[BUG] Explore subagents fail with 'Prompt is too long' when MCP servers are configured
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Apr 2, 2026 by brandonrule11 Closed Apr 6, 2026
Description
Launching Explore subagents via the Agent tool fails immediately with "Prompt is too long" when multiple MCP servers are configured.
Reproduction
- Configure several MCP servers (in my case: Figma, PostHog, Linear, Slack, Chrome DevTools)
- Launch an Explore subagent via the Agent tool
- Agent returns "Prompt is too long" without doing any work
Observed behavior
Both Explore agents I launched in parallel returned Prompt is too long immediately.
Expected behavior
Explore agents should work regardless of how many MCP servers are configured.
Possible cause
The primary agent uses deferred tool loading (ToolSearch + <available-deferred-tools>) so MCP tool definitions aren't all expanded in the prompt. Subagents may not be using this mechanism and instead receiving all MCP tool definitions expanded, which could push the prompt over the limit.
Environment
- Platform: macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
- Model: claude-opus-4-6
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