@yemi33/minions 0.1.532 → 0.1.534

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.1.534 (2026-04-07)
+
+### Fixes
+-  update pipeline work item status on dispatch (#443)
+- convert blocking spawnSync/execSync to async execAsync (#447)
+
 ## 0.1.532 (2026-04-07)
 
 ### Fixes

package/engine/ado.js

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 const path = require('path');
 const shared = require('./shared');
-const { exec, getAdoOrgBase, addPrLink, log, ts, dateStamp, PR_STATUS } = shared;
+const { exec, execAsync, getAdoOrgBase, addPrLink, log, ts, dateStamp, PR_STATUS } = shared;
 const { getPrs } = require('./queries');
 const { mutateJsonFileLocked } = shared;
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ function engine() {
 let _adoTokenCache = { token: null, expiresAt: 0 };
 let _adoTokenFailedUntil = 0; // backoff: skip azureauth calls until this timestamp
 
-function getAdoToken() {
+async function getAdoToken() {
   if (_adoTokenCache.token && Date.now() < _adoTokenCache.expiresAt) {
     return _adoTokenCache.token;
   }
@@ -30,8 +30,9 @@ function getAdoToken() {
   try {
     // azureauth supports multiple --mode flags as an ordered fallback chain:
     // tries IWA (Integrated Windows Auth) first, falls back to broker if unavailable.
-    const token = exec('azureauth ado token --mode iwa --mode broker --output token --timeout 1', {
-      timeout: 15000, encoding: 'utf-8', stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'], windowsHide: true    }).trim();
+    // Uses execAsync to avoid blocking the event loop on Windows (spawnSync ETIMEDOUT).
+    const token = (await execAsync('azureauth ado token --mode iwa --mode broker --output token --timeout 1', {
+      timeout: 15000, encoding: 'utf-8', windowsHide: true    })).trim();
     if (token && token.startsWith('eyJ')) {
       _adoTokenCache = { token, expiresAt: Date.now() + 30 * 60 * 1000 };
       _adoTokenFailedUntil = 0;
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ async function adoFetch(url, token, _retryCount = 0) {
     // Invalidate cached token — it's likely expired
     _adoTokenCache = { token: null, expiresAt: 0 };
     if (_retryCount < MAX_RETRIES) {
-      const freshToken = getAdoToken();
+      const freshToken = await getAdoToken();
       if (freshToken) {
         log('info', 'ADO token expired mid-session — refreshed and retrying');
         return adoFetch(url, freshToken, _retryCount + 1);
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@ async function forEachActivePr(config, token, callback) {
 // ─── PR Status Polling ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 async function pollPrStatus(config) {
-  const token = getAdoToken();
+  const token = await getAdoToken();
   if (!token) {
     log('warn', 'Skipping PR status poll — no ADO token available');
     return;
@@ -287,7 +288,7 @@ async function pollPrStatus(config) {
 // ─── Poll Human Comments on PRs ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 async function pollPrHumanComments(config) {
-  const token = getAdoToken();
+  const token = await getAdoToken();
   if (!token) return;
 
   const totalUpdated = await forEachActivePr(config, token, async (project, pr, prNum, orgBase) => {
@@ -361,7 +362,7 @@ async function pollPrHumanComments(config) {
  * in pull-requests.json, and add them. Matches PRs to work items by branch name.
  */
 async function reconcilePrs(config) {
-  const token = getAdoToken();
+  const token = await getAdoToken();
   if (!token) {
     log('warn', 'Skipping PR reconciliation — no ADO token available');
     return;
@@ -486,19 +487,19 @@ async function reconcilePrs(config) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Fetch live review status for a single PR from ADO (synchronous).
+ * Fetch live review status for a single PR from ADO (async).
  * Returns 'approved', 'changes-requested', 'waiting', or 'pending'.
  * Returns null if the check fails (token unavailable, API error).
  * Used as a pre-dispatch gate to avoid dispatching reviews for already-approved PRs.
  */
-function checkLiveReviewStatus(pr, project) {
+async function checkLiveReviewStatus(pr, project) {
   try {
-    const token = getAdoToken();
+    const token = await getAdoToken();
     if (!token) return null;
     const orgBase = shared.getAdoOrgBase(project);
     const prNum = (pr.id || '').replace(/^PR-/, '');
     const url = `${orgBase}/${project.adoProject}/_apis/git/repositories/${project.repositoryId}/pullrequests/${prNum}?api-version=7.1`;
-    const result = exec(`curl -s --max-time 4 -H "Authorization: Bearer ${token}" "${url}"`, { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 5000, windowsHide: true });
+    const result = await execAsync(`curl -s --max-time 4 -H "Authorization: Bearer ${token}" "${url}"`, { encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 5000, windowsHide: true });
     const prData = JSON.parse(result);
     const votes = (prData.reviewers || []).map(r => r.vote).filter(v => v !== undefined);
     if (votes.length === 0) return 'pending';

