---
title: "Subagent MCP access"
canonical: "https://canmyagentuse.com/features/subagent-mcp-access"
contentKind: "feature"
locale: "en"
description: "Allow a child agent to use MCP tools or declare its own MCP servers. This is tracked as an independent compatibility claim."
llmSummary: "Subagent MCP access 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"]
---

# Subagent MCP access

Subagent MCP access is atomic and does not follow automatically from broader subagents support.

- HTML: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/subagent-mcp-access
- JSON: https://canmyagentuse.com/api/v1/features/subagent-mcp-access.json
- Markdown: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/subagent-mcp-access.md

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

## Current support at a glance

Subagent MCP access: 2 supported, 0 partial, 0 unsupported, 29 unreviewed across 31 cataloged products.

- Reviewed current products: 2 of 31
- Supported: 2
- Partial: 0
- Unsupported: 0
- Unreviewed: 29
- Not applicable: 0

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

Allow a child agent to use MCP tools or declare its own MCP servers.

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

## Catalog context

- Category: [runtime](/categories/runtime.md)
- Terminology basis: Common product term
- Aliases: child agent MCP
- Family: [Subagents](/features/subagents.md)
- Siblings: [Concurrent subagents](/features/subagent-concurrency.md), [Nested subagents](/features/nested-subagents.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 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 custom-agent and subagent documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: local-default
  - Constraint (policy): MCP access is restricted by the child agent's tool list and the enabled MCP servers in the local VS Code session
  - Evidence: [Visual Studio Code — Custom agents](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agent-customization/custom-agents) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Evidence: [Visual Studio Code — Subagents in Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/run/subagents) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 2: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: VS Code custom agents can include individual MCP tools or complete `<server>/*` tool groups, and custom tool settings override defaults when the agent runs as a child.
- 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: **Supported**
  - Target: dated-documentation — current Claude Code subagent documentation; observed 2026-08-28
  - Environment: local-default
  - Constraint (runtime): plugin-provided subagents ignore the `mcpServers` frontmatter field for security; project, user, managed, and CLI-defined subagents can use it
  - Evidence: [Anthropic — Create custom subagents](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/subagents) — documented; observed 2026-08-28
  - Qualification note 1: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Claude Code subagents inherit MCP tools by default unless restricted and can use `mcpServers` to reference parent-session servers or declare inline servers scoped to the 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: **Unknown**
- 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: **Unknown**
- preview: **Unknown**

### Amp (cli)

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