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Delegation framework (HierarchicalAgent/DelegateTool) is unwired — no production caller #11207
Description
Discovered during #11159 investigation.
Problem
The hierarchical delegation framework is fully scaffolded but has no production caller:
agents/hierarchical_agent.pyHierarchicalAgent— only instantiated within its own_create_subordinate(and a docstring example); nothing constructs a root and runs it.tools/delegate_tool.pyDelegateTool— returns{"error": "no_hierarchical_agent"}unless injected with aHierarchicalAgent, and nothing injects one.chat_workflow/models.pyAgentContext.create_subordinate_context/create_child— zero production callers.- The
delegatetool inchat_workflow/tool_handler.pyonly recordspending_delegation; nothing consumes it to spawn a subagent.
So delegated multi-agent execution does not happen in production, and governance keyed on a subagent identity (#11159) has nothing to bind to.
Action
Decide: wire the delegation framework into a real execution path, or remove it as dead scaffolding. If wired, stamp the subordinate AgentContext.agent_id with a governed profile id so #11145 forbidden_work enforcement applies to delegated work.
Related: same "wired-but-never-triggered" pattern as AgentLoop (see #11145/#11175) and the dormant chat approval-interrupt (#11202).
Activity
refactor(delegation): restore reason log, document depth metadata, ad…
feat(delegation): wire delegate tool to governed subagent runner, fla…
docs(delegation): note shared-singleton reliance in internal engine (#…
feat(delegation): add governed internal-LLM engine, provider-agnostic…
github-actions commentedon Jul 7, 2026
PR #11215 (merged to
Dev_new_gui) references this issue with a close keyword.If this issue is fully resolved, close it manually. If work remains, no action is needed.
mrveiss commentedon Jul 7, 2026
Completed. The
delegatetool is now wired to an isolated, provider-agnostic governed subagent runner (chat_workflow/delegation.py), flag-gated OFF by default (AUTOBOT_DELEGATION_ENABLED).PR1 — #11213 (sub-task #11214): runner +
_ENGINESregistry + claude_code engine (external autonomous agent, governed via--disallowedToolsmapped from the profile'sforbidden_work;_handle_delegate_tool→ async generator, record-only when off).PR2 — #11215: internal engine (AutoBot's own LLM driving
_execute_llm_continuation_loopwith a governedLLMIterationContext; tools funnel through_dispatch_tool_call→_enforce_forbidden_workfor free; in-processdelegation_depthbounding).Both engines give the subordinate agent autonomy and backend-enforced oversight. Follow-up #11216 tracks moving
_current_lightweight_modeonto ctx for full singleton isolation (cosmetic, latent).Closing as done.
mrveiss commentedon Sep 22, 2026
Filed #17286 for the remainder: the
delegatetool name was rewired tochat_workflow/delegation.py, but the two modules this issue is named after are still present with no production caller.HierarchicalAgent(appears only atagents/hierarchical_agent.py:57,135(creating its own subordinates) and inagents/subordinate_delegation_test.py.tools/delegate_tool.pydeclaresname = "delegate"(:52) and is constructed nowhere outside tests, returning "Delegation not available in current context" when itshierarchical_agentis unset.Per the no-deletion rule #17286 treats this as consolidation — the recursive-subordinate model has no equivalent in the live runner and should be folded in or explicitly retired, not dropped.