package/engine/github.js

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 const shared = require('./shared');
-const { exec, getProjects, projectPrPath, projectWorkItemsPath, safeJson, safeWrite, mutateJsonFileLocked, MINIONS_DIR, addPrLink, getPrLinks, log, ts, dateStamp, PR_STATUS } = shared;
+const { exec, execAsync, getProjects, projectPrPath, projectWorkItemsPath, safeJson, safeWrite, mutateJsonFileLocked, MINIONS_DIR, addPrLink, getPrLinks, log, ts, dateStamp, PR_STATUS } = shared;
 const { getPrs } = require('./queries');
 const path = require('path');
 
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ function resetSlugBackoff(slug) {
 }
 
 /** Run a `gh api` call and parse JSON result. Returns null on failure. */
-function ghApi(endpoint, slug) {
+async function ghApi(endpoint, slug) {
   try {
     const cmd = `gh api "repos/${slug}${endpoint}"`;
-    const result = exec(cmd, { timeout: 30000, encoding: 'utf-8', stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
+    const result = await execAsync(cmd, { timeout: 30000, encoding: 'utf-8' });
     return JSON.parse(result);
   } catch (e) {
     log('warn', `GitHub API error (${endpoint}): ${e.message}`);
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@ function ghApi(endpoint, slug) {
  * Run a `gh api` call with per-slug backoff tracking. Returns null on failure.
  * On success, resets the slug's backoff. On failure, increments it.
  */
-function ghApiWithBackoff(endpoint, slug) {
-  const result = ghApi(endpoint, slug);
+async function ghApiWithBackoff(endpoint, slug) {
+  const result = await ghApi(endpoint, slug);
   if (result === null) {
     recordSlugFailure(slug);
   } else {
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ async function forEachActiveGhPr(config, callback) {
     if (activePrs.length === 0) continue;
 
     // Probe repo accessibility before iterating PRs — avoids N warnings per inaccessible repo
-    const probe = ghApi('', slug);
+    const probe = await ghApi('', slug);
     if (probe === null) {
       recordSlugFailure(slug);
       continue;
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ async function forEachActiveGhPr(config, callback) {
       if (updated) {
         // Also update title/author/branch if still placeholder
         if (pr.title.includes('polling...') || pr.agent === 'human') {
-          const prData = ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}`, slug);
+          const prData = await ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}`, slug);
           if (prData) {
             if (pr.title.includes('polling...')) pr.title = (prData.title || pr.title).slice(0, 120);
             if (pr.agent === 'human' && prData.user?.login) pr.agent = prData.user.login;
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ async function forEachActiveGhPr(config, callback) {
 
 async function pollPrStatus(config) {
   const totalUpdated = await forEachActiveGhPr(config, async (project, pr, prNum, slug) => {
-    const prData = ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}`, slug);
+    const prData = await ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}`, slug);
     if (!prData) return false;
 
     let updated = false;
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ async function pollPrStatus(config) {
     }
 
     // Review status from GitHub reviews
-    const reviews = ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/reviews`, slug);
+    const reviews = await ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/reviews`, slug);
     if (reviews && Array.isArray(reviews)) {
       // Get latest review per user
       const latestByUser = new Map();
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ async function pollPrStatus(config) {
 
     // Check status / checks
     if (prData.state === 'open' && prData.head?.sha) {
-      const checksData = ghApi(`/commits/${prData.head.sha}/check-runs`, slug);
+      const checksData = await ghApi(`/commits/${prData.head.sha}/check-runs`, slug);
       if (checksData && checksData.check_runs) {
         const runs = checksData.check_runs;
         let buildStatus = 'none';
@@ -352,11 +352,11 @@ async function pollPrStatus(config) {
 async function pollPrHumanComments(config) {
   const totalUpdated = await forEachActiveGhPr(config, async (project, pr, prNum, slug) => {
     // Get issue comments (general PR comments)
-    const comments = ghApi(`/issues/${prNum}/comments`, slug);
+    const comments = await ghApi(`/issues/${prNum}/comments`, slug);
     if (!comments || !Array.isArray(comments)) return false;
 
