Agent Selection Guide

ClaudeAutoPM provides 7 core agents (always available) plus 50+ specialized plugin agents. This guide helps you choose the right agent for your task.

Core vs Plugin Agents

Core agents are available in every installation scenario, including lite. They handle fundamental development tasks.

Plugin agents require the corresponding plugin to be installed. If you try to use a plugin agent that is not installed, it will not be available in the agent registry.

Quick Selection Matrix

Core Agents (Always Available)

Task	Agent	When to Use
Code review / bugs	@code-analyzer	Pre-commit reviews, security scanning, architecture analysis
Run tests	@test-runner	Test execution, failure analysis, coverage reports
Analyze files	@file-analyzer	Large log files, documentation review, config analysis
Parallel work	@parallel-worker	Multi-file operations, complex workflows
Create agents	@agent-manager	New agent creation, registry maintenance
MCP servers	@mcp-manager	MCP setup, configuration, health checks
Context optimization	@context-optimizer	Reduce context usage, prompt optimization

Plugin Agents by Technology

Technology	Agent	Plugin Required
React	@react-ui-expert	plugin-frameworks
Python Backend	@python-backend-expert	plugin-languages
Node.js Backend	@nodejs-backend-engineer	plugin-languages
Docker	@docker-containerization-expert	plugin-devops
Kubernetes	@kubernetes-orchestrator	plugin-cloud
GitHub Actions	@github-operations-specialist	plugin-devops
AWS	@aws-cloud-architect	plugin-cloud
Azure	@azure-cloud-architect	plugin-cloud
GCP	@gcp-cloud-architect	plugin-cloud
PostgreSQL	@postgresql-expert	plugin-databases
MongoDB	@mongodb-expert	plugin-databases
Terraform	@terraform-infrastructure-expert	plugin-cloud
Frontend Testing	@frontend-testing-engineer	plugin-testing

By Task Type

Task	Agent	Core?
Code review	@code-analyzer	Yes
Run tests	@test-runner	Yes
Build UI	@react-ui-expert	No (plugin-frameworks)
API development	@python-backend-expert	No (plugin-languages)
DevOps/CI	@github-operations-specialist	No (plugin-devops)
Database design	@postgresql-expert	No (plugin-databases)
Cloud architecture	@aws-cloud-architect	No (plugin-cloud)
Containerization	@docker-containerization-expert	No (plugin-devops)

Decision Flowchart

Choosing by Scope

1. Is this a code review, test, or file analysis?
   YES → Use core agents (always available)

2. Is this framework/language-specific?
   YES → Check if the required plugin is installed
   NO  → Use @code-analyzer as fallback

3. Is this infrastructure/cloud work?
   YES → Requires plugin-devops or plugin-cloud

Choosing by Role

Planning/designing?     → Use "expert" or "architect" agents (plugins)
Building/coding?        → Use "engineer" agents (plugins)
Reviewing/analyzing?    → Use core agents
Testing?                → Use @test-runner (core)

Agent Combinations

Full Stack Development

@code-analyzer review code quality          # Core
@react-ui-expert create user dashboard      # plugin-frameworks
@python-backend-expert create API endpoints # plugin-languages
@postgresql-expert design database schema   # plugin-databases

DevOps Pipeline

@test-runner execute all tests                          # Core
@docker-containerization-expert dockerize application   # plugin-devops
@github-operations-specialist setup GitHub Actions      # plugin-devops
@kubernetes-orchestrator deploy to K8s                  # plugin-cloud

Testing Suite

@test-runner create unit tests             # Core
@code-analyzer verify test coverage        # Core
@frontend-testing-engineer create end-to-end tests # plugin-testing

Checking Available Agents

Your available agents depend on your installation scenario:

Scenario	Core Agents	Plugin Agents
lite	7	0
github	7	5 (languages)
azure	7	5 (languages)
docker	7	~22
full	7	~45
performance	7	~50

To see which agents are available, check your agent-registry.xml:

cat .claude/agents/agent-registry.xml

Best Practices

1. Start with Core Agents

Always try core agents first. They handle most common tasks without needing plugins.

2. Be Specific

Choose the most specific agent for your task:

• Use @react-ui-expert for React work, not @code-analyzer
• Use @postgresql-expert for database queries, not a generic agent

3. Provide Context

# Good
@postgresql-expert optimize query for table with 10M rows, joining users and orders

# Better than
@postgresql-expert optimize this query

4. Check Plugin Availability

If an agent does not respond, verify the plugin is installed:

cat .claude/config.json | grep plugins

Related Pages

• Agent Registry - Complete agent listing
• Plugin Development - Create plugins
• Installation - Scenario selection