Agent Types
Bonsai ships with 6 agent types, each specialized for a different role. One orchestrates; the rest execute.
The Orchestrator
Section titled “The Orchestrator”Tech Lead Agent
Section titled “Tech Lead Agent”Description: Architects the system, writes plans, reviews agent output — never writes application code
Best for: Project leads who need an agent that plans features, dispatches work to code agents, and reviews their output.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | planning-template, issue-classification, dispatch, review-checklist |
| Workflows | issue-to-implementation, planning, code-review, session-logging |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files, scope-guard-commands, dispatch-guard, subagent-stop-review |
| Routines | (none by default — all 8 catalog routines are compatible) |
Code Agents
Section titled “Code Agents”Code agents execute plans created by the Tech Lead. Each has domain-specific skills and a focused scope.
Backend Agent
Section titled “Backend Agent”Description: Executes backend plans — API, database, server-side logic
Best for: API development, database work, server-side business logic, and backend infrastructure.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | coding-standards, testing, database-conventions |
| Workflows | plan-execution, reporting, session-logging |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files |
| Routines | (none) |
DevOps Agent
Section titled “DevOps Agent”Description: Manages infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, containers, and deployment automation
Best for: Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and deployment configuration.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | coding-standards, iac-conventions, container-standards |
| Workflows | plan-execution, reporting, session-logging, security-audit |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files, iac-safety-guard |
| Routines | dependency-audit, infra-drift-check |
Frontend Agent
Section titled “Frontend Agent”Description: Executes frontend plans — UI components, state management, styling
Best for: UI component development, state management, CSS/styling, and frontend architecture.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | coding-standards, testing, design-guide |
| Workflows | plan-execution, reporting, session-logging |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files |
| Routines | (none) |
Full-Stack Agent
Section titled “Full-Stack Agent”Description: Implements full-stack features end-to-end — UI, API routes, database, auth, tests
Best for: Features that span the entire stack, when you want one agent handling frontend through database.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | coding-standards, testing, design-guide, database-conventions, api-design-standards, auth-patterns |
| Workflows | plan-execution, reporting, session-logging |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files |
| Routines | (none) |
Security Agent
Section titled “Security Agent”Description: Audits code for vulnerabilities, reviews auth patterns, scans dependencies, enforces security standards
Best for: Security audits, vulnerability scanning, dependency review, and auth pattern enforcement.
| Category | Defaults |
|---|---|
| Skills | coding-standards, testing, auth-patterns, review-checklist |
| Workflows | code-review, reporting, session-logging, security-audit |
| Protocols | session-start, security, scope-boundaries |
| Sensors | session-context, scope-guard-files, scope-guard-commands, api-security-check |
| Routines | vulnerability-scan, dependency-audit |
Which Agent Do I Need?
Section titled “Which Agent Do I Need?”| If you need… | Use this agent |
|---|---|
| Planning, orchestration, and code review | Tech Lead |
| API endpoints, database queries, server logic | Backend |
| UI components, styling, state management | Frontend |
| End-to-end features across the full stack | Full-Stack |
| Infrastructure, CI/CD, containers | DevOps |
| Security audits, vulnerability scanning | Security |
Agent Definition Format
Section titled “Agent Definition Format”Each agent is defined by an agent.yaml file and a core/ directory containing identity templates. See the agent.yaml Schema reference for the full format.