dispatching-parallel-agents (Claude Code skill)

A rewritten Claude Code skill for dispatching multiple subagents in parallel using the current Agent tool. Modernizes the dispatch guidance with the live Agent tool's parameter surface (subagent_type, isolation, run_in_background, model, name + SendMessage), corrects the obsolete Task(...) tool name, and adds a "read the diff, not the summary" verification pattern.

MIT licensed. Drop it into any Claude Code installation.

Why this exists

The original dispatching-parallel-agents skill in the superpowers plugin still taught the legacy Task(...) tool name, never stated the rule that parallelism requires multiple tool calls in a SINGLE assistant message, and didn't cover modern Agent options like isolation: "worktree" and run_in_background. A baseline probe showed even fresh subagents reaching for TaskCreate and inventing a separate "EnterWorktree" step. This rewrite was developed with a RED/GREEN methodology (baseline failure → write skill → verify with a fresh subagent) and submitted upstream as obra/superpowers#1611. This repo is the MIT-licensed standalone home for the rewrite, independent of the upstream merge fate.

What it teaches

1. The hard rule: parallel dispatch requires ONE assistant message containing MULTIPLE Agent tool calls. Two consecutive messages with one Agent each run sequentially.
2. subagent_type selection table for jobs ranging from grep/locate work (Explore) to architecture design (Plan, feature-dev:code-architect) to independent code review.
3. Useful Agent options: isolation: "worktree" as default-on for parallel file edits, run_in_background semantics, model override, and name for SendMessage continuation.
4. "Never delegate understanding": synthesis stays with the dispatcher.
5. Verification by diff, not summary. An agent's summary describes what it intended to do; the diff is what it did.

Install

Claude Code (personal scope)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/dispatching-parallel-agents
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotcomjack/parallel-agents-skill/main/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/dispatching-parallel-agents/SKILL.md

Next session, the skill appears in the available-skills list and can be invoked when you face 2+ independent problems.

As a plugin override

If you're using the superpowers plugin and want to override its bundled version locally until the upstream PR lands:

cp SKILL.md ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/superpowers/5.1.0/skills/dispatching-parallel-agents/SKILL.md

Note: plugin updates may overwrite this. Re-apply after claude plugin updates, or wait for upstream merge.

License

MIT. See LICENSE. The skill content is derivative of obra/superpowers, also MIT-licensed.

Upstream PR

obra/superpowers#1611. If it merges, this repo becomes a historical mirror. If not, this remains the canonical MIT-licensed home for the rewrite.