PART 1 · MODULE 8The ecosystem
Skills, Subagents & Plugins
Extending AI with specialized capabilities
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Extending AI with specialized capabilities
Real AI systems aren't just one agent. They use skills (specialized abilities), subagents (delegated workers), and plugins (external tools) to handle complex tasks.
Pre-built capabilities an agent can use. Like apps on your phone — each one does something specific.
"Summarize this document", "Generate a chart", "Translate to Spanish"
Specialized agents that handle specific parts of a task. The main agent delegates work to them.
A coding agent delegates testing to a QA subagent
External tools and services that extend what AI can do. They connect AI to the outside world.
Gmail plugin, Slack integration, database connector
DELEGATION: ONE AGENT, MANY SPECIALISTS
One of the most powerful patterns in AI: the agent reviews and improves its own output in a loop.
THE REFLECTION PATTERN
Skills + subagents + plugins + reflection = AI systems that can handle complex, multi-step tasks with high quality. This is how modern AI coding assistants like Claude Code actually work.