Q46: parents wait for their subtasks and cannot close while any are open

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/main/services/heartbeat-scheduler.ts

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ export class HeartbeatScheduler {
         and p.enabled = 1
         and coalesce(u.request_count, 0) < p.monthly_request_limit
         and not exists (select 1 from task_runs r where r.task_id = t.id and r.state in ('queued', 'running'))
+        and not exists (select 1 from tasks c where c.parent_task_id = t.id and c.status <> 'done')
     `).all(window.start) as Array<{ task_id: string; org_id: string; provider_id: string }>;
     this.observeQuotaBlocks(window.start);
     const cooling = new Set(this.cooldowns.cooledProviderIds());

src/main/services/organization-service.ts

@@ -530,6 +530,7 @@ export class OrganizationService {
   }
 
   updateTaskStatus(orgId: string, taskId: string, status: string): void {
+    if (status === TASK_STATUS.DONE) this.assertNoOpenSubtasks(orgId, taskId);
     const result = this.db.prepare("update tasks set status = ?, updated_at = ? where id = ? and org_id = ?")
       .run(status, new Date().toISOString(), taskId, orgId);
     if (result.changes === 0) throw new Error("Task was not found.");
@@ -543,6 +544,14 @@ export class OrganizationService {
       payload: { status },
     });
   }
+
+  private assertNoOpenSubtasks(orgId: string, taskId: string): void {
+    const open = this.db.prepare("select title from tasks where org_id = ? and parent_task_id = ? and status <> 'done' order by created_at")
+      .all(orgId, taskId) as Array<{ title: string }>;
+    if (open.length === 0) return;
+    const parent = this.db.prepare("select title from tasks where id = ? and org_id = ?").get(taskId, orgId) as { title: string };
+    throw new Error(`"${parent.title}" has open subtasks: ${open.map((task) => task.title).join(", ")}. It can close once they are done.`);
+  }
 }
 
 /** Avatar colors persist as #rrggbb; anything else is a caller bug. */

src/main/services/task-execution-service.ts

@@ -121,6 +121,8 @@ export class TaskExecutionService {
       if (!sameWorkspaceAccess(run.workspace_mount_json, workspaceAccess(task, workspace))) {
         return this.supersedeRun(orgId, runId, run, "the task's workspace access changed after this run was queued.");
       }
+      const openSubtask = this.db.prepare("select title from tasks where parent_task_id = ? and status <> 'done' limit 1").get(task.id) as { title: string } | undefined;
+      if (openSubtask) return this.supersedeRun(orgId, runId, run, `the task has open subtasks ("${openSubtask.title}"); it runs again once they are done.`);
       const approvalProblem = executionApprovalProblem(this.db, orgId, task);
       if (approvalProblem) return this.supersedeRun(orgId, runId, run, approvalProblem);
       const isolation: TaskRunIsolation = {
@@ -213,6 +215,8 @@ export class TaskExecutionService {
             handoffLines: renderTaskHandoff(this.db, orgId, task.handoff_json),
             knowledgeLines: relevantKnowledgeLines(this.db, { orgId, agentId: agent.id, projectId: task.project_id, goalId: task.goal_id, taskId: task.id }, `${task.title}\n${task.description}`),
             priorCompletedRuns: this.completedRunCount(task.id, runId),
+            subtasks: (this.db.prepare("select title, status = 'done' as done from tasks where parent_task_id = ? order by created_at").all(task.id) as Array<{ title: string; done: number }>)
+              .map((row) => ({ title: row.title, done: row.done === 1 })),
             availableToolNames: runTools(externalTools).map((tool) => tool.name),
           }),
           toolContext,

src/main/services/task-prompts.ts

@@ -203,6 +203,8 @@ export function buildTaskPrompt(input: {
   priorCompletedRuns: number;
   /** Names of the tools the model can call this run. */
   availableToolNames: string[];
+  /** Subtasks this task delegated; autonomously it only runs again once they are all done. */
+  subtasks: Array<{ title: string; done: boolean }>;
 }): string {
   const lines = [
     "Execute this AgentCompany task.",
@@ -266,6 +268,15 @@ export function buildTaskPrompt(input: {
       "This task carries filesystem access: read the existing code with list_files and read_file before changing anything, write changes with write_deliverable, and prove they work with run_command (install, build, test). Real output is code that builds and tests that pass — a document describing the work does not close an engineering task.",
     );
   }
+  const openSubtasks = input.subtasks.filter((subtask) => !subtask.done).map((subtask) => subtask.title);
+  if (openSubtasks.length > 0) {
+    lines.push("", `Subtasks you delegated from this task are still open: ${openSubtasks.join(", ")}. Do not redo them; this task can close only after they are done.`);
+  } else if (input.subtasks.length > 0) {
+    lines.push(
+      "",
+      `The subtasks you delegated from this task are all done: ${input.subtasks.map((subtask) => subtask.title).join(", ")}. Check their results (read_messages, list_files, list_documents) against what this task needs, then close it, or create the follow-up work that is still missing.`,
+    );
+  }
   if (input.priorCompletedRuns > 0) {
     lines.push(
       "",
@@ -273,9 +284,10 @@ export function buildTaskPrompt(input: {
     );
   }
   if (leadsPeople(input.agent.role_level, input.hasReports) && !input.hasReports) {
+    const park = `move it to "in_progress" with update_task_status(task_id="${input.task.id}", status="in_progress"): it waits while the tasks you created are open and comes back to you when they are done, so you can check the results and close it.`;
     const announce = input.isManager
-      ? `Post one company-wide kickoff to the #general channel. Then close this kickoff with update_task_status(task_id="${input.task.id}", status="done") and summarize.`
-      : `Tell your manager the plan in a direct message. Then close this task with update_task_status(task_id="${input.task.id}", status="done") if hiring and delegating was the work, or move it to "in_progress" and say what remains.`;
+      ? `Post one company-wide kickoff to the #general channel. Then ${park}`
+      : `Tell your manager the plan in a direct message. Then ${park}`;
     lines.push(
       "",
       `Your team is currently empty. First ${firstHiresFor(input.agent.role_level)}, create and assign their first tasks (create_task), and write the initial operating plan into the workspace (write_deliverable). Then use send_message with /handoff @Name and attachment_file_ids to pass the operating plan to the relevant report. Brief EACH report in a direct message (send_message with to="Their Name") about the work you assigned them — note the thread_id each returns so you can follow up in the same conversation. ${announce}`,