Subagents
ZCode currently supports the built-in Explore subagent. Explore is a read-only file-search and codebase-research specialist for broad code search, call-chain investigation, architecture discovery, and evidence gathering.
When the primary Agent decides that a task needs isolated context or parallel research, it can launch Explore through the Agent tool. Explore reads, searches, and analyzes existing code in its own context, then summarizes the findings back into the main conversation so the primary Agent can continue the task.
Supported: Explore
Explore is read-only. It does not create, modify, move, or delete files. It mainly uses read and search tools, such as reading files, matching file names, searching file contents with regex, and, when needed, reading known URLs or searching external information.
Good Explore tasks include:
- Finding where a capability is implemented.
- Mapping module entry points, call chains, and key dependencies.
- Researching related code and risks before making changes.
- Searching across multiple directories, naming patterns, or implementation paths in parallel.
You can ask ZCode to use Explore directly in your prompt, for example:
First use Explore to research this module's call chain, then summarize the main entry points and risks.
Search for where this feature is implemented in read-only mode, and list the related files and evidence.
Not Supported Yet: Custom Subagents
ZCode does not currently support user-defined custom subagents. You cannot create, edit, or configure new subagent roles in the product yet.
The following custom-subagent workflows are not available in the current product:
- Defining new subagents with Markdown files.
- Adding agent files under
~/.zcode/cli/agents/or a workspace directory to create new roles. - Configuring custom-subagent frontmatter fields such as
name,description,model, ortools. - Manually selecting custom subagents with
@in chat. - Assigning separate models, tool permissions, or system prompts to custom subagents.