Clarify sub-agent reply routing in MCP tool descriptions

A sub-agent's reply to send_message lands in the caller's own pane
tagged [sub-agent:<name>], not in the sub-agent's output. The
descriptions for wait_for_pattern, send_message, both
timer_fire_when_idle_*, and the server-instructions preamble now
spell this out, along with the canonical send_message →
timer_fire_when_idle_any → read-own-pane pattern. help('readiness')
and help('coordination') updated to match. Previously agents reached
for wait_for_pattern on the sub-agent and deadlocked until timeout
because the reply had already been delivered to their own pane.
This commit is contained in:
2026-05-15 16:08:07 +01:00
parent b05065a601
commit 0c960fa859
3 changed files with 30 additions and 11 deletions

View File

@@ -20,6 +20,19 @@ loosely follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
child agent, even though you were still within that thread.
### Changed
- MCP tool descriptions and `help('coordination')` /
`help('readiness')` now spell out that a sub-agent's reply to
`send_message` lands in the caller's own pane (tagged
`[sub-agent:<name>]`), not in the sub-agent's output. The canonical
wait-for-reply pattern — `send_message``timer_fire_when_idle_any`
on the sub-agent → read your own pane — is now called out on
`send_message`, `wait_for_pattern`, both `timer_fire_when_idle_*`,
the help topics, and the server-instructions preamble every agent
reads at startup. Previously `wait_for_pattern` was the obvious
blocking primitive in the catalog, and agents routinely called it
against the sub-agent for a reply that had already arrived in their
own pane, deadlocking until the wait timed out. No behaviour
changes; descriptions only.
- Agent-initiated `spawn_agent` and `spawn_process` MCP calls no
longer steal viewport focus from the currently active tab. The
new child still appears in the sidebar and tab bar; switch to it