# Subagents Rollout Plan: Alpha → Beta → GA

This document outlines the staged rollout strategy for Codex Subagents, ensuring safe deployment with comprehensive verification at each stage.

## Overview

**Rollout Strategy**: Progressive deployment with feature flags, telemetry gates, and rollback capabilities at each stage.

**Timeline**: Estimated 8-12 weeks from alpha to GA, with flexibility based on feedback and metrics.

**Success Criteria**: High user satisfaction, stable performance, and successful enterprise adoption.

## Stage 1: Alpha Release (Weeks 1-3)

### Scope
- **Internal OpenAI team members only** (10-15 developers)
- **Limited feature set**: Core subagents functionality without auto-routing
- **Manual enablement**: Explicit configuration required

### Configuration
```toml
[subagents]
enabled = false  # Default disabled
auto_route = false
```

### Verification Checkpoints

#### Alpha Entry Criteria
- [x] All Phase 0-5 implementation complete
- [x] Comprehensive test suite passing
- [x] Documentation and examples ready
- [x] TypeScript bindings functional
- [x] Build pipeline integration complete

#### Alpha Success Metrics
- **Stability**: Zero critical crashes over 2-week period
- **Performance**: < 5% overhead when feature disabled, < 200ms subagent spawn time
- **Usability**: All core workflows (list, use, status) functional
- **Documentation**: Internal feedback confirms docs are clear and comprehensive

#### Alpha Validation Tests

**Functional Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: Basic agent listing
codex subagents list
# Expected: Shows built-in agents (code-reviewer, doc-writer, etc.)

# Test 2: Agent execution
echo "subagents.enabled = true" >> ~/.codex/config.toml
codex tui
/use code-reviewer "Review my staged changes"
# Expected: Agent runs successfully, provides review output

# Test 3: Custom agent creation
mkdir -p ~/.codex/agents
cat > ~/.codex/agents/test-agent.md << 'EOF'
---
name: test-agent
tools: [git]
---
List the files in the current directory.
EOF
/use test-agent
# Expected: Agent executes git commands successfully
```

**Performance Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: Startup time with feature disabled
time codex --version  # Should be unchanged from baseline

# Test 2: Memory usage during subagent execution
/use code-reviewer
# Monitor memory usage, ensure bounded growth

# Test 3: Concurrent agent handling
# Verify sequential execution, proper queuing
```

#### Alpha Exit Criteria
- All validation tests pass consistently
- Performance metrics within acceptable ranges
- Internal team provides positive feedback
- Zero data corruption or security incidents

### Risk Mitigation
- **Limited Scope**: Internal team only, no customer exposure
- **Feature Flag**: Can disable instantly via configuration
- **Monitoring**: Comprehensive telemetry collection
- **Rollback Plan**: Immediate disable if issues detected

## Stage 2: Beta Release (Weeks 4-8)

### Scope
- **OpenAI employees + select customers** (100-200 users)
- **Extended feature set**: Core functionality + basic auto-routing
- **Opt-in enablement**: Users must explicitly enable

### Configuration
```toml
[subagents]
enabled = false  # Still default disabled
auto_route = true   # Available for testing
```

### Verification Checkpoints

#### Beta Entry Criteria
- Alpha exit criteria fully met
- Auto-routing implementation complete
- Enhanced telemetry and monitoring deployed
- Customer onboarding materials ready

#### Beta Success Metrics
- **Adoption**: 60%+ of beta users actively use subagents
- **Satisfaction**: 4.0+ average rating in feedback surveys
- **Performance**: < 2% regression in overall Codex performance
- **Reliability**: 99.5%+ subagent execution success rate

#### Beta Validation Tests

**Extended Functional Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: Auto-routing (if enabled)
codex tui
/auto "Please review my code"
# Expected: Automatically routes to code-reviewer

# Test 2: Cross-platform compatibility
# Run on macOS, Linux, Windows
codex subagents list
/use test-generator
# Expected: Consistent behavior across platforms

# Test 3: MCP integration
# External tool calls subagents-list and subagents-run
# Expected: Proper JSON responses, event emission
```

**Stress Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: Multiple agent executions
for i in {1..10}; do
  /use code-reviewer "Review iteration $i" &
done
# Expected: Proper queuing, no race conditions

# Test 2: Large repository handling
# Test with repos containing 1000+ files
# Expected: Reasonable performance, no timeouts

# Test 3: Long-running agent sessions
# 30-minute continuous usage
# Expected: Stable memory usage, no leaks
```

#### Beta Exit Criteria
- Performance and reliability metrics met
- Customer feedback predominantly positive
- No security vulnerabilities identified
- Documentation validated with real users

### Risk Mitigation
- **Controlled Expansion**: Gradual user addition based on capacity
- **Enhanced Monitoring**: Real-time dashboards for all key metrics
- **Rapid Response**: 24-hour issue resolution SLA
- **Feedback Loop**: Weekly feedback collection and response

## Stage 3: General Availability (Weeks 9-12)

### Scope
- **All Codex users** with gradual rollout
- **Full feature set**: All implemented functionality available
- **Default enabled**: New users get subagents by default

### Configuration
```toml
[subagents]
enabled = true   # Default enabled for new users
auto_route = false  # Conservative default
```

### Verification Checkpoints

#### GA Entry Criteria
- Beta exit criteria fully met
- Customer support documentation complete
- Scalability testing validated for expected load
- Community feedback incorporation complete

#### GA Success Metrics
- **Adoption**: 40%+ of active users try subagents within 30 days
- **Retention**: 70%+ of users who try subagents continue using them
- **Performance**: Zero performance degradation for non-users
- **Support Load**: < 5% increase in support ticket volume

