AgentDefinition Configuration

Advanced

Configure subagent invocation, context passing, and spawning · Difficulty 3/5

agent-definitionconfigurationcontext-passing

Prerequisites

Explanation

The AgentDefinition configures each subagent type in a multi-agent system, specifying its role, capabilities, and constraints.

Description: What the subagent does, used by the coordinator to decide when to invoke it

System prompt: Sets the subagent's behavior, context, and constraints

Tool restrictions: Limits which tools the subagent can access (principle of least privilege)

Structured data formats: Separate content from metadata when passing between agents

- Include source URLs, document names, page numbers alongside content

- Preserves attribution through the pipeline

Complete findings: Include full prior agent outputs in the subagent prompt

- Don't summarize away details the subagent might need

- Pass web search results AND document analysis outputs to synthesis agents

Goal-oriented prompts: Specify research goals and quality criteria

- Avoid step-by-step procedural instructions

- Enable the subagent to adapt its approach to the specific query

Key Takeaways

AgentDefinition includes description, system prompt, and tool restrictions per subagent type
Use structured data formats to preserve attribution when passing context between agents
Include complete findings from prior agents -- don't summarize away needed details

Related Concepts

All communication flows through the coordinator (hub-and-spoke)