     // Also get review comments (inline code comments)
-    const reviewComments = ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/comments`, slug);
+    const reviewComments = await ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/comments`, slug);
     const allComments = [
       ...(comments || []).map(c => ({ ...c, _type: 'issue' })),
       ...(Array.isArray(reviewComments) ? reviewComments : []).map(c => ({ ...c, _type: 'review' }))
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ async function reconcilePrs(config) {
     if (isSlugInBackoff(slug)) continue;
 
     // Fetch open PRs
-    const prsData = ghApi('/pulls?state=open&per_page=100', slug);
+    const prsData = await ghApi('/pulls?state=open&per_page=100', slug);
     if (!prsData || !Array.isArray(prsData)) {
       recordSlugFailure(slug);
       continue;
@@ -541,12 +541,12 @@ async function reconcilePrs(config) {
  * Fetch live review status for a single PR from GitHub. Returns 'approved', 'changes-requested',
  * 'waiting', or 'pending'. Returns null if the check fails.
  */
-function checkLiveReviewStatus(pr, project) {
+async function checkLiveReviewStatus(pr, project) {
   try {
     const slug = getRepoSlug(project);
     if (!slug) return null;
     const prNum = (pr.id || '').replace(/^PR-/, '');
-    const reviews = ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/reviews`, slug);
+    const reviews = await ghApi(`/pulls/${prNum}/reviews`, slug);
     if (!reviews || !Array.isArray(reviews)) return null;
     const latestByUser = new Map();
     for (const r of reviews) {

package/engine/lifecycle.js

@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ function syncPrsFromOutput(output, agentId, meta, config) {
 
 // ─── Post-Completion Hooks ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-function updatePrAfterReview(agentId, pr, project, config) {
+async function updatePrAfterReview(agentId, pr, project, config) {
 
   if (!pr?.id) return;
 
@@ -707,7 +707,7 @@ function updatePrAfterReview(agentId, pr, project, config) {
       const checkFn = host === 'github'
         ? require('./github').checkLiveReviewStatus
         : require('./ado').checkLiveReviewStatus;
-      const liveStatus = checkFn(pr, projectObj);
+      const liveStatus = await checkFn(pr, projectObj);
       // Use live status only if it's a decisive verdict (not 'pending' — review may not have propagated yet)
       if (liveStatus && liveStatus !== 'pending') postReviewStatus = liveStatus;
     }
@@ -1142,7 +1142,7 @@ function handleDecompositionResult(stdout, meta, config) {
   return 0;
 }
 
-function runPostCompletionHooks(dispatchItem, agentId, code, stdout, config) {
+async function runPostCompletionHooks(dispatchItem, agentId, code, stdout, config) {
 
   const type = dispatchItem.type;
   const meta = dispatchItem.meta;
@@ -1319,7 +1319,7 @@ function runPostCompletionHooks(dispatchItem, agentId, code, stdout, config) {
     }
   }
 
-  if (type === WORK_TYPE.REVIEW) updatePrAfterReview(agentId, meta?.pr, meta?.project, config);
+  if (type === WORK_TYPE.REVIEW) await updatePrAfterReview(agentId, meta?.pr, meta?.project, config);
   if (type === WORK_TYPE.FIX) updatePrAfterFix(meta?.pr, meta?.project, meta?.source);
   checkForLearnings(agentId, config.agents[agentId], dispatchItem.task);
   if (effectiveSuccess) {

package/engine/pipeline.js

@@ -184,7 +184,6 @@ function executeTaskStage(stage, stageState, run, config) {
       createdIds.push(id);
     }
   });
-
   return { status: PIPELINE_STATUS.RUNNING, artifacts: { workItems: createdIds } };
 }
 
@@ -278,7 +277,7 @@ async function executePlanStage(stage, stageState, run, config) {
 
   safeWrite(filePath, content);
 
-  // Create plan-to-prd work item
+  // Create plan-to-prd work item — atomic write to prevent race with dispatch status updates
   const wiPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'work-items.json');
   const wiId = `PL-${run.runId.slice(4, 12)}-${stage.id}-prd`;
   mutateWorkItems(wiPath, workItems => {

package/engine/shared.js

@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ function writeToInbox(agentId, slug, content, _inboxDir) {
 // ── Process Spawning ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 // All child process calls go through these to ensure windowsHide: true
 
