Agent Team Topologies
A quick-reference model for structuring multi-agent teams in Claude Code.
8 composable topology patterns — a nod to Team Topologies thinking, applied to how work flows through agent teams. Browse the patterns, find what fits, and adapt.
Find Your Topology Getting Started Official Docs View on GitHub
Pick Your Topology
| Goal | Question | Topology |
|---|---|---|
| Understand | Multiple independent questions? | Parallel Explorers |
| Ambiguous bug? | Competing Hypotheses | |
| Build | Multi-layer feature? | Feature Pod |
| Many small tasks? | Task Queue | |
| Pure coordination? | Orchestrator-Only | |
| Review | Multiple lenses? | Review Board |
| Risky change | Expensive to get wrong? | Risky Refactor |
| Any of the above | Need quality enforcement? | + Quality-Gated overlay |
The 8 Topologies
| Pattern | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Parallel Explorers | Discovery, research, codebase mapping | Low |
| Review Board | Code review with distinct lenses | Low |
| Competing Hypotheses | Ambiguous bugs, architectural decisions | Medium |
| Feature Pod | Cross-layer feature delivery | Medium |
| Risky Refactor | High-risk changes needing plan approval | Low |
| Orchestrator-Only | Pure coordination, lead never codes | High |
| Quality-Gated | Enforcing completion standards (composable) | Overlay |
| Task Queue | Many small independent tasks | High |
Topologies are primitives, not monoliths. Any teammate slot can itself become a topology – a reviewer in Feature Pod can spawn a Review Board, an explorer can fan out sub-explorers. See Composing Topologies for recipes.
Guides
| Document | What’s Inside |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Enable agent teams, install configs, run your first topology |
| Mental Model | Teams vs subagents, core concepts, selection heuristics |
| Decision Tree | Expanded flowchart for picking the right topology |
| Composing Topologies | Recipes for chaining, nesting, and combining patterns |
| Anti-Patterns | 8 things NOT to do with agent teams |
| Cost Guide | Token economics by topology, cost reduction strategies |
| Best Practices | Operational guidance for running agent teams |
Contributing
See Contributing for how to propose new topology patterns, submit real-world examples, and improve agent definitions or hooks.