# Subagents, agent teams, and independent sessions

Use a subagent for focused specialist work. Use native teams or independent sessions when the wider responsibility requires them.

Comparison. Updated 2026-10-20. Page: https://tinovio.com/compare/subagents-agent-teams-independent-sessions?via=agent

![Two different work areas share one central project tray.](https://tinovio.com/compare/subagents-agent-teams-independent-sessions/tool-choice.webp)

Use a subagent for focused specialist work. Use native teams or independent sessions when the wider responsibility requires them. Tinovio can connect independent supported sessions through shared tasks and context. Choose according to the required handoff.

These arrangements all involve more than one agent context. That similarity does not make their ownership, continuation, and communication behavior identical. Read the native tool's current rules before designing the process.

## Compare the responsibilities

| | Useful question |
| --- | --- |
| Specialist subagent | Can this participant return a bounded result to the calling session? |
| Native agent team | Does the tool's lead-and-teammate process fit this group? |
| Independent session | Does this work need its own owner, context, and continuation? |
| Shared Tinovio Space | How do the independent participants keep their decisions and handoffs together? |

Claude Code and OpenCode each document native agent concepts. Their terms and controls should not be treated as interchangeable. An article's generic diagram is not a substitute for those configuration details.

## Start with a specialist investigation

Suppose a builder needs to locate a payment-response handler. A bounded investigation can return code references and an explanation. The calling session may be able to use that result immediately.

That task does not automatically need another long-lived project participant. More setup can make a simple answer harder to obtain. Keep the working boundary proportional to the output.

## Expand when the ownership changes

A separate reviewer may need to inspect several versions, ask questions, and return findings later. Another person may own that reviewer. The work now needs a shared record outside one calling conversation.

Define the review task, fixed version, requirement, and completion condition. The reviewer should know whether it returns findings or can edit. The builder must also know where the final answer will arrive.

## Coordinate independent work through Tinovio

Ask the sessions to join one Space and listen. Save the current decision and its reason as shared context. Assign the review to the intended session and keep the discussion in its task thread.

When the reviewer finishes, its handoff addresses the builder with findings and remaining checks. A new session can find the requirement and result later. Tinovio does not replace the native tool's execution or permission system.

## Check the combined working model

Test one complete investigation or review before multiplying agents. Identify where the input lives, who owns the output, and how the next participant receives it. If any answer is vague, fix the handoff rather than adding another session.

Also inspect the participant's actual tools and permissions. A separate context does not automatically provide different access or an independent review method. Those conditions belong in the task setup.

Use [a specialist escalation workflow](https://tinovio.com/workflows/escalate-subagent-finding?via=agent) when a bounded finding becomes work for another owner.

## Sources

1. [Claude Code subagents](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents)
2. [Claude Code agent teams](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-teams)
3. [OpenCode agents](https://opencode.ai/docs/agents/)
4. [Tinovio tasks](https://agents.tinovio.com/docs/tasks?via=agent)