Add Design Agent

Create a new project-specific design agent that integrates with the /design workflow.

Arguments

• Agent type (optional) - "research" or "review"
  • research: Domain expert that gathers information during Phase 2 (before design synthesis)
  • review: Evaluator that reviews designs during Phase 4 (after synthesis)
• Agent name (optional) - Name for the agent (will be suffixed with -agent)

Extract both values from the user's invocation input.

Process

Step 1: Determine Agent Type

If the agent type is missing or is not "research" or "review", ask the user with the active client's user-question mechanism:

• Question: "What type of design agent do you want to create?"
• Options:
  • "Research Agent" - Gathers domain-specific information before design synthesis
  • "Review Agent" - Evaluates designs for specific concerns after synthesis

Step 2: Get Agent Details

Use the active client's user-question mechanism to gather:

Question 1: Agent Name

• "What should this agent be called? (will be suffixed with -agent)"
• If an agent name was provided, skip this question and use it

Question 2: Domain/Expertise

• "What is this agent's area of expertise?"
• Example answers: "security", "accessibility", "performance", "domain X best practices"

Question 3: Key Responsibilities

• "What are the main things this agent should analyze? (Select all that apply or describe)"
• Options will vary based on type:
  • Research: "Best practices", "Industry standards", "Implementation patterns", "Tradeoffs"
  • Review: "Security issues", "Performance concerns", "Compliance", "Best practices adherence"

Step 3: Create the Agent

Create the agent directly using the active client's custom-agent format. If a dedicated agent-development skill is available, use it.

Provide this context to the skill:

Create a design workflow agent with these specifications:

**Type**: [research|review]
**Name**: [agent-name]-agent
**Domain**: [user's expertise description]
**Responsibilities**: [user's selected/described responsibilities]

**Requirements**:
1. Frontmatter must include:
   - name: [agent-name]-agent
   - description: Use this agent when [appropriate triggering conditions based on type and domain]
   - model: sonnet
   - color: [choose appropriate color - not already used by universal agents: magenta, gray, blue, red, cyan, yellow, orange]
   - tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Write [add WebSearch, WebFetch if research agent]

2. System prompt must include:
   - Clear role description as [research expert | reviewer] in [domain]
   - Core responsibilities (3-5 items based on user input)
   - Process/methodology for [researching | reviewing]
   - Output format following design workflow conventions:

     For RESEARCH agents:
     ```markdown
     # [Agent Name] Research

     ## Executive Summary
     [2-3 sentences on key findings]

     ## Key Findings
     ### [Finding 1]
     - Observation
     - Implications
     - Recommendation

     ## Recommendations
     [Prioritized list]

     ## Tradeoffs and Alternatives
     [Options considered, why recommendations chosen]

     ## References
     [Sources consulted]
     ```

     For REVIEW agents:
     ```markdown
     # [Agent Name] Review

     ## Summary
     [1-2 sentence assessment]

     ## Critical Issues
     ### [Issue 1]
     - Location: [where]
     - Problem: [what]
     - Impact: [why it matters]
     - Recommendation: [how to fix]

     ## Major Issues
     [Same format]

     ## Minor Issues
     [Same format]

     ## Suggestions
     [Nice-to-haves]

     ## What's Working Well
     [Positive aspects]
     ```

3. Save the agent in the active client's project agent directory:
   - Claude Code: `.claude/agents/[agent-name]-agent.md`
   - Codex: `.codex/agents/[agent-name]-agent.toml`

Step 4: Save the Agent

Save the generated agent file to the active client's path above. Create the parent directory if it doesn't exist.

Step 5: Update DESIGN-AGENTS.md

Check if memory-bank/DESIGN-AGENTS.md exists.

If it doesn't exist:

1. Create it using references/design-agents-template.md
2. Add the new agent to the appropriate section

If it exists:

1. Read the current content
2. Find the appropriate section:
   • For research agents: "## Research Agents"
   • For review agents: "## Review Agents"
3. Add a new entry: - [agent-name]-agent: [brief description of expertise]

Step 6: Confirm Creation

Report to the user:

## Design Agent Created

**Agent**: [agent-name]-agent
**Type**: [Research|Review]
**Location**: [the active client's project agent path]
**Added to**: memory-bank/DESIGN-AGENTS.md

### Next Steps

1. Review the agent at its reported location
2. Customize the system prompt if needed
3. Run `/design` to use the new agent in your design workflow

The agent will automatically be included in:

- [If research]: Phase 2 (Research) of new design workflows
- [If review]: Phase 4 (Review) of both new design and iteration workflows

Error Handling

• If the active client's project agent directory cannot be created, report the error and suggest manual creation
• If DESIGN-AGENTS.md update fails, provide the entry to add manually
• If agent name conflicts with existing agent, ask for a different name