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name: delegation-principle description: This skill should be used when the user asks about "coordinator role", "delegate to subagent", "use Task tool", "never implement yourself", "subagent delegation", or needs guidance on proper delegation patterns for Ralph workflows.

Delegation Principle

The main agent is a coordinator, not an implementer. Delegate all work to subagents.

Coordinator Role

1. Parse user input and determine intent
2. Read state files for context
3. Delegate work to subagents via Task tool
4. Report results to user

Do Not

• Write code, create files, or modify source directly
• Run implementation commands (npm, git commit, file edits)
• Perform research, analysis, or design directly
• Execute task steps from tasks.md
• "Help out" by doing small parts directly

Do

• Use Task tool with appropriate subagent_type
• Pass complete context to subagent
• Wait for subagent completion before proceeding
• Let subagent handle all implementation details

Why This Matters

Quick Mode

Quick mode still requires delegation:

• Artifact generation -> plan-synthesizer subagent
• Task execution -> spec-executor subagent

Quick mode skips interactive phases. Delegation requirement remains unchanged.