[projman] No agent timeout or runaway detection #236

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opened 2026-01-28 15:22:50 +00:00 by lmiranda · 0 comments
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Problem

Agents ran 400+ tool calls over ~1 hour without stopping. No automatic circuit breaker. User had to manually intervene.

Current Behavior

  • Agent keeps running indefinitely
  • No max_turns enforcement for executor agents
  • No time-based timeout
  • User discovers problem only when they check
  • Had to manually stop agents after ~1 hour

Expected Behavior

  • Configurable limits: max_turns, max_time
  • Automatic stop when limits reached
  • Clear notification with progress summary
  • Option to continue or abort

Suggested Solutions

  1. max_turns parameter - Task tool already supports this, enforce it
  2. Time-based timeout - Stop after N minutes
  3. Progress stall detection - Detect repeated identical actions (loop)
  4. Circuit breaker - Stop after N consecutive errors
  5. Checkpoint on timeout - Save progress before stopping

Suggested Defaults

  • max_turns: 100 for executor agents
  • max_time: 15 minutes
  • error_threshold: 5 consecutive errors

Acceptance Criteria

  • Agents stop automatically at reasonable limits
  • User notified when limit reached
  • Progress preserved for potential continuation
## Problem Agents ran 400+ tool calls over ~1 hour without stopping. No automatic circuit breaker. User had to manually intervene. ## Current Behavior - Agent keeps running indefinitely - No max_turns enforcement for executor agents - No time-based timeout - User discovers problem only when they check - Had to manually stop agents after ~1 hour ## Expected Behavior - Configurable limits: max_turns, max_time - Automatic stop when limits reached - Clear notification with progress summary - Option to continue or abort ## Suggested Solutions 1. **max_turns parameter** - Task tool already supports this, enforce it 2. **Time-based timeout** - Stop after N minutes 3. **Progress stall detection** - Detect repeated identical actions (loop) 4. **Circuit breaker** - Stop after N consecutive errors 5. **Checkpoint on timeout** - Save progress before stopping ## Suggested Defaults - max_turns: 100 for executor agents - max_time: 15 minutes - error_threshold: 5 consecutive errors ## Acceptance Criteria - [ ] Agents stop automatically at reasonable limits - [ ] User notified when limit reached - [ ] Progress preserved for potential continuation
lmiranda added the Component/BackendType/FeaturePriority/High labels 2026-01-28 15:23:44 +00:00
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Reference: personal-projects/leo-claude-mktplace#236