Add opt-in autonomous delegation setting for subagent-heavy workflows

What variant of Codex are you using?

CLI

What feature would you like to see?

I use Codex in workflow/repo setups that rely heavily on bounded subagent use. Today the built-in spawn policy requires me to explicitly restate delegation permission in the prompt (for example: "use subagents when needed" or "delegate this") even when that is already the intended workflow for the session.

I'd like a first-class opt-in setting, profile, or repo-level mode that allows Codex to autonomously use bounded subagent delegation when appropriate, without needing per-turn authorization.

Important scope boundary:

• I am not asking to enable subagents by default for everyone.
• I am not asking for unconstrained fan-out.
• I am asking for a user-controlled opt-in mode for subagent-heavy workflows.

A plausible shape:

• explicit (current behavior): only delegate when the user explicitly asks
• workflow: allow bounded delegation when repo/workflow instructions explicitly call for it
• auto: allow bounded sidecar delegation when useful

Guardrails I would still want:

• conservative max depth / fanout
• no duplicate parent-thread work after a task has been delegated
• clear visibility in the UI/history when Codex delegated and why
• conservative handling around approvals and other security-sensitive actions

Related context:

• #16996 policy conflicts with repo/workflow instructions
• #18105 orchestrator/delegate mode
• this request is narrower: expose an explicit user-facing setting so users who intentionally want autonomous delegation do not have to keep re-authorizing it every turn

Additional information

This is mostly a UX/product request. The current behavior feels like a tax for agent-heavy workflows: the capability exists, but I have to keep re-stating permission for it in natural language. An opt-in setting would preserve the conservative default while making multi-agent workflows much smoother for users who actually want them.