-const { execSync: _execSync, spawnSync: _spawnSync, spawn: _spawn } = require('child_process');
+const { execSync: _execSync, spawnSync: _spawnSync, spawn: _spawn, exec: _cbExec } = require('child_process');
 
 function exec(cmd, opts = {}) {
   return _execSync(cmd, { windowsHide: true, ...opts });
@@ -322,6 +322,31 @@ function execSilent(cmd, opts = {}) {
   return _execSync(cmd, { stdio: 'pipe', windowsHide: true, ...opts });
 }
 
+/**
+ * Async version of exec() — runs a shell command without blocking the event loop.
+ * Returns a Promise that resolves with { stdout, stderr } or rejects on error/timeout.
+ * Drop-in replacement for sync `exec()` in async contexts.
+ *
+ * @param {string} cmd - Shell command to run
+ * @param {object} opts - Options (same as child_process.exec: timeout, cwd, encoding, env, etc.)
+ * @returns {Promise<string>} stdout (trimmed if encoding is set)
+ */
+function execAsync(cmd, opts = {}) {
+  const { timeout, ...rest } = opts;
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const child = _cbExec(cmd, { windowsHide: true, encoding: 'utf8', ...rest, timeout: timeout || 30000 }, (err, stdout, stderr) => {
+      if (err) {
+        err.stderr = stderr;
+        err.stdout = stdout;
+        return reject(err);
+      }
+      resolve(stdout);
+    });
+    // Safety: ensure child is killed if parent process exits
+    child.unref && child.unref();
+  });
+}
+
 /**
  * Detect the default branch for a git repo. Tries in order:
  * 1. The configured mainBranch (if it exists as a local or remote ref)
@@ -787,6 +812,7 @@ module.exports = {
   uniquePath,
   writeToInbox,
   exec,
+  execAsync,
   execSilent,
   resolveMainBranch,
   run,

package/engine/timeout.js

@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ function checkTimeouts(config) {
 
         completeDispatch(item.id, isSuccess ? DISPATCH_RESULT.SUCCESS : DISPATCH_RESULT.ERROR, 'Completed (detected from output)');
 
-        // Run post-completion hooks via shared helper
-        runPostCompletionHooks(item, item.agent, isSuccess ? 0 : 1, liveLog, config);
+        // Run post-completion hooks via shared helper (async — fire and forget in timeout context)
+        runPostCompletionHooks(item, item.agent, isSuccess ? 0 : 1, liveLog, config).catch(e => log('warn', 'post-completion hooks: ' + e.message));
 
         if (hasProcess) {
           shared.killImmediate(activeProcesses.get(item.id)?.proc);

package/engine.js

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const shared = require('./engine/shared');
-const { exec, execSilent, runFile, ts, ENGINE_DEFAULTS: DEFAULTS,
+const { exec, execAsync, execSilent, runFile, ts, ENGINE_DEFAULTS: DEFAULTS,
   WI_STATUS, DONE_STATUSES, WORK_TYPE, PLAN_STATUS, PR_STATUS, DISPATCH_RESULT } = shared;
 const queries = require('./engine/queries');
 
@@ -141,6 +141,10 @@ const activeProcesses = new Map(); // dispatchId → { proc, agentId, startedAt
 // tempAgents imported from engine/routing.js
 let engineRestartGraceUntil = 0; // timestamp — suppress orphan detection until this time
 
+// Per-tick cache of refs that failed to fetch — avoids repeating 30s ETIMEDOUT for same missing ref
+// Cleared at the start of each tick cycle (see tickInner)
+const _failedRefCache = new Set();
+
 // Resolve dependency plan item IDs to their PR branches
 function resolveDependencyBranches(depIds, sourcePlan, project, config) {
   const results = []; // [{ branch, prId }]
@@ -171,9 +175,9 @@ function resolveDependencyBranches(depIds, sourcePlan, project, config) {
 }
 
 // Find an existing worktree already checked out on a given branch
-function findExistingWorktree(repoDir, branchName) {
+async function findExistingWorktree(repoDir, branchName) {
   try {
-    const out = exec(`git worktree list --porcelain`, { cwd: repoDir, stdio: 'pipe', timeout: 10000 }).toString();
+    const out = await execAsync(`git worktree list --porcelain`, { cwd: repoDir, timeout: 10000 });
     const branchRef = `branch refs/heads/${branchName}`;
     const lines = out.split('\n');
     for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
@@ -215,17 +219,17 @@ function removeStaleIndexLock(rootDir) {
   } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
 }
 
