Skip to main content

Use Built-in Agents

Claude Code includes built-in specialized agents that can autonomously handle complex, multi-step tasks. These agents are more efficient than running individual commands because they can explore, analyze, and make decisions independently.

Available Built-in Agents​

1. general-purpose (Sonnet)​

Purpose: General-purpose research, code search, and multi-step tasks

Tools Available: All tools (*)

Use Cases:

  • Complex questions requiring multiple approaches
  • Searching for keywords across large codebases
  • Multi-step tasks that don't fit other specialized agents
  • When you're unsure which specific agent to use

Example:

Use the general-purpose agent to find all authentication-related code and summarize the approach

2. Explore (Haiku - Fast)​

Purpose: Fast codebase exploration and file discovery

Tools Available: Glob, Grep, Read, Bash

Use Cases:

  • Finding files by patterns (e.g., src/components/**/*.tsx)
  • Searching code for keywords (e.g., "API endpoints")
  • Understanding architecture (e.g., "how does authentication work?")
  • Discovering patterns across multiple files

Example:

Use Explore agent to find error handling code

3. statusline-setup (Sonnet)​

Purpose: Configure Claude Code status line settings

Tools Available: Read, Edit

Use Cases:

  • Customizing status line display
  • Configuring status line behavior

4. output-style-setup (Sonnet)​

Purpose: Create and configure custom output styles

Use Cases:

  • Creating custom output formatting
  • Configuring response styles

Important: Agents are stateless - you can't send follow-up messages to an agent. Make sure your initial task description is complete and detailed.