Feature Request: Display custom agent name in CLI spinner when using Agent tool
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Apr 2, 2026 by DodgyJeph Closed Apr 5, 2026
Problem
When spawning agents via the Agent tool with a name parameter, the CLI spinner/status line shows generic "Agent" text. The name parameter works correctly for SendMessage routing between agents but never surfaces in the UI.
Current Behavior
- Spinner shows:
Agent(generic) agent.namefield in status line JSON: only populated when running with--agentCLI flag, not for Agent tool invocations- No way to distinguish between multiple running background agents in the UI
Requested Behavior
- Propagate the Agent tool
nameparameter to the realtime spinner display so users can distinguish between multiple running agents - Populate the
agent.namefield in the status line JSON for Agent tool invocations, not just--agentCLI flag sessions - Fallback to
descriptionparameter ifnameis not set
Use Case
Multi-agent workflows where several named agents run across parallel phases. Users need to know which named agent is currently active in the spinner rather than seeing generic "Agent" for all of them.
Environment
- Claude Code CLI on native Ubuntu
- Using Agent tool for multi-phase workflows with multiple background agents running simultaneously
This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