@ferris1225/pi-subagents 4.1.18 → 4.1.21

package/src/spawn.ts

@@ -1,654 +1,668 @@
-/**
- * Sub-agent result handling and resilient RPC launch orchestration.
- *
- * The process transport itself lives in rpc-run.ts. Each attempt starts pi in
- * persistent `--mode rpc`, sends commands over strict LF-delimited JSONL, and
- * settles only on `agent_settled`. This module owns startup-race recovery,
- * selected-to-main model handoff, capability-clamped thinking, accounting, and
- * result formatting around those attempts.
- */
-
-import { createHash, randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
-import { type Dirent, mkdirSync, readdirSync, realpathSync, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
-import { basename, dirname, join, resolve } from "node:path";
-import type { Message } from "@earendil-works/pi-ai";
-import type { AgentConfig } from "./agents.ts";
-import { DEFAULT_THINKING_LEVEL, type ThinkingLevel } from "./config.ts";
-import {
-	currentSubagentDepth,
-	DEPTH_ENV_VAR,
-	emptyUsage,
-	extractToolErrorText,
-	getPiInvocation,
-	isRpcCommandTimeoutError,
-	RpcRunControl,
-	runRpcAgentAttempt,
-	sessionExists,
-	writeChildRetryPolicyExtension,
-	SUBAGENT_KILL_GRACE_MS,
-	type RpcSingleResult,
-	type SubagentLiveEvent,
-	type UsageStats,
-} from "./rpc-run.ts";
-
-export {
-	currentSubagentDepth,
-	DEPTH_ENV_VAR,
-	extractToolErrorText,
-	getPiInvocation,
-	isRpcCommandTimeoutError,
-	RpcRunControl,
-	sessionExists,
-	SUBAGENT_KILL_GRACE_MS,
-	writeChildRetryPolicyExtension,
-};
-export type { SubagentLiveEvent, UsageStats };
-
-export const SUBAGENT_THINKING_LEVEL: ThinkingLevel = DEFAULT_THINKING_LEVEL;
-/** 0 disables the watchdog; dispatch supplies the configured timeout. */
-export const SUBAGENT_DEFAULT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS = 0;
-/** Base delays cover Pi's stale-lock window and leave headroom beyond the
- * default four-way launch fan-out. Additive jitter below reduces the chance
- * that contenders retry in the same lockstep waves. */
-export const SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_DELAYS_MS = [250, 750, 1500, 3000, 6000] as const;
-export const MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_FAILURE_DURATION_MS = 2000;
-export const MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_JITTER_MS = 1000;
-
-function normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs: number): number {
-	return Number.isFinite(delayMs) && delayMs > 0 ? delayMs : 0;
-}
-
-export function addStartupRetryJitter(delayMs: number, randomValue = Math.random()): number {
-	const baseDelay = Math.floor(normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs));
-	if (baseDelay === 0) return 0;
-	const boundedRandom = Number.isFinite(randomValue) ? Math.max(0, Math.min(1, randomValue)) : 0;
-	return baseDelay + Math.floor(Math.min(baseDelay, MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_JITTER_MS) * boundedRandom);
-}
-
-export interface SingleResult extends RpcSingleResult {}
-
-export interface SubagentDetails {
-	mode: "single" | "parallel";
-	results: SingleResult[];
-	background?: boolean;
-}
-
-export function getFinalOutput(messages: Message[]): string {
-	for (let i = messages.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-		const msg = messages[i];
-		if (msg.role === "assistant") {
-			for (const part of msg.content) {
-				if (part.type === "text") return part.text;
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return "";
-}
-
-/** Only the last standalone reviewer verdict line counts. */
-export function reviewVerdict(output: string): "pass" | "fail" | undefined {
-	const lines = output.split("\n");
-	for (let index = lines.length - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
-		const match = /^\s*VERDICT:\s*REVIEW_(PASS|FAIL)\s*$/i.exec(lines[index]);
-		if (match) return match[1].toUpperCase() === "PASS" ? "pass" : "fail";
-	}
-	return undefined;
-}
-
-export const RESULT_LINE_MAX = 200;
-
-export interface TruncatedOutput {
-	text: string;
-	truncated: boolean;
-}
-
-export function truncateResultOutput(output: string, maxLines: number): TruncatedOutput {
-	const lines = output.split("\n");
-	if (lines.length <= maxLines && lines.every((line) => line.length <= RESULT_LINE_MAX)) {
-		return { text: output, truncated: false };
-	}
-	const kept = lines.slice(0, maxLines).map((line) =>
-		line.length > RESULT_LINE_MAX ? `${line.slice(0, RESULT_LINE_MAX)}…` : line,
-	);
-	return { text: kept.join("\n"), truncated: true };
-}
-
-export const RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_AGE_MS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1_000;
-export const RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_FILES_PER_PROJECT = 50;
-// Explicit current prefix plus the strict timestamp/token convention used by 1.1.0.
-const RESULT_ARTIFACT_NAME = /^(?:pi-subagent-\d{13,}-[0-9a-f]{12}|\d{13,}-[a-z0-9]{6})-[\w.-]+\.md$/;
-
-/** Name of the single per-extension root under the pi home directory that
- * holds every project-scoped artifact (sessions, worktrees, result excerpts).
- * Nothing long-lived is written to the OS temp directory. */
-export const PROJECT_ROOTS_DIR_NAME = "ferris-pi-subagents";
-
-/** Per-project directory that groups every durable artifact of one checkout:
- * `<pi home>/ferris-pi-subagents/<project-slug-hash>/{sessions,worktrees,results}`.
- * Callers join the kind-specific subdirectory themselves. */
-export function getProjectRoot(configPath: string, cwd?: string): string {
-	return join(dirname(configPath), PROJECT_ROOTS_DIR_NAME, resultArtifactProjectKey(cwd));
-}
-
-interface ResultArtifactRetentionOptions {
-	now?: number;
-	maxAgeMs?: number;
-	maxFilesPerProject?: number;
-}
-
-/** Remove only stale/overflow Markdown result artifacts. Unknown files and
- * symlinks are never touched. Called on each artifact write, so storage stays
- * bounded without deleting a result that the current completion just linked. */
-export function pruneResultArtifacts(
-	rootDir: string,
-	options: ResultArtifactRetentionOptions = {},
-): void {
-	const now = options.now ?? Date.now();
-	const maxAgeMs = Math.max(0, options.maxAgeMs ?? RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_AGE_MS);
-	const maxFiles = Math.max(0, Math.floor(options.maxFilesPerProject ?? RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_FILES_PER_PROJECT));
-	let projects: Dirent[];
-	try {
-		projects = readdirSync(rootDir, { withFileTypes: true });
-	} catch {
-		return;
-	}
-
-	for (const project of projects) {
-		if (!project.isDirectory() || project.isSymbolicLink()) continue;
-		const projectDir = join(rootDir, project.name);
-		let entries: Dirent[];
-		try {
-			entries = readdirSync(projectDir, { withFileTypes: true });
-		} catch {
-			continue;
-		}
-		const artifacts = entries
-			.filter((entry) => entry.isFile() && !entry.isSymbolicLink() && RESULT_ARTIFACT_NAME.test(entry.name))
-			.flatMap((entry) => {
-				const path = join(projectDir, entry.name);
-				try {
-					return [{ path, mtimeMs: statSync(path).mtimeMs }];
-				} catch {
-					return [];
-				}
-			})
-			.sort((left, right) => right.mtimeMs - left.mtimeMs);
-
-		for (const [index, artifact] of artifacts.entries()) {
-			if (index < maxFiles && now - artifact.mtimeMs <= maxAgeMs) continue;
-			try {
-				rmSync(artifact.path, { force: true });
-			} catch {
-				// Temp cleanup is best-effort; result delivery must still succeed.
