[BUG] Cannot continue previously spawned subagent — SendMessage referenced but unavailable
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Mar 18, 2026 by nepalez Closed Mar 22, 2026
Summary
The Agent tool description states:
To continue a previously spawned agent, use SendMessage with the agent's ID or name as the to field. The agent resumes with its full context preserved.
However, SendMessage is not available as a tool — it does not appear in the tool list, among deferred tools, or anywhere else. The Agent tool schema has no to parameter either. As a result, every Agent invocation creates a new subagent with a fresh context, making multi-turn interaction with a subagent impossible.
Steps to Reproduce
- Configure a custom agent (e.g.,
git-committer) that requires user approval mid-flow - Launch it via the Agent tool — it returns a result with
agentId: <id>and a note:use SendMessage with to: '<id>' to continue this agent - Attempt to continue the agent:
SendMessage— not in the tool list- Search deferred tools for
SendMessage— not found - Agent tool has no
toparameter in its schema (description,prompt,subagent_type,isolation,run_in_background,modelonly)
- The only option is to call Agent again, which spawns a new agent that has lost all prior context
Expected Behavior
Either:
SendMessageshould be available as a callable tool, or- The Agent tool should accept a
toparameter for continuing an existing subagent
Actual Behavior
Neither mechanism exists. The system prompt references a tool that is not provided. Each Agent call starts fresh, breaking workflows that require back-and-forth (approval flows, iterative refinement, etc.).
Environment
- Claude Code CLI v2.1.79
- Model: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context)
- Platform: Linux (Mint aka Debian/Ubuntu)
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