-function runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, args, gitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries) {
+async function runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, args, gitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries) {
   let lastErr = null;
   const retries = Math.max(0, Number(worktreeCreateRetries) || 0);
   for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= retries; attempt++) {
     try {
       if (attempt > 0) {
-        try { exec('git worktree prune', { ...gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 15000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+        try { await execAsync('git worktree prune', { ...gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 15000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
         removeStaleIndexLock(rootDir);
         log('warn', `Retrying git worktree add (attempt ${attempt + 1}/${retries + 1}) for ${path.basename(worktreePath)}`);
       }
-      exec(`git worktree add "${worktreePath}" ${args}`, { ...gitOpts, cwd: rootDir });
+      await execAsync(`git worktree add "${worktreePath}" ${args}`, { ...gitOpts, cwd: rootDir });
       return;
     } catch (err) {
       lastErr = err;
@@ -235,14 +239,14 @@ function runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, args, gitOpts, worktreeCreateRetr
   if (lastErr) throw lastErr;
 }
 
-function recoverPartialWorktree(rootDir, worktreePath, branchName, gitOpts) {
+async function recoverPartialWorktree(rootDir, worktreePath, branchName, gitOpts) {
   if (!branchName) return false;
-  const existingWt = findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
+  const existingWt = await findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
   if (existingWt && fs.existsSync(existingWt)) return true;
   if (!fs.existsSync(worktreePath)) return false;
   try {
-    exec(`git -C "${worktreePath}" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree`, { ...gitOpts, timeout: 10000 });
-    exec(`git -C "${worktreePath}" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`, { ...gitOpts, timeout: 10000 });
+    await execAsync(`git -C "${worktreePath}" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree`, { ...gitOpts, timeout: 10000 });
+    await execAsync(`git -C "${worktreePath}" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`, { ...gitOpts, timeout: 10000 });
     log('warn', `Recovered partially-created worktree for ${branchName} at ${worktreePath}`);
     return true;
   } catch {
@@ -250,7 +254,7 @@ function recoverPartialWorktree(rootDir, worktreePath, branchName, gitOpts) {
   }
 }
 
-function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
+async function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
   const { id, agent: agentId, prompt: taskPrompt, type, meta } = dispatchItem;
   const claudeConfig = config.claude || {};
   const engineConfig = config.engine || {};
@@ -279,12 +283,12 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
     worktreePath = path.resolve(rootDir, engineConfig.worktreeRoot || '../worktrees', wtDirName);
 
     // If branch is already checked out in an existing worktree, reuse it
-    const existingWt = findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
+    const existingWt = await findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
     if (existingWt) {
       worktreePath = existingWt;
       log('info', `Reusing existing worktree for ${branchName}: ${existingWt}`);
-      try { exec(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
-      try { exec(`git pull origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: existingWt }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+      try { await execAsync(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+      try { await execAsync(`git pull origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: existingWt }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
     } else if (['meeting', 'ask', 'explore', 'plan-to-prd', 'plan'].includes(type)) {
       // Read-only tasks — no worktree needed, run in rootDir
       log('info', `${type}: read-only task, no worktree needed — running in rootDir`);
@@ -295,18 +299,18 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
         if (!fs.existsSync(worktreePath)) {
           const isSharedBranch = meta?.branchStrategy === 'shared-branch' || meta?.useExistingBranch;
           // Prune stale worktree entries before creating (handles leftover entries from crashed runs)
-          try { exec(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+          try { await execAsync(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
           // Remove stale index.lock before creating worktree (Windows crashes can leave this behind)
           removeStaleIndexLock(rootDir);
 
