ringdispatching-parallel-agents

Dispatching Parallel Agents

Overview

When you have multiple unrelated failures (different test files, different subsystems, different bugs), investigating them sequentially wastes time. Each investigation is independent and can happen in parallel.

Core principle: Dispatch one agent per independent problem domain. Let them work concurrently.

When to Use

Decision flow: Multiple failures? → Are they independent? (No → single agent) | Independent? → Can work in parallel? (No/shared state → sequential) | Yes → Parallel dispatch

Use when: 3+ test files with different root causes | Multiple subsystems broken independently | Each problem understood without others | No shared state

Don't use when: Failures related (fix one might fix others) | Need full system state | Agents would interfere

The Pattern

1. Identify Independent Domains: Group failures by what's broken (File A: approval flow, File B: batch behavior, File C: abort). Each domain independent.

2. Create Focused Agent Tasks: Each agent gets: specific scope (one file/subsystem), clear goal (make tests pass), constraints (don't change other code), expected output (summary of findings/fixes).

3. Dispatch in Parallel: Task("Fix agent-tool-abort.test.ts") + Task("Fix batch-completion.test.ts") + Task("Fix tool-approval-races.test.ts") - all concurrent.

4. Review and Integrate: Read summaries → verify no conflicts → run full test suite → integrate all changes.

Agent Prompt Structure

Good prompts are: Focused (one problem domain), Self-contained (all context included), Specific output (what to return).

Example: "Fix 3 failing tests in agent-tool-abort.test.ts: [list tests + expected behavior]. Timing/race issues. Read tests → identify root cause → fix (event-based waiting, not timeout increases). Return: Summary of findings and fixes."

Common Mistakes

When NOT to Use

Related failures (fix one might fix others) | Need full context | Exploratory debugging | Shared state (same files/resources)

Real Example

Scenario: 6 failures across 3 files after refactoring. Decision: Independent domains → parallel dispatch. Results: Agent 1 (timeouts → events), Agent 2 (event structure bug), Agent 3 (async wait). All independent, no conflicts, suite green. 3 problems solved in time of 1.

Key Benefits

Parallelization (simultaneous) | Focus (narrow scope) | Independence (no interference) | Speed (3 → 1 time unit)

Verification

After agents return: Review summaries → check for conflicts → run full suite → spot check for systematic errors.