> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://podium.do/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delegate work to other agents

> Choose review, decomposition, or discovered work without losing issue ownership.

Delegate a bounded task when another agent can make progress independently. Decide where the work belongs before starting the agent, because placement controls ownership, worktrees, and issue history.

## Choose the work shape

Match the delegated task to one of these placements:

| Situation | Placement |
| - | - |
| Review or research on the current issue | Another session on the same issue |
| Required implementation with its own deliverable | Child issue with its own worktree |
| Useful work that can ship later | Top-level issue related as `discovered-from` |

## Add a reviewer to the current issue

Spawn another session on the same issue for bounded review:

```bash theme={"system"}
podium agent spawn \
  --issue your_issue_ref \
  --title "Reviewer: error handling" \
  --prompt "Placement: stay on this issue and work read-only. Review the \
changed error paths and report concrete failures only. The coordinator and \
implementation agent share this machine; send findings to the issue with \
podium issue mail send your_issue_ref --body '<finding>'."
```

Use this shape for read-only review or other work that does not need concurrent edits in the same checkout.

## Create required implementation work

Create and start a child issue in one command:

```bash theme={"system"}
podium issue create \
  --parent-id your_issue_ref \
  --title "Cache regression coverage" \
  --description "Add the regression tests required by the parent issue." \
  --brief "Own only the cache regression test files. Start with podium \
session title 'Cache regression tests'. Coordinate with the parent through \
issue mail." \
  --start
```

`--start` already creates the worktree and agent. Do not follow it with `podium agent spawn` for the same child.

## File discovered work for later

To record useful work that the current issue can ship without, stay on the current issue and create a top-level proposal:

```bash theme={"system"}
podium issue create \
  --title "Cache telemetry cleanup" \
  --description "Remove obsolete cache telemetry in a separate change."
podium issue dep-add new_issue_ref current_issue_ref \
  --type discovered-from
```

Do not claim, start, or stage the proposal for another agent. If you are explicitly moving this session onto the new work instead, use `podium issue attach --spinoff "Cache telemetry cleanup" --confirm-rehome`; that command creates the top-level issue and relationship before rehoming the session.

## Track a running child

Use the child issue or session identifier to read its state:

```bash theme={"system"}
podium agent status child_issue_ref
podium agent await child_session_id --timeout 60
```

`await` has a bounded timeout and reports current status when the child is still working.

## Send cross-agent context

Address durable coordination to the issue unless one specific session must receive it:

```bash theme={"system"}
podium mail send \
  --to child_issue_ref \
  --body "The API contract changed in commit abc1234. Rebase before editing."
```

Add `--expect-response` only when you need a reply. Use interrupt urgency only when continuing would waste work or create a conflict.

<Warning>
  Podium does not serialize agents editing one worktree. Give each concurrent implementation its own issue and worktree, or assign explicit file ownership before both sessions edit.
</Warning>

For a shared resource that cannot be split by file or worktree, every participating session can take the same advisory lease with `podium lock acquire resource_name --wait`. A lease expires and does not enforce access, so it works only when every participant uses the same lock. Use `podium merge-lock` for branch merges rather than inventing another merge lock name.