-			}
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-export function resultArtifactProjectKey(cwd?: string): string {
-	if (!cwd) return "default";
-	let canonical: string;
-	try {
-		canonical = realpathSync.native(cwd);
-	} catch {
-		canonical = resolve(cwd);
-	}
-	if (process.platform === "win32") canonical = canonical.toLowerCase();
-	const slug = basename(canonical).replace(/[^\w.-]+/g, "_") || "project";
-	const digest = createHash("sha256").update(canonical).digest("hex").slice(0, 12);
-	return `${slug}-${digest}`;
-}
-
-export function writeResultArtifact(output: string, agentName: string, resultsRoot: string): string {
-	mkdirSync(resultsRoot, { recursive: true });
-	const safeName = agentName.replace(/[^\w.-]+/g, "_") || "agent";
-	const unique = `pi-subagent-${Date.now()}-${randomUUID().replaceAll("-", "").slice(0, 12)}`;
-	const filePath = join(resultsRoot, `${unique}-${safeName}.md`);
-	writeFileSync(filePath, output, "utf8");
-	pruneResultArtifacts(resultsRoot);
-	return filePath;
-}
-
-export function isFailedResult(result: SingleResult): boolean {
-
-	return result.exitCode !== 0 || result.stopReason === "error" || result.stopReason === "aborted";
-}
-
-function lastAssistantMessage(messages: Message[]): Extract<Message, { role: "assistant" }> | undefined {
-	for (let index = messages.length - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
-		const message = messages[index];
-		if (message.role === "assistant") return message;
-	}
-	return undefined;
-}
-
-export function isModelLevelFailure(result: SingleResult): boolean {
-	if (!isFailedResult(result)) return false;
-	if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return false;
-	if (result.dispatchFailed) return false;
-	if (result.rpcStartupFailed) return false;
-	// A negative RPC response proves Pi rejected the prompt before execution. It
-	// remains safe to hand off even though dispatch was attempted; local write,
-	// close, timeout, and lost-ACK failures never set this explicit flag.
-	if (result.rpcPromptRejected) return true;
-	// The prompt write completed but its ACK never arrived. With no later activity
-	// we cannot know whether Pi started the model or tools, so neither startup
-	// retry nor selected→main fallback may replay this objective.
-	if (result.rpcPromptDispatched && !result.rpcPromptAccepted && !result.rpcActivity) return false;
-	if (isRpcCommandTimeoutError(result.errorMessage)) return false;
-	if (result.integrationStatus === "retained") return false;
-	if (result.errorMessage?.includes("idle timeout")) return true;
-
-	// Classification belongs to the final assistant turn, not the whole attempt.
-	// Earlier useful text or failed tool calls are retained session history and
-	// must not hide a later provider error (for example a second-turn 503).
-	const finalAssistant = lastAssistantMessage(result.messages);
-	if (finalAssistant) {
-		// Provider streams may preserve partial text on a terminal error. The stop
-		// reason, not content emptiness, is the transport boundary; ordinary tool or
-		// task failures settle with a non-error assistant stop reason.
-		return finalAssistant.stopReason === "error";
-	}
-
-	if ((result.failedTools?.length ?? 0) > 0) return false;
-	// No accepted prompt, no activity, and no assistant turn means the provider
-	// was never reached. Stderr or an exit error here is a startup/transport miss.
-	if (!result.rpcPromptAccepted && !result.rpcActivity) return false;
-	return Boolean(
-		result.rpcPromptAccepted ||
-		result.rpcActivity ||
-		result.errorMessage?.trim() ||
-		result.stderr.trim(),
-	);
-}
-
-export function isRetryableStartupFailure(result: SingleResult, durationMs: number): boolean {
-	if (result.exitCode === 0) return false;
-	if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return false;
-	if (result.dispatchFailed) return false;
-	if (result.rpcPromptDispatched || result.rpcPromptAccepted || result.rpcActivity) return false;
-	if (result.errorMessage?.includes("idle timeout")) return false;
-	if (getFinalOutput(result.messages)) return false;
-	if (result.messages.length > 0) return false;
-	const usage = result.usage;
-	if (usage.turns || usage.input || usage.output || usage.cacheRead || usage.cacheWrite || usage.cost) return false;
-	if (result.rpcStartupFailed) return true;
-	if (durationMs > MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_FAILURE_DURATION_MS) return false;
-	if (result.stderr.trim().length > 0) return false;
-	if (result.errorMessage && result.errorMessage.trim().length > 0) return false;
-	return true;
-}
-
-export function formatStartupRetryExhaustedError(model: string, attempts: number): string {
-	return `Subagent failed to start after ${attempts} attempt${attempts === 1 ? "" : "s"} on ${model}: the child failed before its initial RPC prompt was dispatched and produced no model, tool, output, or usage activity. This is typically a concurrent pi startup race (several sub-agents starting at once). Retry the dispatch, or dispatch fewer sub-agents at once.`;
-}
-
-export async function waitForStartupRetry(delayMs: number, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<boolean> {
-	const normalizedDelay = normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs);
-	if (normalizedDelay === 0) return !signal?.aborted;
-	if (!signal) {
-		return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
-			const timer = setTimeout(() => resolve(true), normalizedDelay);
-			if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref();
-		});
-	}
-	if (signal.aborted) return false;
-	return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
-		let settled = false;
-		const finish = (shouldRetry: boolean): void => {
-			if (settled) return;
-			settled = true;
-			clearTimeout(timer);
-			signal.removeEventListener("abort", onAbort);
-			resolve(shouldRetry);
-		};
-		const onAbort = (): void => finish(false);
-		const timer = setTimeout(() => finish(true), normalizedDelay);
-		if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref();
-		signal.addEventListener("abort", onAbort, { once: true });
-	});
-}
-
-async function waitForControlledRetry(
-	delayMs: number,
-	signal: AbortSignal | undefined,
-	control: RpcRunControl | undefined,
-): Promise<boolean> {
-	let remaining = normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs);
-	while (remaining > 0) {
-		if (control?.isStopRequested()) return false;
