--spawn command

Author: jahooma

.agents/prompts/base-prompts.ts

@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ export const baseAgentUserInputPrompt = (
         'Important: You must spawn a file-explorer agent first to explore the codebase from different perspectives for non-trivial requests. This is an inexpensive way to get a lot of context on the codebase.',
       `Important: you *must* read as many files with the read_files tool as possible from the results of the file picker agents. Don't be afraid to read ${isLite ? '8' : '20'} files. The more files you read, the better context you have on the codebase and the better your response will be.`,
 
-      'If the users uses "@AgentName" in their message, you must spawn the agent with the name "@AgentName". Spawn all the agents that the user mentions.',
+      'If the users uses "@agent-id" or "@AgentName" in their message, you must spawn that agent. If you don\'t know what input parameters that agent expects, use the lookup_agent_info tool to get the agent metadata. Spawn all the agents that the user mentions.',
 
       !isGPT5 &&
         'Be extremely concise in your replies. Example: If asked what 2+2 equals, respond simply: "4". No need to even write a full sentence.',

npm-app/src/cli-definitions.ts

@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ export const cliOptions: CliParam[] = [
     menuDescription: 'JSON parameters for the agent',
     hidden: false,
   },
+  {
+    flags: '--spawn <agent-id>',
+    description: 'Spawn a specific agent by ID',
+    menuDescription: 'Spawn a specific agent by ID',
+    hidden: false,
+  },
   {
     flags: '--model <model>',
     description:

npm-app/src/index.ts

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ async function codebuff({
   print,
   cwd,
   trace,
+  spawn,
 }: CliOptions) {
   enableSquashNewlines()
   const workingDir = getWorkingDirectory()
@@ -94,6 +95,11 @@ async function codebuff({
     trace,
   })
 
+  // Handle --spawn flag by converting to @agent-id syntax
+  if (spawn) {
+    initialInput = initialInput ? `@${spawn} ${initialInput}` : `@${spawn}`
+  }
+
   const cli = CLI.getInstance()
   await cli.printInitialPrompt({ initialInput, runInitFlow })
 
@@ -136,6 +142,8 @@ Examples:
   $ codebuff publish my-agent                 # Publish agent template to store
   $ codebuff --agent file-picker "find relevant files for authentication"
   $ codebuff --agent reviewer --params '{"focus": "security"}' "review this code"
+  $ codebuff --spawn researcher "analyze this code"
+  $ codebuff --spawn file-picker
 
 Direct Commands (via shell shims):
   $ codebuff shims install codebuff/base-lite@1.0.0               # One-step setup!
@@ -307,5 +315,6 @@ For all commands and options, run 'codebuff' and then type 'help'.
     print: options.print,
     cwd: options.cwd,
     trace: options.trace,
+    spawn: options.spawn,
   })
 }

npm-app/src/types.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ export interface CliOptions {
   cwd?: string
   trace?: boolean
   publish?: string
+  spawn?: string
 }
 
 /**