From cb864a10996dd4c409b198989152f315ef54af3a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Theo Browne <me@t3.gg>
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2026 02:03:15 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix(clients): a command left running no longer says the
 thread is waiting

When only commands remain after a turn, such as a dev server, the
composer strip now says "Running: <command>" with a still dot. Work that
wakes the agent (subagents, monitors) keeps "Waiting on ..." and the
pulse. Mobile reads the same title.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx          |  9 +++--
 .../src/state/threadExecution.test.ts         | 30 +++++++++++++++--
 .../src/state/threadExecution.ts              | 33 ++++++++++++++-----
 3 files changed, 60 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
index 8e105a49f37f..fe72ec446d34 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
@@ -6859,7 +6859,7 @@ export default function ChatView(props: ChatViewProps) {
   // The stack renders items[0] front-most and tucks the rest behind hover, so
   // ordering is priority: system banners, then the branch-mismatch notice,
   // and the informational parked-thread banner last — it must never cover another.
-  // Background work (subagent fleets, workflow runs, watch loops) can outlive
+  // Background work (subagent fleets, workflow runs, watch loops, dev servers) can outlive
   // the turn; once it settles, the composer stop button is gone, so this
   // banner is the only visible stop affordance. The interrupt path also
   // accepts a completed run while its provider still has background work.
@@ -6907,9 +6907,14 @@ export default function ChatView(props: ChatViewProps) {
       id: `background-work:${activeThread.id}`,
       variant: "default",
       priority: "activity",
+      // A dev server can run for hours after the agent is done, so only work
+      // that will wake the agent pulses.
       icon: (
         <span
-          className="size-1.5 animate-status-pulse rounded-full bg-foreground"
+          className={cn(
+            "size-1.5 rounded-full bg-foreground",
+            presentation.waiting && "animate-status-pulse",
+          )}
           aria-hidden="true"
         />
       ),
diff --git a/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.test.ts b/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.test.ts
index 92745606d1ea..6ee64d2eaf66 100644
--- a/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.test.ts
+++ b/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.test.ts
@@ -520,6 +520,7 @@ describe("presentPendingBackgroundWork", () => {
     expect(presentation).toEqual({
       title: "Waiting on subagent Luna Window Properties",
       items: [{ taskId: "luna", kind: "subagent", label: "Luna Window Properties", childThreadId }],
+      waiting: true,
     });
   });
 
@@ -544,12 +545,37 @@ describe("presentPendingBackgroundWork", () => {
         { taskId: "a", kind: "subagent", description: "Review src/math.ts" },
       ])?.title,
     ).toBe("Waiting on subagent Review src/math.ts");
-    expect(presentPendingBackgroundWork([{ taskId: "a", kind: "command" }])?.title).toBe(
-      "Waiting on a command",
+    expect(presentPendingBackgroundWork([{ taskId: "a", kind: "monitor" }])?.title).toBe(
+      "Waiting on a monitor",
     );
     expect(presentPendingBackgroundWork([])).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  // A command left running, such as a dev server, does not wake the agent.
+  it("says only commands are running, not waited on", () => {
+    expect(
+      presentPendingBackgroundWork([
+        { taskId: "dev", kind: "command", description: "Start the shared dev server" },
+      ]),
+    ).toMatchObject({ title: "Running: Start the shared dev server", waiting: false });
+    expect(presentPendingBackgroundWork([{ taskId: "a", kind: "command" }])).toMatchObject({
+      title: "Running a command",
+      waiting: false,
+    });
+    expect(
+      presentPendingBackgroundWork([
+        { taskId: "a", kind: "command", description: "vp run dev" },
+        { taskId: "b", kind: "command", description: "tailscale serve" },
+      ]),
+    ).toMatchObject({ title: "Running 2 commands", waiting: false });
+    expect(
+      presentPendingBackgroundWork([
+        { taskId: "a", kind: "command", description: "vp run dev" },
+        { taskId: "b", kind: "monitor", description: "Watch PR checks" },
+      ]),
+    ).toMatchObject({ title: "Waiting on 1 command and 1 monitor", waiting: true });
+  });
+
   it("groups work by kind, subagents first, and keeps each name", () => {
     const presentation = presentPendingBackgroundWork([
       { taskId: "cmd", kind: "command", description: "npm test" },
diff --git a/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.ts b/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.ts
index 962e508670eb..51321d722677 100644
--- a/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.ts
+++ b/packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadExecution.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ import {
   orchestrationV2RunWorkStartedAt,
   type ThreadId,
 } from "@t3tools/contracts";
-import { derivePendingBackgroundWork } from "@t3tools/shared/orchestrationV2PendingBackgroundWork";
+import {
+  backgroundWorkHoldsCompletion,
+  derivePendingBackgroundWork,
+} from "@t3tools/shared/orchestrationV2PendingBackgroundWork";
 import { getProviderOptionCurrentLabel, getProviderOptionDescriptors } from "@t3tools/shared/model";
 import { formatDuration } from "@t3tools/shared/orchestrationTiming";
 import * as DateTime from "effect/DateTime";
@@ -295,9 +298,17 @@ export interface PendingBackgroundWorkItem {
 }
 
