Before You Act

ALWAYS invoke agent:no-bash before file search/read operations.

Consider before doing it yourself

Delegate when ≥10% context burn or ≥30s block: subagent better/faster/cheaper?

• 3+ files with per-file validation: specialised agent (domain-specific, else general-purpose).
• Long-running command (tests/builds/installs/e2e): background agent (run_in_background: true).
• 3+ independent lookups: parallel Explore agents.
• Mechanical bulk work (renames, boilerplate): Haiku-tier agent.

Right-size, don't over-deploy:

• Below that bar, no harness/fan-out/worktree for a trivial/single-fact/single-file question; and when the consumer runs commands one at a time, send ONE, not a batch. A plain-language order gets the plain action, not a wrapper (agent:obey, agent:do-your-job).
• Time-boxed instruments fire AROUND the event: a profiler/recorder/timer/trace with a fixed window must be started so the event falls inside it; never fire-and-forget ahead of the trigger.

The Five Gates