-		const slice = Math.min(remaining, 50);
-		if (!(await waitForStartupRetry(slice, signal))) return false;
-		remaining -= slice;
-	}
-	return !signal?.aborted && !control?.isStopRequested();
-}
-
-export function getResultOutput(result: SingleResult): string {
-	if (isFailedResult(result)) {
-		const error = result.errorMessage || result.stderr;
-		const partial = getFinalOutput(result.messages);
-		if (error && partial) return `${error}\n\n--- Partial output ---\n${partial}`;
-		return error || partial || "(no output)";
-	}
-	return getFinalOutput(result.messages) || "(no output)";
-}
-
-export function buildResumePrompt(task: string, reason: string): string {
-	return `You are resuming an earlier sub-agent session after ${reason}. Your earlier work — searches, reads, edits, and reasoning — is preserved in this session's history above; review it before acting. Current objective: ${task}. Pick up exactly where you left off and finish it. Do NOT redo searches, reads, or edits you already completed unless a step clearly failed. Continue now.`;
-}
-
-/** Create a fresh private session directory under the given root. */
-export async function createSessionDir(root: string): Promise<string> {
-	await mkdir(root, { recursive: true });
-	return mkdtemp(join(root, "pi-subagent-session-"));
-}
-
-export function buildFallbackResumeReason(fromModel?: string): string {
-	return fromModel
-		? `the selected model (${fromModel}) failed at the model/provider level, so the current main model is continuing`
-		: "the selected model failed at the model/provider level, so the current main model is continuing";
-}
-
-export interface RunSingleOptions {
-	defaultCwd: string;
-	agent: AgentConfig;
-	agentName: string;
-	task: string;
-	cwd?: string;
-	thinkingLevel?: ThinkingLevel;
-	/** Resolve the effective level for each runtime model candidate. */
-	thinkingLevelForModel?: (modelRef?: string) => ThinkingLevel;
-	idleTimeoutMs?: number;
-	startupRetryDelaysMs?: readonly number[];
-	sessionDir?: string;
-	sessionId?: string;
-	/** Parent directory for a fresh session directory: the project-scoped
-	 * sessions root, so retained sessions survive reloads and restarts. */
-	sessionRoot: string;
-	/** Parent directory for per-attempt transient files (child prompt, retry
-	 * policy): the project-scoped tmp root, so nothing lands in the OS temp. */
-	scratchRoot: string;
-	/** Initial RPC prompt. Kept under the old name to limit caller churn. */
-	stdinText?: string;
-	/** Refresh parent-derived tools immediately before every startup retry and
-	 * selected-to-main fallback process is spawned. */
-	resolveAgentForAttempt?: (agent: AgentConfig) => AgentConfig;
-	signal?: AbortSignal;
-	onLive?: (event: SubagentLiveEvent) => void;
-	makeDetails: (results: SingleResult[]) => SubagentDetails;
-	env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
-	/** Stable logical-generation controller shared across retry attempts. */
-	control?: RpcRunControl;
-	rpcReadyTimeoutMs?: number;
-	rpcCommandTimeoutMs?: number;
-}
-
-function controlledDisposition(options: RunSingleOptions, base?: SingleResult): SingleResult | undefined {
-	const control = options.control;
-	if (!control?.isStopRequested()) return undefined;
-	const result: SingleResult = base ?? {
-		agent: options.agentName,
-		task: control.getObjective(),
-		exitCode: 0,
-		messages: [],
-		stderr: "",
-		usage: emptyUsage(),
-		model: options.agent.model,
-		thinking: options.thinkingLevel,
-		sessionId: options.sessionId,
-		sessionDir: options.sessionDir,
-	};
-	result.task = control.getObjective();
-	result.exitCode = 1;
-	result.stopReason = "aborted";
-	result.errorMessage = control.getStopMessage();
-	return result;
-}
-
-function signalAbortDisposition(options: RunSingleOptions, base: SingleResult): SingleResult | undefined {
-	if (!options.signal?.aborted) return undefined;
-	base.exitCode = 1;
-	base.stopReason = "aborted";
-	base.errorMessage = "Subagent was aborted";
-	return base;
-}
-
-/** Spawn one RPC attempt and wait for stable settlement. */
-export async function runSingleAgent(options: RunSingleOptions): Promise<SingleResult> {
-	const {
-		agent,
-		agentName,
-		thinkingLevel = SUBAGENT_THINKING_LEVEL,
-		idleTimeoutMs = SUBAGENT_DEFAULT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS,
-		control,
-	} = options;
-	const disposition = controlledDisposition(options);
-	if (disposition) return disposition;
-	const objective = control?.getObjective() ?? options.task;
-	let prompt = options.stdinText ?? `Task: ${objective}`;
-	if (control && objective !== options.task) {
-		prompt = options.sessionDir && sessionExists(options.sessionDir, options.sessionId ?? "")
-			? `Abandon the previous objective. New objective: ${objective}`
-			: `Task: ${objective}`;
-	}
-	const result = await runRpcAgentAttempt({
-		defaultCwd: options.defaultCwd,
-		agent,
-		agentName,
-		task: objective,
-		cwd: options.cwd,
-		thinkingLevel,
-		idleTimeoutMs,
-		sessionDir: options.sessionDir,
-		sessionId: options.sessionId,
-		scratchRoot: options.scratchRoot,
-		prompt,
-		signal: options.signal,
-		onLive: options.onLive,
-		env: options.env,
-		control,
-		rpcReadyTimeoutMs: options.rpcReadyTimeoutMs,
-		rpcCommandTimeoutMs: options.rpcCommandTimeoutMs,
-	});
-	result.task = control?.getObjective() ?? result.task;
-	return result;
-}
-
-/**
- * Run one logical generation on the selected model, then hand directly to the
- * current main model after any model/provider-level failure. Startup-race retries
- * remain process-level recovery; provider/model retries and extra candidates do not.
- * Both attempts resume the same retained Pi session.
- */
-export async function runSingleAgentWithMainFallback(
-	options: RunSingleOptions,
-	mainFallbackRef?: string,
-): Promise<SingleResult> {
-	const agent = options.agent;
-	const launchedRef = agent?.model;
-	const customStartupDelays = options.startupRetryDelaysMs;
-	const startupDelays = customStartupDelays ?? SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_DELAYS_MS;
-
-	const sessionId = options.sessionId ?? randomUUID();
-	const sessionDir = options.sessionDir ?? (await createSessionDir(options.sessionRoot));
-	const baseOptions: RunSingleOptions = { ...options, sessionDir, sessionId };
-	if (!options.sessionDir) {
-		// Surface the fresh session immediately so the dispatching thread can
-		// persist a durable checkpoint before the child settles.
