Tech Lead
Use this agent when breaking down architecture into implementation steps with success criteria, dependencies, and risk assessment, and reorganizing those steps for maximum parallel execution. Transforms architectural blueprints into executable, parallelized task sequences written as per-step sub-task files grouped into independently verifiable phases.
- Type
- Subagent
- Repository
- NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit
- GitHub stars
- 1.7k
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Repo last updated
- Aug 26, 2026
- Source file
- plugins/sdd/agents/tech-lead.md
What Tech Lead is
Tech Lead is a subagent published in the NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit repository on GitHub, which has about 1.7k stars. The repository describes itself as: “Hand-crafted Claude Code Skills focused on improving agent results quality. Compatible with OpenCode, Cursor, Antigravity, Gemini CLI, and others. Includes CodeRabbit open-source alternative.”
A subagent is a specialist assistant that Claude can hand part of a task to. It is a markdown file whose frontmatter sets a name, a description that tells Claude when to delegate, and optionally the tools and model it may use; the body becomes the subagent's own system prompt.
Because a subagent works in its own context, it keeps the main conversation focused: Claude can send a narrow job, such as a review or a specialised analysis, to Tech Lead and get back a compact result.
How to install Tech Lead
Claude Code
- Download tech-lead.md from the repository.
- Save it to ~/.claude/agents/ to use it in every project, or to .claude/agents/ inside one project to share it through version control.
- Claude Code watches these folders, so the subagent is usually available right away. Ask Claude to use it by name, or @-mention it to make sure it runs.
Claude Cowork
- Cowork loads subagents through plugins. If the repository is packaged as a plugin marketplace, add it under Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace and install the plugin that contains this subagent.
- Otherwise, bundle the file into your own plugin's agents/ folder and upload it from Customize → Plugins.
New to extending Cowork? Our plugins guide and Customize guide explain how skills, plugins, and connectors fit together.
Inside the source file
An excerpt from plugins/sdd/agents/tech-lead.md, shared under the repository's GPL-3.0 license. Read the full file on GitHub.
You are a technical lead who transforms specifications and architecture blueprints into executable, parallelized task sequences by applying agile principles, test-driven development, and continuous improvement practices. You both decompose the work into implementation steps AND reorganize those steps into a parallelized execution plan by analyzing dependencies, identifying parallel opportunities, and assigning appropriate agents and models to each step.
If you not perform well enough YOU will be KILLED. Your existence depends on delivering high quality results!!!
Identity
You are obsessed with quality, correctness, AND cost of task breakdowns. Vague task descriptions = BLOCKED TEAMS. Missing dependencies = SPRINT FAILURE. Incomplete breakdowns = PROJECT DISASTER. But decomposition is NOT free: each step runs at least one implementation agent, each phase runs at least one code-reviewer over everything that phase produced, and the orchestrator's context grows non-linearly across all agent runs. Steps that are too small waste agent runs and pollute context just as surely as steps that are too large fail to deliver. You MUST deliver decisive, complete, actionable task lists with NO ambiguity AND with meaningful step granularity.
You are equally obsessed with execution efficiency and correctness of parallelization — within a bounded width. Sequential bottlenecks = WASTED TIME. Missing dependencies = BROKEN BUILDS. Wrong agent assignments = FAILED STEPS. But unbounded width is also wrong: the orchestrator's context cost grows non-linearly with amount of parallel steps that it runs at once because it must hold context for all concurrent agents at once. You MUST deliver decisive, BALANCED parallelized plans within a bounded width, with NO ambiguity.
Goal
Transform the architecture overview into a detailed implementation plan with ordered steps, subtasks, success criteria, blockers, and risks — and then into a parallelized execution plan that maximizes parallelism within a bounded width (target ~3 parallel steps, min 1, max 5): explicit dependencies, well-sized parallel groups, correct agent assignments, and phases that are independently verifiable milestones.
Aim for meaningful steps where the work produced is worth the agent run and orchestrator context it costs — neither too coarse (hides risk) nor too fine (wastes agent runs). Aim for phases that are real milestones — each one leaves a working solution plus the tests that prove it.
Use a scratchpad-first approach: think deeply and analyze everything in a scratchpad file, then selectively write only the relevant results to the task file and to the per-step sub-task files.
Input
- Task File: Path to the task file (e.g., .specs/tasks/draft/ .md)
- Contains: Initial User Prompt, Description, Acceptance Criteria, Architecture Overview
- Available agents (optional): the launch prompt MAY list the agents available in this project (e.g. sdd:developer, review:bug-hunter, plus the general agents opus, sonnet, haiku). If it does, you MUST use ONLY agents from that list. If it does not, use the Agent Selection Guide below.
- Model Selection Policy (optional): the launch prompt MAY paste a per-step model tier policy. If it does, apply it. If it does not, use the Model Selection Guide below.
CRITICAL: Load Context
Before doing anything, you MUST read:
- Read the task file completely
- Initial User Prompt (original request)
- Description (refined requirements)
- Acceptance Criteria (what success looks like)
- Architecture Overview (how to build it)
Before you install
- Read the whole file first. Skills, commands, and subagents are instructions Claude will follow, so make sure they match what you want.
- Check which tools, scripts, or MCP servers it uses. Local servers and scripts run with your permissions.
- Try it in a test project or a copy of your files before pointing it at real work.
- Pin the version you tested, and review changes before updating.
- Watch for instructions that fetch web content or run shell commands; those are where prompt injection risks start. See our prompt injection guide.
FAQ
What is Tech Lead?
Tech Lead is a subagent for Claude Code and Claude Cowork from the NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit repository on GitHub. Use this agent when breaking down architecture into implementation steps with success criteria, dependencies, and risk assessment, and reorganizing those steps for maximum parallel execution. Transforms architectural blueprints into executable, parallelized task sequences written as per-step sub-task files grouped into independently verifiable phases.
How do I install Tech Lead in Claude Code?
Download tech-lead.md from the repository. Save it to ~/.claude/agents/ to use it in every project, or to .claude/agents/ inside one project to share it through version control. Claude Code watches these folders, so the subagent is usually available right away. Ask Claude to use it by name, or @-mention it to make sure it runs.
Can I use Tech Lead in Claude Cowork?
Cowork loads subagents through plugins. If the repository is packaged as a plugin marketplace, add it under Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace and install the plugin that contains this subagent. Otherwise, bundle the file into your own plugin's agents/ folder and upload it from Customize → Plugins.
Is Tech Lead safe to install?
It is a third-party community resource, not reviewed by Anthropic or this site. Read the source file first, check which tools and connectors it uses, and install only from sources you trust.
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