# Multi-Agent Coordination

Qwen Code can coordinate several teammates with the experimental Agent Team runtime. Teammates receive separate tasks, share a task list, exchange messages, and appear in the existing Agent View tabs. `/coordinate` defaults investigation workers to an enforced read-only tool set and can place one writer in a leader-owned Git worktree.

## Enable Agent Team

Set `experimental.agentTeam` to `true` in Qwen Code settings and restart, or start Qwen Code with `QWEN_CODE_ENABLE_AGENT_TEAM=1`.

## Run a coordinated task

Use the bundled skill with a goal:

```text
/coordinate investigate the authentication regression and propose the smallest fix
```

The leader creates a team, assigns up to three independent workstreams, and uses the existing team tools for messages and task state. Teammate conversations and approvals remain visible through the existing Agent View UI. Read-only teammates cannot execute shell commands or write files. If implementation is needed, the leader can create one Git worktree and pin one writer teammate to it; the leader remains the only merge authority for the current branch.

If Agent Team is disabled, `/coordinate` can still use ordinary foreground agents for read-only parallel investigation. That fallback is delegation, not a collaborating team: the workers report only to the leader.

## Choosing the right multi-agent mode

| Mode                          | Use it for                                                      | Communication                      | Workspace behavior                                          |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `/coordinate` with Agent Team | Different workstreams contributing to one result                | Shared tasks and teammate messages | Enforced read-only workers; optional single worktree writer |
| Subagents                     | Small delegated tasks                                           | Worker reports to parent           | Depends on the selected agent                               |
| Arena                         | Several models competing on the same task                       | Agents do not collaborate          | Isolated worktrees; one winner is selected                  |
| Herdr                         | Coordinating different CLI products or remote terminal sessions | External terminal-level control    | Managed outside Qwen Code                                   |

The current workflow deliberately reuses the in-process Agent Team runtime and Agent View UI. Teammates normally inherit the session model, although an agent definition can override it. Persistent independent PTY sessions, cross-vendor workers, and remote attach are separate product concerns and are not implemented by `/coordinate`.