Use Coding Agents — Installed CLIs as Plain Sub-agents
Validated on fedora 2026-09-04 by running each command on a minimal prompt (write one file, or
reply OK). pop-os is set up identically via control/install.sh. Run hostname first.
Re-run <agent> --help before relying on any flag not listed here.
Principle
Every agent here is a worker: it receives a prompt, edits files in one directory, commits,
prints a result, exits. Nothing more.
- Do not use the CLIs' own orchestration features. No
droid --mission, no codex
multi_agent, no hermes delegate_task / moa / kanban, no grok --agents, no opencode
personas. Those are unvalidated here, spend tokens invisibly, and hide state from the orchestrator.
- The orchestrator is the session running this skill (normally claude via the Agent tool or a
lifeos skill). It plans units, writes prompts, launches workers, reads short results.
- Workers are interchangeable. Pick by availability and cost, not by feature.
Workers
| Agent |
Invocation |
Auto-approve |
Status 2026-09-04 |
| claude |
claude -p "<prompt>" |
--dangerously-skip-permissions |
PASS |
| codex |
codex exec "<prompt>" (or prompt on stdin) |
--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox |
PASS |
| droid |
droid exec "<prompt>" |
--skip-permissions-unsafe (not with --auto) |
PASS |
| grok |
grok -p "<prompt>" |
--always-approve |
PASS |
| grokc |
COLORTERM=truecolor grokc -p "<prompt>" |
built in (podman, $PWD only) |
PASS |
| opencode |
opencode run "<prompt>" |
--auto (without it a permission prompt hangs a headless run) |
PASS (default model now openrouter/~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest, github-copilot disabled in control/config/opencode.jsonc) |
| pi |
pi -p "<prompt>" |
none needed |
PASS, local model, slow |
| hermes |
hermes -z "<prompt>" --in <dir> |
--yolo |
FLAKY: write_file fails (DaemonThreadPoolExecutor ... _initializer); 1262 commits behind |
| copilot |
copilot -p "<prompt>" -s |
--allow-all |
FAIL: no auth; needs interactive /login |
Facts from --help: grok 1.0.13 has no --check / --best-of-n; droid rejects --auto together
with --skip-permissions-unsafe; hermes restores the previous session's cwd unless --in is given.
Getting the result back
| Agent |
Machine-readable result |
| claude |
--output-format json (with -p) |
| codex |
-o <file> writes the last message; --json for JSONL events |
| droid |
-o json |
| grok |
--output-format json, or --json-schema '<schema>' |
| opencode |
--format json |
| pi |
--mode json |
Simplest contract, works everywhere: tell the worker to write its output to a file and print one
line DONE|BLOCKED|FAILED <reason>. Read the file, not the transcript.
Cheaper / capped variants (validated)
Use when a unit is small. Same worker, fewer tokens:
- claude:
--model haiku --max-turns N (do not add --bare or --setting-sources ""; both drop auth)
- codex:
-c model_reasoning_effort=low (minimal is rejected)
- droid:
-r low -m claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
- grok:
--max-turns N --no-subagents --disable-web-search
- opencode:
--variant minimal
- pi:
--thinking off
Listing and picking models
Validated 2026-09-04. Pass the id with the agent's model flag (--model / -m).
