Fix: human surface lifecycle hardening (#81)

* fix: harden agent-idle, redis loop, git errors, escalation audit

- i_am_idle no longer 500s when auto-pausing a task whose commits are
  stored as dicts: tolerate dict-or-object commit refs and run the
  synthetic-checkpoint computation inside the swallowing try block.
- The stream event loop no longer logs an idle redis read-timeout as an
  ERROR every cycle; the blocking-read timeout is treated as a normal idle.
- Git command failures surface git's own (secret-scrubbed) stderr in the
  error message instead of a bare 'Command failed', so push/fetch
  rejections are diagnosable; the injected PAT is redacted.
- The escalate-to-pool redirect emits the task.pending audit event,
  closing a status mutation that previously skipped the audit log.

* fix: let privileged operators set task status via an audited override

The task update route silently dropped a 'status' field in the request body,
so a CEO/admin could not transition a task wedged in a state with no valid
in-band move (e.g. a blocked task whose work merged out-of-band) — the panel
returned 200 while nothing changed. Add 'status' to the update schema and
apply it through a new audited 'admin_set_status' that bypasses the strict
transition validator but always records the audit event. The override
requires elevated permissions; ordinary field updates are unchanged.

* fix: stop human chat sessions from expiring between messages

Messaging sessions fell back to a hardcoded 300s idle timeout, shorter than a
normal pause in a human conversation: the sweeper closed the session and the
next message opened a new one, so a person could not hold a continuous chat.
Make the idle timeout configurable (session_idle_timeout_seconds, default
3600) and resolve an unset timeout to it at every session-creation path
instead of the 300s column fallback.

* fix: resolve doubled doc paths and stop the indexer warning flood

The doc-path resolver returned absolute paths verbatim, so a documenter path
that doubled the base segment (/app/docs/docs/...) never resolved on disk and
the docs never indexed into RAG. Reduce an absolute path under the docs base
to a relative one before normalizing, leaving truly-external absolute paths
for the indexer to skip. The indexer now skips non-markdown source files and
logs a missing/non-doc source at debug instead of warning on every pass.

* fix: reject project repo URLs that point at a protected repository

Add a configurable denylist (protected_git_urls) enforced in the project
create and update paths, so a project cannot be registered against a
repository that must not receive agent commits or merges (e.g. the roboco
source repo during a smoke run). Empty by default (no behavior change);
operators set it to sandbox smoke-test projects.

* fix: let an agent release a blocked task back to the pool

A developer (or QA/doc) trapped on a 'blocked' task had no legal forward
move — every verb rejected from that state — so the dispatcher kept
respawning it with nothing to do. Allow 'unclaim' to release a blocked task
the agent owns back to pending (assignment cleared, work session abandoned,
audited), so the cell PM can re-delegate it instead of the agent churning.

* fix: keep blocked-dev churn out and cell tasks out of board hands

- The dispatcher no longer respawns the owner of a blocked task: from blocked
  the owner has no legal move, so respawning only churns; it is revived on
  unblock or released via unclaim.
- Escalation no longer hands a cell (backend/frontend/ux_ui) coordination task
  to a board/advisory role — such an escalation is diverted to the cell pool,
  matching the existing executable-task guard. main_pm targets are unaffected.

* chore: add an opt-in full clean-slate to the reset script

FULL_RESET=1 wipes everything under the roboco data root except the
persistent service stores (ollama/postgres/redis) and clears the persisted
agent Claude session dirs (ROBOCO_CLAUDE_STATE_DIRS), which otherwise replay
across runs. Default off — the existing DB/Redis wipe + workspace git-reset
is unchanged.

