Multi-Agent Systems & Handoffs

Expert

Divide cognition. Coordinate action.

01 The Concept

A single prompt trying to handle planning, writing, researching, and testing will eventually exhaust its cognitive capacity. Multi-Agent Orchestration splits a complex workflow into specialized agents, each running a focused prompt and handing off structured payloads.

Instead of a monolithic prompt, you build an organizational chart. A 'Planner' maps the task; a 'Researcher' gathers data; a 'Coder' writes code; and a 'Tester' executes the code and feeds errors back. This modular approach keeps prompts focused, prevents context bloat, and enables feedback loops where agents critique and correct each other.

02 Weak vs. Strong

EX 01Autonomously Debugging Code

system: You are Orchestrator. 1. Call Planner to write a debug path. 2. Pass path to Coder to edit file. 3. Call Sandbox tool to execute unit tests. 4. If stdout has failures, pass errors back to Coder to patch. Repeat up to 3 times.

tool_calls:

call_agent(name='Planner', task='Draft steps to fix NullPointerException in auth.go')
call_agent(name='Coder', task='Modify lines 40-52 of auth.go according to plan')
execute_sandbox(command='go test ./auth_test.go')

→ Why it works

Separates the coder role from test execution, ensuring code errors are checked programmatically and processed in a loop.

EX 02B2B Market Intelligence Collector

role: Orchestrator agents:

Researcher: has search_web tool; outputs raw JSON lists of articles and competitor homepages.
Analyst: reads Researcher lists; extracts feature sets, pricing models, and key differentiators.
Writer: takes Analyst synthesis; compiles a clean executive brief for our VP of Product.

Workflow: Researcher -> Analyst -> Writer. If Analyst flags missing pricing, Researcher runs a new targeted search.

→ Why it works

Distributes cognitive load. The Researcher focuses on information gathering, the Analyst on structured extraction, and the Writer on prose formatting.

03 Key Points

01Focused context: each agent only receives instructions and files relevant to its task.

02Automated loops: the Tester feeds compiler stdout/stderr directly back to the Coder for fixes.

03Handoff contracts: specify exactly what format and variables Agent A must output for Agent B.

04Tool authorization: assign specific tools (e.g. sandbox terminal, web search, database) to individual agents.

05Human-in-the-loop (HITL): design breakpoints where agents request human approval before executing destructive actions.

04 Model-Specific Notes

Claude handles agent handoffs and tool execution protocols exceptionally well due to high instruction compliance and robust XML tag parsing.

05 For Your Role

It's like running a project team. Instead of one person trying to do everything, you delegate tasks to specialists and review their work.

Next: Prompt Drift & Calibration →