What is Hub-and-Spoke Architecture? — Plain-Language AI Definition

What is Hub-and-Spoke Architecture?

Hub-and-spoke architecture is a multi-agent design pattern where one central agent (the hub) coordinates work by delegating tasks to specialized subagents (the spokes). Each subagent handles a narrow responsibility, and the hub combines their outputs into a final result.

Why It Matters

Complex tasks often require different skills. Instead of building one monolithic agent, hub-and-spoke lets you compose specialized agents that each do one thing well. This pattern also improves reliability -- if one subagent fails, the hub can retry it.

How It Works

1. The user sends a request to the hub agent
2. The hub breaks the request into subtasks
3. Each subtask is delegated to the appropriate subagent
4. Subagents execute independently and return their results
5. The hub collects, validates, and synthesizes the results

Key Takeaway

Hub-and-spoke architecture is the go-to pattern when you need multiple specialized agents working together under a single coordinator.