Managed starter agents show RUNNING but never respond to DMs or mentions in local `just dev` environment
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- Rust
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Description
# Managed starter agents show RUNNING but never respond to DMs or mentions in local `just dev` environment
## Summary
Starter agents (Fizz, Honey, Bumble) appear healthy and report `RUNNING`, but they never respond to either direct messages or channel mentions when running Buzz locally via `just dev`.
The relay continues to accept and ingest events normally, but no replies are ever produced.
---
# Environment
- macOS (Apple Silicon)
- Docker Desktop
- Buzz running from source
- Branch: `main`
Commit tested:
```text
dd222a509b156ba52ed3219e895d7bf1cf322c92
```
Working tree:
```text
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.
nothing to commit, working tree clean
```
---
# Setup
Repository cloned locally.
Ran:
```bash
just setup
just dev
```
Completed onboarding by:
- Importing an existing Nostr identity
- Allowing macOS Keychain access ("Always Allow")
- Joining the local development community
- Accepting the default starter agents (Fizz, Honey, Bumble)
---
# Reproduction
1. Clone the repository.
2. Run:
```bash
just setup
just dev
```
3. Complete onboarding.
4. Import an existing Nostr identity.
5. Verify the starter agents appear.
6. Verify each starter agent reports:
- Runtime: Codex
- Status: RUNNING
- Green status indicator
7. Open either:
- a direct message with Fizz, or
- the `#Welcome` channel.
8. Send:
```text
Reply with exactly: hello
```
(or any other prompt)
---
# Expected behavior
The starter agent should receive the message, invoke the configured Codex runtime, and reply.
The Harness Log should show activity corresponding to the request.
---
# Actual behavior
The message is accepted by Buzz but no reply is ever generated.
Observed behavior:
- Starter agents remain `RUNNING`
- Direct messages never receive a response
- Channel mentions never receive a response
- Harness Log initially remained empty
- No reply is ever posted back into Buzz
---
# Relay observations
The relay appears healthy.
Observed during testing:
- Events are accepted successfully
- Events are ingested successfully
- Relay continues normal operation
Representative relay output:
```text
HTTP POST /events
accepted=true
Event ingested via pipeline
```
The relay continues processing requests normally after the event is accepted.
---
# Additional observations
While reproducing the issue:
- The Codex runtime reports as configured.
- Starter agents show a green RUNNING indicator.
- The local relay continues servicing requests normally.
- I did not observe any obvious relay errors or crashes.
- The issue reproduces with both direct messages and channel mentions.
---
# What I already verified
- Docker Desktop running
- Local relay starts successfully
- Local development community created
- Existing Nostr identity imported successfully
- macOS Keychain permissions granted
- Codex runtime selected
- Starter agents show RUNNING
- Direct messages tested
- Channel mentions tested
- Clean checkout on current `main`
- No local modifications
---
# Attachments
Screenshot of dm and agent status
---
# Notes
I'm happy to collect additional diagnostics or run any suggested debugging commands if they would help narrow this down.
Contributor guide
Assessment
This issue has not been assessed yet.