Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · anyhow::Error

Workflow dispatch requires sub-agents for provider {} ({})

Error message

Workflow dispatch requires sub-agents for provider {} ({})

What it means

Workflow tool construction failed because workflow dispatch fans prompts out to sub-agents, and the active provider's configuration does not enable the sub-agent tool surface for it. The parenthesized placeholder carries the provider detail. Without sub-agents a dispatch would silently no-op, so setup aborts.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/lib.rs:10860

    plugin_registry: std::sync::Arc<crate::plugins::PluginRegistry>,
) -> Result<(
    crate::tools::workflow::WorkflowTool,
    crate::tools::ToolContext,
)> {
    use std::sync::Arc;

    use crate::client::DeepSeekClient;
    use crate::core::authority::shell_policy_for_mode;
    use crate::fleet::roster::FleetRoster;
    use crate::tools::AgentToolSurfaceOptions;
    use crate::tools::goal::new_shared_goal_state;
    use crate::tools::subagent::{SubAgentRuntime, new_shared_subagent_manager_with_timeout};
    use crate::tools::todo::new_shared_todo_list;
    use crate::tui::app::AppMode;

    let provider = config.api_provider();
    if !config.subagents_enabled_for_provider(provider) {
        bail!(
            "Workflow dispatch requires sub-agents for provider {} ({})",
            provider.as_str(),
            config
                .subagents_disabled_reason()
                .unwrap_or("provider-specific sub-agent configuration disabled it")
        );
    }

    let yolo = config.yolo.unwrap_or(false);
    let mode = if yolo {
        AppMode::Yolo
    } else {
        AppMode::Operate
    };
    let allow_shell = yolo || config.allow_shell();
    let shell_policy = shell_policy_for_mode(mode, allow_shell);
    let trusted = crate::workspace_trust::WorkspaceTrust::load_for(workspace);
    let mut context = crate::tools::ToolContext::with_auto_approve(

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Check the provider detail in the message
2. Enable sub-agents for that provider in configuration
3. Or run the workflow on a provider that supports sub-agents

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/tui/src/lib.rs:10860 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9d0f3d3ec3b35b0e. Report an issue: GitHub.