 export interface PendingBackgroundWorkPresentation {
-  /** "Waiting on subagent Review src/math.ts", "Waiting on 2 subagents and 1 command". */
+  /**
+   * "Waiting on subagent Review src/math.ts", "Waiting on 2 subagents and 1 command",
+   * or "Running: Start the dev server" when only commands remain.
+   */
   readonly title: string;
   readonly items: ReadonlyArray<PendingBackgroundWorkItem>;
+  /**
+   * True when the work will wake the agent (subagents, monitors). False when
+   * only commands remain, such as a dev server: the agent is done.
+   */
+  readonly waiting: boolean;
 }
 
 function joinWithAnd(parts: ReadonlyArray<string>): string {
@@ -305,11 +316,12 @@ function joinWithAnd(parts: ReadonlyArray<string>): string {
   return `${parts.slice(0, -1).join(", ")} and ${parts.at(-1)}`;
 }
 
-/** Names what a settled thread is still waiting on, grouped by kind, for the composer strip. */
+/** Names what a settled thread still runs, grouped by kind, for the composer strip. */
 export function presentPendingBackgroundWork(
   tasks: ReadonlyArray<OrchestrationV2PendingBackgroundTask>,
 ): PendingBackgroundWorkPresentation | null {
   if (tasks.length === 0) return null;
+  const waiting = backgroundWorkHoldsCompletion(tasks);
   const items = tasks
     .map((task): PendingBackgroundWorkItem => {
       const description = task.description?.trim();
@@ -335,10 +347,15 @@ export function presentPendingBackgroundWork(
   const [only] = items;
   if (items.length === 1 && only !== undefined) {
     const noun = BACKGROUND_WORK_KINDS[only.kind].singular;
-    return {
-      title: only.label === noun ? `Waiting on a ${noun}` : `Waiting on ${noun} ${only.label}`,
-      items,
-    };
+    const named = only.label !== noun;
+    const title = waiting
+      ? named
+        ? `Waiting on ${noun} ${only.label}`
+        : `Waiting on a ${noun}`
+      : named
+        ? `Running: ${only.label}`
+        : `Running a ${noun}`;
+    return { title, items, waiting };
   }
   const counts = new Map<BackgroundWorkKind, number>();
   for (const item of items) counts.set(item.kind, (counts.get(item.kind) ?? 0) + 1);
@@ -346,7 +363,7 @@ export function presentPendingBackgroundWork(
     const { singular, plural } = BACKGROUND_WORK_KINDS[kind];
     return `${count} ${count === 1 ? singular : plural}`;
   });
-  return { title: `Waiting on ${joinWithAnd(groups)}`, items };
+  return { title: `${waiting ? "Waiting on" : "Running"} ${joinWithAnd(groups)}`, items, waiting };
 }
 
 /** The thread a notification row opens: that of the one subagent or delegated task it reports. */