           if (isSharedBranch) {
             log('info', `Creating worktree for shared branch: ${worktreePath} on ${branchName}`);
-            try { exec(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+            try { await execAsync(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
             try {
-              runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+              await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
             } catch (eShared) {
               if (eShared.message?.includes('already used by worktree') || eShared.message?.includes('already checked out')) {
-                const existingWtPath = findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
+                const existingWtPath = await findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
                 if (existingWtPath && fs.existsSync(existingWtPath)) {
                   log('info', `Shared branch ${branchName} already checked out at ${existingWtPath} — reusing`);
                   worktreePath = existingWtPath;
@@ -315,42 +319,42 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
                 // Branch doesn't exist yet (first item in plan) — create it from main
                 const mainRef = sanitizeBranch(shared.resolveMainBranch(rootDir, project.mainBranch));
                 log('info', `Shared branch ${branchName} not found — creating from ${mainRef}`);
-                runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+                await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
               } else { throw eShared; }
             }
           } else {
             log('info', `Creating worktree: ${worktreePath} on branch ${branchName}`);
             const mainRef = sanitizeBranch(shared.resolveMainBranch(rootDir, project.mainBranch));
             try {
-              runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+              await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
             } catch (e1) {
               const branchExists = e1.message?.includes('already exists');
               log('warn', `Worktree -b failed for ${branchName}: ${e1.message?.split('\n')[0]}`);
               if (!branchExists) {
                 // Transient error (lock, timeout) — prune, clean, and retry -b once more
                 log('info', `Retrying -b create after prune for ${branchName}`);
-                try { exec(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 15000 }); } catch { /* optional */ }
+                try { await execAsync(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 15000 }); } catch { /* optional */ }
                 removeStaleIndexLock(rootDir);
                 // Clean up partial worktree directory from failed attempt
                 try { if (fs.existsSync(worktreePath)) fs.rmSync(worktreePath, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch { /* optional */ }
                 try {
-                  runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, 0);
+                  await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `-b "${branchName}" ${mainRef}`, _worktreeGitOpts, 0);
                 } catch (e1b) {
                   log('error', `Worktree -b retry also failed for ${branchName}: ${e1b.message?.split('\n')[0]}`);
                   throw e1b;
                 }
               } else {
                 // Branch already exists — try checkout without -b
-                try { exec(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+                try { await execAsync(`git fetch origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
                 try {
-                  runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+                  await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
                   log('info', `Reusing existing branch: ${branchName}`);
                 } catch (e2) {
                   // "already checked out" or "already used by worktree" — find and reuse or recover
                   const alreadyUsed = e2.message?.includes('already checked out') || e2.message?.includes('already used by worktree')
                     || e1.message?.includes('already checked out') || e1.message?.includes('already used by worktree');
                   if (alreadyUsed) {
-                    const existingWtPath = findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
+                    const existingWtPath = await findExistingWorktree(rootDir, branchName);
                     if (existingWtPath && fs.existsSync(existingWtPath)) {
                       // Bug fix: read dispatch under file lock so check-and-act is atomic
                       let activelyUsed = false;
@@ -369,12 +373,12 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
                       worktreePath = existingWtPath;
                     } else if (existingWtPath && !fs.existsSync(existingWtPath)) {
                       log('warn', `Branch ${branchName} tracked in missing dir ${existingWtPath} — pruning and recreating`);
-                      try { exec(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
-                      runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+                      try { await execAsync(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+                      await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
                       log('info', `Recovered worktree for ${branchName} after stale entry prune`);
                     } else {
-                      try { exec(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
-                      runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
+                      try { await execAsync(`git worktree prune`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir, timeout: 10000 }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+                      await runWorktreeAdd(rootDir, worktreePath, `"${branchName}"`, _worktreeGitOpts, worktreeCreateRetries);
                     }
                   } else {
                     throw e2;
@@ -385,10 +389,10 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
           }
         } else if (meta?.branchStrategy === 'shared-branch') {
           log('info', `Pulling latest on shared branch ${branchName}`);
-          try { exec(`git pull origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: worktreePath }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
+          try { await execAsync(`git pull origin "${branchName}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: worktreePath }); } catch (e) { log('warn', 'git: ' + e.message); }
         }
       } catch (err) {
-        if (recoverPartialWorktree(rootDir, worktreePath, branchName, _gitOpts)) {
+        if (await recoverPartialWorktree(rootDir, worktreePath, branchName, _gitOpts)) {
           cwd = worktreePath;
           log('warn', `Proceeding with recovered worktree after add failure for ${branchName}`);
         } else {
@@ -407,11 +411,17 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
         try {
           const depBranches = resolveDependencyBranches(depIds, meta?.item?.sourcePlan, project, config);
           for (const { branch: depBranch, prId } of depBranches) {
+            // Skip refs already known to be missing this tick (avoids repeated 30s ETIMEDOUT)
+            if (_failedRefCache.has(depBranch)) {
+              log('warn', `Skipping dependency ${depBranch} — already failed to fetch this tick`);
+              continue;
+            }
             try {
-              exec(`git fetch origin "${depBranch}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir });
-              exec(`git merge "origin/${depBranch}" --no-edit`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: worktreePath });
+              await execAsync(`git fetch origin "${depBranch}"`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: rootDir });
+              await execAsync(`git merge "origin/${depBranch}" --no-edit`, { ..._gitOpts, cwd: worktreePath });
               log('info', `Merged dependency branch ${depBranch} (${prId}) into worktree ${branchName}`);
             } catch (mergeErr) {
+              _failedRefCache.add(depBranch);
               log('warn', `Failed to merge dependency ${depBranch} into ${branchName}: ${mergeErr.message}`);
             }
           }
@@ -704,7 +714,7 @@ function spawnAgent(dispatchItem, config) {
     }
 
