fix(client-runtime): background commands keep threads in Working

[BeLazy167]

When an agent leaves a background command running and ends its turn, the composer shows "Running: ..." with a Stop button. With the Working section beta on, that thread still drops into the inbox as if it were done. I hit this with a Claude thread that started a background Bash to wait out a lockout and then rerun QA. The agent was waiting on that command, but the thread looked finished.

The cause is isThreadWorking in packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.ts. It only counts background work that parks the runtime at idle, and #14872 made commands stop parking it. Subagents, monitors, and other background tasks already land in Working. Commands do not.

This PR makes isThreadWorking treat any live background task as work. Web and mobile both call it, so one change covers both. Notifications, idle parking, and auto-settle keep the #14872 rule. A failed run, an approval, a question, or a ready plan still keeps the thread in the inbox.

Trade-off: a dev server left running keeps its thread in Working until you stop it. The thread does return to the top of the inbox when the command ends.

Before / after

Same live thread (Claude Sonnet 5.5 ran sleep 1800 with run_in_background, then ended its turn). Working section beta on. The only difference is threadInbox.ts.

Before (main)	After (this PR)

While the turn is still running, the row is already in Working on both main and this PR. The difference is only what happens after the turn ends.

Mid-turn (same on main and this PR)

Cases

Live background work after the turn	Before	After
command	inbox	Working
subagent, monitor, background_task	Working	Working
any, with a failed run	inbox	inbox
any, with an approval, question, or ready plan	inbox	inbox
Grok persistent monitor (filtered out of the roster)	inbox	inbox

Verification

• vp test run packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.test.ts apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts: 146 passed. New cases cover each background kind (command, monitor, subagent, background_task) and a failed run with a live command.
• vpr typecheck passes in packages/client-runtime, apps/web, and apps/mobile.
• Manual web check in an isolated dev server, shown above.

Not checked: the mobile Working section in a simulator. It calls the same function.

Approval

This changes how the Working section beta treats commands, which #14872 decided on purpose. I have not had maintainer sign-off on the direction. Discussion: #15433. If you'd rather keep commands out of the Working section, close this and I'll drop it.

Claude Opus 5.5 via Claude Code in T3 Code.

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved at c5a2dfe

Macroscope's review found this PR approvable — This is a focused fix to the existing optional Working-shelf classification, keeping threads with live background commands visible there while preserving inbox treatment for failures and user-action states. The change is self-contained and covered by targeted tests, with no schema, infrastructure, security, or default-setting impact.

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📥 Commits

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📒 Files selected for processing (3)

• apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts
• packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.test.ts
• packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.ts

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The thread-working predicate now considers pending background tasks for inactive runtimes and excludes failed runtimes. Sidebar tests cover how command, monitor, subagent, and background-task rosters affect Working shelf classification.

Changes

Working shelf classification

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Thread working-state predicate packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.ts, packages/client-runtime/src/state/threadInbox.test.ts	WorkingThreadInput includes pendingBackgroundTasks. The predicate excludes failed runtimes and treats inactive runtimes as working when idle or when background tasks are pending. The test fixture includes an empty task list.
Sidebar Working shelf expectations apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts	Tests expect completed-runtime threads with command, monitor, subagent, or background-task rosters to count as working. A failed runtime with a command task remains outside the Working shelf.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~15 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Suggested reviewers: t3dotgg

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to b344d

The change keeps threads with pending background work in Working while preserving the existing exclusions. No supported defect remains that should block merging.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 3 | ❌ 2

❌ Failed checks (2 warnings)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 50.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 2 functions across 3 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
Description check	⚠️ Warning	The description covers the problem, change, cases, and verification. However, the Scope and approval section states that maintainer sign-off is missing, while the template requires explicit approval f…	Add a link to a discussion comment that explicitly approves the direction and scope. If the change qualifies for the small, focused obvious-bug exception, explain why.

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the main change: background commands keep threads in the Working section.

Full details: Description check

Explanation

The description covers the problem, change, cases, and verification. However, the Scope and approval section states that maintainer sign-off is missing, while the template requires explicit approval for this behavior change.

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