How to Build Apps with OpenClaw: A Complete Guide to Subagents

What Actually Changed

OpenClaw added subagent orchestration. You can spawn multiple AI agents, each with different models, tools, and instructions. They work simultaneously and report back to your main session.

The practical result: what used to take a week now takes a day.

How to Spin Up Subagents

Step 1: Define Your Task

Break your project into independent workstreams. Don't just say 'build my app.' Be specific: frontend component architecture, backend API design, database schema, authentication layer.

Step 2: Spawn the Agents

Spawn agents for each domain: Frontend Architect, Backend Developer, Database Designer, Security Specialist. Each works independently.

Step 3: Review and Iterate

Agents return their work. You review, provide feedback, and merge or request revisions.

What Works Well

• Independent tasks with clear interfaces — When each agent owns a specific domain, parallelization works
• Well-scoped problems — 'Implement user authentication' works better than 'handle security'
• Review-heavy workflows — You still need to read and understand the code

What Doesn't Work

• Highly coupled features — If every decision requires coordinating with other agents, you lose the parallel benefit
• Novel problems — Subagents work best when they can draw on established patterns

My Take

Subagents are the most significant shift in AI-assisted development since Copilot. You're no longer pair programming with AI. You're managing a team of AI developers. That requires different skills: specification, architecture, coordination, review.