Dev & Engineering

Subagent-Driven Development

Execute implementation plans by dispatching fresh subagents per task with two-stage review.

46/ 100
Use with care

Useful, but reliability, evidence or controls still have material gaps.

See how it was scored ↓
Works as-is in
Codex · Claude Code
Stars
★ 3.2k
Last updated
17d ago
License
Apache-2.0
subagentscode-reviewtest-driven-developmentimplementation
+1workflow

What does this skill do, and when should you use it?

This skill guides an AI agent to automate the implementation of pre-written plans by delegating each task to a fresh subagent and applying two-stage (spec compliance and code quality) reviews. It emphasizes using a fresh subagent per task to avoid context pollution and ensures spec adherence through structured checks. It integrates TDD practices and provides clear step-by-step instructions, task granularity guidelines, and red flags. The skill is part of the DojoAgents monorepo, licensed under MIT, and is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Reads a plan file and extracts all tasks into a todo list. For each task, sequentially dispatches three subagents: an implementer (following TDD), a spec compliance reviewer, and a code quality reviewer. Handles questions from subagents and review feedback, looping as needed until passed. After all tasks, dispatches a final integration reviewer, runs the full test suite, and commits changes. It also provides guidance on task granularity and red flags.

Good fit
  • A developer has a feature plan (e.g., from the writing-plans skill) and wants to implement it systematically, ensuring each task meets spec.
  • A team wants to automate code review and testing while parallelizing independent tasks.
  • Working in a large codebase, you need clean contexts per task to avoid accumulated errors.
  • You want to ensure both spec compliance and code quality are verified before merging code.

How do you install this skill?

Before you use it
  • The skill may auto-commit changes to git, requiring user confirmation or rollback capability.
  • The skill may rely on external services (e.g., data sources), confirm network reachability, especially for mainland-China users.
  • Static review did not verify actual runnability; test in a controlled environment.
Before you start
Your agent needs
  • Shell / CLI
  • Local filesystem

Clone or download the entire DojoAgents collection from GitHub. The skill is located at dojoagents/skills/built_in/subagent-driven-development/SKILL.md. Copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Generic route: install into Claude Code manually (macOS / Linux)
tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Alpha-Dojo/DojoAgents.git "$tmp"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -R "$tmp/dojoagents/skills/built_in/subagent-driven-development" ~/.claude/skills/
rm -rf "$tmp"

Generated from the source repository and skill path; it copies only this skill's folder. If the author's install steps above differ, follow those first. To scope it to one project, replace ~/.claude/skills with that project's .claude/skills.

How do you use this skill?

Try saying

Once installed, send your agent any of these to trigger it:

  • Execute the plan from docs/plans/feature-plan.md using the subagent-driven development process.

Ensure you have an implementation plan (from writing-plans or user requirements). Invoke the skill in a subagent-capable environment (like Claude Code) with the plan file path. The skill will guide you through delegating subagents, reviewing, and validating. Example prompt: 'Execute the plan from docs/plans/feature-plan.md using the subagent-driven development process.'

What are this skill's strengths and limitations?

Pros
  • Fresh subagent per task prevents context pollution and keeps focus.
  • Two-stage review (spec then quality) catches issues early.
  • Includes explicit red flags and issue-handling guidance.
  • Integrates TDD practices.
  • Provides a repeatable workflow for team consistency.
Limitations
  • Requires a subagent-capable platform (like Claude Code); standard Agent Skills clients may not support it natively.
  • Multiple subagent invocations per task increase latency and cost.
  • Some details are unspecified: how to source the plan, exact delegation mechanics, and handling of subagent failures.
  • No built-in test suite.
  • Documentation assumes Claude Code's delegate_task; other platforms may need adaptation.

How does this skill compare with similar options?

Side by side with related skills; every score comes from the same FSRS standard.

Skill FS score Stars Last updated License
Subagent-Driven Development this page 46 · Use with care ★ 3.2k 17d ago Apache-2.0
Plan Execution Orchestrator 51 · Use with care ★ 98k 3d ago Apache-2.0
Continuous Code Review 53 · Use with care ★ 297k 16d ago MIT
Two-Axis Code Review 53 · Use with care ★ 281k 3d ago MIT
Pull Request Code Review ✓ OpenAI · Official 33 · Not recommended ★ 128k 3d ago Apache-2.0

How did FollowSkills review this skill?

FollowSkills review · FSRS-2.0
Use with care
46/ 100 5-point scale 2.3 / 5
The upstream repository has new commits since this review. The score still applies to the reviewed revision shown and may not cover the latest changes.
1Trust10 / 25 · 2.0/5

Evidence shows the skill requires subagents to execute in a sandboxed environment, use explicit toolsets, and includes safeguards like avoiding scope creep and not skipping reviews. However, user confirmation steps, data-flow disclosure, and rollback mechanisms are missing, and the skill may auto-commit changes. Deductions for these gaps, score 10.

2Reliability8 / 20 · 2.0/5

The skill details step-by-step process with example code and error handling guidance, but lacks automated tests or execution verification, and static review cannot confirm runnability. Deductions for these gaps, score 8.

3Adaptability10 / 15 · 3.3/5

The skill clearly defines target audience and scenarios, including when to use and avoid, and integrates with other skills like writing-plans. However, it does not mention Chinese-language support or mainland-China network reachability, causing deductions, score 10.

4Convention9 / 15 · 3.0/5

The skill is well-structured with version, author, license, and changelog, but lacks installation/dependency notes and known-limitations section. Deductions for these, score 9.

5Effectiveness6 / 15 · 2.0/5

The skill provides detailed example workflow and expected outputs, but no actual results verification and marginal value not compared to manual execution. Deductions for these, score 6.

6Verifiability3 / 10 · 1.5/5

The skill has only documentation and examples, no third-party execution evidence or test results, and static review cannot independently verify. Deductions for these, score 3.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Open a dimension to read why it scored that way

Reviewed Aug 07, 2026 Reviewed revision 0d3389e6f373 Review evidence[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Evidence confidence:Low — Mostly static review, author material or a limited demo; useful for discovery, not high-risk decisions.

See the full review method →

FAQ

How does this compare to manual execution in cost?
It costs more due to three subagent calls per task (implementer + two reviewers), but saves debugging time by catching issues early.
What if I don't have an implementation plan?
The skill requires an existing plan (e.g., from the writing-plans skill). You need to generate one first.
Does it work with any codebase?
The skill is language-agnostic as long as subagents can execute commands and read files. Implementers follow TDD, so a testing framework is needed.
What if a subagent fails repeatedly?
The skill suggests dispatching a new fix subagent with specific instructions rather than fixing manually, to avoid context pollution.

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