github / github/copilot-cli

Background sub-agents (general-purpose) get stuck indefinitely, never complete

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area:agents
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Shell
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Description

## Description

Background sub-agents launched via the `task` tool with `mode: "background"` and `agent_type: "general-purpose"` sometimes get stuck and never complete. The agent shows as "running" indefinitely. No completion notification arrives. `read_agent` with `wait: true` and a timeout returns the agent still running.

This doesn't happen every time, but it's frequent enough to be a real workflow blocker. The workaround is to abandon the stuck agent and re-launch as parallel `explore` agents instead, which reliably complete.

## Steps to Reproduce

1. Start an interactive Copilot CLI session
2. Launch a background general-purpose agent with a moderately complex prompt (e.g. scanning multiple directories, reading 20+ files, synthesising findings)
3. Wait for completion notification

## Expected Behaviour

The agent completes within a reasonable time (1-5 minutes) and sends a completion notification.

## Actual Behaviour

The agent stays in "running" state indefinitely. After 20+ minutes with no progress, the only option is to abandon it and work around the problem.

Notably, splitting the same work into 3 parallel `explore` agents completes in under 60 seconds each. The `general-purpose` agent type seems to hang on tasks that `explore` handles fine.

## Frequency

Observed in multiple sessions over the past week. Roughly 1 in 3 general-purpose background agents gets stuck. Explore agents have never gotten stuck for me.

## Environment

- Copilot CLI version: 1.0.34
- OS: macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 (Apple Silicon)
- Shell: zsh
- Terminal: Ghostty

## Workaround

Replace `general-purpose` background agents with parallel `explore` agents for read-heavy tasks. This reliably completes but limits you to Haiku and read-only tools.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the task tool's background mode for general-purpose agents and the read_agent wait path in an interactive Copilot CLI session. Reproduce the issue using a moderately complex, multi-directory prompt and compare it with parallel explore agents. Done means the background agent completes within a reasonable time and sends its completion notification instead of remaining running indefinitely.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
shell
Domain
ai, cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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