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opencode-subagents

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Spec-driven-development subagent setup for OpenCode + a fact-checked guide

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# opencode-subagents

A small, opinionated **spec-driven-development (SDD)** subagent setup for
[OpenCode](https://opencode.ai) — plus a guide explaining *why* it's shaped this
way. Drop it into your config and your tool stops using subagents only for
search and starts using them to plan, build, and review.

> Most of the patterns here transfer directly to Claude Code and other agentic
> coding tools. The config format (`opencode.json`, `agent/*.md`) is
> OpenCode-specific.

---

## Why subagents are "only used for search" by default

This is normal, and it's by design. A subagent runs in its **own context
window** and returns only a condensed summary to the main conversation. That
makes delegation a great fit for verbose, read-heavy, *independent* work — which
is exactly what search is — because the main agent gets the conclusion without
paying for all the tokens it took to get there. OpenCode and Claude Code both
ship a fast, **read-only** search subagent as the default (Claude Code's is
`Explore`, running on a small model with write/edit denied).

Implementation is the opposite: it's sequential and tightly coupled (read →
edit → test → fix), so splitting it across agents risks conflicting edits and
drift. So the tool keeps coding inline and farms out the wide lookups.

**To get more subagent use, you don't wait for the tool to decide — you
*structure the work* so delegation is the obvious move.** That's what SDD does.

## The idea: spec-driven development

1. **Explore** — a read-only agent maps the code and returns a summary.
2. **Decompose** — split the work into *independent, bounded* tasks.
3. **Dispatch fresh** — each task goes to a new subagent with **zero context**
   from the others (no pollution, no drift). Everything it needs is in the brief.
4. **Two-stage review** — one pass for spec-compliance, a separate one for code
   quality, by an agent that didn't write the code.
5. **Integrate** — run the full suite and validate end to end.

Search is independent by nature; coding isn't — *unless you pre-decompose it*.
SDD is the discipline that makes implementation delegable.

## The roles

| Agent | Mode | Model tier | Job |
|---|---|---|---|
| `orchestrator` | primary | premium | Decompose, delegate, integrate. Writes no app code itself. |
| `explorer` | subagent | cheap, read-only | Map the codebase, return a tight summary. |
| `coder` | subagent | mid | Implement ONE bounded task from a self-contained brief. |
| `reviewer` | subagent | mid, read-only | Spec-compliance pass, then quality pass. |
| `tester` | subagent | cheap | Write/run tests, report failures verbatim. |

Cheap models do the narrow, bounded work; premium models are reserved for
planning and judgement. That tiering is where the cost savings come from.

## Install

See **[INSTALL.md](INSTALL.md)** for two options:

- **Adaptive install (recommended)** — open OpenCode in the cloned repo and paste
  the scoped prompt from INSTALL.md. It copies the files (merging, not
  clobbering), detects the models you actually have and fills in the placeholder
  IDs, and validates against your installed OpenCode — while being explicitly
  forbidden from rewriting the agent prompts or permission graph. This fixes the
  one thing a static repo can't get right for you: model IDs date fast and differ
  per account.
- **Manual install** — plain copy into `~/.config/opencode/`, then hand-edit the
  `model:` fields and `AGENTS.md`.

## Use

```
/sdd-init   <feature>   # explore + write a decomposed spec, then stop for approval
/sdd-apply              # dispatch a fresh coder per task, two-stage review each
/sdd-verify             # full suite + end-to-end check
/swarm      <work>      # fan out independent subtasks to parallel coders (cap 3)
/coding-pipeline <task> # ONE task through coder → reviewer → tester (no decomposition)
```

`/coding-pipeline` is the decomposition-free path: when the code can't be split
but you still want fresh-eyes review and verification, it runs a single task
through the full implement → review → test loop.

Or invoke a specialist directly: `@explorer map the auth module`,
`@reviewer review this diff`.

## How it works (the levers)

- **`description` drives delegation.** OpenCode/Claude Code decide *when* to use
  a subagent largely from its `description`. Phrasing it as a clear trigger
  ("use proactively before any implementation") makes delegation happen more.
- **Per-agent model routing.** Each agent sets its own `model`; `small_model` in
  `opencode.json` routes cheap internal tasks to a fast model.
- **`task` permission.** Subagents can spawn others only where explicitly
  allowed (the coder may call the tester; everything else is denied) — a
  deny-by-default delegation graph. OpenCode has no per-agent spawn budget; to
  cap an agent's iterations use the `steps` field.
- **AGENTS.md.** Compact project rules injected into every fresh-context
  subagent so they don't reinvent your conventions.

## Honesty about the claims

This repo is built from [deep research](docs/RESEARCH.md) that
**adversarially fact-checked** each claim. A few popular ideas did **not**
survive verification — notably some specific cost-savings percentages and the
"pantheon" role model are self-reported or uncorroborated. See
[`docs/RESEARCH.md`](docs/RESEARCH.md) for the verified findings, the refuted
ones, the open questions, and sources.

## Credits & prior art

- [OpenCode docs — Agents](https://opencode.ai/docs/agents/)
- [gotar/opencode-config](https://github.com/gotar/opencode-config)
- [marco-jardim/opencode-model-router](https://github.com/marco-jardim/opencode-model-router)
- [awesome-opencode-subagents](https://github.com/ankitmundada/awesome-opencode-subagents)
- [Anthropic — building a multi-agent research system](https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/built-multi-agent-research-system)

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).

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