#### GA Validation Tests

**Scale Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: High user concurrency
# Simulate 1000+ concurrent subagent executions
# Expected: Graceful degradation, no service disruption

# Test 2: Agent registry scaling
# Test with 100+ custom agents per user
# Expected: Fast loading, efficient caching

# Test 3: Cross-regional performance
# Test from multiple geographic regions
# Expected: Consistent performance globally
```

**Integration Testing**:
```bash
# Test 1: IDE integration via MCP
# VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf integration
# Expected: Seamless subagent access from IDEs

# Test 2: CI/CD integration
# Automated agent execution in build pipelines
# Expected: Reliable headless operation

# Test 3: Enterprise features
# SSO, audit logging, policy enforcement
# Expected: Full enterprise compatibility
```

#### GA Exit Criteria
- All scale and integration tests pass
- Performance metrics stable under full load
- Customer satisfaction maintains high levels
- Support processes proven effective

### Risk Mitigation
- **Gradual Rollout**: 10% → 25% → 50% → 100% user cohorts
- **Circuit Breakers**: Automatic disable if error rates spike
- **Rollback Capability**: Quick revert to previous stable state
- **Monitoring Excellence**: Comprehensive observability at scale

## Verification Framework

### Automated Testing

**Continuous Integration**:
```yaml
# .github/workflows/subagents-validation.yml
name: Subagents Validation
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test-subagents:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
        feature-flag: [enabled, disabled]
    steps:
      - name: Test subagents functionality
        run: |
          export CODEX_SUBAGENTS_ENABLED=${{ matrix.feature-flag }}
          ./test-scripts/validate-subagents.sh
```

**Performance Regression Testing**:
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# test-scripts/performance-regression.sh

# Baseline measurement (subagents disabled)
export CODEX_SUBAGENTS_ENABLED=0
baseline_time=$(time codex --version 2>&1 | grep real)

# Measurement with subagents enabled
export CODEX_SUBAGENTS_ENABLED=1
subagents_time=$(time codex --version 2>&1 | grep real)

# Ensure < 5% regression
./scripts/compare-performance.py "$baseline_time" "$subagents_time"
```

### Telemetry Gates

**Key Metrics Collection**:
- Subagent execution duration and success rate
- Feature usage patterns and adoption curves
- Error rates and failure classification
- Performance impact on core Codex functionality

**Alert Thresholds**:
- Error rate > 5%: Immediate investigation
- Performance regression > 10%: Rollback consideration
- User satisfaction < 3.5: Feature review required

### Manual Verification

**User Experience Testing**:
1. **New User Onboarding**: First-time subagent experience
2. **Power User Workflows**: Advanced usage patterns
3. **Error Recovery**: Graceful handling of failures
4. **Documentation Accuracy**: Real-world usage validation

**Enterprise Validation**:
1. **Security Review**: Penetration testing and audit
2. **Compliance Check**: SOC2, GDPR, other requirements
3. **Integration Testing**: Corporate environment validation
4. **Support Readiness**: Customer support team training

## Rollback Procedures

### Level 1: Configuration Rollback
```bash
# Emergency disable via environment variable
export CODEX_SUBAGENTS_ENABLED=0

# Or global configuration override
echo "CODEX_SUBAGENTS_ENABLED=0" >> /etc/codex/global.env
```

### Level 2: Feature Flag Rollback
```python
# Server-side feature flag disable
feature_flags.set("subagents.enabled", False, global=True)
```

### Level 3: Binary Rollback
```bash
# Revert to previous stable release
npm install -g @openai/codex@previous-stable
```

### Level 4: Complete Rollback
```bash
# Emergency: Remove subagents from distribution
# Rebuild npm package without subagents features
./scripts/build-npm-package.py --exclude-subagents
```

## Communication Plan

### Internal Communication
- **Weekly Updates**: Progress against metrics during rollout
- **Incident Reports**: Immediate notification of any issues
- **Success Stories**: User feedback and adoption highlights

### External Communication
- **Alpha**: No external communication
- **Beta**: Limited blog post, select customer communication
- **GA**: Full announcement, documentation updates, community engagement

### Documentation Updates
- **Release Notes**: Clear feature descriptions and migration guidance
- **Blog Posts**: Use cases, success stories, best practices
- **Community Content**: Examples, tutorials, troubleshooting guides

## Success Criteria Summary

### Alpha (Internal)
- ✅ Feature functional and stable
- ✅ Performance impact acceptable
- ✅ Internal team satisfied

### Beta (Limited External)
- ✅ Customer adoption and satisfaction
- ✅ Cross-platform compatibility
- ✅ No security issues

### GA (Full Release)
- ✅ Scale and performance validated
- ✅ Support processes effective
- ✅ Community adoption growing

## Risk Assessment

### High Risk
- **Performance Regression**: Mitigated by comprehensive testing and gradual rollout
- **Security Vulnerabilities**: Mitigated by security review and sandboxing
- **User Confusion**: Mitigated by excellent documentation and training

### Medium Risk
- **Adoption Resistance**: Mitigated by compelling use cases and examples
- **Integration Issues**: Mitigated by extensive testing and MCP standards
- **Support Load**: Mitigated by self-service documentation and training

### Low Risk
- **Technical Debt**: Mitigated by clean architecture and code review
- **Community Negative Feedback**: Mitigated by transparency and responsiveness

---

*This rollout plan ensures safe, measured deployment of subagents while maintaining Codex's high standards for reliability and user experience.*