diff --git a/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.i18n.yaml b/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.i18n.yaml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..5f01146dbe --- /dev/null +++ b/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.i18n.yaml @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +# Bilingual-pair consistency record (docs/i18n/README.md): the git blob hash of each +# side as of the last confirmed-consistent state. Both languages carry equal authority; +# after editing either side, bring the other along and re-record with: +# pnpm run verify-translation-pairing --write .agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.md +2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.md: 01fff958921465909f5cd300dc355fdac6ec0772 +2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.zh.md: d68b9857de23ccb0b68f0bfafba153fde63303a7 diff --git a/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.md b/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..01fff95892 --- /dev/null +++ b/.agents/notes/implemented/bug-fix/2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +# Agent Note: `list_agents` uses `ready` for resumable children + +Status: implemented + +English | [中文](2026-08-06-list-agents-residency-vocabulary.zh.md) + +## Problem + +`list_agents` projected a continuable child's process residency as `running | idle | complete`. `complete` reads as a terminal unit of work with a result somewhere, but the underlying fact says only that no Activation is resident: the conversation is intact, `send_message` can continue it, and nothing about the child's outcome is being claimed. A model that reads `complete` reasonably looks for a result to collect or sends replacement work to a conversation it believes has ended. + +The word is especially misleading alongside [manager-owned settlement delivery](../feature/2026-08-06-manager-owned-subagent-settlement-delivery.md). Completion reaches the parent as a notice; listing exists to recall durable conversations, not to poll for that notice. + +## Decision + +The model-facing projection reports `running | idle | ready`: + +- **`running`** means the resident Agent has an active driver. +- **`idle`** means the Agent is resident between turns and may be waiting on agents it started. +- **`ready`** means only the durable conversation remains. `send_message` starts the next turn on the same conversation; the status is resumable rather than terminal and does not mean a result is waiting to be collected. + +The tool description states those distinctions and directs the model away from polling: it says the parent is told when a child finishes and that listing is for recalling which children it started. `send_message` remains the authoritative delivery check because either snapshot may race another process or a later message. + +The service layer is unchanged. `SubagentListEntry.activity` retains `'running' | 'inactive'`, which accurately describes corpus residency for consumers such as a UI. The model-facing adapter maps `inactive` to `ready` because that word communicates the action available to the model without inventing an outcome. + +## Alternatives considered + +**Keep `complete` and qualify it in the description.** A description saying that `complete` does not mean complete fights the rendered status on every read. The line the model scans must carry the correct distinction itself. + +**Use `active | dormant`.** This removes the useful distinction between a resident Agent that is between turns and a storage-only conversation, and makes the storage-only state sound unavailable. `ready` states the useful fact: the same conversation accepts another turn. + +**Drop the status entirely.** Residency remains useful when a parent decides whether to send more work. Removing it trades one misleading status for no signal. + +**Rename the service activity values.** `running | inactive` is correct at the service layer and has non-model consumers. Renaming it would churn a general contract to fix one adapter's presentation; the [durable catalog note](../feature/2026-07-22-durable-subagent-catalog-and-list-agents.md) continues to own that service vocabulary. + +## Consequences + +- The rendered line uses ` [running] —