensive failure observed. Track progress in a ledger file, not only in todos.
cat "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.superpowers/sdd/progress.md". Tasks listed there
as complete are DONE — do not re-dispatch them; resume at the first task
not marked complete.Task N: complete (commits <base7>..<head7>, review clean).git log over your own recollection.git clean -fdx will destroy the ledger (it's git-ignored scratch); if
that happens, recover from git log.You: I'm using Subagent-Driven Development to execute this plan.
[Read plan file once: docs/superpowers/plans/feature-plan.md]
[Create todos for all tasks]
Task 1: Hook installation script
[Run task-brief for Task 1; dispatch implementer with brief + report paths + context]
Implementer: "Before I begin - should the hook be installed at user or system level?"
You: "User level (~/.config/superpowers/hooks/)"
Implementer: "Got it. Implementing now..."
[Later] Implementer:
- Implemented install-hook command
- Added tests, 5/5 passing
- Self-review: Found I missed --force flag, added it
- Committed
[Run review-package, dispatch task reviewer with the printed path]
Task reviewer: Spec ✅ - all requirements met, nothing extra.
Strengths: Good test coverage, clean. Issues: None. Task quality: Approved.
[Mark Task 1 complete]
Task 2: Recovery modes
[Run task-brief for Task 2; dispatch implementer with brief + report paths + context]
Implementer: [No questions, proceeds]
Implementer:
- Added verify/repair modes
- 8/8 tests passing
- Self-review: All good
- Committed
[Run review-package, dispatch task reviewer with the printed path]
Task reviewer: Spec ❌:
- Missing: Progress reporting (spec says "report every 100 items")
- Extra: Added --json flag (not requested)
Issues (Important): Magic number (100)
[Dispatch fix subagent with all findings]
Fixer: Removed --json flag, added progress reporting, extracted PROGRESS_INTERVAL constant
[Task reviewer reviews again]
Task reviewer: Spec ✅. Task quality: Approved.
[Mark Task 2 complete]
...
[After all tasks]
[Dispatch final code-reviewer]
Final reviewer: All requirements met, ready to merge
Done!
vs. Manual execution:
vs. Executing Plans:
Efficiency gains:
Quality gates:
Cost:
Never:
scripts/task-brief — instead)scripts/review-package BASE HEAD) and name the printed path in the
promptgit log) after any compaction or resumeIf subagent asks questions:
If reviewer finds issues:
If subagent fails task:
Required workflow skills:
Subagents should use:
Alternative workflow:
scripts/review-package MERGE_BASE HEAD (MERGE_BASE = the commit the
branch started from, e.g. git merge-base main HEAD) and include the
printed path in the final review dispatch, so the final reviewer reads
one file instead of re-deriving the branch diff with git commands.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Set up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.
CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use `himalaya` to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language).
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Set up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.
CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use `himalaya` to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language).