Problem

When a DAG workflow node has skills: but no explicit allowed_tools:, the AgentDefinition wrapper defaults tools to ["Skill"] only, stripping all native Claude Code tools (Read, Bash, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, etc.).

This silently breaks any node whose prompt expects native tool access — including the bundled archon-create-issue.yaml reproduce node, which uses agent-browser via Bash commands.

Root cause: provider.ts:439 — when options.tools is undefined (no allowed_tools in YAML), agentTools defaults to ["Skill"], and the AgentDefinition tools field restricts the sub-agent to only Skill.

Fix

Omit the tools field on AgentDefinition when options.tools is undefined, letting the SDK provide its full default tool set. When allowed_tools is explicitly set, Skill is still appended to the explicit list (existing behavior preserved).

This is Option B from the issue — the cleanest approach since it defers to SDK default-tool resolution without hardcoding a tool list that needs maintenance.

Changes

• packages/providers/src/claude/provider.ts — Make tools optional on the AgentDefinition type; only set it when options.tools is defined
• packages/providers/src/claude/provider.test.ts — Add 2 tests:
  • Skills without allowed_tools → tools field is undefined (SDK defaults apply)
  • Skills with allowed_tools → tools includes explicit list + Skill

Validation

• bun test packages/providers/src/claude/provider.test.ts — 74 pass, 0 fail
• bun run type-check — all packages clean
• lint-staged clean on commit

UX Journey

Before: Node with skills: [agent-browser] but no allowed_tools → AI sees only Skill tool → "Cannot do task. No Bash tool available."

After: Node with skills: [agent-browser] → AI sees all default native tools + Skill → executes agent-browser via Bash as expected.

Architecture Diagram

nodeConfig.skills present
├── allowed_tools defined → agentDef.tools = [...allowed_tools, "Skill"]
└── allowed_tools NOT defined → agentDef.tools omitted (SDK defaults apply)

Label Snapshot

fix, providers, workflows

Change Metadata

• Scope: packages/providers/src/claude/provider.ts
• Lines changed: +50 / -3

Linked Issue

Closes #1605

Validation Evidence

All 74 provider tests pass including 2 new regression tests.

Security Impact

None — this change only affects which tools are available to sub-agents, and only makes the behavior match what users would expect (all default tools available unless explicitly restricted).

Compatibility/Migration

Fully backward compatible. Nodes with explicit allowed_tools behave identically. Only nodes with skills + no allowed_tools are affected (they now get SDK defaults instead of Skill-only).

Human Verification

• Diff reviewed line-by-line
• Tests pass
• Type check clean

Risks and Mitigations

Risk: SDK default tool set might change in future versions.
Mitigation: This is the intended behavior — deferring to SDK defaults is more maintainable than hardcoding a tool list.

Side Effects/Blast Radius

Only affects DAG nodes with skills: and no allowed_tools:. No impact on other code paths.

Rollback Plan

Revert the single commit.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes

  • Improved tools configuration handling for agent skills. The tools field is now conditionally set based on provided options, enabling SDK defaults to properly apply when configuration is not explicitly specified.

• Tests

  • Added test coverage validating tools configuration behavior in two important scenarios: when allowed_tools parameters are provided and when they are not specified.