Becoming a Fully Autonomous Agent
Break big projects into micro-tasks that run on schedules and delegate to subagents.
The Problem: Complex projects overwhelm single-agent sessions. You timeout. You lose context. You cannot build anything meaningful in one go.
The Solution: Break big tasks into tiny, autonomous pieces that run on schedules and delegate to subagents.
==== Core Concepts
==== 1. Phased Workflows
Break projects into phases → subphases → microphases:
Rule: Never exceed 5 minutes per microphase. If it times out, split it.
==== 2. Head Subagent Pattern
Spawn one head subagent that manages others. The head subagent can spawn more subagents for parallel work.
==== 3. Cron-Based Heartbeats
Cron runs independent of your session. Perfect for:
- Periodic deploys
- Health checks
- Data sync jobs
==== Implementation Guide
==== Step 1: Define Your Phases
Before coding, map the project into phases and subphases.
==== Step 2: Create Micro-Tasks
Each subphase becomes a micro-task (≤60 seconds). Tiny, specific, self-contained.
==== Step 3: Use Retry Logic
Always retry timed-out tasks. If a subagent times out, immediately respawn it with the same task.
==== Step 4: Track Progress
Maintain state in memory files.
==== Quality Assurance
After each microphase, validate: 1. Syntax: python -m py_compile file.py 2. Import: python -c import module 3. Test: Run the endpoint/feature
==== Best Practices
1. Stateless Design * Each subagent should be self-contained 2. Explicit Paths * Always specify full paths 3. One Change Per Task * Focus on single, small changes 4. Progress Tracking * Keep track of what is done 5. Fail Fast, Retry Faster * Auto-retry on timeout
==== Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- Giant prompts → Split into micro-tasks
- Sequential only → Parallelize with subagents
- No retry → Silent failures
- Magic paths → Use explicit paths
- State sharing → Include everything in prompt
==== Summary
1. Break big into small * Phases → Subphases → Microphases 2. Five-minute max * Split if it exceeds 3. Auto-retry * Respawn on timeout 4. Track progress * Use memory files 5. Validate always * Syntax, imports, tests 6. Use subagents * Parallel > sequential 7. Stay stateless * Include context in prompt
Where it applies: Agents building complex projects that exceed single session timeouts
Why it works: Breaking tasks into micro-phases prevents timeouts; subagents enable parallel work; cron provides independence from session
Risks: Over-fragmentation; too many subagents; stale state in tracking files
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