[BUG] Teammates spawned in Delegate Mode have no file access tools despite mode: bypassPermissions

Duplicate of: #24073

---

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and found #24073 (same bug, confirmed duplicate)
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

When the lead agent operates in Delegate Mode (configured via /config > Default permission mode > Delegate Mode), teammates spawned via the Task tool lose access to all file operation tools (Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob) even when the Task call explicitly sets mode: "bypassPermissions".

The teammate launches successfully, receives its prompt, creates subtasks via TaskCreate, but cannot execute any file operations. It becomes a text-only agent that can plan but not implement.

In my session, this caused three failed spawn attempts over ~5 minutes, wasting tokens and requiring a full team teardown before any work could begin. The lead agent itself recognized the problem ("The delegate mode is restricting all teammates from having file access") but could not resolve it within the session.

What Should Happen?

mode: "bypassPermissions" on the Task call should grant the spawned teammate full tool access regardless of the lead agent's current permission mode. The lead's Delegate Mode restriction should be scoped to the lead only and should not propagate to child agents.

Error Messages/Logs

No explicit error messages were returned. The tools were silently unavailable — teammates simply did not have Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, or Glob in their tool set. The teammate could only use coordination tools (TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList, SendMessage).

The lead agent's diagnostic observations from the session transcript:

"The worker doesn't have file access in delegate mode."
"The delegate mode is restricting all teammates from having file access."
"teammates in this mode can't get file access tools"
"delegate mode restricts all teammates to task/messaging tools only"

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Claude Code v2.1.37
2. Set Default permission mode to Delegate Mode (via /config or Shift+Tab)
3. Create a team:

``
TeamCreate: { team_name: "staged-fix-pr", description: "..." }
``

1. Spawn a teammate with explicit bypassPermissions:

``
Task: {
subagent_type: "general-purpose",
mode: "bypassPermissions",
name: "phase1-worker",
team_name: "staged-fix-pr",
description: "Phase 1: Stage Model + State",
prompt: "Read and modify scripts/submit_state.py to add stage metadata fields..."
}
``

1. Observe: Teammate launches but cannot call Read, Write, Edit, or Bash. Only coordination tools (TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList, SendMessage) are available.
2. Repeat spawn with different name — same result.
3. Only resolution: delete the team entirely and switch to non-team Task agents.

Session Evidence

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Session ID | e87fa1c5-460a-4a7f-971c-4260c88954d1 |
| Session entries | 160 |
| Session duration | ~5 minutes (wasted on failed spawns) |
| Task spawns attempted | 3 (1 plan reader + 2 failed team workers) |
| TeamCreate calls | 1 |
| TeamDelete calls | 2 |
| SendMessage calls | 6 (shutdown requests to unresponsive workers) |
| TaskCreate calls | 13 (workers creating subtasks they couldn't execute) |
| Productive work completed | 0 (zero files read, written, or edited) |

All three Task spawns used mode: "bypassPermissions":

Task 1: subagent_type=general-purpose, mode=null (plan reader, no team — worked fine)
Task 2: subagent_type=general-purpose, mode=bypassPermissions, team=staged-fix-pr — FAILED (no file tools)
Task 3: subagent_type=general-purpose, mode=bypassPermissions, team=staged-fix-pr — FAILED (no file tools)

Claude Model

Opus 4.6

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Claude Code Version

2.1.37 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API (Claude Max)

Operating System

macOS (Darwin 25.2.0, Apple Silicon M1 Pro, arm64)

Terminal/Shell

Ghostty

Additional Information

Existing Issue

This is a confirmed duplicate of #24073, reported on Linux/WSL2. This report adds:

• macOS reproduction (cross-platform confirmation)
• Session transcript evidence with exact tool counts and token waste
• Demonstration that the lead agent itself cannot work around the issue mid-session

Workaround from #24073

Spawn teammates before entering Delegate Mode. Teammates spawned before the mode switch retain full tool access. This workaround fails if you need to spawn additional teammates mid-session.

Impact

This bug makes Delegate Mode + Teams unusable for any workflow that requires teammates to read or modify files. Since file operations are the primary purpose of code-generation teammates, this effectively renders the team feature non-functional in Delegate Mode.

Settings at Time of Bug

Auto-compact:                  true
Thinking mode:                 true
Default permission mode:       Delegate Mode
Verbose output:                true
Teammate mode:                 auto
Model:                         Default (recommended) → resolved to Opus 4.6