* ++

---------

Co-authored-by: Renn F <rennf93@users.noreply.github.com>

roboco/api/routes/tasks.py

@@ -515,12 +515,35 @@ async def update_task(
     # Transform input data for database storage
     updates = transform_update_data(data)
 
+    # `status` is not a free-form field — it is an audited admin override so a
+    # privileged operator can recover a task wedged in a state with no valid
+    # in-band transition. Pop it out of the generic field update and apply it
+    # through the audited path, gated on elevated permissions.
+    new_status = updates.pop("status", None)
+
     task = await service.update(task_id, **updates)
     if not task:
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
             detail="Task update failed unexpectedly",
         )
+    if new_status is not None and new_status != task.status:
+        if not has_higher_perms:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
+                detail="Only privileged roles may override task status.",
+            )
+        task = await service.admin_set_status(
+            task_id,
+            new_status,
+            actor_id=agent.agent_id,
+            actor_role=getattr(agent, "role", None),
+        )
+        if not task:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
+                detail="Task status override failed unexpectedly",
+            )
     await db.commit()
     return task_to_response(task)
 

roboco/api/schemas/tasks.py

@@ -218,6 +218,11 @@ class TaskUpdate(BaseModel):
     auditor_notes: str | None = None
     quick_context: str | None = None
 
+    # Lifecycle override — privileged/admin only. Applied by the route as an
+    # audited force-transition (so an operator can recover a task wedged in a
+    # state with no valid in-band move), never as a free-form field set.
+    status: TaskStatus | None = None
+
     @model_validator(mode="before")
     @classmethod
     def _reject_explicit_blank_acceptance_criteria(cls, data: Any) -> Any:

roboco/config.py

@@ -279,6 +279,25 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         ),
     )
 
+    session_idle_timeout_seconds: int = Field(
+        default=3600,
+        ge=30,
+        description=(
+            "Idle seconds before a messaging session is swept closed. The "
+            "previous 300s default was shorter than a human conversation pause, "
+            "so a person's chat session expired and reopened between messages."
+        ),
+    )
+
+    protected_git_urls: list[str] = Field(
+        default_factory=list,
+        description=(
+            "Repo URL substrings a project may not point at (e.g. the roboco "
+            "source repo). Blocks agent commits/merges from reaching a protected "
+            "repository; set this to sandbox smoke-test projects."
+        ),
+    )
+
     # ==========================================================================
     # Agent Guardrails (per-session budgets, loop detection, SLAs)
     # ==========================================================================

roboco/events/stream_bus.py

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from typing import Any
 import redis.asyncio as redis
 import structlog
 from redis.exceptions import ResponseError
+from redis.exceptions import TimeoutError as RedisTimeoutError
 
 from roboco.config import settings
 from roboco.models.events import Event, EventType
@@ -219,6 +220,12 @@ class StreamEventBus:
                 if await self._handle_response_error(e, streams):
                     continue
                 await asyncio.sleep(1)
+            except (RedisTimeoutError, TimeoutError):
+                # An idle XREADGROUP(block=...) hits the client read-timeout when
+                # no new message arrives within the block window. This is the
+                # normal idle path, not an error — re-block on the next iteration
+                # without logging or back-off.
+                continue
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error("Error in stream event loop", error=str(e))
                 await asyncio.sleep(1)

roboco/exceptions.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Structured exception hierarchy for the AI Agents Company system.
 All exceptions include context for debugging and logging.
 """
 
+import re
 from typing import Any, ClassVar
 from uuid import UUID
 
@@ -435,16 +436,41 @@ class GitError(ServiceError):
         )
 
 
+def _scrub_git_secrets(text: str) -> str:
+    """Redact credentials a git command may echo into stderr.
+
+    Push/fetch run with the PAT injected via a URL or an ``http.extraheader``
+    Basic header; never surface those verbatim in an error message or log.
+    """
+    if not text:
+        return text
+    text = re.sub(r"(://)[^/@\s]+@", r"\1***@", text)
+    text = re.sub(r"(?i)(authorization:\s*basic\s+)\S+", r"\1***", text)
+    text = re.sub(r"(?i)(extraheader=\S*?basic\s+)\S+", r"\1***", text)
+    text = re.sub(
+        r"\b(gh[pousr]_[A-Za-z0-9]{20,}|github_pat_[A-Za-z0-9_]{20,})\b", "***", text
+    )
+    return text
+
+
 class GitCommandError(GitError):
     """Git command execution failed."""
 