-		try {
-			options.onLive?.({ kind: "session", sessionId, sessionDir });
-		} catch {
-			/* never throw from event handling */
-		}
-	}
-
-	const dispatchFailure = async (error: unknown): Promise<SingleResult> => {
-		const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-		const hasSession = sessionExists(sessionDir, sessionId);
-		if (!hasSession && !options.sessionDir) {
-			await rm(sessionDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => undefined);
-		}
-		return {
-			agent: options.agentName,
-			task: options.control?.getObjective() ?? options.task,
-			exitCode: 1,
-			messages: [],
-			stderr: errorMessage,
-			usage: emptyUsage(),
-			model: options.agent.model,
-			thinking: options.thinkingLevel,
-			stopReason: "error",
-			errorMessage,
-			dispatchFailed: true,
-			...(hasSession || options.sessionDir ? { sessionId, sessionDir } : {}),
-		};
-	};
-
-	const runWithStartupRetry = async (opts: RunSingleOptions): Promise<SingleResult> => {
-		let lastResult: SingleResult;
-		let retries = 0;
-		for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
-			const immediate = controlledDisposition(opts);
-			if (immediate) return immediate;
-			const start = Date.now();
-			try {
-				const attemptOptions = opts.resolveAgentForAttempt
-					? { ...opts, agent: opts.resolveAgentForAttempt(opts.agent) }
-					: opts;
-				lastResult = await runSingleAgent(attemptOptions);
-			} catch (error) {
-				const failed = await dispatchFailure(error);
-				return controlledDisposition(opts, failed) ?? failed;
-			}
-			const durationMs = Date.now() - start;
-			const controlled = controlledDisposition(opts, lastResult);
-			if (controlled) return controlled;
-			if (lastResult.stopReason === "aborted") return lastResult;
-			if (!isRetryableStartupFailure(lastResult, durationMs)) {
-				if (retries > 0 && !isFailedResult(lastResult)) lastResult.startupRetries = retries;
-				return lastResult;
-			}
-			const delay = startupDelays[attempt];
-			if (delay === undefined) {
-				lastResult.errorMessage = formatStartupRetryExhaustedError(
-					lastResult.model ?? opts.agent.model ?? "default",
-					attempt + 1,
-				);
-				lastResult.stopReason ??= "error";
-				lastResult.dispatchFailed = true;
-				return lastResult;
-			}
-			opts.control?.markRetrying();
-			try {
-				opts.onLive?.({ kind: "status", status: "running" });
-			} catch {
-				/* never throw from event handling */
-			}
-			const retryDelay = customStartupDelays ? delay : addStartupRetryJitter(delay);
-			if (!(await waitForControlledRetry(retryDelay, opts.signal, opts.control))) {
-				return controlledDisposition(opts, lastResult) ?? signalAbortDisposition(opts, lastResult) ?? lastResult;
-			}
-			retries++;
-		}
-	};
-
-	const selectedRef = launchedRef?.trim() || undefined;
-	const normalizedMainRef = mainFallbackRef?.trim() || undefined;
-	const candidates: Array<{ agent: AgentConfig; ref?: string }> = [
-		{ agent, ref: selectedRef },
-	];
-	if (normalizedMainRef && normalizedMainRef !== selectedRef) {
-		candidates.push({ agent: { ...agent, model: normalizedMainRef }, ref: normalizedMainRef });
-	}
-
-	let fallbackUsed = false;
-	let result: SingleResult | undefined;
-	const priorFailedTools: NonNullable<SingleResult["failedTools"]> = [];
-	const priorUsage = emptyUsage();
-
-	const retainAttemptDiagnostics = (attempt: SingleResult): void => {
-		priorFailedTools.push(...(attempt.failedTools ?? []));
-		priorUsage.input += attempt.usage.input;
-		priorUsage.output += attempt.usage.output;
-		priorUsage.cacheRead += attempt.usage.cacheRead;
-		priorUsage.cacheWrite += attempt.usage.cacheWrite;
-		priorUsage.cost += attempt.usage.cost;
-		priorUsage.turns += attempt.usage.turns;
-		priorUsage.contextTokens = attempt.usage.contextTokens || priorUsage.contextTokens;
-	};
-
-	const finish = async (settled: SingleResult): Promise<SingleResult> => {
-		if (priorFailedTools.length > 0) {
-			settled.failedTools = [...priorFailedTools, ...(settled.failedTools ?? [])];
-		}
-		if (
-			priorUsage.turns || priorUsage.input || priorUsage.output || priorUsage.cacheRead ||
-			priorUsage.cacheWrite || priorUsage.cost || priorUsage.contextTokens
-		) {
-			settled.usage = {
-				input: priorUsage.input + settled.usage.input,
-				output: priorUsage.output + settled.usage.output,
-				cacheRead: priorUsage.cacheRead + settled.usage.cacheRead,
-				cacheWrite: priorUsage.cacheWrite + settled.usage.cacheWrite,
-				cost: priorUsage.cost + settled.usage.cost,
-				turns: priorUsage.turns + settled.usage.turns,
-				contextTokens: settled.usage.contextTokens || priorUsage.contextTokens,
-			};
-		}
-		const persistedSession = sessionExists(sessionDir, sessionId);
-		if (!settled.dispatchFailed || persistedSession || options.sessionDir) {
-			settled.sessionId ??= sessionId;
-			settled.sessionDir ??= sessionDir;
-		} else {
-			await rm(sessionDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => undefined);
-			settled.sessionId = undefined;
-			settled.sessionDir = undefined;
-		}
-		settled.task = options.control?.getObjective() ?? settled.task;
-		if (fallbackUsed && launchedRef) settled.modelFallbackFrom = launchedRef;
-		options.control?.markSettled();
-		return settled;
-	};
-
-	for (let candidateIndex = 0; candidateIndex < candidates.length; candidateIndex++) {
-		const candidate = candidates[candidateIndex];
-		fallbackUsed ||= candidateIndex > 0;
-		const previousModel = result?.model ?? candidates[candidateIndex - 1]?.ref;
-		const candidateThinking = options.thinkingLevelForModel?.(candidate.ref) ?? options.thinkingLevel;
-		const candidateOptions: RunSingleOptions = {
-			...baseOptions,
-			agent: candidate.agent,
-			thinkingLevel: candidateThinking,
-			...(candidateIndex > 0
-				? {
-					stdinText: buildResumePrompt(
-						options.control?.getObjective() ?? options.task,
-						buildFallbackResumeReason(previousModel),
-					),
-				}
-				: {}),
-		};
-		try {
-			options.onLive?.({
-				kind: "model",
-				model: candidate.ref,
-				thinking: candidateThinking,
-				...(candidateIndex > 0 && launchedRef ? { fallbackFrom: launchedRef } : {}),
-			});
-		} catch {
-			/* never throw from event handling */
-		}
-
-		result = await runWithStartupRetry(candidateOptions);
-		if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return finish(result);
-		if (!isModelLevelFailure(result)) return finish(result);
-		// Any model-level failure advances immediately to the sole fallback (the
-		// current main model). Retain selected-attempt tool diagnostics and usage;
-		// ordinary task/tool failures returned above without a handoff.
-		if (candidateIndex < candidates.length - 1) retainAttemptDiagnostics(result);
-	}
-
-	return finish(result!);
-}
+/**
+ * Sub-agent result handling and resilient RPC launch orchestration.
+ *
+ * The process transport itself lives in rpc-run.ts. Each attempt starts pi in
+ * persistent `--mode rpc`, sends commands over strict LF-delimited JSONL, and
+ * settles only on `agent_settled`. This module owns startup-race recovery,
+ * selected-to-main model handoff, capability-clamped thinking, accounting, and
+ * result formatting around those attempts.