| Agent |
List available models |
Default today |
Flag |
| claude |
no list command; aliases fable, opus, sonnet, haiku or a full id like claude-fable-5-1 |
account default |
--model |
| codex |
codex debug models (JSON catalog, 9 entries: gpt-5.6-sol/terra/luna, gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, gpt-5.3-codex-spark, …) |
gpt-5.6-sol (~/.codex/config.toml) |
-m |
| droid |
no list command; /model in the TUI. Custom/local models are the customModels entries in ~/.factory/settings.json (ollama qwen3, glm-4.7-flash, kimi-k2.7-code, …) |
gpt-5.6-sol |
-m |
| grok |
grok models (7 entries, grok-4.6 default, grok-4.5, …) |
grok-4.6 |
-m |
| opencode |
opencode models (379 entries as provider/model; openrouter/~anthropic/... ids need the tilde) |
openrouter/~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest (control/config/opencode.jsonc) |
-m |
| pi |
pi --list-models [search] (table with context/max-out/thinking columns) |
harbor-llamacpp Qwen3-Coder-Next Q8 (~/.pi/agent/settings.json) |
--model |
| hermes |
hermes model (interactive picker; --refresh re-fetches each provider's /v1/models); hermes config get model prints the default |
deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731 via nous |
-m |
| copilot |
no list command; /model in the TUI |
account default |
--model |
Isolation
Two workers must never write the same file in the same tree. Use a worktree per worker:
claude -w <name>, droid -w <name>, grok -w <name>, hermes --worktree; for codex, opencode,
copilot, pi run git worktree add first and cd into it. (Worktree flags checked in --help only.)
Resume instead of restart
claude --resume <id>, codex exec resume --last, droid exec -s <id>, grok -r <id>,
hermes --resume <s>, opencode run -s <id>, copilot --continue, pi -c. Resume a BLOCKED
worker with the missing fact rather than re-dispatching cold.
Fan-out pattern
d=$(mktemp -d /tmp/orch-<slug>-XXXX)
cat > "$d/preamble.md" <<'P'
You are working on <project> at <code_path>.
Read CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / README.md first if present.
Commit with clear messages when done. Do not ask questions.
Do not start or reinstall opencode.service; the OpenCode daemon is retired.
Write your result to <unit_file> and print ONLY one line: DONE|BLOCKED|FAILED <reason>.
P
cd <code_path>
claude -p "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-1.md)" --dangerously-skip-permissions > $d/1.log 2>&1 &
codex exec --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox < <(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-2.md) > $d/2.log 2>&1 &
droid exec --skip-permissions-unsafe -f <(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-3.md) > $d/3.log 2>&1 &
grok -p "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-4.md)" --always-approve -w unit-4 > $d/4.log 2>&1 &
opencode run "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-5.md)" --auto > $d/5.log 2>&1 &
wait; tail -n1 $d/*.log
Prompts live on disk and are dispatched by path. The orchestrator authors nothing itself
(same discipline as timeboxed-iterating).
Rules
- Plain workers only. If you reach for a CLI's mission / delegation / persona feature, stop and
fan out from the orchestrator instead.
- One unit, one directory, one commit per worker. Merge worktrees afterwards.
- Logs under
/tmp or the scratchpad, never in the repo.
- Cap loops with
--max-turns where it exists, otherwise a turn budget in the prompt.
- Bypass flags only in a worktree, in
grokc, or in a repo you can git reset.
- Backlog.md stays human. Workers do not touch
backlog/tasks/.
- Smoke tests are one word. Validate a recipe with "Reply with the single word OK." only.
- Do not invent flags. Not in this file → run
--help and paste the real one.
