Desktop: allow adding an existing local agent without starting it
- Dominant language
- Rust
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- 1d 13h
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Description
**Motivation**
A channel owner may want to add an existing local managed agent to a channel while intentionally keeping its runtime stopped. The current Desktop member flow starts a stopped local agent while attaching it, coupling channel membership with runtime execution.
**Proposed solution**
Add a clear owner-visible choice in the existing local-agent member flow to add the agent without starting it. The path should use the existing non-starting helper option, publish membership only, preserve the stopped state, and show a visible error if attachment fails. Normal add-and-start behavior can remain available as a separate choice.
The new control should support pointer and keyboard use and have an accessible label.
**Alternatives considered**
- Add normally and stop afterward: the process has already started, so this does not preserve the user intent.
- Use an internal command or developer tool: this would not provide a supported owner-facing product workflow.
- #6468: related but different; that proposal prevents reactive local spawning for externally managed runtimes. This request concerns an ordinary local managed agent that should remain stopped until the owner starts it.
**Additional context**
#4835 is also related but concerns finding and re-adding a removed personal agent. No matching open pull request or exact issue was found for preserving stopped state during attachment.
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Assessment
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