+ */
+
+import { createHash, randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+import { type Dirent, mkdirSync, readdirSync, realpathSync, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { basename, dirname, join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import type { Message } from "@earendil-works/pi-ai";
+import type { AgentConfig } from "./agents.ts";
+import { DEFAULT_THINKING_LEVEL, type ThinkingLevel } from "./config.ts";
+import {
+	currentSubagentDepth,
+	DEPTH_ENV_VAR,
+	emptyUsage,
+	extractToolErrorText,
+	getPiInvocation,
+	isRpcCommandTimeoutError,
+	RpcRunControl,
+	runRpcAgentAttempt,
+	sessionExists,
+	writeChildRetryPolicyExtension,
+	SUBAGENT_KILL_GRACE_MS,
+	type RpcSingleResult,
+	type SubagentLiveEvent,
+	type UsageStats,
+} from "./rpc-run.ts";
+import { writeTempOwnerMarker } from "./temp-hygiene.ts";
+
+export {
+	currentSubagentDepth,
+	DEPTH_ENV_VAR,
+	extractToolErrorText,
+	getPiInvocation,
+	isRpcCommandTimeoutError,
+	RpcRunControl,
+	sessionExists,
+	SUBAGENT_KILL_GRACE_MS,
+	writeChildRetryPolicyExtension,
+};
+export type { SubagentLiveEvent, UsageStats };
+
+export const SUBAGENT_THINKING_LEVEL: ThinkingLevel = DEFAULT_THINKING_LEVEL;
+/** 0 disables the watchdog; dispatch supplies the configured timeout. */
+export const SUBAGENT_DEFAULT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS = 0;
+/** Base delays cover Pi's stale-lock window and leave headroom beyond the
+ * default four-way launch fan-out. Additive jitter below reduces the chance
+ * that contenders retry in the same lockstep waves. */
+export const SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_DELAYS_MS = [250, 750, 1500, 3000, 6000] as const;
+export const MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_FAILURE_DURATION_MS = 2000;
+export const MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_JITTER_MS = 1000;
+
+function normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs: number): number {
+	return Number.isFinite(delayMs) && delayMs > 0 ? delayMs : 0;
+}
+
+export function addStartupRetryJitter(delayMs: number, randomValue = Math.random()): number {
+	const baseDelay = Math.floor(normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs));
+	if (baseDelay === 0) return 0;
+	const boundedRandom = Number.isFinite(randomValue) ? Math.max(0, Math.min(1, randomValue)) : 0;
+	return baseDelay + Math.floor(Math.min(baseDelay, MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_JITTER_MS) * boundedRandom);
+}
+
+export interface SingleResult extends RpcSingleResult {}
+
+export interface SubagentDetails {
+	mode: "single" | "parallel";
+	results: SingleResult[];
+	background?: boolean;
+}
+
+export function getFinalOutput(messages: Message[]): string {
+	for (let i = messages.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+		const msg = messages[i];
+		if (msg.role === "assistant") {
+			for (const part of msg.content) {
+				if (part.type === "text") return part.text;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return "";
+}
+
+/** Only the last standalone reviewer verdict line counts. */
+export function reviewVerdict(output: string): "pass" | "fail" | undefined {
+	const lines = output.split("\n");
+	for (let index = lines.length - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
+		const match = /^\s*VERDICT:\s*REVIEW_(PASS|FAIL)\s*$/i.exec(lines[index]);
+		if (match) return match[1].toUpperCase() === "PASS" ? "pass" : "fail";
+	}
+	return undefined;
+}
+
+export const RESULT_LINE_MAX = 200;
+
+export interface TruncatedOutput {
+	text: string;
+	truncated: boolean;
+}
+
+export function truncateResultOutput(output: string, maxLines: number): TruncatedOutput {
+	const lines = output.split("\n");
+	if (lines.length <= maxLines && lines.every((line) => line.length <= RESULT_LINE_MAX)) {
+		return { text: output, truncated: false };
+	}
+	const kept = lines.slice(0, maxLines).map((line) =>
+		line.length > RESULT_LINE_MAX ? `${line.slice(0, RESULT_LINE_MAX)}…` : line,
+	);
+	return { text: kept.join("\n"), truncated: true };
+}
+
+export const RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_AGE_MS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1_000;
+export const RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_FILES_PER_PROJECT = 50;
+// Explicit current prefix plus the strict timestamp/token convention used by 1.1.0.
+const RESULT_ARTIFACT_NAME = /^(?:pi-subagent-\d{13,}-[0-9a-f]{12}|\d{13,}-[a-z0-9]{6})-[\w.-]+\.md$/;
+
+/** Name of the single per-extension root under the pi home directory that
+ * holds every project-scoped artifact (sessions, worktrees, result excerpts).
+ * Nothing long-lived is written to the OS temp directory. */
+export const PROJECT_ROOTS_DIR_NAME = "ferris-pi-subagents";
+
+/** Per-project directory that groups every durable artifact of one checkout:
+ * `<pi home>/ferris-pi-subagents/<project-slug-hash>/{sessions,worktrees,results}`.
+ * Callers join the kind-specific subdirectory themselves. */
+export function getProjectRoot(configPath: string, cwd?: string): string {
+	return join(dirname(configPath), PROJECT_ROOTS_DIR_NAME, resultArtifactProjectKey(cwd));
+}
+
+interface ResultArtifactRetentionOptions {
+	now?: number;
+	maxAgeMs?: number;
+	maxFilesPerProject?: number;
+}
+
+/** Remove stale and overflowing Markdown result artifacts from one project's
+ * results directory, newest kept first. Unknown files and symlinks are never
+ * touched. Runs on every artifact write, so an active project stays bounded
+ * without ever deleting the result the current completion just linked. */
+export function pruneResultArtifacts(
+	resultsDir: string,
+	options: ResultArtifactRetentionOptions = {},
+): void {
+	const now = options.now ?? Date.now();
+	const maxAgeMs = Math.max(0, options.maxAgeMs ?? RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_AGE_MS);
+	const maxFiles = Math.max(0, Math.floor(options.maxFilesPerProject ?? RESULT_ARTIFACT_MAX_FILES_PER_PROJECT));
+	let entries: Dirent[];
+	try {
+		entries = readdirSync(resultsDir, { withFileTypes: true });
+	} catch {
+		return;
+	}
+	const artifacts = entries
+		.filter((entry) => entry.isFile() && !entry.isSymbolicLink() && RESULT_ARTIFACT_NAME.test(entry.name))
+		.flatMap((entry) => {
+			const path = join(resultsDir, entry.name);
+			try {
+				return [{ path, mtimeMs: statSync(path).mtimeMs }];
+			} catch {
+				return [];
+			}
+		})
+		.sort((left, right) => right.mtimeMs - left.mtimeMs);
+
+	for (const [index, artifact] of artifacts.entries()) {
+		if (index < maxFiles && now - artifact.mtimeMs <= maxAgeMs) continue;
+		try {
+			rmSync(artifact.path, { force: true });
+		} catch {
+			// Retention is best-effort; result delivery must still succeed.
