Subagent-Driven Development

Execute plan from beads by dispatching fresh subagent per task, with two-stage review after each: spec compliance review first, then code quality review.

Core principle: Fresh subagent per task + two-stage review (spec then quality) = high quality, fast iteration

Storage: Plans tracked in beads epics. No TodoWrite needed - beads provides persistent state.

When to Use

dot

digraph when_to_use {
    "Have implementation plan?" [shape=diamond];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" [shape=diamond];
    "Stay in this session?" [shape=diamond];
    "subagent-driven-development" [shape=box];
    "executing-plans" [shape=box];
    "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [shape=box];

    "Have implementation plan?" -> "Tasks mostly independent?" [label="yes"];
    "Have implementation plan?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no"];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Stay in this session?" [label="yes"];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no - tightly coupled"];
    "Stay in this session?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="yes"];
    "Stay in this session?" -> "executing-plans" [label="no - parallel session"];
}

vs. Executing Plans (parallel session):

•Same session (no context switch)
•Fresh subagent per task (no context pollution)
•Two-stage review after each task: spec compliance first, then code quality
•Faster iteration (no human-in-loop between tasks)

The Process

dot

digraph process {
    rankdir=TB;

    subgraph cluster_per_task {
        label="Per Task";
        "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Implementer subagent asks questions?" [shape=diamond];
        "Answer questions, provide context" [shape=box];
        "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [shape=box];
        "Dispatch spec reviewer subagent (./spec-reviewer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Spec reviewer subagent confirms code matches spec?" [shape=diamond];
        "Implementer subagent fixes spec gaps" [shape=box];
        "Dispatch code quality reviewer subagent (./code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Code quality reviewer subagent approves?" [shape=diamond];
        "Implementer subagent fixes quality issues" [shape=box];
        "Close task in beads (bd close)" [shape=box];
    }

    "Load from beads: bd show <epic-id>, bd ready --parent <epic-id>" [shape=box];
    "More tasks remain?" [shape=diamond];
    "Dispatch final code reviewer subagent for entire implementation" [shape=box];
    "Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];

    "Load from beads: bd show <epic-id>, bd ready --parent <epic-id>" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
    "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" -> "Implementer subagent asks questions?";
    "Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Answer questions, provide context" [label="yes"];
    "Answer questions, provide context" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
    "Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [label="no"];
    "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" -> "Dispatch spec reviewer subagent (./spec-reviewer-prompt.md)";
    "Dispatch spec reviewer subagent (./spec-reviewer-prompt.md)" -> "Spec reviewer subagent confirms code matches spec?";
    "Spec reviewer subagent confirms code matches spec?" -> "Implementer subagent fixes spec gaps" [label="no"];
    "Implementer subagent fixes spec gaps" -> "Dispatch spec reviewer subagent (./spec-reviewer-prompt.md)" [label="re-review"];
    "Spec reviewer subagent confirms code matches spec?" -> "Dispatch code quality reviewer subagent (./code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md)" [label="yes"];
    "Dispatch code quality reviewer subagent (./code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md)" -> "Code quality reviewer subagent approves?";
    "Code quality reviewer subagent approves?" -> "Implementer subagent fixes quality issues" [label="no"];
    "Implementer subagent fixes quality issues" -> "Dispatch code quality reviewer subagent (./code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md)" [label="re-review"];
    "Code quality reviewer subagent approves?" -> "Close task in beads (bd close)" [label="yes"];
    "Close task in beads (bd close)" -> "More tasks remain?";
    "More tasks remain?" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" [label="yes"];
    "More tasks remain?" -> "Dispatch final code reviewer subagent for entire implementation" [label="no"];
    "Dispatch final code reviewer subagent for entire implementation" -> "Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch";
}

Prompt Templates

•./implementer-prompt.md - Dispatch implementer subagent
•./spec-reviewer-prompt.md - Dispatch spec compliance reviewer subagent
•./code-quality-reviewer-prompt.md - Dispatch code quality reviewer subagent

Example Workflow

code

You: I'm using Subagent-Driven Development to execute this plan.

[Load epic from beads: bd show superpowers-abc123]
[Get ready tasks: bd ready --parent superpowers-abc123]
[Epic has 5 tasks total]

Task 1: Hook installation script (superpowers-abc123.1)

[Get Task 1 details: bd show superpowers-abc123.1]
[Mark in progress: bd update superpowers-abc123.1 --status in_progress]
[Dispatch implementation subagent with full task text + context]

Implementer: "Before I begin - should the hook be installed at user or system level?"

You: "User level (~/.config/superpowers/hooks/)"

Implementer: "Got it. Implementing now..."
[Later] Implementer:
  - Implemented install-hook command
  - Added tests, 5/5 passing
  - Self-review: Found I missed --force flag, added it
  - Committed

[Dispatch spec compliance reviewer]
Spec reviewer: ✅ Spec compliant - all requirements met, nothing extra

[Get git SHAs, dispatch code quality reviewer]
Code reviewer: Strengths: Good test coverage, clean. Issues: None. Approved.

