Repository navigation
[BUG] User questions and answers lost from transcript while background subagents are running #27338
Closed as not planned
Description
Description
When background subagents (Task agents with run_in_background: true) are running, if the user types a question in the main Claude Code interface, both the question and the response are silently lost. They do not appear in the visible conversation, and they are also not visible when viewing the transcript via Ctrl+O.
Steps to Reproduce
- Start a Claude Code session
- Launch one or more background subagents (e.g., via the Task tool with
run_in_background: true) - While the subagents are running, type a question in the main input
- Observe that the question appears to be processed, but neither the question nor the answer is visible in the conversation
- Press Ctrl+O to view the full transcript — the question and answer are missing there as well
Expected Behavior
- User questions typed while background subagents are running should be visible in the main conversation
- The responses to those questions should also be visible
- Both should appear in the transcript (Ctrl+O) for later review
Actual Behavior
- The question and answer are silently swallowed
- They do not appear in the conversation view
- They do not appear in the Ctrl+O transcript view
- There is no indication to the user that their input was lost
Impact
This makes it impossible to ask lightweight questions (e.g., clarifications, unrelated queries) while background agents are doing work, without interrupting/cancelling all running subagents first.
Related Issues
- User messages disappear while Claude is thinking #22844 — User messages disappear while Claude is thinking (similar symptom, different trigger)
- [BUG] run_in_background=true Task agents silently lose all output unless Write tool explicitly called #17011 — Background Task agents silently lose all output
- Bug: User input is ignored and "Previous query still processing" error is shown #5817 — User input is ignored and "Previous query still processing"
Environment
- Claude Code CLI
- macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
Activity
github-actions commentedon Feb 21, 2026
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
jlazarre95 commentedon Feb 21, 2026
I do not think this is a duplicate because this seems to be a problem specifically with background agents. I have not normally observed this behavior without using background agents.
scapeshift-ojones commentedon Feb 23, 2026
This is a related transcript integrity issue — tracked alongside other conversation history accessibility bugs in #27242. The common thread across all of these: Claude Code's transcript/session data has gaps or is inaccessible from the TUI, even when partial data exists on disk.
If you're affected by transcript data loss, please also 👍 and comment on #27242 where we're consolidating the broader "can't review previous context" problem.
github-actions commentedon Mar 23, 2026
Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.
github-actions commentedon Mar 31, 2026
This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.