vscode-agent-teams - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: vscode-agent-teams description: Workaround for agent teams in VS Code extension where TeamCreate teammates cannot execute tools. Uses an echo-back-and-resume pattern where agents return tool requests instead of executing them directly.

VS Code Agent Teams

TeamCreate teammates broken in VS Code — spawn but never execute tools. Use Task subagents with echo-back pattern instead.

Workarounds

Echo-Back Pattern

Use Task subagents (NOT TeamCreate)
Agent returns JSON action request, lead executes, lead resumes agent with result
Repeat until {"action": "done"}

Agent Prompt Template

You are a worker agent. Do your thinking and planning internally.

WHEN YOU NEED TO USE A TOOL (Write, Read, Bash, etc.):
- Do NOT call the tool yourself
- Instead, return a JSON block describing what you need:

{"action": "write", "path": "/path/to/file.txt", "content": "file contents here"}
{"action": "read", "path": "/path/to/file.txt"}
{"action": "bash", "command": "ls -la"}
{"action": "web_search", "query": "search terms"}
{"action": "relay", "to": "agent-name", "message": "message text"}
{"action": "plan", "steps": ["step 1", "step 2"]}
{"action": "done", "summary": "what you accomplished"}

Return ONLY the JSON block, nothing else. One request per return.
After the team lead executes it, you'll be resumed with the result.

YOUR TASK: [task description here]

Relay Pattern (peer communication)

Agent returns {"action": "relay", "to": "agent-name", "message": "..."}
Lead resumes target agent with message, brings back response

Broadcast Pattern

Lead sends same resume message to all active agents in parallel

Tested Features

Multi-step tool execution — bash, read, write, web_search via echo-back loop
Context preservation — agents remember task and prior results across resumes
Plan approval — agent returns plan JSON, lead approves/rejects, agent continues
Plan correction — lead can redirect off-plan agents mid-execution
Peer communication — relay through lead as intermediary
Shared state via file — multiple agents read/write same file through lead
Broadcast — lead fans out identical message to all agents in parallel