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+/** Apply result retention to every project under the durable root. The write
+ * path only bounds the project being written to, so this is what ages out the
+ * results of projects that are no longer producing any. */
+export function sweepProjectResultArtifacts(
+	durableRoot: string,
+	options: ResultArtifactRetentionOptions = {},
+): void {
+	let projects: Dirent[];
+	try {
+		projects = readdirSync(durableRoot, { withFileTypes: true });
+	} catch {
+		return;
+	}
+	for (const project of projects) {
+		if (!project.isDirectory() || project.isSymbolicLink()) continue;
+		pruneResultArtifacts(join(durableRoot, project.name, "results"), options);
+	}
+}
+
+export function resultArtifactProjectKey(cwd?: string): string {
+	if (!cwd) return "default";
+	let canonical: string;
+	try {
+		canonical = realpathSync.native(cwd);
+	} catch {
+		canonical = resolve(cwd);
+	}
+	if (process.platform === "win32") canonical = canonical.toLowerCase();
+	const slug = basename(canonical).replace(/[^\w.-]+/g, "_") || "project";
+	const digest = createHash("sha256").update(canonical).digest("hex").slice(0, 12);
+	return `${slug}-${digest}`;
+}
+
+export function writeResultArtifact(output: string, agentName: string, resultsRoot: string): string {
+	mkdirSync(resultsRoot, { recursive: true });
+	const safeName = agentName.replace(/[^\w.-]+/g, "_") || "agent";
+	const unique = `pi-subagent-${Date.now()}-${randomUUID().replaceAll("-", "").slice(0, 12)}`;
+	const filePath = join(resultsRoot, `${unique}-${safeName}.md`);
+	writeFileSync(filePath, output, "utf8");
+	pruneResultArtifacts(resultsRoot);
+	return filePath;
+}
+
+export function isFailedResult(result: SingleResult): boolean {
+
+	return result.exitCode !== 0 || result.stopReason === "error" || result.stopReason === "aborted";
+}
+
+function lastAssistantMessage(messages: Message[]): Extract<Message, { role: "assistant" }> | undefined {
+	for (let index = messages.length - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
+		const message = messages[index];
+		if (message.role === "assistant") return message;
+	}
+	return undefined;
+}
+
+export function isModelLevelFailure(result: SingleResult): boolean {
+	if (!isFailedResult(result)) return false;
+	if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return false;
+	if (result.dispatchFailed) return false;
+	if (result.rpcStartupFailed) return false;
+	// A negative RPC response proves Pi rejected the prompt before execution. It
+	// remains safe to hand off even though dispatch was attempted; local write,
+	// close, timeout, and lost-ACK failures never set this explicit flag.
+	if (result.rpcPromptRejected) return true;
+	// The prompt write completed but its ACK never arrived. With no later activity
+	// we cannot know whether Pi started the model or tools, so neither startup
+	// retry nor selected→main fallback may replay this objective.
+	if (result.rpcPromptDispatched && !result.rpcPromptAccepted && !result.rpcActivity) return false;
+	if (isRpcCommandTimeoutError(result.errorMessage)) return false;
+	if (result.integrationStatus === "retained") return false;
+	if (result.errorMessage?.includes("idle timeout")) return true;
+
+	// Classification belongs to the final assistant turn, not the whole attempt.
+	// Earlier useful text or failed tool calls are retained session history and
+	// must not hide a later provider error (for example a second-turn 503).
+	const finalAssistant = lastAssistantMessage(result.messages);
+	if (finalAssistant) {
+		// Provider streams may preserve partial text on a terminal error. The stop
+		// reason, not content emptiness, is the transport boundary; ordinary tool or
+		// task failures settle with a non-error assistant stop reason.
+		return finalAssistant.stopReason === "error";
+	}
+
+	if ((result.failedTools?.length ?? 0) > 0) return false;
+	// No accepted prompt, no activity, and no assistant turn means the provider
+	// was never reached. Stderr or an exit error here is a startup/transport miss.
+	if (!result.rpcPromptAccepted && !result.rpcActivity) return false;
+	return Boolean(
+		result.rpcPromptAccepted ||
+		result.rpcActivity ||
+		result.errorMessage?.trim() ||
+		result.stderr.trim(),
+	);
+}
+
+export function isRetryableStartupFailure(result: SingleResult, durationMs: number): boolean {
+	if (result.exitCode === 0) return false;
+	if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return false;
+	if (result.dispatchFailed) return false;
+	if (result.rpcPromptDispatched || result.rpcPromptAccepted || result.rpcActivity) return false;
+	if (result.errorMessage?.includes("idle timeout")) return false;
+	if (getFinalOutput(result.messages)) return false;
+	if (result.messages.length > 0) return false;
+	const usage = result.usage;
+	if (usage.turns || usage.input || usage.output || usage.cacheRead || usage.cacheWrite || usage.cost) return false;
+	if (result.rpcStartupFailed) return true;
+	if (durationMs > MAX_SUBAGENT_STARTUP_FAILURE_DURATION_MS) return false;
+	if (result.stderr.trim().length > 0) return false;
+	if (result.errorMessage && result.errorMessage.trim().length > 0) return false;
+	return true;
+}
+
+export function formatStartupRetryExhaustedError(model: string, attempts: number): string {
+	return `Subagent failed to start after ${attempts} attempt${attempts === 1 ? "" : "s"} on ${model}: the child failed before its initial RPC prompt was dispatched and produced no model, tool, output, or usage activity. This is typically a concurrent pi startup race (several sub-agents starting at once). Retry the dispatch, or dispatch fewer sub-agents at once.`;
+}
+
+export async function waitForStartupRetry(delayMs: number, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<boolean> {
+	const normalizedDelay = normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs);
+	if (normalizedDelay === 0) return !signal?.aborted;
+	if (!signal) {
+		return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+			const timer = setTimeout(() => resolve(true), normalizedDelay);
+			if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref();
+		});
+	}
+	if (signal.aborted) return false;
+	return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+		let settled = false;
+		const finish = (shouldRetry: boolean): void => {
+			if (settled) return;
+			settled = true;
+			clearTimeout(timer);
+			signal.removeEventListener("abort", onAbort);
+			resolve(shouldRetry);
+		};
+		const onAbort = (): void => finish(false);
+		const timer = setTimeout(() => finish(true), normalizedDelay);
+		if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref();
+		signal.addEventListener("abort", onAbort, { once: true });
+	});
+}
+
+async function waitForControlledRetry(
+	delayMs: number,
+	signal: AbortSignal | undefined,
