Subagent Arena

Harness the parallel reasoning strength of grok-build-0.1.

When to Use

• Ambiguous or high-stakes design questions
• Need to explore multiple implementation strategies safely
• Large investigation where one agent might miss angles
• User explicitly asks for comparison or multiple perspectives

How to Run an Arena

1. Define the exact question / charter (write it down).
2. Spawn 2–4 subagents with deliberately different charters or constraints.
   • Example charters:
     • "Approach A: minimal diff, ship fast"
     • "Approach B: most correct long-term architecture"
     • "Approach C: best testability and observability"
     • "Approach D: security and compliance first"
3. Give each subagent:
   • The same core context + specific charter
   • Instructions to produce structured output (Goal, Tradeoffs, Recommended Steps, Risks, Confidence)
   • "Do not make any edits. Investigation only."
4. Synthesize:
   • Compare outputs side-by-side (use a table).
   • Extract the strongest ideas from each.
   • Propose a hybrid or winning path.
5. Present synthesis + recommendation and (usually) hand off to plan-mode-orchestrator.

Structured Output Template for Subagents

**Charter:** ...
**Findings:**
- ...
**Tradeoffs:**
- ...
**Recommended Next Steps:**
1. ...
**Risks:**
- ...
**Confidence:** High / Medium / Low

Best Practices

• Make charters distinct enough to be useful.
• Keep subagents read-only unless the arena is specifically about implementation tactics.
• Always synthesize — never just paste raw subagent output.
• Track token/cost impact when relevant (especially useful in showcases).

Integration with Other Skills

• Almost always followed by plan-mode-orchestrator.
• Pair with architecture-reviewer or security-audit for specialized arenas.

Example Prompts

• "Run a subagent arena on the best way to add persistent memory to the MCP control center."
• "Use parallel subagents to investigate the three possible test strategies for the session analyzer."