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Sub-agents let a main agent delegate work to specialist agents — each with its own LLM, tools, prompts, and Temporal task queue. The main agent sees each specialist as a delegation tool the LLM can invoke. Use sub-agents for domain specialists (math, research, coding) without concentrating every capability into one prompt and tool list.

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Setup

Build each specialist with NewAgent, then register it on the main agent: 
mathAgent, err := agent.NewAgent(
    agent.WithName("MathSpecialist"),
    agent.WithDescription("Arithmetic; uses calculator tools."),
    agent.WithTemporalConfig(&agent.TemporalConfig{
        Host: "localhost", Port: 7233, Namespace: "default",
        TaskQueue: "my-app-math",  // unique task queue for this specialist
    }),
    agent.WithLLMClient(llmClient),
    agent.WithToolRegistry(mathTools),
    agent.WithToolApprovalPolicy(agent.AutoToolApprovalPolicy()),
)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer mathAgent.Close()

mainAgent, err := agent.NewAgent(
    agent.WithName("Orchestrator"),
    agent.WithSystemPrompt("You are a helpful assistant."),
    agent.WithTemporalConfig(&agent.TemporalConfig{
        Host: "localhost", Port: 7233, Namespace: "default",
        TaskQueue: "my-app-main",
    }),
    agent.WithLLMClient(llmClient),
    agent.WithSubAgents(mathAgent),
    agent.WithMaxSubAgentDepth(2),
)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer mainAgent.Close()

result, err := mainAgent.Run(ctx, "What is 144 divided by 12?", nil)
OptionDescription
WithSubAgentsRegister specialists at creation
WithMaxSubAgentDepthMax delegation nesting depth — default 2
Each specialist needs a unique TaskQueue when using Temporal. Use clear WithName and WithDescription values — they appear in the delegation tool schema the LLM sees for routing decisions.

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Behavior

  • Conversation isolation — sub-agents do not inherit the main agent’s conversation ID. They run without session history from the parent.
  • Independent approval policies — parent and child policies are independent (see Approvals).
  • Worker pairing — with DisableLocalWorker, pair each NewAgentWorker with the same options as the NewAgent it runs.
  • Validation at build — sub-agent graphs are validated for cycles and depth violations at NewAgent. Errors fail fast.
Sub-agents do not share the parent’s conversation history. If you need the specialist to have context from the parent session, include it in the delegation prompt or tool call arguments.

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Streaming

When streaming, events from all delegated sub-agents fan in to the main agent’s stream, bracketed by STEP_STARTED and STEP_FINISHED. See Streaming for the full event reference and approval handling patterns.

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Example

Sub-agents

Orchestrator delegating to a math specialist

A2A

Remote agents over the A2A protocol

Approvals

Parent vs specialist approval policies

Dynamic Capabilities

Register sub-agents after NewAgent

Multiple Agents

Instance IDs and task queue patterns