 Discover how subagents keep your main context clean by working in isolated windows, meet Claude Code's built-in Explore and Plan agents, and spin up your first custom subagent using the /agents command.

Video: What are subagents

What are subagents

Where do refunds live?

Video: Creating a subagent

Creating a subagent

Spin up a code reviewer

Introduction to Subagents

Apply four design patterns to build subagents that stay focused and finish on time, then learn which tasks are worth delegating: research, code reviews, and custom prompts; and which ones aren't.

Video: Designing effective subagents

Designing effective subagents

Fix a weak subagent config

Video: Using subagents effectively

Using subagents effectively

Options

Delegate to a subagent

Keep on the main thread

Delegate or keep on the main thread?

Designing and Using Effective Subagents

Subagents are one of the most practical ways to get more out of longer Claude Code sessions. They let you delegate tasks to isolated assistants that do their work separately and return just the information you need — keeping your main context window clean and your conversations focused. In this course, you'll learn how subagents work, how to create custom ones, design patterns that make them reliable, and practical guidance on when delegation is worth it.

<h2>Introduction to Subagents in Claude Code</h2> Subagents are specialized assistants that Claude Code can delegate tasks to, each running in its own isolated context window. In this course, you'll learn how subagents work, how to create your own, and when to use them to keep your main conversation clean and focused. No programming experience is required — just basic comfort with a command line. Start learning how to break complex work into focused pieces and get more out of longer Claude Code sessions. <br><br> <h2>Create and Configure Custom Subagents</h2> Claude Code ships with built-in subagents for exploration and planning, but the real power comes from building your own. You'll walk through the /agents command to create a custom subagent from scratch, configuring its description, system prompt, tool access, and model. You'll learn how each field in the config file influences when Claude delegates to the subagent and what instructions it receives. <br><br> <h2>Design Subagents That Stay Focused and Finish on Time</h2> A poorly configured subagent will wander, run too long, or produce output the main agent can't use. You'll learn four design patterns that fix this: writing descriptions that shape input prompts, defining structured output formats as natural stopping conditions, surfacing obstacles so the main thread doesn't rediscover them, and restricting tool access to match each subagent's role. <br><br> <h2>Know When to Delegate and When to Stay on the Main Thread</h2> Not every task benefits from a subagent. You'll learn which patterns work — research, code reviews, and tasks needing custom system prompts — and which ones don't, like expert-persona prompts, sequential pipelines, and test runners that hide the output you need. <br><br> By the time you complete this course, you'll be able to create, configure, and deploy subagents that keep your context window clean, produce structured and actionable output, and make your Claude Code workflow significantly more effective.

Claude Code 101

Learn how to use and create sub-agents in Claude Code to manage context, delegate tasks, and build workflows that keep your conversation clean and focused.

Fix a weak subagent config

Introduction to Subagents

Exercise instructions

Hands-on interactive exercise