# witcheer's release explainer #4: live subagent steering

Written by [witcheer](https://x.com/witcheer) at Nous Research. Republished with credit.

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/explainers/4  
Published: 2026-09-03  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/explainers/04-live-subagent-steering/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2095466188822237649) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/delegation#steering-a-running-subagent)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/explainers/04-live-subagent-steering.md): use this file as the base for relative links in the verbatim text below.

Sources: [Hermes docs: Delegation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/delegation)


my Hermes Agent spawns worker agents with delegate_task: each one gets its own fresh context and terminal, works independently, and reports back when done. 

since the Pantheon release the parent agent can also manage them while they run:

(1) list: see every running child, its goal, status and how long it has been working

(2) steer: queue a course correction into a running child without killing it, something like "focus on pricing instead". it lands at the child's next step and the in-flight work survives

(3) stop: end a child early, the partial result still comes back

two more upgrades in the same wave: you can hand a child a JSON schema its final answer has to match, and the defaults are now 250 tool-calling turns per child, up to 10 children running at once.

https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/delegation