[Bug]: Named sub-agents (Teammates) don't get their own seat, contradicting documented behavior

Author: FerreroManuelCreated Aug 6, 2026Updated Aug 30, 2026
Labelstype: bug

Describe the bug

Inconsistency: CLAUDE.md states that named sub-agents are promoted to "Teammate: its own seated character", but observed behavior shows them clustering on the parent's tile without claiming a seat — same as unnamed sub-agents. Per the #180 changelog this seems to be intentional for unnamed sub-agents ("Sub-agents spawn on the closest walkable tile to their parent instead of claiming seats"), but it appears to apply to named ones too, which contradicts the Teammate promotion described in CLAUDE.md.

Suggested fix / workaround idea

  • Either: named sub-agents claim a free seat same as regular agents.
  • Or: a setting to auto-spread stacked sub-agent characters onto nearby free tiles instead of exact same coordinates, so overlay labels don't overlap.

Environment

  • Standalone CLI (npx/global install)
  • Multiple sub-agents spawned in the same tool-call batch (near-simultaneous)

Steps to reproduce

  1. Start a lead Claude Code session in a workspace with free seats available in its assigned area.
  2. In a single turn, spawn 3 named sub-agents in parallel (Task/Agent tool calls, each with a distinct name/description).
  3. Observe the office view: all 3 spawn on the same tile next to the parent, labels overlapping, instead of each claiming a separate free seat.

Expected behavior

Named sub-agents (Teammates) should claim an available seat like top-level agents do, rather than clustering on the parent's tile — at least as an option.

Actual behavior

All three sub-agents spawned with distinct names/labels as expected, but ended up stacked on the same tile next to the parent, with overlay labels overlapping and unreadable.

Screenshots / GIFs

Image

VS Code version

1.105.1

Claude Code CLI version

2.1.223

Operating System

Linux

Logs

bash

Source: pixel-agents-hq/pixel-agents