Is there a limit to how many agents can be in a network?

There is no hard limit on the number of agents in a network. However, more agents mean more routing complexity and higher latency. Most setups work best with three to six specialized agents plus one coordinator.

Can agents in the network use different models?

Yes. Each agent in the network can use a different model. You might use a fast, cheap model for simple classification and a more capable model for complex reasoning tasks.

What happens if the coordinator itself fails?

If the coordinator encounters an error, the system returns a fallback message to the user. You can configure a retry policy or designate a secondary coordinator to handle failures automatically.

Advanced

Multi-Agent Orchestration: Agent Networks

Wire multiple OpenClaw agents together into a coordinated network that splits work, shares context, and delivers combined results.

Deploy OpenClaw See How It Works

What You Will Get

By the end of this guide, you will have a working multi-agent network where two or more OpenClaw agents collaborate on incoming tasks. One agent acts as the coordinator, routing requests to specialized agents and merging their outputs into a single response.

Multi-agent orchestration is useful when a single agent cannot cover every domain. Instead of overloading one agent with conflicting instructions, you create focused agents and let the coordinator decide which agent handles each part of the conversation. This keeps prompts lean, responses accurate, and costs predictable.

You will also learn how to pass context between agents, handle failures gracefully, and monitor the entire network from your RunTheAgent dashboard. The result is a production-ready pipeline where agents work in parallel or sequence depending on the task.

Step-by-Step Setup

Follow these steps to build your first multi-agent network.

Plan Your Agent Roles

Before creating agents, map out the roles you need. Identify distinct responsibilities such as research, summarization, code generation, or customer support. Write a short description of each role so you know exactly what system prompt and tools each agent requires.

Create Specialized Agents

In your RunTheAgent dashboard, create a new OpenClaw agent for each role. Give each agent a focused system prompt that covers only its domain. Attach only the tools each agent needs. Keeping agents focused reduces token usage and improves answer quality.

Set Up the Coordinator Agent

Create one more agent that acts as the coordinator. Its system prompt should describe when to route to each specialized agent. Configure the coordinator with the sub-agent spawning tool so it can call the other agents by their identifiers. The coordinator does not answer questions directly; it delegates.

Define Routing Rules

In the coordinator's system prompt, specify the routing logic. For example, questions about billing go to the support agent, technical queries go to the engineering agent, and anything ambiguous gets handled by the general agent. Use clear keywords or intent categories so the coordinator can decide quickly.

Enable Context Passing

Configure the coordinator to forward relevant conversation history to each sub-agent. In the orchestration settings, choose whether to pass the full conversation or only the last N messages. Passing too much context wastes tokens, while too little causes the sub-agent to lose track of the conversation.

Test the Network End-to-End

Send a series of test messages that should be routed to different agents. Verify in the logs that the coordinator routes correctly and that each sub-agent returns the expected response. Check that the final merged output makes sense and that there are no duplicate or conflicting answers.

Monitor and Iterate

Use the RunTheAgent analytics panel to track how often each agent is called, average response time, and error rates. Adjust routing rules or system prompts based on real usage data. Over time, you can add more agents to the network or merge underused ones to simplify the setup.

Tips and Best Practices

Keep Agents Focused

Each agent should handle one domain. Overlapping responsibilities lead to conflicting answers and wasted tokens. If two agents cover similar ground, merge them or sharpen their boundaries.

Use Timeouts for Sub-Agents

Set a response timeout on each sub-agent call so a slow agent does not block the entire network. The coordinator can return a partial result or a fallback message if a sub-agent times out.

Log Every Routing Decision

Enable verbose logging on the coordinator so you can audit which agent handled each request. This helps you spot misrouted queries and refine your routing rules over time.

Start Small and Scale

Begin with two agents and one coordinator. Add more agents only when you have clear evidence that the current setup cannot handle a particular domain. Overengineering the network early adds complexity without benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sub-Agent Spawning Workflow Branching Model Switching Strategies

Ready to get started?

Deploy your own OpenClaw instance in under 60 seconds. No VPS, no Docker, no SSH. Just your personal AI assistant, ready to work.

Deploy OpenClaw View Pricing

Starting at $24.50/mo. Everything included. 3-day money-back guarantee.