[DOCS] Docs incorrectly states that MCP tools are not available to background agents

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents#run-subagents-in-foreground-or-background

Section/Topic

Subagents

Current Documentation

The docs currently say:

MCP tools are not available in background subagents.

What's Wrong or Missing?

The documentation states that MCP tools are not available to background subagents. The makes it seem like background agents can't use MCP tools.

We have found that this isn't the case. We are using the Python SDK to invoke subagents. Background subagents are ran:

[{'type': 'text', 'text': 'Async agent launched successfully.\nagentId: aeb2678 (internal ID - do not mention to user. Use to resume later if needed.)\nThe agent is working in the background. You will be notified automatically when it completes.\nContinue with other tasks.\noutput_file: /tmp/claude-1000/-mnt-example/tasks/aeb2678.output\nTo check progress before completion (optional), use Read or Bash tail on the output file.'}]

They are prompted to use internal MCP tool X to write to some internal state Y. We observe that these subagents are successfully able to use X and Y is updated successfully

Suggested Improvement

Remove the information stating that MCP tools aren't available to background agents.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

_No response_