SOP 007: Run Skills in a Subagent

Fresh

Field	Value
SOP ID	007
Version	1.0
Status	Active
Last Updated	2026-02-14

Purpose

Execute skills in isolated forked contexts using context: fork, keeping them separate from your main conversation.

Architecture

Skills vs Subagents

Approach	System Prompt	Task	Also Loads
Skill with context: fork	From agent type (Explore, Plan, etc.)	SKILL.md content	CLAUDE.md
Subagent with skills field	Subagent's markdown body	Claude's delegation message	Preloaded skills + CLAUDE.md

Procedure

Step 1: Add context: fork

---
name: deep-research
description: Research a topic thoroughly
context: fork
agent: Explore
---

Research $ARGUMENTS thoroughly:

1. Find relevant files using Glob and Grep
2. Read and analyze the code
3. Summarize findings with specific file references

Step 2: Choose an Agent Type

Agent	Best For	Tools Available
Explore	Read-only research, codebase exploration	Glob, Grep, Read (no writes)
Plan	Architecture planning, design decisions	Read-only + planning output
general-purpose	Full capability tasks	All tools
Custom (.claude/agents/)	Specialized workflows	As configured

Step 3: Understand Execution

When the skill runs:

1. A new isolated context is created
2. The subagent receives skill content as its prompt
3. The agent field determines the execution environment
4. Results are summarized and returned to main conversation

context: fork only works with task content

If your skill contains guidelines without a task, the subagent receives guidelines but no actionable prompt, and returns without meaningful output.

Step 4: Example - PR Summary Skill

---
name: pr-summary
description: Summarize changes in a pull request
context: fork
agent: Explore
allowed-tools: Bash(gh *)
---

## Pull request context
- PR diff: !`gh pr diff`
- PR comments: !`gh pr view --comments`
- Changed files: !`gh pr diff --name-only`

## Your task
Summarize this pull request:
- What changed and why
- Key files modified
- Potential risks or concerns

Verification Checklist

• [ ] context: fork is set in frontmatter
• [ ] agent field matches the intended execution environment
• [ ] Skill content contains actionable task instructions
• [ ] allowed-tools grants necessary permissions
• [ ] Results return correctly to main conversation

See Also

• SOP 006 - Dynamic Context
• Workflow 001 - Skill Lifecycle