@yemi33/minions 0.1.499 → 0.1.501

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## 0.1.499 (2026-04-07)
+## 0.1.501 (2026-04-07)
 
 ### Features
+-  explicitly-assigned work items bypass concurrency cap
 - strengthen CC dispatch contract with domain terminology mapping
 
+### Fixes
+-  comprehensive steering failure handling with user-visible feedback
+
 ## 0.1.498 (2026-04-07)
 
 ### Features

package/engine.js

@@ -576,12 +576,27 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
       delete procInfo._steeringMessage;
       delete procInfo._steeringSessionId;
 
+      // Guard: can't resume without a session
+      if (!steerSessionId) {
+        log('warn', `Steering: no sessionId for ${agentId} — appending message to live output only`);
+        try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `\n[steering-failed] No session to resume. Message was: ${steerMsg}\n`); } catch {}
+        activeProcesses.delete(id);
+        completeDispatch(id, DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS, 'Steering skipped (no session)', '', { processWorkItemFailure: false });
+        return;
+      }
+
       log('info', `Steering: re-spawning ${agentId} with --resume ${steerSessionId}`);
 
       // Write new prompt with steering message
       const steerPrompt = `Message from your human teammate:\n\n${steerMsg}\n\nRespond to this, then continue working on your current task.`;
       const steerPromptPath = path.join(ENGINE_DIR, 'tmp', `prompt-steer-${safeId}.md`);
-      safeWrite(steerPromptPath, steerPrompt);
+      try { safeWrite(steerPromptPath, steerPrompt); } catch (e) {
+        log('warn', `Steering: failed to write prompt for ${agentId}: ${e.message}`);
+        try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `\n[steering-failed] Could not write prompt. Message was: ${steerMsg}\n`); } catch {}
+        activeProcesses.delete(id);
+        completeDispatch(id, DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS, 'Steering prompt write failed', '', { processWorkItemFailure: false });
+        return;
+      }
 
       // Build resume args
       const resumeArgs = [
@@ -595,11 +610,21 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
 
       const spawnScript = path.join(ENGINE_DIR, 'spawn-agent.js');
       const childEnv = shared.cleanChildEnv();
-      const resumeProc = runFile(process.execPath, [spawnScript, steerPromptPath, steerPromptPath, ...resumeArgs], {
-        cwd,
-        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
-        env: childEnv,
-      });
+      let resumeProc;
+      try {
+        resumeProc = runFile(process.execPath, [spawnScript, steerPromptPath, steerPromptPath, ...resumeArgs], {
+          cwd,
+          stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+          env: childEnv,
+        });
+      } catch (e) {
+        log('warn', `Steering: spawn failed for ${agentId}: ${e.message}`);
+        try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `\n[steering-failed] Spawn error: ${e.message}. Message was: ${steerMsg}\n`); } catch {}
+        try { fs.unlinkSync(steerPromptPath); } catch {}
+        activeProcesses.delete(id);
+        completeDispatch(id, DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS, 'Steering spawn failed', '', { processWorkItemFailure: false });
+        return;
+      }
 
       // Re-attach to existing tracking
       activeProcesses.set(id, { proc: resumeProc, agentId, startedAt: procInfo.startedAt, sessionId: steerSessionId, _steeringAt: Date.now() });
@@ -635,6 +660,7 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
         try { fs.unlinkSync(steerPromptPath); } catch { /* cleanup */ }
         if (resumeCode !== 0) {
           log('warn', `Steering resume for ${agentId} exited with code ${resumeCode} | stderr: ${stderr.slice(-300).replace(/\n/g, ' ')}`);
+          try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `\n[steering-failed] Resume exited with code ${resumeCode}. Your message was received but the agent could not continue the session.\n`); } catch {}
           activeProcesses.delete(id);
           completeDispatch(id, DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS, 'Steering resume failed but original work completed', '', { processWorkItemFailure: false });
           return;
@@ -644,6 +670,7 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
       });
       resumeProc.on('error', (err) => {
         log('warn', `Steering re-spawn error for ${agentId}: ${err.message}`);
+        try { fs.appendFileSync(liveOutputPath, `\n[steering-failed] Spawn error: ${err.message}. Your message was received but the agent could not resume.\n`); } catch {}
         activeProcesses.delete(id);
         completeDispatch(id, DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS, 'Steering re-spawn error but original work completed', '', { processWorkItemFailure: false });
       });
@@ -2446,12 +2473,7 @@ async function tickInner() {
   const activeCount = (dispatch.active || []).length;
   const maxConcurrent = config.engine?.maxConcurrent || 5;
 
-  if (activeCount >= maxConcurrent) {
-    log('info', `At max concurrency (${activeCount}/${maxConcurrent}) — skipping dispatch`);
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const slotsAvailable = maxConcurrent - activeCount;
+  const slotsAvailable = Math.max(0, maxConcurrent - activeCount);
 
   // Priority dispatch: fixes > reviews > plan-to-prd > implement > verify > other
   const typePriority = { 'implement:large': 0, implement: 0, fix: 1, ask: 1, review: 2, test: 3, verify: 3, plan: 4, 'plan-to-prd': 4 };
@@ -2468,23 +2490,25 @@ async function tickInner() {
     return dp;
   });
 
-  // Only dispatch to agents that aren't already busy (one task per agent at a time).
-  // Build set of agents currently active.
+  // Build set of agents currently active (one task per agent at a time).
   const busyAgents = new Set((dispatch.active || []).map(d => d.agent));
-  // Bug fix #14: deduplicate pending by dispatch ID to prevent double-dispatch.
-  // This guards against the same item appearing twice in the in-memory pending array.
   const seenPendingIds = new Set();
   const toDispatch = [];
+  let generalSlots = slotsAvailable;
+
   for (const item of dispatch.pending) {
-    if (toDispatch.length >= slotsAvailable) break;
     if (seenPendingIds.has(item.id)) {
       log('warn', `Duplicate dispatch ID ${item.id} in pending queue — skipping`);
       continue;
     }
+    if (busyAgents.has(item.agent)) continue;
+    // Items explicitly assigned to an agent bypass concurrency cap — dispatch if agent is free
+    const isExplicitAssignment = !!item.meta?.item?.agent;
+    if (!isExplicitAssignment && generalSlots <= 0) continue;
     seenPendingIds.add(item.id);
-    if (busyAgents.has(item.agent)) continue; // agent already has an active task
     toDispatch.push(item);
-    busyAgents.add(item.agent); // mark busy for this dispatch round too
+    busyAgents.add(item.agent);
+    if (!isExplicitAssignment) generalSlots--;
   }
 
   // Dispatch items — spawnAgent moves each from pending→active on disk.

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@yemi33/minions",
-  "version": "0.1.499",
+  "version": "0.1.501",
   "description": "Multi-agent AI dev team that runs from ~/.minions/ — five autonomous agents share a single engine, dashboard, and knowledge base",
   "bin": {
     "minions": "bin/minions.js"