     // Parse output and run all post-completion hooks
-    const { resultSummary, autoRecovered } = runPostCompletionHooks(dispatchItem, agentId, code, stdout, config);
+    const { resultSummary, autoRecovered } = await runPostCompletionHooks(dispatchItem, agentId, code, stdout, config);
 
     // Move from active to completed in dispatch (single source of truth for agent status)
     // autoRecovered: agent failed (e.g. heartbeat timeout) but created PRs — treat as success
@@ -1929,13 +1939,26 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
   const items = safeJson(centralPath) || [];
   const projects = getProjects(config);
   const newWork = [];
+  // Collect mutations to apply atomically inside lock callback (avoids TOCTOU)
+  const mutations = new Map(); // item.id → { field: value, ... }
 
   for (const item of items) {
     try {
     if (item.status !== WI_STATUS.QUEUED && item.status !== WI_STATUS.PENDING) continue;
 
     const key = `central-work-${item.id}`;
-    if (isAlreadyDispatched(key) || isOnCooldown(key, 0)) continue;
+    // Self-heal: if already dispatched but work item is still pending, fix the status
+    if (isAlreadyDispatched(key)) {
+      const m = {};
+      if (item.status === WI_STATUS.PENDING) { m.status = WI_STATUS.DISPATCHED; }
+      if (!item.dispatched_to) {
+        const existing = getDispatch().active?.find(d => d.meta?.dispatchKey === key);
+        if (existing?.agent) { m.dispatched_to = existing.agent; }
+      }
+      if (Object.keys(m).length > 0) mutations.set(item.id, m);
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (isOnCooldown(key, 0)) continue;
 
     const workType = item.type || 'implement';
     const isFanOut = item.scope === 'fan-out';
@@ -2019,11 +2042,13 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
         });
       }
 
-      item.status = WI_STATUS.DISPATCHED;
-      item.dispatched_at = ts();
-      item.dispatched_to = idleAgents.map(a => a.id).join(', ');
-      item.scope = 'fan-out';
-      item.fanOutAgents = idleAgents.map(a => a.id);
+      mutations.set(item.id, {
+        status: WI_STATUS.DISPATCHED,
+        dispatched_at: ts(),
+        dispatched_to: idleAgents.map(a => a.id).join(', '),
+        scope: 'fan-out',
+        fanOutAgents: idleAgents.map(a => a.id),
+      });
       setCooldown(key);
       log('info', `Fan-out: ${item.id} dispatched to ${idleAgents.length} agents: ${idleAgents.map(a => a.name).join(', ')}`);
 
@@ -2075,11 +2100,10 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
           const cpCount = (item._checkpointCount || 0) + 1;
           if (cpCount > 3) {
             log('warn', `Work item ${item.id} exceeded 3 checkpoint-resumes — marking as needs-human-review`);
-            item.status = WI_STATUS.NEEDS_REVIEW;
-            item._checkpointCount = cpCount;
+            mutations.set(item.id, { status: WI_STATUS.NEEDS_REVIEW, _checkpointCount: cpCount });
             continue;
           }
-          item._checkpointCount = cpCount;
+          mutations.set(item.id, Object.assign(mutations.get(item.id) || {}, { _checkpointCount: cpCount }));
           const cpSummary = [
             `## Checkpoint (Resume #${cpCount}/3)`,
             '',
@@ -2107,7 +2131,7 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
         vars.notes_content = '';
         try { vars.notes_content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(MINIONS_DIR, 'notes.md'), 'utf8'); } catch { /* optional */ }
         // Track expected plan filename in meta for chainPlanToPrd
-        item._planFileName = planFileName;
+        mutations.set(item.id, Object.assign(mutations.get(item.id) || {}, { _planFileName: planFileName }));
       }
 
       // Inject plan-to-prd variables — read the plan file content for the playbook
@@ -2162,6 +2186,13 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
         continue;
       }
 