Related skills
overnight — dispatch approved work items to these workers in the backgroundtimeboxed-iterating, workgraph, workmachine, gauntlet, dark-factory, bughunt — orchestration loops that use these workers
1---2name: use-coding-agents3description: How to use the coding agents installed on this machine (claude, codex, droid, grok, hermes, opencode, copilot, pi) as plain sub-agents in orchestrated workflows: one headless invocation, one prompt in, one result out. Deliberately ignores each CLI's own orchestration features (droid --mission, codex multi_agent, hermes delegation/moa/kanban, grok --agents, opencode personas). The orchestrator is whatever session is running the skill; the CLIs are interchangeable workers. Use when the user asks "which agent should run this", "fan out workers", "run X headless", or when a lifeos skill (overnight, timeboxed-iterating, workgraph, gauntlet, bughunt, dark-factory) needs to launch an agent CLI.4---56# Use Coding Agents — Installed CLIs as Plain Sub-agents78Validated on `fedora` 2026-09-04 by running each command on a minimal prompt (write one file, or9reply OK). `pop-os` is set up identically via `control/install.sh`. Run `hostname` first.10Re-run `<agent> --help` before relying on any flag not listed here.1112## Principle1314Every agent here is a **worker**: it receives a prompt, edits files in one directory, commits,15prints a result, exits. Nothing more.1617- **Do not use the CLIs' own orchestration features.** No `droid --mission`, no codex18 `multi_agent`, no hermes `delegate_task` / `moa` / `kanban`, no `grok --agents`, no opencode19 personas. Those are unvalidated here, spend tokens invisibly, and hide state from the orchestrator.20- **The orchestrator is the session running this skill** (normally claude via the Agent tool or a21 lifeos skill). It plans units, writes prompts, launches workers, reads short results.22- Workers are interchangeable. Pick by availability and cost, not by feature.2324## Workers2526| Agent | Invocation | Auto-approve | Status 2026-09-04 |27|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|-------------------|28| claude | `claude -p "<prompt>"` | `--dangerously-skip-permissions` | PASS |29| codex | `codex exec "<prompt>"` (or prompt on stdin) | `--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox` | PASS |30| droid | `droid exec "<prompt>"` | `--skip-permissions-unsafe` (not with `--auto`) | PASS |31| grok | `grok -p "<prompt>"` | `--always-approve` | PASS |32| grokc | `COLORTERM=truecolor grokc -p "<prompt>"` | built in (podman, `$PWD` only) | PASS |33| opencode | `opencode run "<prompt>"` | `--auto` (without it a permission prompt hangs a headless run) | PASS (default model now `openrouter/~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest`, github-copilot disabled in `control/config/opencode.jsonc`) |34| pi | `pi -p "<prompt>"` | none needed | PASS, local model, slow |35| hermes | `hermes -z "<prompt>" --in <dir>` | `--yolo` | FLAKY: `write_file` fails (`DaemonThreadPoolExecutor ... _initializer`); 1262 commits behind |36| copilot | `copilot -p "<prompt>" -s` | `--allow-all` | FAIL: no auth; needs interactive `/login` |3738Facts from `--help`: grok 1.0.13 has no `--check` / `--best-of-n`; droid rejects `--auto` together39with `--skip-permissions-unsafe`; hermes restores the previous session's cwd unless `--in` is given.4041### Getting the result back4243| Agent | Machine-readable result |44|----------|------------------------------------------------------|45| claude | `--output-format json` (with `-p`) |46| codex | `-o <file>` writes the last message; `--json` for JSONL events |47| droid | `-o json` |48| grok | `--output-format json`, or `--json-schema '<schema>'` |49| opencode | `--format json` |50| pi | `--mode json` |5152Simplest contract, works everywhere: tell the worker to write its output to a file and print one53line `DONE|BLOCKED|FAILED <reason>`. Read the file, not the transcript.5455### Cheaper / capped variants (validated)5657Use when a unit is small. Same worker, fewer tokens:5859- claude: `--model haiku --max-turns N` (do not add `--bare` or `--setting-sources ""`; both drop auth)60- codex: `-c model_reasoning_effort=low` (`minimal` is rejected)61- droid: `-r low -m claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`62- grok: `--max-turns N --no-subagents --disable-web-search`63- opencode: `--variant minimal`64- pi: `--thinking off`6566### Listing and picking models6768Validated 