+	control: RpcRunControl | undefined,
+): Promise<boolean> {
+	let remaining = normalizeStartupRetryDelay(delayMs);
+	while (remaining > 0) {
+		if (control?.isStopRequested()) return false;
+		const slice = Math.min(remaining, 50);
+		if (!(await waitForStartupRetry(slice, signal))) return false;
+		remaining -= slice;
+	}
+	return !signal?.aborted && !control?.isStopRequested();
+}
+
+export function getResultOutput(result: SingleResult): string {
+	if (isFailedResult(result)) {
+		const error = result.errorMessage || result.stderr;
+		const partial = getFinalOutput(result.messages);
+		if (error && partial) return `${error}\n\n--- Partial output ---\n${partial}`;
+		return error || partial || "(no output)";
+	}
+	return getFinalOutput(result.messages) || "(no output)";
+}
+
+export function buildResumePrompt(task: string, reason: string): string {
+	return `You are resuming an earlier sub-agent session after ${reason}. Your earlier work — searches, reads, edits, and reasoning — is preserved in this session's history above; review it before acting. Current objective: ${task}. Pick up exactly where you left off and finish it. Do NOT redo searches, reads, or edits you already completed unless a step clearly failed. Continue now.`;
+}
+
+/** Create a fresh private session directory under the given root. The owner
+ * marker is what lets a later load tell a session this process still owns from
+ * one a crash abandoned. */
+export async function createSessionDir(root: string): Promise<string> {
+	await mkdir(root, { recursive: true });
+	const dir = await mkdtemp(join(root, "pi-subagent-session-"));
+	writeTempOwnerMarker(dir);
+	return dir;
+}
+
+export function buildFallbackResumeReason(fromModel?: string): string {
+	return fromModel
+		? `the selected model (${fromModel}) failed at the model/provider level, so the current main model is continuing`
+		: "the selected model failed at the model/provider level, so the current main model is continuing";
+}
+
+export interface RunSingleOptions {
+	defaultCwd: string;
+	agent: AgentConfig;
+	agentName: string;
+	task: string;
+	cwd?: string;
+	thinkingLevel?: ThinkingLevel;
+	/** Resolve the effective level for each runtime model candidate. */
+	thinkingLevelForModel?: (modelRef?: string) => ThinkingLevel;
+	idleTimeoutMs?: number;
+	startupRetryDelaysMs?: readonly number[];
+	sessionDir?: string;
+	sessionId?: string;
+	/** Parent directory for a fresh session directory: the project-scoped
+	 * sessions root, so retained sessions survive reloads and restarts. */
+	sessionRoot: string;
+	/** Parent directory for per-attempt transient files (child prompt, retry
+	 * policy): the project-scoped tmp root, so nothing lands in the OS temp. */
+	scratchRoot: string;
+	/** Initial RPC prompt. Kept under the old name to limit caller churn. */
+	stdinText?: string;
+	/** Refresh parent-derived tools immediately before every startup retry and
+	 * selected-to-main fallback process is spawned. */
+	resolveAgentForAttempt?: (agent: AgentConfig) => AgentConfig;
+	signal?: AbortSignal;
+	onLive?: (event: SubagentLiveEvent) => void;
+	makeDetails: (results: SingleResult[]) => SubagentDetails;
+	env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+	/** Stable logical-generation controller shared across retry attempts. */
+	control?: RpcRunControl;
+	rpcReadyTimeoutMs?: number;
+	rpcCommandTimeoutMs?: number;
+}
+
+function controlledDisposition(options: RunSingleOptions, base?: SingleResult): SingleResult | undefined {
+	const control = options.control;
+	if (!control?.isStopRequested()) return undefined;
+	const result: SingleResult = base ?? {
+		agent: options.agentName,
+		task: control.getObjective(),
+		exitCode: 0,
+		messages: [],
+		stderr: "",
+		usage: emptyUsage(),
+		model: options.agent.model,
+		thinking: options.thinkingLevel,
+		sessionId: options.sessionId,
+		sessionDir: options.sessionDir,
+	};
+	result.task = control.getObjective();
+	result.exitCode = 1;
+	result.stopReason = "aborted";
+	result.errorMessage = control.getStopMessage();
+	return result;
+}
+
+function signalAbortDisposition(options: RunSingleOptions, base: SingleResult): SingleResult | undefined {
+	if (!options.signal?.aborted) return undefined;
+	base.exitCode = 1;
+	base.stopReason = "aborted";
+	base.errorMessage = "Subagent was aborted";
+	return base;
+}
+
+/** Spawn one RPC attempt and wait for stable settlement. */
+export async function runSingleAgent(options: RunSingleOptions): Promise<SingleResult> {
+	const {
+		agent,
+		agentName,
+		thinkingLevel = SUBAGENT_THINKING_LEVEL,
+		idleTimeoutMs = SUBAGENT_DEFAULT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS,
+		control,
+	} = options;
+	const disposition = controlledDisposition(options);
+	if (disposition) return disposition;
+	const objective = control?.getObjective() ?? options.task;
+	let prompt = options.stdinText ?? `Task: ${objective}`;
+	if (control && objective !== options.task) {
+		prompt = options.sessionDir && sessionExists(options.sessionDir, options.sessionId ?? "")
+			? `Abandon the previous objective. New objective: ${objective}`
+			: `Task: ${objective}`;
+	}
+	const result = await runRpcAgentAttempt({
+		defaultCwd: options.defaultCwd,
+		agent,
+		agentName,
+		task: objective,
+		cwd: options.cwd,
+		thinkingLevel,
+		idleTimeoutMs,
+		sessionDir: options.sessionDir,
+		sessionId: options.sessionId,
+		scratchRoot: options.scratchRoot,
+		prompt,
+		signal: options.signal,
+		onLive: options.onLive,
+		env: options.env,
+		control,
+		rpcReadyTimeoutMs: options.rpcReadyTimeoutMs,
+		rpcCommandTimeoutMs: options.rpcCommandTimeoutMs,
+	});
+	result.task = control?.getObjective() ?? result.task;
+	return result;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run one logical generation on the selected model, then hand directly to the
+ * current main model after any model/provider-level failure. Startup-race retries
+ * remain process-level recovery; provider/model retries and extra candidates do not.
+ * Both attempts resume the same retained Pi session.
+ */
+export async function runSingleAgentWithMainFallback(
+	options: RunSingleOptions,
+	mainFallbackRef?: string,
+): Promise<SingleResult> {
+	const agent = options.agent;
+	const launchedRef = agent?.model;
+	const customStartupDelays = options.startupRetryDelaysMs;
+	const startupDelays = customStartupDelays ?? SUBAGENT_STARTUP_RETRY_DELAYS_MS;
+
+	const sessionId = options.sessionId ?? randomUUID();
+	const sessionDir = options.sessionDir ?? (await createSessionDir(options.sessionRoot));
+	const baseOptions: RunSingleOptions = { ...options, sessionDir, sessionId };
+	if (!options.sessionDir) {
+		// Surface the fresh session immediately so the dispatching thread can
+		// persist a durable checkpoint before the child settles.
