Background agents in skill context cannot execute Bash commands

[simpsonw]

Description

When a skill (like /claudit:audit) launches a background agent using the Task tool, the background agent encounters permission denials when attempting to use the Bash tool.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run /claudit:audit (or any skill that launches background agents needing Bash access)
2. The skill launches a background agent with subagent_type: "general-purpose" and run_in_background: true
3. The background agent attempts to execute Bash commands
4. The agent receives permission denials and cannot execute the workflow

Expected Behavior

Background agents launched from skills should have the same tool permissions as the parent skill/session, including Bash tool access.

Actual Behavior

Background agents report Bash access denied, preventing execution of workflows that require system commands (git operations, directory creation, file discovery, etc.).

Impact

This prevents multi-step audit workflows (like claudit) from functioning correctly. The claudit orchestrator needs Bash to:

• Determine repository name (gh repo view)
• Create audit directories (mkdir -p)
• Check git history for baseline dates
• Discover code scopes via file system traversal
• Launch parallel auditor subagents
• Collect and process results

Environment

• Command: /claudit:audit
• Skill: claudit@etsy-claudit version 0.6.0
• Session type: Main conversation (not plan mode)

Workaround

None found. The orchestrator workflow cannot proceed without Bash access.

Notes

The parent session (where /claudit:audit was invoked) has full Bash access. Only the background agent launched via Task tool encounters the restriction.

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Background agents cannot run Bash commands - auto-denied without prompting user #18172
2. [BUG] Task subagent cannot access Bash tool despite tools field in agent definition #18749
3. canUseTool callback not invoked for background subagent tool calls in default permission mode #27203

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.