Agent skill · operations · aiskillstore
error-recovery
Strategies for handling subagent failures with retry logic and escalation patterns.
Why this skill is useful
Provides specific retry and escalation strategies for handling subagent failures that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 405 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Error Recovery Skill Pattern for handling subagent failures gracefully with appropriate retry strategies. When to Load This Skill You are spawning subagents that may fail A subagent returned an error or unexpected output You need to decide whether to retry, escalate, or abort Failure Categories Category Symptoms Strategy ---------- ---------- ---------- Transient Timeout, malformed output, parsing error Simple Retry Context Gap "I don't have enough information", unclear task Context Enhancement Complexity Partial completion, scope creep, tangents Scope Reduction Boundary/Contract status: blocked, boundaryviolation, contractchange Escalation Fatal Repeated failures (3+), fundamental misunderstanding Abort with Report Retry Strategies Strategy 1: Simple Retry For transient failures. Same prompt, up to 3 attempts. Use when: Output was malformed or truncated Timeout occurred Agent returned empty/null response Strategy 2: Context Enhancement Add more information to help the agent succeed. Use when: Agent said "I don't understand" or "unclear requirements" Agent made incorrect assumptions Agent asked questions in output Context to add: Related code files the agent might need Similar implementations as examples Explicit clarification of ambiguous points Error message from previous attempt Strategy 3: Scope Reduction Break the failing task into smaller, more manageable pieces. Use when: Agent completed partial work then failed Task description was too broad Agent went off on tangents Output shows confusion about scope Splitting guidelines: Each subtask should be independently completable Each subtask should have clear boundaries Subtasks can run in parallel if no dependencies Recombine outputs after all subtasks complete Strategy 4: Escalation Route to specialized agent for resolution. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills aiskillstore/error-recovery