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External Agent Tasks reference
Extend the agent task kind with responderType routing metadata so tasks-adapter can route work to an internal responder, human, external agent, tracker, or automatic choice. This supersedes the older 603 external: true proposal.
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External Agent Tasks
Summary
Extend the agent task kind with responderType routing metadata so tasks-adapter can route work to an internal responder, human, external agent, tracker, or automatic choice. This supersedes the older #603 external: true proposal.
Task Definition API
Current (internal only)
const analyzeTask = defineTask("analyze", (args) => ({
kind: "agent",
title: "Analyze codebase",
agent: { name: "Analyzer", prompt: "Analyze the code..." },
}));New (external via adapters)
const reviewTask = defineTask("review", (args) => ({
kind: "agent",
title: "Code review via Claude Code",
agent: {
name: "Code Reviewer",
prompt: "Review the changes in the working directory...",
responderType: "agent", // tasks-adapter routes to adapters
adapter: "claude-code", // NEW — which adapters adapter
model: "claude-sonnet-4-6", // optional — model override
provider: "anthropic", // optional — provider override
timeoutMs: 300_000, // optional — per-task timeout
approvalMode: "yolo", // optional — auto-approve tool use
maxTurns: 10, // optional — conversation turn limit
},
}));Fallback behavior
const flexibleTask = defineTask("flexible-review", (args) => ({
kind: "agent",
title: "Code review",
agent: {
name: "Reviewer",
prompt: "Review the code...",
responderType: "agent",
adapter: "claude-code",
fallbackType: "internal",
},
}));SDK Changes
`packages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/types.ts`
interface AgentTaskOptions {
name: string;
prompt: string | { instructions: string[] };
outputSchema?: Record<string, unknown>;
responderType?: "internal" | "human" | "agent" | "tracker" | "auto";
adapter?: string; // adapters adapter name
fallbackType?: "internal" | "human" | "agent" | "tracker" | "auto";
model?: string; // model override
provider?: string; // provider override
timeoutMs?: number; // per-task timeout
approvalMode?: "yolo" | "prompt";
maxTurns?: number;
}
// Add to TaskDef
interface TaskDef {
kind: TaskKind;
agent?: AgentTaskOptions; // existing field, extended
// ...
}`packages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/kinds/index.ts`
Add helper function:
const reviewTask = externalAgentTask("review", {
adapter: "claude-code",
prompt: "Review the changes in the working directory...",
fallbackType: "internal",
});`packages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/defineTask.ts`
When the task kind is "agent" and agent.responderType is "agent":
- Validate that
agent.adapteris set - Preserve valid routing metadata on the task definition
- Leave effect routing to the tasks-adapter work tracked by #630/#620
Files to Modify
packages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/types.ts— extend AgentTaskOptions with responder routing fieldspackages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/kinds/index.ts— exportexternalAgentTask,humanTask, andautoTaskhelperspackages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/defineTask.ts— validate agent adapter forresponderType: "agent"packages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/serializer.ts— preserve typed agent routing metadatapackages/babysitter-sdk/src/tasks/__tests__/*.test.ts— cover helpers, validation, serialization, and compatibility
Validation Rules
In SDK task definition validation:
- Accept typed
agent.responderType - Validate
adapteris a non-empty string whenagent.responderType === "agent" - Leave adapter availability checks to the tasks-adapter/runtime routing work
Process Template Update
When external agents are available, the process definition template should mention:
You may use external agent tasks to delegate work to installed agents:
- defineTask("id", (args) => ({
kind: "agent",
agent: { name: "...", prompt: "...", responderType: "agent", adapter: "claude-code" }
}))
Available adapters: claude-code, codex, gemini-cli, ...