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Aug 28, 2026 · Catalog foundation is up

Product feature · runtime

Subagent contextCommon product term

Define which conversation, instructions, files, memory, and tools a child receives.

Terminology basis: Common product term. Anthropic — Create custom subagents

Subagent context: 5 supported, 0 partial, 0 unsupported, 26 unreviewed across 31 cataloged products.

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Explore this familyMore in Subagents9 capabilities

Current evidence by product

Can my agent use Subagent context?

Read across for the answer. 5 of 31 current product columns have reviewed evidence; unreviewed does not mean unsupported.

Known issues (0)Report an issue
  • Supported5
  • Partial0
  • Unsupported0
  • Unknown26
  • Not applicable0

Web

9 products

Desktop

13 products

CLI

9 products

Unknown means no public evidence has been reviewed for that product and capability. It does not mean unsupported.

How statuses are assigned

Definition and scope

What this capability means

This row asks whether the child-agent boundary has documented context semantics. A child may start fresh, receive the full parent transcript, inherit only a task prompt and selected files, share project memory, or receive a compacted summary. Those modes have different correctness, privacy, and token-cost consequences.

Evidence should record inherited system and project instructions, conversation turns, tool schemas, environment variables, files, long-term memory, credentials, approval state, and context budget. It should also say whether later parent changes propagate and whether the operator can inspect the exact handoff.

Traceable compatibility

Assertion ledger

Documentation evidence only. No runtime conformance test is implied.

Gemini CLIcli · current
Supported
Target
current Gemini CLI documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimea child has independent history and only explicitly granted tools; it cannot invoke another subagent even when granted the all-tools wildcard
Evidence
Cursordesktop · current
Supported
Target
current Cursor subagent documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimeclean child context receives a parent-composed task prompt; project files share the checkout by default but can be isolated in a worktree, branch, or cloud VM
Evidence
Copilot CLIcli · current
Supported
Target
current GitHub Copilot CLI documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimeeach subagent receives its own context window; exact inheritance of credentials, instructions, files, and later parent changes remains separately qualified
Evidence
Claude CLIcli · current
Supported
Target
current Claude Code subagent documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimethe child has a separate model context but normally shares the parent process's project files and environment unless worktree isolation is configured
Evidence
Copilot Chatdesktop · current
Supported
Target
current VS Code agent-concepts documentation · dated-documentation
Environment
local-default
Observed
2026-08-28
  • runtimethe model context is isolated; project files and tools remain available according to the child agent configuration
Evidence
  1. 1. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Claude Code runs each subagent in its own context window with a custom system prompt and tool set; the child receives its task rather than the parent conversation history and returns a summary.
  2. 2. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Gemini CLI subagents use an independent context loop, independent history, explicit tool sets, and recursion protection.
  3. 3. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Cursor subagents start with clean context, do not receive prior parent history, receive relevant information through the delegation prompt, and may use isolated project copies.
  4. 4. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: GitHub Copilot CLI describes subagents as separate-context workers, allowing offloaded information to stay outside the main context window.
  5. 5. Evidence checked 2026-08-28: VS Code documents a separate context window that excludes the parent conversation history and receives the child task, applicable instructions, and current agent configuration.