autosearch:delegate-subtask

Delegate Subtask — Execution Contract

decompose-task splits a problem into sub-questions. This skill says how to execute each sub-question with a stable, auditable contract: inputs, budget, outputs, failure modes. Borrowed from MiroThinker + DeepAgents + deer-flow + DeepResearchAgent subagent patterns.

Contract

input:
  id: str                     # stable subtask id, e.g. "sub_1" / "sub_1a"
  parent_id: str | null       # linking back to the decompose-task output
  question: str               # one specific sub-question
  rationale: str              # why this subtask matters for the parent goal
  scope: list[str]            # channels / tools the subtask may touch
  budget:
    latency_seconds: int
    cost_usd: float
    tool_calls: int           # max total tool invocations
  context_seed: list[dict]    # evidence already gathered the subtask should start with
  stop_conditions: list[str]  # e.g. "answer rubrics satisfied" / "budget exhausted"

output:
  id: str                     # echoes input.id
  status: "success" | "partial" | "failure"
  summary: str                # 3-6 sentences; what was found
  evidence: list[dict]        # slim-dict Evidence items the subtask produced
  citations: list[str]        # URL list, matched to evidence
  follow_ups: list[str]       # open questions, if partial
  metrics:
    latency_ms: int
    cost_usd: float
    tool_calls: int
    channels_hit: list[str]
  failure_reason: str | null

Invocation Policy

• One subtask per thread/session — isolation matters. Do not merge two subtasks' tool calls into one session.
• Budget is the governor. Subtask must halt when ANY budget axis is exhausted and report status: "partial".
• Read context_seed, don't re-search it. Seed is evidence the parent already has; subtask should build on, not duplicate.
• Return slim evidence — use autosearch's Evidence.to_slim_dict() shape so the parent can dedupe/merge.
• Follow-ups are first-class. If a subtask runs out of budget but finds a promising lead, emit that in follow_ups for the parent planner to decide.