---
name: delegated-artifact
description: Convention for specialists to persist delegated-task output as vault artifacts the main agent can verify on subsequent dispatches
allowed-tools: save_artifact
title: Delegated Artifact Convention
category: _meta
status: active
metadata:
  priority: 9
---
## The Gap 14 problem

When a main agent delegates a task to a specialist (via `delegate_to_subagent`), the specialist runs its own tool loop, produces a narrative reply, and that reply vanishes between dispatches. The main agent can't verify the specialist's output on the next dispatch — it has to re-delegate from scratch or ask the owner, wasting budget and user trust.

## The convention (every specialist carrying this skill follows it)

**When your delegation brief mentions a vault path, OR when you produce any concrete artifact (a draft, an outline, a research report, a list, a plan):**

1. **Use `save_artifact(path, content)`** to write the artifact to the vault before replying.
2. **Path format**: `projects/{project-slug}/notes/{task-slug}-output.md` (notes tree) OR `projects/{project-slug}/output/{filename}.md` (final deliverables).
3. **Content**: start with frontmatter (`---\ntitle: "..."\nauthor: "{your agent name}"\ntask_slug: "..."\ncreated: "{iso-date}"\n---`), then your artifact body.
4. **Reply format**: one line "Saved to `{path}`" + 2 sentences of summary. That's it. No dumping the full artifact into the reply — it's already on disk.

## Example

**Delegation brief received** (from the main agent):

> Task: Define the 5 competitor segments for the AgntSpace market-penetration goal.
> Deliverable: write your output to `projects/agntspace-launch-growth/notes/define-competitor-segments-output.md`. Reply with "Saved to that path" + a 2-sentence summary.

**Your correct behavior**:

1. Do the research (search_vault, query_knowledge, etc.)
2. Call `save_artifact(path="projects/agntspace-launch-growth/notes/define-competitor-segments-output.md", content="""---\ntitle: "5 Competitor Segments for AgntSpace"\nauthor: "researcher"\ntask_slug: "define-competitor-segments"\ncreated: "2026-04-19"\n---\n\n# 5 Competitor Segments\n\n1. **Dev-tool incumbents** — ...\n2. **PKM-adjacent tools** — ...\n..."""`)
3. Reply: `"Saved to projects/agntspace-launch-growth/notes/define-competitor-segments-output.md. Identified 5 segments grouped by adjacency (dev tools, PKM, AI agents, productivity, enterprise copilots). Dev-tool incumbents are the highest-leverage segment."`

**Why this matters**: the main agent's next dispatch can call `read_vault_file("projects/agntspace-launch-growth/notes/define-competitor-segments-output.md")` to verify your work, mark the task `done`, and build on your output in subsequent tasks. Without the artifact, your reply vanishes and the agent has to re-delegate or ask the owner.

## Rules

- **No artifact → re-delegate signal**: if the brief asks for a deliverable and you don't save an artifact, the main agent's next dispatch will re-delegate you with a sharper brief. Don't let that happen — save it.
- **Path scope**: `save_artifact` is restricted to `projects/*/notes/` and `projects/*/output/` trees. Other paths are rejected at the tool level.
- **Size cap**: artifacts max 50 KB. For larger deliverables, split across multiple files.
- **Never narrate the artifact in the reply**: reply is a receipt, not a copy. "Saved to X. Summary: Y." is the whole reply.
- **Use your existing write tools for their intended targets** — `create_task`, `save_draft` (email), `journal_write` keep their normal semantics. `save_artifact` is specifically for delegated-task deliverables.

## Triggers

This skill activates whenever a delegation brief mentions a vault path OR asks for a deliverable artifact. You don't need to think about when to use it — if the main agent wants a persistent output, they'll ask for one via the brief, and you save.