github / github/copilot-cli

Add live progress streaming for background sub-agents

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#2,254 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:agents
Dominant language
Shell
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Description

### 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 ` 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.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the /tasks command and the background-agent timeline or event handling, since the issue names these entry points but no files or tests. Compare the proposed report_progress events, live tail view, structured protocol, and --watch mode before narrowing the scope. Done should be a defined progress experience with observable activity for long-running background agents.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
shell
Domain
cli, developer-experience
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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