+      const dispatchMutation = {
+        status: WI_STATUS.DISPATCHED,
+        dispatched_at: ts(),
+        dispatched_to: agentId,
+      };
+      mutations.set(item.id, Object.assign(mutations.get(item.id) || {}, dispatchMutation));
+
       newWork.push({
         type: workType,
         agent: agentId,
@@ -2169,18 +2200,25 @@ function discoverCentralWorkItems(config) {
         agentRole,
         task: item.title || item.description?.slice(0, 80) || item.id,
         prompt,
-        meta: { dispatchKey: key, source: 'central-work-item', item, planFileName: item.planFile || item._planFileName || null, branch: item.branch || item.featureBranch || `work/${item.id}` }
+        meta: { dispatchKey: key, source: 'central-work-item', item, planFileName: item.planFile || mutations.get(item.id)?._planFileName || null, branch: item.branch || item.featureBranch || `work/${item.id}` }
       });
 
-      item.status = WI_STATUS.DISPATCHED;
-      item.dispatched_at = ts();
-      item.dispatched_to = agentId;
       setCooldown(key);
     }
     } catch (err) { log('warn', `discoverCentralWorkItems: skipping ${item.id}: ${err.message}`); }
   }
 
-  if (newWork.length > 0) safeWrite(centralPath, items);
+  if (mutations.size > 0) {
+    // True atomic read-modify-write — applies mutations to fresh locked data
+    mutateJsonFileLocked(centralPath, (freshItems) => {
+      if (!Array.isArray(freshItems)) freshItems = [];
+      for (const fi of freshItems) {
+        const m = mutations.get(fi.id);
+        if (m) Object.assign(fi, m);
+      }
+      return freshItems;
+    }, { defaultValue: [] });
+  }
   return newWork;
 }
 
@@ -2228,24 +2266,33 @@ function discoverWork(config) {
     if (scheduledWork.length > 0) {
       const { createMeeting, getMeetings } = require('./engine/meeting');
       const centralPath = path.join(MINIONS_DIR, 'work-items.json');
-      const items = safeJson(centralPath) || [];
-      let added = 0;
+      // Separate meetings (no work-items write) from task items
+      const taskItems = [];
       for (const item of scheduledWork) {
         if (item.type === WORK_TYPE.MEETING) {
-          // Create a real multi-agent meeting instead of a single-agent work item
           const sched = (config.schedules || []).find(s => s.id === item._scheduleId);
           const participants = (sched && sched.participants) || [];
           const meeting = createMeeting({ title: item.title, agenda: item.description, participants });
           log('info', `Scheduled meeting created: ${item._scheduleId} → ${meeting.id} (${participants.length} participants)`);
         } else {
-          if (!items.some(i => i._scheduleId === item._scheduleId && i.status !== WI_STATUS.DONE && i.status !== WI_STATUS.FAILED)) {
-            items.push(item);
-            added++;
-            log('info', `Scheduled task fired: ${item._scheduleId} → ${item.title}`);
-          }
+          taskItems.push(item);
         }
       }
-      if (added > 0) safeWrite(centralPath, items);
+      if (taskItems.length > 0) {
+        // Atomic write — prevents race with dispatch status updates on central work-items.json
+        mutateJsonFileLocked(centralPath, (items) => {
+          if (!Array.isArray(items)) items = [];
+          let added = 0;
+          for (const item of taskItems) {
+            if (!items.some(i => i._scheduleId === item._scheduleId && i.status !== WI_STATUS.DONE && i.status !== WI_STATUS.FAILED)) {
+              items.push(item);
+              added++;
+              log('info', `Scheduled task fired: ${item._scheduleId} → ${item.title}`);
+            }
+          }
+          return items;
+        }, { defaultValue: [] });
+      }
     }
   } catch (e) { log('warn', 'discover scheduled work: ' + e.message); }
 
@@ -2351,6 +2398,7 @@ async function tickInner() {
 
   const config = getConfig();
   tickCount++;
+  _failedRefCache.clear(); // Reset per-tick failed-ref cache
 
   // Helper: run a phase, log + continue on error
   const safe = (label, fn) => { try { fn(); } catch (e) { log('warn', `${label}: ${e.message}`); } };
@@ -2563,7 +2611,7 @@ async function tickInner() {
   for (const item of toDispatch) {
     if (!dispatched.has(item.id)) {
       let proc;
-      try { proc = spawnAgent(item, config); } catch (spawnErr) {
+      try { proc = await spawnAgent(item, config); } catch (spawnErr) {
         log('error', `spawnAgent exception for ${item.id}: ${spawnErr.message}`);
         proc = null;
       }

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@yemi33/minions",
-  "version": "0.1.532",
+  "version": "0.1.534",
   "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"