feat(config): default thinking for sessions_spawn subagents (#7372)

* feat(config): add subagent default thinking

* fix: accept config subagents.thinking + stabilize test mocks (#7372) (thanks @tyler6204)

* fix: use findLast instead of clearAllMocks in test (#7372)

* fix: correct test assertions for tool result structure (#7372)

* fix: remove unnecessary type assertion after rebase

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Docs: seed zh-CN translations. (#6619) Thanks @joshp123.
 - Docs: expand zh-Hans navigation and fix zh-CN index asset paths. (#7242) Thanks @joshp123.
 - Docs: add zh-CN landing notice + AI-translated image. (#7303) Thanks @joshp123.
+- Config: allow setting a default subagent thinking level via `agents.defaults.subagents.thinking` (and per-agent `agents.list[].subagents.thinking`). (#7372) Thanks @tyler6204.
 
 ### Fixes
 

docs/tools/subagents.md

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ Use `sessions_spawn`:
 - Starts a sub-agent run (`deliver: false`, global lane: `subagent`)
 - Then runs an announce step and posts the announce reply to the requester chat channel
 - Default model: inherits the caller unless you set `agents.defaults.subagents.model` (or per-agent `agents.list[].subagents.model`); an explicit `sessions_spawn.model` still wins.
+- Default thinking: inherits the caller unless you set `agents.defaults.subagents.thinking` (or per-agent `agents.list[].subagents.thinking`); an explicit `sessions_spawn.thinking` still wins.
 
 Tool params:
 

docs/zh-CN/tools/subagents.md

@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ x-i18n:
 - 启动子智能体运行（`deliver: false`，全局队列：`subagent`）
 - 然后运行回报步骤，将回报回复发布到请求者的聊天渠道
 - 默认模型：继承调用者，除非你设置了 `agents.defaults.subagents.model`（或按智能体 `agents.list[].subagents.model`）；显式的 `sessions_spawn.model` 仍然优先。
+- 默认思考级别：继承调用者，除非你设置了 `agents.defaults.subagents.thinking`（或按智能体 `agents.list[].subagents.thinking`）；显式的 `sessions_spawn.thinking` 仍然优先。
 
 工具参数：
 

src/agents/openclaw-tools.subagents.sessions-spawn-applies-thinking-default.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { createSessionsSpawnTool } from "./tools/sessions-spawn-tool.js";
+
+vi.mock("../config/config.js", async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual("../config/config.js");
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    loadConfig: () => ({
+      agents: {
+        defaults: {
+          subagents: {
+            thinking: "high",
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      routing: {
+        sessions: {
+          mainKey: "agent:test:main",
+        },
+      },
+    }),
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock("../gateway/call.js", () => {
+  return {
+    callGateway: vi.fn(async ({ method }: { method: string }) => {
+      if (method === "agent") {
+        return { runId: "run-123" };
+      }
+      return {};
+    }),
+  };
+});
+
+describe("sessions_spawn thinking defaults", () => {
+  it("applies agents.defaults.subagents.thinking when thinking is omitted", async () => {
+    const tool = createSessionsSpawnTool({ agentSessionKey: "agent:test:main" });
+    const result = await tool.execute("call-1", { task: "hello" });
+    expect(result.details).toMatchObject({ status: "accepted" });
+
+    const { callGateway } = await import("../gateway/call.js");
+    const calls = (callGateway as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls;
+
+    const agentCall = calls
+      .map((call) => call[0] as { method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> })
+      .findLast((call) => call.method === "agent");
+
+    expect(agentCall?.params?.thinking).toBe("high");
+  });
+
+  it("prefers explicit sessions_spawn.thinking over config default", async () => {
+    const tool = createSessionsSpawnTool({ agentSessionKey: "agent:test:main" });
+    const result = await tool.execute("call-2", { task: "hello", thinking: "low" });
+    expect(result.details).toMatchObject({ status: "accepted" });
+
+    const { callGateway } = await import("../gateway/call.js");
+    const calls = (callGateway as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls;
+
+    const agentCall = calls
+      .map((call) => call[0] as { method: string; params?: Record<string, unknown> })
+      .findLast((call) => call.method === "agent");
+
+    expect(agentCall?.params?.thinking).toBe("low");
+  });
+});

src/agents/tools/sessions-spawn-tool.ts

@@ -172,15 +172,21 @@ export function createSessionsSpawnTool(opts?: {
         normalizeModelSelection(modelOverride) ??
         normalizeModelSelection(targetAgentConfig?.subagents?.model) ??
         normalizeModelSelection(cfg.agents?.defaults?.subagents?.model);
+
+      const resolvedThinkingDefaultRaw =
+        readStringParam(targetAgentConfig?.subagents ?? {}, "thinking") ??
+        readStringParam(cfg.agents?.defaults?.subagents ?? {}, "thinking");
+
       let thinkingOverride: string | undefined;
-      if (thinkingOverrideRaw) {
-        const normalized = normalizeThinkLevel(thinkingOverrideRaw);
+      const thinkingCandidateRaw = thinkingOverrideRaw || resolvedThinkingDefaultRaw;
+      if (thinkingCandidateRaw) {
+        const normalized = normalizeThinkLevel(thinkingCandidateRaw);
         if (!normalized) {
           const { provider, model } = splitModelRef(resolvedModel);
           const hint = formatThinkingLevels(provider, model);
           return jsonResult({
             status: "error",
-            error: `Invalid thinking level "${thinkingOverrideRaw}". Use one of: ${hint}.`,
+            error: `Invalid thinking level "${thinkingCandidateRaw}". Use one of: ${hint}.`,
           });
         }
         thinkingOverride = normalized;

src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts

@@ -204,6 +204,8 @@ export type AgentDefaultsConfig = {
     archiveAfterMinutes?: number;
     /** Default model selection for spawned sub-agents (string or {primary,fallbacks}). */
     model?: string | { primary?: string; fallbacks?: string[] };
+    /** Default thinking level for spawned sub-agents (e.g. "off", "low", "medium", "high"). */
+    thinking?: string;
   };
   /** Optional sandbox settings for non-main sessions. */
   sandbox?: {

src/config/zod-schema.agent-defaults.ts

@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@ export const AgentDefaultsSchema = z
               .strict(),
           ])
           .optional(),
+        thinking: z.string().optional(),
       })
       .strict()
       .optional(),

src/config/zod-schema.agent-runtime.ts

@@ -446,6 +446,7 @@ export const AgentEntrySchema = z
               .strict(),
           ])
           .optional(),
+        thinking: z.string().optional(),
       })
       .strict()
       .optional(),