The Task tool for subagent delegation does not recognize custom agents defined in .cursor/agents/*.md files.
When custom agents are defined in the .cursor/agents/ directory, the system injects a <subagent_delegation_context> into the prompt suggesting delegation should work via Task(subagent_type="agent-name", prompt="..."). However, the Task tool is NOT available in the agent’s toolset.
Additionally, the documentation pages for this feature return errors:
This is a known issue. Other users have already reported similar symptoms here: `Task` tool not found
The team is aware and is looking into it. There’s no timeline for a fix yet, but your report helps raise the priority.
Could you share the Request ID from the chat where the Task tool doesn’t show up? This will help the team diagnose it (please turn off Privacy Mode):
Open the affected chat
Click the three dots in the top right
Select “Copy Request ID”
Paste it here
About the errors on the docs pages: that’s a separate issue. Have you tried opening them in different browsers? Can you share a screenshot of the error from the browser console (F12 > Console)?
Docs pages: All working now - the error I saw earlier on docs.cursor.com/en/agent/tools was temporary (it now redirects to cursor.com/docs).
Issue details:
Usage-based plan (subagents should be enabled by default per docs)
Custom agents correctly placed in .cursor/agents/ with valid YAML frontmatter
The <subagent_delegation_context> IS being injected into the system prompt
But the Task tool is NOT available in agent’s toolset
Model: Claude Opus 4.5
Agent’s exact response:
The agent confirmed it received the delegation context but Task tool is missing:
“According to the context, I should use the Task tool with the subagent_type parameter.
However, looking at my available tools, I don’t see a Task tool in my list…”
It then listed all 19 available tools - Task is not among them:
Shell, Glob, Grep, LS, Read, Delete, StrReplace, Write, EditNotebook, TodoWrite,
ReadLints, SemanticSearch, WebSearch, WebFetch, AskQuestion, CallMcpTool,
ListMcpResources, FetchMcpResource, SwitchMode
The docs say “Agent includes all custom subagents in its available tools” - but the
Task tool binding is missing entirely.
Thanks for the detailed report and the Request ID, it really helps.
This is a known issue the team is looking into. We’ve already seen similar reports in this related thread: `Task` tool not found. It’s the same situation on Nightly and Early Access.
The problem is that even when subagent_delegation_context is injected into the prompt, the Task tool itself isn’t getting bound to the agent. The team is aware.
I’ll pass the Request ID to the team, it should add more context to the investigation.
Re docs, it’s good that you’ve already found them. That redirect from docs.cursor.com/en/agent/tools to cursor.com/docs is expected behavior.
I’ll post updates in this thread if there’s any news.
@deanrie Just updated to 2.4.22 (Early Access, Stable) - issue persists.
Version: 2.4.22 | Date: 2026-01-26 | Track: Early Access
This should be urgent priority.
Subagents are the #1 headline feature of the 2.4 release (Jan 22, 2026):
The changelog is literally titled “Subagents, Skills, and Image Generation”
and prominently advertises custom subagents:
“Optionally, you can define custom subagents. Learn more in our docs.”
Users updating to 2.4 expecting to use this flagship feature are finding it
completely broken. The Task tool isn’t being bound, making custom subagents
unusable.
This is the main selling point of the release not working.
The team is aware. Unfortunately, we don’t know the fix timeline yet, but your report and similar ones help us prioritize it.
Right now the only workaround is rolling back to 2.4.21 (if you have access to it). In 2.4.21 the Task tool worked, and in 2.4.22 it’s broken again. Other users here are confirming the same issue: Sub-agent task broken in 2.4.22