2026-09-04. Pass the id with the agent's model flag (`--model` / `-m`).6970| Agent | List available models | Default today | Flag |71|----------|---------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|------|72| claude | no list command; aliases `fable`, `opus`, `sonnet`, `haiku` or a full id like `claude-fable-5-1` | account default | `--model` |73| codex | `codex debug models` (JSON catalog, 9 entries: gpt-5.6-sol/terra/luna, gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, gpt-5.3-codex-spark, …) | `gpt-5.6-sol` (`~/.codex/config.toml`) | `-m` |74| droid | no list command; `/model` in the TUI. Custom/local models are the `customModels` entries in `~/.factory/settings.json` (ollama qwen3, glm-4.7-flash, kimi-k2.7-code, …) | `gpt-5.6-sol` | `-m` |75| grok | `grok models` (7 entries, grok-4.6 default, grok-4.5, …) | `grok-4.6` | `-m` |76| opencode | `opencode models` (379 entries as `provider/model`; `openrouter/~anthropic/...` ids need the tilde) | `openrouter/~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest` (`control/config/opencode.jsonc`) | `-m` |77| pi | `pi --list-models [search]` (table with context/max-out/thinking columns) | `harbor-llamacpp` Qwen3-Coder-Next Q8 (`~/.pi/agent/settings.json`) | `--model` |78| hermes | `hermes model` (interactive picker; `--refresh` re-fetches each provider's `/v1/models`); `hermes config get model` prints the default | `deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731` via `nous` | `-m` |79| copilot | no list command; `/model` in the TUI | account default | `--model` |8081### Isolation8283Two workers must never write the same file in the same tree. Use a worktree per worker:84`claude -w <name>`, `droid -w <name>`, `grok -w <name>`, `hermes --worktree`; for codex, opencode,85copilot, pi run `git worktree add` first and `cd` into it. (Worktree flags checked in `--help` only.)8687### Resume instead of restart8889`claude --resume <id>`, `codex exec resume --last`, `droid exec -s <id>`, `grok -r <id>`,90`hermes --resume <s>`, `opencode run -s <id>`, `copilot --continue`, `pi -c`. Resume a BLOCKED91worker with the missing fact rather than re-dispatching cold.9293## Fan-out pattern9495```bash96d=$(mktemp -d /tmp/orch-<slug>-XXXX)97cat > "$d/preamble.md" <<'P'98You are working on <project> at <code_path>.99Read CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / README.md first if present.100Commit with clear messages when done. Do not ask questions.101Do not start or reinstall opencode.service; the OpenCode daemon is retired.102Write your result to <unit_file> and print ONLY one line: DONE|BLOCKED|FAILED <reason>.103P104cd <code_path>105claude -p "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-1.md)" --dangerously-skip-permissions > $d/1.log 2>&1 &106codex exec --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox < <(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-2.md) > $d/2.log 2>&1 &107droid exec --skip-permissions-unsafe -f <(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-3.md) > $d/3.log 2>&1 &108grok -p "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-4.md)" --always-approve -w unit-4 > $d/4.log 2>&1 &109opencode run "$(cat $d/preamble.md $d/unit-5.md)" --auto > $d/5.log 2>&1 &110wait; tail -n1 $d/*.log111```112113Prompts live on disk and are dispatched by path. The orchestrator authors nothing itself114(same discipline as `timeboxed-iterating`).115116## Rules117118- **Plain workers only.** If you reach for a CLI's mission / delegation / persona feature, stop and119 fan out from the orchestrator instead.120- **One unit, one directory, one commit** per worker. Merge worktrees afterwards.121- **Logs under `/tmp` or the scratchpad**, never in the repo.122- **Cap loops** with `--max-turns` where it exists, otherwise a turn budget in the prompt.123- **Bypass flags only** in a worktree, in `grokc`, or in a repo you can `git reset`.124- **Backlog.md stays human.** Workers do not touch `backlog/tasks/`.125- **Smoke tests are one word.** Validate a recipe with "Reply with the single word OK." only.126- **Do not invent flags.** Not in this file → run `--help` and paste the real one.127128## Related skills129130- `overnight` — dispatch approved work items to these workers in the background131- `timeboxed-iterating`, `workgraph`, `workmachine`, `gauntlet`, `dark-factory`, `bughunt` — orchestration loops that use these workers
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