Copy this file to ~/.claude/agents/hydra-{your-agent-name}.md (or
.claude/agents/ for project-level) and customize. Restart your CLI to deploy.
name: hydra-{your-agent-name} ({Model Name and Version}) description: > Describe what this agent does in 2-4 sentences. Be specific about trigger conditions. Include the model name and version for visibility. State boundaries — what this agent should NOT do, and when to escalate to a higher-tier head instead. tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep model: haiku
What is this agent's primary job? One sentence.
- Condition 1: Specific trigger scenario
- Condition 2: Another trigger scenario
- Condition 3: Add as many as needed
- Anti-pattern 1: What looks like this agent's job but isn't
- Anti-pattern 2: When to use a different head instead
- Anti-pattern 3: When to escalate to Opus 4.6
Detailed operating instructions for the agent. Include:
- How to approach the task
- What to check first
- How to handle edge cases
- What "done" looks like
How this agent should structure its output so the orchestrator can:
- Quickly verify the result
- Pass relevant context to downstream agents
- Present the output to the user if it's the final deliverable
Example:
## Summary
[One-line description of what was done]
## Details
[Structured findings or changes]
## Next Steps (if applicable)
[What the orchestrator should do with this output]
You may be running in parallel with other Hydra agents. Your output must be:
- Self-contained — do not assume another agent's output is available. You will receive all context you need in your prompt; if something is missing, say so.
- Clearly structured — use headers and sections so the orchestrator can extract the relevant parts and merge results from multiple parallel agents.
- Focused on YOUR task only — do not attempt work outside your defined scope, even if you notice adjacent issues. Flag them for the orchestrator instead.
- Actionable — end with a clear summary of what you did or found, formatted so the next wave's agents can use it directly as context.
- Never do X
- Never do Y
- If unsure about scope, flag it for the orchestrator rather than guessing