# Agent-to-Agent Delegation

Programmable Agents can spawn and coordinate other agents, enabling complex multi-agent workflows where each agent has a focused responsibility.

***

### How Delegation Works

An agent with `invoke_agent` in its tool allowlist can spawn child agents. Each child runs in its own pod and — if a Slack channel is configured — posts to the same thread as the parent.

To allow delegation, two things must be configured in the parent agent's YAML:

1. `invoke_agent` must be included in `tools.list`
2. The child agent name must be listed under `agents_squad`

```yaml
tools:
  mode: allowlist
  list:
    - invoke_agent

agents_squad:
  - test-maintainer
```

***

### Callback / Resume Pattern

For workflows where the parent needs the child's result before continuing, pass `callback_session_id` to `invoke_agent`. The parent pod idles until the child completes, then wakes up with the child's output as its next input.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant A as PR Reviewer (Session A)
    participant B as Test Maintainer pod
    participant S as Slack

    A->>B: invoke_agent("test-maintainer",<br/>callback_session_id=A)
    note over A: pod idles — awaiting callback
    B->>S: "Writing tests for stg_orders..."
    B->>B: Commit + run dbt test
    B->>S: "Tests passing ✓"
    B->>A: notify_parent_session("Tests complete. All passing.")
    note over A: wakes — receives child output<br/>as next user turn
    A-->>A: "All checks passed. PR approved ✓"

```

***

### Limiting Delegation Depth

Depth is implicitly limited by whether `invoke_agent` appears in a child agent's allowlist. If the `test-maintainer` above does not include `invoke_agent` in its tools, it cannot delegate further — the chain stops there.

This is the recommended approach: only give `invoke_agent` to orchestrator agents, not to leaf agents.

***

### Related

* [YAML Configuration](/app-help/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/yaml-configuration.md) — `agents_squad` and `tools` fields
* [Tools Reference](/app-help/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/tools-reference.md) — `invoke_agent`, `notify_parent_session`, `run_subagent`
* [Examples](/app-help/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents.md)  — See tutorials on how to get started deploying agents


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