Glossary · term182 of 202
subagent bootstrap
The startup cost of spinning up a subagent, including loading its own system prompt and full set of tool schemas, repeated on every turn it takes.
also written as subagent bootstraps
Related terms
execution subagentA subagent given a narrow task with a fixed output shape and a written boundary, as opposed to open-ended reasoning or planning work. Its job is to follow the spec, not to expand scope.view termfan-outThe pattern where one delegated task spawns multiple concurrent subagents, and each of those can spawn more of its own. Depth is usually capped, but breadth often is not, so total agents alive can multiply far past what anyone intended.view term
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- jul 2026