[Close Task 1: bd close superpowers-abc123.1]

Task 2: Recovery modes (superpowers-abc123.2)

[Get Task 2 details: bd show superpowers-abc123.2]
[Mark in progress: bd update superpowers-abc123.2 --status in_progress]
[Dispatch implementation subagent with full task text + context]

Implementer: [No questions, proceeds]
Implementer:
  - Added verify/repair modes
  - 8/8 tests passing
  - Self-review: All good
  - Committed

[Dispatch spec compliance reviewer]
Spec reviewer: ❌ Issues:
  - Missing: Progress reporting (spec says "report every 100 items")
  - Extra: Added --json flag (not requested)

[Implementer fixes issues]
Implementer: Removed --json flag, added progress reporting

[Spec reviewer reviews again]
Spec reviewer: ✅ Spec compliant now

[Dispatch code quality reviewer]
Code reviewer: Strengths: Solid. Issues (Important): Magic number (100)

[Implementer fixes]
Implementer: Extracted PROGRESS_INTERVAL constant

[Code reviewer reviews again]
Code reviewer: ✅ Approved

[Close Task 2: bd close superpowers-abc123.2]

...

[After all tasks]
[Check all closed: bd list --parent superpowers-abc123 --status open]
[Empty list - all done]
[Dispatch final code-reviewer]
Final reviewer: All requirements met, ready to merge

[Close epic: bd close superpowers-abc123]
[Sync to git: bd sync]

Done!

Advantages

vs. Manual execution:

•Subagents follow TDD naturally
•Fresh context per task (no confusion)
•Parallel-safe (subagents don't interfere)
•Subagent can ask questions (before AND during work)

vs. Executing Plans:

•Same session (no handoff)
•Continuous progress (no waiting)
•Review checkpoints automatic

Efficiency gains:

•No file reading overhead (controller loads from beads once)
•Controller provides full task text to subagents
•Subagent gets complete information upfront
•Questions surfaced before work begins (not after)
•Beads tracks state persistently (survives session restarts)

Quality gates:

•Self-review catches issues before handoff
•Two-stage review: spec compliance, then code quality
•Review loops ensure fixes actually work
•Spec compliance prevents over/under-building
•Code quality ensures implementation is well-built

Cost:

•More subagent invocations (implementer + 2 reviewers per task)
•Controller does more prep work (extracting all tasks upfront)
•Review loops add iterations
•But catches issues early (cheaper than debugging later)

Beads Integration

This skill loads plans from beads epics and updates task status during execution.

Initial Setup:

bash

# Source helper functions
source skills/lib/beads-helper.sh

# Get epic ID from user or writing-plans output
EPIC_ID="superpowers-abc123"

# View epic and tasks
bd show "$EPIC_ID"
bd ready --parent "$EPIC_ID"

Per Task Workflow:

bash

# Get next ready task
TASK_ID=$(bd ready --parent "$EPIC_ID" --format json | jq -r '.[0].id')

# Get task details
TASK_DESC=$(bd show "$TASK_ID" --json | jq -r '.description')

# Mark in progress
bd update "$TASK_ID" --status in_progress

# [Dispatch implementer subagent with $TASK_DESC]
# [Two-stage review process]
# [Implementer commits work]

# Close task when approved
bd close "$TASK_ID"
# This automatically unblocks dependent tasks

Key Commands:

•Load epic: bd show <epic-id>
•Get ready tasks: bd ready --parent <epic-id> [--format json]
•Get task details: bd show <task-id> [--json]
•Start task: bd update <task-id> --status in_progress
•Complete task: bd close <task-id>
•Check progress: bd list --parent <epic-id> --status open
•Close epic: bd close <epic-id>
•Sync to git: bd sync

No TodoWrite:

•Beads replaces TodoWrite entirely
•All state persists in .beads/ directory
•Synced to git automatically
•Survives session restarts and crashes
•Dependencies tracked automatically

Passing to Subagents:

•Get task description: bd show <task-id> --json | jq -r '.description'
•Pass full description text to implementer subagent
•Include context from epic: bd show <epic-id>
•Subagents don't need beads access - controller manages state

Red Flags

Never:

•Start implementation on main/master branch without explicit user consent
•Skip reviews (spec compliance OR code quality)
•Proceed with unfixed issues
•Dispatch multiple implementation subagents in parallel (conflicts)
•Make subagent read plan file (provide full text instead)
•Skip scene-setting context (subagent needs to understand where task fits)
•Ignore subagent questions (answer before letting them proceed)
•Accept "close enough" on spec compliance (spec reviewer found issues = not done)
•Skip review loops (reviewer found issues = implementer fixes = review again)
•Let implementer self-review replace actual review (both are needed)
•Start code quality review before spec compliance is ✅ (wrong order)
•Move to next task while either review has open issues

If subagent asks questions:

•Answer clearly and completely
•Provide additional context if needed
•Don't rush them into implementation

If reviewer finds issues:

•Implementer (same subagent) fixes them
•Reviewer reviews again
•Repeat until approved
•Don't skip the re-review

If subagent fails task:

•Dispatch fix subagent with specific instructions
•Don't try to fix manually (context pollution)

Integration

Required workflow skills:

•superpowers:using-git-worktrees - REQUIRED: Set up isolated workspace before starting
•superpowers:writing-plans - Creates the plan this skill executes
•superpowers:requesting-code-review - Code review template for reviewer subagents
•superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch - Complete development after all tasks

Subagents should use:

•superpowers:test-driven-development - Subagents follow TDD for each task

Alternative workflow:

•superpowers:executing-plans - Use for parallel session instead of same-session execution