dsh-anchored-subagent

Say the secret handshake first. This DSH plugin installs an agent preset that starts every session (main agent and subagents) on the Minimal condition, then unlocks the full tool catalog.

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Think of it as an 暗号 / secret handshake: the first model request uses the exact Minimal condition DeepSeek was RL-trained on (bash + str_replace_editor + one-line Minimal persona), so the model starts in its strongest We need... trajectory — then we hand it the whole toolbox.

Why an agent preset?

DSH's subagents automatically join the parent session's agent preset composition. So the most reliable way to make subagents benefit is to install an agent preset on the session: both the main agent and every inherited subagent get the same Minimal bootstrap, and DSH's complete-persona mechanism works correctly (a root-bundle hook cannot reliably override DSH's complete system prompt).

How it works

first model request (main agent or subagent)
        │
        ▼
┌ bootstrap phase ────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ tools   : bash + str_replace_editor                         │
│ persona : "You are a helpful software engineer assistant."  │
│           (complete Minimal persona)                        │
│ context : AGENTS.md digest + skill-catalog reminder stripped│
│ budget  : bootstrapMaxTokens (optional)                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        │ first durable tool/call OR assistant/message
        ▼
┌ promoted phase ─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ tools   : full assembled tool catalog restored              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Subagents inherit the preset automatically because DSH composes child agents from the parent's agent preset.

Any subagent persona is stripped first, restored after promotion

If a subagent is spawned with a custom persona, this plugin strips it before the child is created. The child therefore starts with the pure Minimal persona on request #1. After the child's first durable tool/call or assistant/message, the original persona is re-registered in the child scope, so the role comes back for subsequent turns.

Installation

dsh plugin add github:GY-Bai/dsh-anchored-subagent

Restart DSH, then select the dsh-anchored-subagent agent preset (or set it as the default preset) for your session.

The plugin copies the preset to ~/.dsh/.agent-presets/dsh-anchored-subagent/ on boot.

Configuration

The preset is defined in agent-presets/dsh-anchored-subagent/agent.cordis.yml. You can edit the installed copy at ~/.dsh/.agent-presets/dsh-anchored-subagent/agent.cordis.yml.

Key	Default	Meaning
bootstrapTools	["bash","str_replace_editor"]	Tools visible on the first request.
promoteOn	"either"	Promotion trigger: either, tool-call, or assistant-message.
suppressedContextSources	["agent-instructions","skill-catalog"]	Auto-injected context stripped during bootstrap; [] disables.
bootstrapMaxTokens	null	Optional first-request output cap.

Example agent.cordis.yml:

- id: persona
  name: '@deepseek-ai/dsh-persona'
  config:
    text: You are a helpful software engineer assistant.
    complete: true
    includeRuntimeContext: false

- id: tool-bootstrap
  name: ./tool-bootstrap.mjs
  config:
    bootstrapTools:
      - bash
      - str_replace_editor
    promoteOn: either
    suppressedContextSources:
      - agent-instructions
      - skill-catalog
    bootstrapMaxTokens: null

Verified

End-to-end verified on the DSH web profile:

• main agent starts with the Minimal persona and bash + str_replace_editor;
• after the first durable tool/call, the full tool catalog is restored;
• a spawned subagent (delegationDepth: 1) also starts with the Minimal persona, its first reasoning begins with We need..., and its first tool call is bash only;
• when a subagent tool is configured with a fixed persona, that persona is stripped for the first request and re-appears in the system prompt after the child promotes.

Development

npm test

The test suite uses zero dependencies (node --test) and covers:

• first-request tool filtering;
• promotion via tool/call and assistant/message;
• promoteOn: tool-call behavior;
• context stripping;
• fail-safe when a bootstrap tool is missing;
• optional bootstrapMaxTokens cap and release;
• resume with history starts promoted.

Relationship to existing projects

• Concept: pi-dsv4-booster (MIT)
• DSH preset/hook patterns: xiaobright/dsh-anchored-standard (MIT)
• DSH subagent seam: @deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent
• Installer pattern: liceses/dsh-gitbash-preset

License

MIT. See LICENSE and NOTICE.

This project is a community plugin. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by DeepSeek.