Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
Feature request: Richer agent observability for background sub-agents.
Proposed solution
When running multi-phase orchestrator agents (e.g., feature lifecycle with plan → implement → deliver → review), /tasks only shows tool call count and elapsed time. There is no visibility into what the agent is currently doing — which subtask, which phase, what file it is working on. A live activity log or structured progress stream from background agents would dramatically improve the developer experience for long-running agentic workflows.
Proposed Solution Direction
1. Agent Status Events (lightweight)
Allow background agents to emit structured status events via a report_progress tool (analogous to report_intent):
report_progress({ phase: "implement", subtask: "OEA-1235", detail: "Writing domain tests" })
These events would surface in /tasks as a "last activity" column and in timeline via Ctrl+O.
2. Streaming Timeline for Background Agents
/tasks <agent_id> could open a live tail view showing the agent's timeline events in real-time (tool calls, file edits, shell commands) — similar to how docker logs -f works. Press q to detach without stopping the agent.
3. Structured Progress Protocol
For orchestrator-style agents, define a progress protocol where agents can report:
- Current phase (plan/implement/deliver/review)
- Subtask progress (3/6 done)
- Active file being edited
- Last tool call summary
This could be rendered as a compact progress bar in the CLI:
[orchestrate-ABC-1234] Phase: implement ██████░░░░ 3/6 subtasks | Working on: Sample.java
4. /tasks --watch mode
A polling mode that auto-refreshes the tasks overview every N seconds, showing tool call count delta and last activity for each agent.
Impact
Long-running orchestrator workflows (10-70+ min) currently feel like a black box. Any of these options would let developers stay informed without manually polling or asking the main agent to check.
Describe the feature or problem you'd like to solve
Feature request: Richer agent observability for background sub-agents.
Proposed solution
When running multi-phase orchestrator agents (e.g., feature lifecycle with plan → implement → deliver → review), /tasks only shows tool call count and elapsed time. There is no visibility into what the agent is currently doing — which subtask, which phase, what file it is working on. A live activity log or structured progress stream from background agents would dramatically improve the developer experience for long-running agentic workflows.
Proposed Solution Direction
1. Agent Status Events (lightweight)
Allow background agents to emit structured status events via a
report_progresstool (analogous toreport_intent):These events would surface in
/tasksas a "last activity" column and in timeline via Ctrl+O.2. Streaming Timeline for Background Agents
/tasks <agent_id>could open a live tail view showing the agent's timeline events in real-time (tool calls, file edits, shell commands) — similar to howdocker logs -fworks. Pressqto detach without stopping the agent.3. Structured Progress Protocol
For orchestrator-style agents, define a progress protocol where agents can report:
This could be rendered as a compact progress bar in the CLI:
4. /tasks --watch mode
A polling mode that auto-refreshes the tasks overview every N seconds, showing tool call count delta and last activity for each agent.
Impact
Long-running orchestrator workflows (10-70+ min) currently feel like a black box. Any of these options would let developers stay informed without manually polling or asking the main agent to check.