Files
deepseek-harness/packages/core/agent
Tianyi Cui 7aabd2a3df Add in-process subagent backends: spawn (fresh) and fork (seeded)
The second PR of the subagent seam: the two in-process backends that run a
child agent on the same cordis context, reusing the agent factory's quiescent
AgentHandle teardown. Both register on ctx.subagents (PR1's named-provider
registry) and share one run driver.

- dsh-subagent-spawn: a FRESH child via ctx.agents.create — own session, the
  parent's model by default (overridable), zero inherited conversation. Also
  exports the shared in-process run driver (startInProcessRun): mint ids, stamp
  cwd/parentSession-lineage/depth, drive the one-shot (send → whenIdle), read
  the last assistant/message + turn/end reason, dispose to quiescence.
- dsh-subagent-fork: a child SEEDED with the parent's balanced completed-turn
  prefix (the log up to and including its last turn/end), so the child inherits
  context. The in-flight unbalanced turn is excluded — a raw seed would fail the
  invariants replay. Proven: a regression test goes red if the boundary seeds
  the open turn.
- Seam extension: CreateAgentOptions.seed, threaded through AgentLoop.createAgent
  → ctx.sessions.prepare({ seed }) (the primitive resume already used). This is
  the fork-lineage path the TODO(sub-agents) markers anticipated.
- Depth: a merge-extensible AgentOptions.subagentDepth (0 top-level, parent+1 for
  a child); the depthLimit capability refuses a spawn past request.maxDepth.

Tests: real-loop unit tests for both backends (mock MODEL only, real loop +
invariants), a multi-subagent test (one parent drives a fork AND a spawn child
then keeps working), and a with-key e2e (a real parent delegates via the
`subagent` tool to a real child that writes a file on disk — world-verified).
100% per-file coverage. The coding-agent demo wires the spawn backend + tool.

Snapshot coverage of nested agents is deferred to a stacked follow-up
(TODO(subagent-snapshots)): dsh-llm-replay is a single global positional cursor
that cannot route calls to a parent vs. a child on one context. Recorded in the
RFC's deferrals and a new AGENTS.md rule: designing a subsystem must design its
test infrastructure END TO END up front, verifying the snapshot/e2e harness can
express the new shape — a gap this plan hit.
2026-06-22 05:58:40 +08:00
..

dsh-agent

Agent interface, registry, and agent/* event vocabulary. Every plugin (UI, hooks, orchestrators) programs against the Agent handle defined here — it has zero loop dependency, so the loop is swappable.

Service: AgentRegistry (ctx key: agents)

Tracks live agents so UI, hook, and orchestrator plugins can find them without importing the concrete loop package.

Public API

  • ctx.agents.register(agent: Agent): () => void — record an already-constructed agent. Disposed with the calling fiber.
  • ctx.agents.get(id: AgentId): Agent | undefined
  • ctx.agents.list(): Agent[]

Factory seam (creation)

Agent creation is provided by whichever plugin implements AgentFactory (phase 1: dsh-agent-loop), registered via setFactory. This keeps creation on the dsh-agent interface so consumers (UI, the ACP bridge) program against ctx.agents without depending on the concrete loop package.

  • ctx.agents.setFactory(factory: AgentFactory): () => void — register the creation factory (the loop calls this on construction). Throws on a second factory; the slot clears on dispose.
  • ctx.agents.create(options: CreateAgentOptions): AgentHandle — construct, start, AND register a new agent on a caller-supplied sessionId (with optional meta.cwd). Distinct from register (which only records). Throws if no factory is registered.
  • ctx.agents.resume(options: ResumeAgentOptions): Promise<AgentHandle> — load a persisted session (session persistence) and resume an agent on it. Async; rejects if no factory is registered, or if the factory finds session persistence unconfigured.

AgentHandle = { agent: Agent; dispose(): Promise<void> }. The disposer is a capability — only the holder can tear this agent down. dispose() stops the loop, awaits its exit (quiescence — NOT just the disposed status flip), unregisters the agent, and removes its session from the store, in an order that captures the loop's final session/flush before the session is detached. ctx.agents.get(id) still returns a bare Agent — the handle is only for the OWNER that created it. The ACP bridge is the production consumer (one handle per session, disposed on disconnect/teardown); config-created agents are owned by the loop fiber and never need a handle.

Events

The full agent/* event taxonomy is declared via declaration merging in dsh-agent (not dsh-agent-loop), so plugins depend only on this package.

Lifecycle (emit)

  • agent/created, agent/disposed — registration/deregistration
  • agent/status — idle / running / disposed transition
  • agent/queued — message entered inbox (source-resolved, steering flag)

Turn/step boundaries (emit)

  • agent/turn-start, agent/turn-end (carries TurnEndReason)
  • agent/step-start, agent/step-end

Interception seams (waterfall)

  • agent/request — mutate GenerateOptions before the model call (hooks, compaction, model switching, tool filtering)
  • agent/step-result — post-process the assembled assistant message before tool dispatch (validates what the log records)
  • agent/turn-continuation — override the continue/stop decision (force-continue /loop, force-stop budget guard)

Streaming + tool (emit)

  • agent/stream-chunk — raw chunk from the model (token-level UI/log feed)
  • agent/steering — steering content injected mid-turn
  • agent/error — step/turn error

Agent interface (types.ts)

The handle every plugin programs against:

  • agent.send(content, options?) — queue a message; starts a turn when idle
  • agent.steer(content, options?) — steer a running turn (inject between steps); behaves like send when idle
  • agent.inject(content, options?) — inject in-session context (context/message event); the next request sees it. Does not run the model. While a turn is open it joins that turn; while idle it is wrapped in a one-shot injection turn so every event stays turn-enclosed (the turn-enclosure invariant)
  • agent.cancel(reason?) — cancel ALL pending work: clears the queued + steering FIFOs, aborts the in-flight step, and drops a turn about to start (the pre-step window) so a queued-but-not-started prompt never runs. A UI/ACP session/cancel maps to this. The single public stop primitive. Idle with nothing pending → a safe no-op.
  • agent.whenIdle() — resolve once the agent reaches quiescence after settling out of running (idle → immediately; disposed → awaits the loop exit). A non-owner's quiescence-observation hook: it observes the work settling WITHOUT tearing the agent down. Teardown is separate — a lifecycle owner stops and unregisters via AgentHandle.dispose(), which awaits the loop exit directly.
  • agent.session, agent.status, agent.options, agent.id

Extension points

  • Agent creation: AgentLoop.create() is the concrete implementation (in dsh-agent-loop). Replace the loop by implementing Agent and registering via ctx.agents.register().
  • Event listeners: all agent/* events are declared here — no dependency on the loop package needed.

What is NOT here (TODO)

  • Sub-agent spawn/fork — seam on AgentLoop.create(), semantics deferred.