Sub-Agent Creator

Interactive skill for creating Claude Code subagents. Guides the complete process: gathering requirements, designing the agent's purpose and persona, selecting helpful skills and documentation, and writing a properly formatted agent file to .claude/agents/.

Critical Formatting Rules

Subagents MUST follow strict formatting or they will fail validation and not load:

Rule	Requirement	Consequence
Single-line description	`description` must be one line, no `\n`	Validation failure
No literal `\n`	Use actual newlines in body, not `\n` escapes	Validation failure
Valid colors only	If specified: red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink, cyan	Agent won't load
Valid models only	`sonnet`, `opus`, `haiku`, or `inherit`	Validation failure
Name format	Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only	Validation failure

Examples of WRONG vs RIGHT

# WRONG - Multi-line YAML syntax
description: |
  Expert code reviewer.
  Use after code changes.

# WRONG - Actual newlines in value
description: Expert code reviewer.
  Use after code changes.

# RIGHT - ONE continuous line
description: Expert code reviewer. Use proactively after code changes.

# WRONG - Literal \n in body
---
name: test-runner
description: Run tests
---

You are a test runner.\nWhen invoked:\n1. Run tests\n2. Report results

# RIGHT - Actual newlines
---
name: test-runner
description: Run tests
---

You are a test runner.
When invoked:
1. Run tests
2. Report results

Workflow

1. Understand Requirements

When this skill triggers, the user has described what kind of agent they want. First, extract:

Core purpose: What should this agent do?
Trigger conditions: When should Claude delegate to this agent?
Key capabilities: What specific tasks will it handle?
Existing context: Any relevant skills, docs, or project patterns?

2. Use AskUserQuestion for Details

Ask clarifying questions using the AskUserQuestion tool. Confirm:

Identifier: What should the agent be named? (lowercase-with-hyphens)
Proactive usage: Should this agent be used proactively or only on explicit request?
Model: Default to inherit. Only suggest haiku for simple, fast tasks. ALWAYS confirm before using non-inherit models.
Color: Auto-select from valid options (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink, cyan) OR let user choose.

3. Identify Helpful Context

Search the workspace for:

Relevant skills: Check .claude/skills/ and project skills that would help the agent.

ls .claude/skills/

Relevant documentation: Look for references files, CLAUDE.md, API docs, etc.

find . -name "*.md" -type f | head -20

4. Design the System Prompt

Using the agent creation architect framework (see references/agent-creation-prompt.md):

Extract Core Intent - Fundamental purpose and success criteria
Design Expert Persona - Compelling identity with domain knowledge
Architect Instructions - Behavioral boundaries, methodologies, edge cases
Optimize for Performance - Decision frameworks, quality control
Create whenToUse Examples - Concrete examples showing delegation

The system prompt should be in second person ("You are...", "You will...").

5. Write the Agent File

Write the agent file to .claude/agents/<identifier>.md:

---
name: <identifier>
description: <single-line description with when to use>
model: inherit
---

<system prompt in markdown body>

Default settings:

model: Always inherit unless user confirms otherwise
tools: Omit to allow all tools (user preference: never restrict)
skills: Include if specific skills would help the agent

6. Validate Before Completing

Run the validation script:

python .claude/skills/sub-agent-creator/scripts/validate_agent.py .claude/agents/<identifier>.md

Only proceed if validation passes. Fix any errors and re-validate.

Agent File Template

---
name: agent-identifier
description: Brief single-line description starting with what it does. Use proactively when [trigger condition].
model: inherit
skills:
  - relevant-skill-1
  - relevant-skill-2
---

You are an expert [domain] specialist.

When invoked:
1. [First step]
2. [Second step]
3. [Continue as needed]

Your approach:
- [Guideline 1]
- [Guideline 2]

For each [task], provide:
- [Output format 1]
- [Output format 2]

Focus on [core principle].

Description Best Practices

The description field is Claude's primary signal for when to delegate. Include:

What the agent does: "Expert code reviewer specializing in..."
When to use: "Use proactively after writing code" or "Use when analyzing..."
Triggers: Specific situations that should trigger delegation

Examples:

description: Test execution specialist. Use proactively after writing tests or modifying test files.
description: Database query analyst. Use when needing to analyze data or generate reports from BigQuery.
description: Code archaeology expert. Use when exploring legacy codebases or understanding unfamiliar code.

Resources

scripts/validate_agent.py - Validates agent files for formatting errors
references/sub-agents-docs.md - Complete Claude Code subagents documentation
references/agent-creation-prompt.md - Agent creation architect system prompt framework

After creating an agent, verify it appears in /agents command output.