---
title: "Nested subagents"
canonical: "https://canmyagentuse.com/features/nested-subagents"
contentKind: "feature"
locale: "en"
description: "Allow a child agent to delegate further work to another child agent. This is tracked as an independent compatibility claim."
llmSummary: "Nested subagents is atomic and does not follow automatically from broader subagents support."
publishedAt: "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z"
updatedAt: "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z"
verifiedAt: "2026-08-28"
tags: ["runtime","subagents"]
---

# Nested subagents

Nested subagents is atomic and does not follow automatically from broader subagents support.

- HTML: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/nested-subagents
- JSON: https://canmyagentuse.com/api/v1/features/nested-subagents.json
- Markdown: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/nested-subagents.md

Terminology basis: **Common product term** — https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents.

## Current support at a glance

Nested subagents: 2 supported, 0 partial, 2 unsupported, 27 unreviewed across 31 cataloged products.

- Reviewed current products: 4 of 31
- Supported: 2
- Partial: 0
- Unsupported: 2
- Unreviewed: 27
- Not applicable: 0

Unknown or unreviewed means insufficient published evidence; it does not mean unsupported.

Allow a child agent to delegate further work to another child agent.

Support is recorded only when exact, dated evidence covers this behavior.

## Catalog context

- Category: [runtime](/categories/runtime.md)
- Terminology basis: Common product term
- Aliases: recursive subagents
- Family: [Subagents](/features/subagents.md)
- Siblings: [Concurrent subagents](/features/subagent-concurrency.md), [Per-subagent model selection](/features/subagent-model-selection.md), [Subagent context](/features/subagent-context-isolation.md), [Subagent delegation](/features/subagent-delegation.md), [Subagent management](/features/subagent-lifecycle-controls.md), [Subagent MCP access](/features/subagent-mcp-access.md), [Subagent permissions](/features/subagent-approval-boundaries.md), [Subagent results](/features/subagent-result-handoff.md), [Subagent write access](/features/subagent-write-access.md)

## Compatibility assertions

Unknown means insufficient published evidence; it does not mean unsupported.

### ChatGPT (web)

- Harness: [ChatGPT](/harnesses/chatgpt-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Claude (web)

- Harness: [Claude](/harnesses/claude-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Gemini (web)

- Harness: [Gemini](/harnesses/gemini-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Copilot (web)

- Harness: [Copilot](/harnesses/copilot-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Grok (web)

- Harness: [Grok](/harnesses/grok-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Grok Bot (desktop)

- Harness: [Grok Bot](/harnesses/grok-bot-desktop.md)
- current: **Unknown**

### Perplexity (web)

- Harness: [Perplexity](/harnesses/perplexity-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Le Chat (web)

- Harness: [Le Chat](/harnesses/le-chat.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Devin (web)

- Harness: [Devin](/harnesses/devin-web.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Replit Agent (web)

- Harness: [Replit Agent](/harnesses/replit-agent.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### ChatGPT (desktop)

- Harness: [ChatGPT](/harnesses/chatgpt-desktop.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Claude (desktop)

- Harness: [Claude](/harnesses/claude-desktop.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Cursor (desktop)

- Harness: [Cursor](/harnesses/cursor.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### OpenWork Desktop (desktop)

- Harness: [OpenWork Desktop](/harnesses/openwork-desktop.md)
- current: **Unknown**

### Copilot Chat (desktop)

- Harness: [Copilot Chat](/harnesses/vscode-copilot.md)
- current: **Supported**
  - Target: dated-documentation — current VS Code subagent documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: preview-enabled
  - Constraint (feature-flag): requires `chat.subagents.allowInvocationsFromSubagents`; disabled by default
  - Constraint (runtime): nesting depth is capped at 5
  - Evidence: [Visual Studio Code — Subagents in Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/run/subagents) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 4: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: VS Code disables child-to-child delegation by default but supports nested subagents behind `chat.subagents.allowInvocationsFromSubagents`, with a maximum depth of 5.
- preview: **Unknown**

### Chrome WebMCP origin trial (desktop)

- Harness: [Chrome WebMCP origin trial](/harnesses/chrome-webmcp-preview.md)
- current: **Unknown**

### Windsurf (desktop)

- Harness: [Windsurf](/harnesses/windsurf.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Zed Agent (desktop)

- Harness: [Zed Agent](/harnesses/zed-agent.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Continue (desktop)

- Harness: [Continue](/harnesses/continue.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Cline (desktop)

- Harness: [Cline](/harnesses/cline.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### JetBrains AI (desktop)

- Harness: [JetBrains AI](/harnesses/jetbrains-ai.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Warp (desktop)

- Harness: [Warp](/harnesses/warp.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Claude CLI (cli)

- Harness: [Claude CLI](/harnesses/claude-cli.md)
- current: **Unsupported**
  - Target: dated-documentation — current Claude Code subagent documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: local-default
  - Constraint (runtime): the restriction applies to Claude Code subagents; separate agent-team teammates and independently dispatched sessions use different orchestration models
  - Evidence: [Anthropic — Create custom subagents](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 1: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Anthropic explicitly states that Claude Code subagents cannot spawn their own subagents and advises against granting the Agent tool to a child.
- preview: **Unknown**

### ChatGPT CLI (cli)

- Harness: [ChatGPT CLI](/harnesses/chatgpt-cli.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Codex CLI (cli)

- Harness: [Codex CLI](/harnesses/codex-cli.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### OpenCode (cli)

- Harness: [OpenCode](/harnesses/opencode.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Gemini CLI (cli)

- Harness: [Gemini CLI](/harnesses/gemini-cli.md)
- current: **Unsupported**
  - Target: dated-documentation — current Gemini CLI documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: local-default
  - Constraint (runtime): recursion protection removes other agents from every child tool surface
  - Evidence: [Google — Gemini CLI subagents](https://geminicli.com/docs/core/subagents/) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 2: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Gemini CLI recursion protection prevents subagents from seeing or invoking other agents, including when the all-tools wildcard is granted.
- preview: **Unknown**

### Aider (cli)

- Harness: [Aider](/harnesses/aider.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Goose (cli)

- Harness: [Goose](/harnesses/goose.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Copilot CLI (cli)

- Harness: [Copilot CLI](/harnesses/copilot-cli.md)
- current: **Supported**
  - Target: dated-documentation — current GitHub Copilot CLI documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: local-default
  - Constraint (runtime): default maximum nesting depth is 6; usage-based billing can configure subagents.maxDepth up to 256
  - Evidence: [GitHub — Copilot CLI command reference](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-cli-reference/cli-command-reference) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 3: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: GitHub Copilot CLI supports nested subagents with a default maximum depth of 6 and a configurable maximum of 256 for usage-based billing.
- preview: **Unknown**

### Amp (cli)

- Harness: [Amp](/harnesses/amp-cli.md)
- current: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**