+		try {
+			options.onLive?.({ kind: "session", sessionId, sessionDir });
+		} catch {
+			/* never throw from event handling */
+		}
+	}
+
+	const dispatchFailure = async (error: unknown): Promise<SingleResult> => {
+		const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+		const hasSession = sessionExists(sessionDir, sessionId);
+		if (!hasSession && !options.sessionDir) {
+			await rm(sessionDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => undefined);
+		}
+		return {
+			agent: options.agentName,
+			task: options.control?.getObjective() ?? options.task,
+			exitCode: 1,
+			messages: [],
+			stderr: errorMessage,
+			usage: emptyUsage(),
+			model: options.agent.model,
+			thinking: options.thinkingLevel,
+			stopReason: "error",
+			errorMessage,
+			dispatchFailed: true,
+			...(hasSession || options.sessionDir ? { sessionId, sessionDir } : {}),
+		};
+	};
+
+	const runWithStartupRetry = async (opts: RunSingleOptions): Promise<SingleResult> => {
+		let lastResult: SingleResult;
+		let retries = 0;
+		for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
+			const immediate = controlledDisposition(opts);
+			if (immediate) return immediate;
+			const start = Date.now();
+			try {
+				const attemptOptions = opts.resolveAgentForAttempt
+					? { ...opts, agent: opts.resolveAgentForAttempt(opts.agent) }
+					: opts;
+				lastResult = await runSingleAgent(attemptOptions);
+			} catch (error) {
+				const failed = await dispatchFailure(error);
+				return controlledDisposition(opts, failed) ?? failed;
+			}
+			const durationMs = Date.now() - start;
+			const controlled = controlledDisposition(opts, lastResult);
+			if (controlled) return controlled;
+			if (lastResult.stopReason === "aborted") return lastResult;
+			if (!isRetryableStartupFailure(lastResult, durationMs)) {
+				if (retries > 0 && !isFailedResult(lastResult)) lastResult.startupRetries = retries;
+				return lastResult;
+			}
+			const delay = startupDelays[attempt];
+			if (delay === undefined) {
+				lastResult.errorMessage = formatStartupRetryExhaustedError(
+					lastResult.model ?? opts.agent.model ?? "default",
+					attempt + 1,
+				);
+				lastResult.stopReason ??= "error";
+				lastResult.dispatchFailed = true;
+				return lastResult;
+			}
+			opts.control?.markRetrying();
+			try {
+				opts.onLive?.({ kind: "status", status: "running" });
+			} catch {
+				/* never throw from event handling */
+			}
+			const retryDelay = customStartupDelays ? delay : addStartupRetryJitter(delay);
+			if (!(await waitForControlledRetry(retryDelay, opts.signal, opts.control))) {
+				return controlledDisposition(opts, lastResult) ?? signalAbortDisposition(opts, lastResult) ?? lastResult;
+			}
+			retries++;
+		}
+	};
+
+	const selectedRef = launchedRef?.trim() || undefined;
+	const normalizedMainRef = mainFallbackRef?.trim() || undefined;
+	const candidates: Array<{ agent: AgentConfig; ref?: string }> = [
+		{ agent, ref: selectedRef },
+	];
+	if (normalizedMainRef && normalizedMainRef !== selectedRef) {
+		candidates.push({ agent: { ...agent, model: normalizedMainRef }, ref: normalizedMainRef });
+	}
+
+	let fallbackUsed = false;
+	let result: SingleResult | undefined;
+	const priorFailedTools: NonNullable<SingleResult["failedTools"]> = [];
+	const priorUsage = emptyUsage();
+
+	const retainAttemptDiagnostics = (attempt: SingleResult): void => {
+		priorFailedTools.push(...(attempt.failedTools ?? []));
+		priorUsage.input += attempt.usage.input;
+		priorUsage.output += attempt.usage.output;
+		priorUsage.cacheRead += attempt.usage.cacheRead;
+		priorUsage.cacheWrite += attempt.usage.cacheWrite;
+		priorUsage.cost += attempt.usage.cost;
+		priorUsage.turns += attempt.usage.turns;
+		priorUsage.contextTokens = attempt.usage.contextTokens || priorUsage.contextTokens;
+	};
+
+	const finish = async (settled: SingleResult): Promise<SingleResult> => {
+		if (priorFailedTools.length > 0) {
+			settled.failedTools = [...priorFailedTools, ...(settled.failedTools ?? [])];
+		}
+		if (
+			priorUsage.turns || priorUsage.input || priorUsage.output || priorUsage.cacheRead ||
+			priorUsage.cacheWrite || priorUsage.cost || priorUsage.contextTokens
+		) {
+			settled.usage = {
+				input: priorUsage.input + settled.usage.input,
+				output: priorUsage.output + settled.usage.output,
+				cacheRead: priorUsage.cacheRead + settled.usage.cacheRead,
+				cacheWrite: priorUsage.cacheWrite + settled.usage.cacheWrite,
+				cost: priorUsage.cost + settled.usage.cost,
+				turns: priorUsage.turns + settled.usage.turns,
+				contextTokens: settled.usage.contextTokens || priorUsage.contextTokens,
+			};
+		}
+		const persistedSession = sessionExists(sessionDir, sessionId);
+		if (!settled.dispatchFailed || persistedSession || options.sessionDir) {
+			settled.sessionId ??= sessionId;
+			settled.sessionDir ??= sessionDir;
+		} else {
+			await rm(sessionDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => undefined);
+			settled.sessionId = undefined;
+			settled.sessionDir = undefined;
+		}
+		settled.task = options.control?.getObjective() ?? settled.task;
+		if (fallbackUsed && launchedRef) settled.modelFallbackFrom = launchedRef;
+		options.control?.markSettled();
+		return settled;
+	};
+
+	for (let candidateIndex = 0; candidateIndex < candidates.length; candidateIndex++) {
+		const candidate = candidates[candidateIndex];
+		fallbackUsed ||= candidateIndex > 0;
+		const previousModel = result?.model ?? candidates[candidateIndex - 1]?.ref;
+		const candidateThinking = options.thinkingLevelForModel?.(candidate.ref) ?? options.thinkingLevel;
+		const candidateOptions: RunSingleOptions = {
+			...baseOptions,
+			agent: candidate.agent,
+			thinkingLevel: candidateThinking,
+			...(candidateIndex > 0
+				? {
+					stdinText: buildResumePrompt(
+						options.control?.getObjective() ?? options.task,
+						buildFallbackResumeReason(previousModel),
+					),
+				}
+				: {}),
+		};
+		try {
+			options.onLive?.({
+				kind: "model",
+				model: candidate.ref,
+				thinking: candidateThinking,
+				...(candidateIndex > 0 && launchedRef ? { fallbackFrom: launchedRef } : {}),
+			});
+		} catch {
+			/* never throw from event handling */
+		}
+
+		result = await runWithStartupRetry(candidateOptions);
+		if (result.stopReason === "aborted") return finish(result);
+		if (!isModelLevelFailure(result)) return finish(result);
+		// Any model-level failure advances immediately to the sole fallback (the
+		// current main model). Retain selected-attempt tool diagnostics and usage;
+		// ordinary task/tool failures returned above without a handoff.
+		if (candidateIndex < candidates.length - 1) retainAttemptDiagnostics(result);
+	}
+
+	return finish(result!);
+}