Task tool needs configurable timeout to prevent indefinite hangs #15072

Activity

1. github-actions

   assigned

   thdxr

   on Feb 25, 2026
2. github-actions

   added

   coreAnything pertaining to core functionality of the application (opencode server stuff)Anything pertaining to core functionality of the application (opencode server stuff)

   on Feb 25, 2026
3. github-actions commented on Feb 25, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Feb 25, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

   Contributor

   More actions

   This issue doesn't fully meet our contributing guidelines.

   What needs to be fixed:

   • This appears to be a feature request, but it does not use the required Feature Request template. Please resubmit using the correct template, which requires a verification checkbox and description, and the title should start with [FEATURE]:.

   Please edit this issue to address the above within 2 hours, or it will be automatically closed.

   ---

   This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

   • Feature Request: Async Task Management - Non-blocking Subagent Dispatch #15069: Feature Request for async/non-blocking Task tool dispatch — closely related improvement to the same Task tool (non-blocking execution vs. configurable timeout)

   If you believe this was flagged incorrectly, please let a maintainer know.
4. github-actions

   added

   needs:complianceThis means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.This means the issue will auto-close after 2 hours.

   on Feb 25, 2026
5. jdocker8 commented on Feb 25, 2026

   

   jdocker8

   on Feb 25, 2026

   Author

   More actions

   Real-world example of the problem

   In my session, I launched an explore subagent to audit diagnostic step conditions across 5 workflow files. The agent hung for over 5 minutes before the user manually aborted it.

   After aborting, I ran the exact same work directly using 5 parallel grep calls. It completed in ~2 seconds and I was immediately ready to move on.

   The work was:

   grep --pattern "if:.*always|if:.*failure|if:.*sst-deploy|Classify|Print deploy|Diagnose|diagnostics|Upload SST|Debug SST"
   

   ...across 5 YAML files. Trivially parallelizable, no complex reasoning needed.

   Why a timeout is critical

   Without a timeout parameter on the Task tool:

   • The caller agent has no way to set a deadline
   • The user has to manually notice the hang and abort
   • Simple 2-second tasks can block the conversation for 5-15+ minutes
   • The caller can't implement the fallback pattern ("on timeout, do it directly") because it never gets control back

   A timeout parameter (like the Bash tool already has) would let the caller set e.g. timeout: 30000 (30s) for simple searches, get a timeout error, and immediately fall back to doing the work directly.
6. jdocker8 commented on Feb 25, 2026

   

   jdocker8

   on Feb 25, 2026

   Author

   More actions

   Closing in favor of #15080, which was recreated using the required feature request template.
7. jdocker8

   closed this as completedon Feb 25, 2026