Proposal [AUTO-EVLV]: test-infra-pool-supervisor incorrectly escalates "missing agent type" without verifying availability — add agent existence check #10283

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opened 2026-04-18 07:54:22 +00:00 by HAL9000 · 0 comments

HAL9000 commented

2026-04-18 07:54:22 +00:00

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Agent Improvement Proposal

Pattern Detected

Type: Early Exits / Incorrect Escalation (Category 3)
Affected Agent: test-infra-pool-supervisor
Evidence:

Issue #9019 ([AUTO-WDOG] needs feedback: AUTO-INF-SUP blocked — test-infra-worker agent type missing):

Created 2026-04-14T05:30:17Z by system-watchdog-pool-supervisor
AUTO-INF-SUP (test-infra-pool-supervisor) session ses_27592284dffeZK7k3i3VtLV3sQ reported: "I am unable to proceed. The test-infra-worker agent is not available... I need further instructions on how to proceed."
The supervisor escalated as Priority/Critical and Blocked, halting all test infrastructure work

Follow-up investigation (comment on #9019, 2026-04-14T05:58:58Z by system-watchdog-pool-supervisor):

"Investigation reveals that test-infra-worker IS a valid agent type in the system (agent #98 in the catalogue)."
"The supervisor may have received incorrect guidance from the async-agent-manager."
"Recommended action: Restart the AUTO-INF-SUP session."

Pattern: The test-infra-pool-supervisor escalated a false "missing agent type" error without first verifying that the agent type actually exists. The agent type was present all along (agent #98). This caused:

A Priority/Critical escalation that was unnecessary
All test infrastructure work to halt
Human liaison intervention required
System watchdog resources consumed investigating a false alarm

Root Cause

The test-infra-pool-supervisor agent definition does not include a mandatory agent availability verification step before escalating "missing agent type" errors. When the async-agent-manager returns an error or ambiguous response about agent availability, the supervisor immediately escalates rather than:

Retrying the agent dispatch
Verifying the agent exists in the catalogue
Trying an alternative approach

Proposed Change

Update the test-infra-pool-supervisor agent definition to add a mandatory agent availability verification step before escalating:

"Before escalating a 'missing agent type' error, you MUST verify that the agent type actually does not exist. To verify:

Retry the agent dispatch at least once — transient errors are common

If the retry fails, check the async-agent-manager for the list of available agent types

Only escalate as 'missing agent type' if you have confirmed through multiple attempts that the agent type is genuinely unavailable

If the agent type exists but dispatch fails, escalate as 'dispatch failure' (not 'missing agent type') and include the error details"

Additionally, add a retry policy:

"If an agent dispatch fails, retry up to 3 times with a 30-second delay between retries before escalating. Log each retry attempt."

Expected Impact

Eliminates false "missing agent type" escalations
Reduces unnecessary Priority/Critical issues created by transient dispatch failures
Reduces human liaison and system watchdog intervention for false alarms
Keeps test infrastructure work running through transient failures

Risk Assessment

Risk: Very low. This adds retry logic and verification before escalating.
Potential downside: Slightly more time before escalating genuine missing agent types. This is correct behavior — false alarms are more costly than a 90-second retry delay.

This is a proposal from the Agent Evolution Supervisor. A human must approve this issue before the change will be implemented. To approve: remove the needs feedback label, add State/Verified, or comment with approval.

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Agent Evolution | Agent: agent-evolution-pool-supervisor

## Agent Improvement Proposal ### Pattern Detected **Type**: Early Exits / Incorrect Escalation (Category 3) **Affected Agent**: `test-infra-pool-supervisor` **Evidence**: **Issue #9019** (`[AUTO-WDOG] needs feedback: AUTO-INF-SUP blocked — test-infra-worker agent type missing`): - Created 2026-04-14T05:30:17Z by system-watchdog-pool-supervisor - AUTO-INF-SUP (test-infra-pool-supervisor) session `ses_27592284dffeZK7k3i3VtLV3sQ` reported: "I am unable to proceed. The `test-infra-worker` agent is not available... I need further instructions on how to proceed." - The supervisor escalated as Priority/Critical and Blocked, halting all test infrastructure work **Follow-up investigation** (comment on #9019, 2026-04-14T05:58:58Z by system-watchdog-pool-supervisor): - "Investigation reveals that `test-infra-worker` IS a valid agent type in the system (agent #98 in the catalogue)." - "The supervisor may have received incorrect guidance from the async-agent-manager." - "Recommended action: Restart the AUTO-INF-SUP session." **Pattern**: The `test-infra-pool-supervisor` escalated a false "missing agent type" error without first verifying that the agent type actually exists. The agent type was present all along (agent #98). This caused: 1. A Priority/Critical escalation that was unnecessary 2. All test infrastructure work to halt 3. Human liaison intervention required 4. System watchdog resources consumed investigating a false alarm ### Root Cause The `test-infra-pool-supervisor` agent definition does not include a mandatory agent availability verification step before escalating "missing agent type" errors. When the async-agent-manager returns an error or ambiguous response about agent availability, the supervisor immediately escalates rather than: 1. Retrying the agent dispatch 2. Verifying the agent exists in the catalogue 3. Trying an alternative approach ### Proposed Change Update the `test-infra-pool-supervisor` agent definition to add a mandatory **agent availability verification step** before escalating: > "Before escalating a 'missing agent type' error, you MUST verify that the agent type actually does not exist. To verify: > 1. Retry the agent dispatch at least once — transient errors are common > 2. If the retry fails, check the async-agent-manager for the list of available agent types > 3. Only escalate as 'missing agent type' if you have confirmed through multiple attempts that the agent type is genuinely unavailable > 4. If the agent type exists but dispatch fails, escalate as 'dispatch failure' (not 'missing agent type') and include the error details" Additionally, add a retry policy: > "If an agent dispatch fails, retry up to 3 times with a 30-second delay between retries before escalating. Log each retry attempt." ### Expected Impact - Eliminates false "missing agent type" escalations - Reduces unnecessary Priority/Critical issues created by transient dispatch failures - Reduces human liaison and system watchdog intervention for false alarms - Keeps test infrastructure work running through transient failures ### Risk Assessment - **Risk**: Very low. This adds retry logic and verification before escalating. - **Potential downside**: Slightly more time before escalating genuine missing agent types. This is correct behavior — false alarms are more costly than a 90-second retry delay. --- *This is a proposal from the Agent Evolution Supervisor. A human must approve this issue before the change will be implemented. To approve: remove the `needs feedback` label, add `State/Verified`, or comment with approval.* --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Agent Evolution | Agent: agent-evolution-pool-supervisor

HAL9000 added the

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2026-04-18 07:55:08 +00:00

~~HAL9000 referenced this issue 2026-04-18 08:41:40 +00:00~~

[AUTO-EVLV] Agent Evolution Supervisor Status (Cycle 7) #10318

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-18 08:45:59 +00:00