From 8f1bb64d167fefb4eab561fe01f1c42cb143c7c3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ahmed Allam <ahmed39652003@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2026 21:30:44 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix(core): tell the parent when an interactive subagent parks

Parking is self-service only for the root, which the user is watching.
A parked child owes its parent a report it can no longer send, so the
parent would wait out its full timeout for nothing.
---
 strix/core/execution.py | 34 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 tests/test_execution.py | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 82 insertions(+)

diff --git a/strix/core/execution.py b/strix/core/execution.py
index 5862adb2..97fc1c94 100644
--- a/strix/core/execution.py
+++ b/strix/core/execution.py
@@ -537,6 +537,10 @@ async def _exhausted_recovery(
         agent_id,
     )
     await coordinator.set_status(agent_id, "waiting")
+    # The user talks to the root, so parking is only self-service there. A parked
+    # subagent owes its parent a report it can no longer send, and the parent would
+    # otherwise wait out its full timeout for a message that is never coming.
+    await _notify_parent_on_stall(coordinator, agent_id)
     return result
 
 
@@ -839,6 +843,36 @@ _TERMINAL_NOTICE = {
 }
 
 
+_STALL_NOTICE = (
+    "[Agent stalled] {name} ({agent_id}) kept ending turns without a tool call and is "
+    "parked until it receives a message. It will not send a completion report on its "
+    "own: either message it with a concrete next step to unblock it, or stop waiting on "
+    "it and account for its unfinished subtask."
+)
+
+
+async def _notify_parent_on_stall(
+    coordinator: AgentCoordinator,
+    agent_id: str,
+) -> None:
+    """Tell the parent that a child parked mid-task, so it stops waiting blindly."""
+    async with coordinator._lock:
+        parent = coordinator.parent_of.get(agent_id)
+        name = coordinator.names.get(agent_id, agent_id)
+    if parent is None:
+        return
+    await coordinator.send(
+        parent,
+        {
+            "from": agent_id,
+            "type": "stalled",
+            "priority": "high",
+            "content": _STALL_NOTICE.format(name=name, agent_id=agent_id),
+        },
+        interrupt=False,
+    )
+
+
 async def _notify_parent_on_terminal(
     coordinator: AgentCoordinator,
     agent_id: str,
diff --git a/tests/test_execution.py b/tests/test_execution.py
index 3b2df11c..8adcaa0f 100644
--- a/tests/test_execution.py
+++ b/tests/test_execution.py
@@ -891,6 +891,54 @@ async def test_interactive_recovery_exhaustion_parks_instead_of_crashing(
     assert coordinator.statuses["root"] == "waiting"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_interactive_subagent_exhaustion_tells_its_parent(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """The user only talks to the root, so a parked child must report up.
+
+    Otherwise a parent blocked in wait_for_message burns its whole timeout
+    waiting for a completion report the child can no longer send.
+    """
+    coordinator = AgentCoordinator()
+    await coordinator.register("root", "strix", parent_id=None)
+    await coordinator.register("child", "recon", parent_id="root")
+    calls: list[Any] = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        execution,
+        "_run_cycle_parked",
+        _scripted_cycle(coordinator, "child", ["running"], calls),
+    )
+
+    await _drive(coordinator, "child", interactive=True)
+
+    assert coordinator.statuses["child"] == "waiting"
+    pending, items = await coordinator.consume_pending("root", include_items=True)
+    assert pending == 1
+    notice = str(items[0])
+    assert "child" in notice
+    assert "parked" in notice
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_interactive_root_exhaustion_notifies_nobody(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """A parked root is self-service: the user is already watching it."""
+    coordinator = AgentCoordinator()
+    await coordinator.register("root", "strix", parent_id=None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        execution,
+        "_run_cycle_parked",
+        _scripted_cycle(coordinator, "root", ["running"], []),
+    )
+
+    await _drive(coordinator, "root", interactive=True)
+
+    pending, _ = await coordinator.consume_pending("root")
+    assert pending == 0
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_noninteractive_recovery_exhaustion_crashes(
     monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,