     def __init__(self, command: str, stderr: str) -> None:
+        scrubbed = _scrub_git_secrets(stderr or "")
+        # Surface a short, secret-free tail of git's own stderr in the message so
+        # the real reason (403, non-fast-forward, ...) is visible to callers that
+        # only render ``.message`` instead of swallowing it as "Command failed".
+        tail = " ".join(scrubbed.split())[-300:]
+        message = f"Command failed: {command}"
+        if tail:
+            message = f"{message} — {tail}"
         super().__init__(
-            message=f"Command failed: {command}",
-            details={"command": command, "stderr": stderr},
+            message=message,
+            details={"command": command, "stderr": scrubbed},
         )
         self.command = command
-        self.stderr = stderr
+        self.stderr = scrubbed
 
 
 class GitTimeoutError(GitError):

roboco/models/llm_catalog.py

@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ OLLAMA_ROLE_DEFAULTS: dict[str, str] = {
 }
 
 # The Ollama model picked for "pure Ollama" mode's GLOBAL row when the
-# caller doesn't override. Kimi K2.6 wins as the generalist because it has
+# caller doesn't override. Minimax M3 wins as the generalist because it has
 # the strongest reasoning/tool-use profile and can fall back to coding/writing
 # adequately if a role ends up mapped to the global default.
-OLLAMA_DEFAULT_MODEL: str = "kimi-k2.6:cloud"
+OLLAMA_DEFAULT_MODEL: str = "minimax-m3:cloud"

roboco/runtime/orchestrator.py

@@ -4808,11 +4808,16 @@ Never `commit`, never write code, never run `git`. PMs coordinate.
     async def _handle_dev_existing_owner(
         self, task: dict[str, Any], status: str, agent_slug: str
     ) -> None:
-        """Respawn existing dev for needs_revision / in_progress / claimed / blocked."""
+        """Respawn existing dev for needs_revision / in_progress / claimed."""
+        # A `blocked` task is waiting for its blocker to clear (PM / dependency);
+        # the owner has no legal move from `blocked`, so respawning it does
+        # nothing but churn. It is revived only when unblocked back to
+        # in_progress, or released to the pool (unclaim) for re-delegation.
+        if status == "blocked":
+            return
         if status in (
             "in_progress",
             "claimed",
-            "blocked",
         ) and not self._is_agent_active(agent_slug):
             logger.info(
                 "Respawning agent for orphaned task",

roboco/services/gateway/choreographer/_impl.py

@@ -2707,11 +2707,18 @@ class Choreographer:
         Failure is logged and swallowed — the pause already happened and the
         caller must not be affected by a checkpoint DB error.
         """
-        commit_refs = [c.sha for c in (task.commits or [])[-3:]]
-        commit_count = len(task.commits or [])
-        state_summary = f"auto-paused on i_am_idle (commits: {commit_count})"
-        remaining_work = commit_refs if commit_refs else ["no commits yet"]
         try:
+            commits = task.commits or []
+            # commits may be hydrated as CommitRef objects or as plain dicts
+            # (JSON column round-trip); tolerate both rather than assuming `.sha`.
+            commit_refs = [
+                c.get("sha") if isinstance(c, dict) else getattr(c, "sha", None)
+                for c in commits[-3:]
+            ]
+            commit_refs = [ref for ref in commit_refs if ref]
+            commit_count = len(commits)
+            state_summary = f"auto-paused on i_am_idle (commits: {commit_count})"
+            remaining_work = commit_refs if commit_refs else ["no commits yet"]
             await self.task.add_checkpoint(
                 task_id=task.id,
                 agent_id=agent_id,

roboco/services/messaging.py

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from sqlalchemy.orm import joinedload, selectinload
 
+from roboco.config import settings
 from roboco.db.tables import (
     ChannelTable,
     GroupTable,
@@ -378,6 +379,19 @@ class MessagingService(BaseService):
     # SESSION OPERATIONS (TASK-015)
     # =========================================================================
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _resolve_session_timeout(requested: int | None) -> int:
+        """Resolve a session's idle-timeout, defaulting to the configurable value.
+
+        An unset timeout previously fell through to the column default of 300s,
+        which is shorter than a human conversation pause — the session was swept
+        between messages and a new one opened on the next post. Resolve it to
+        ``session_idle_timeout_seconds`` so human-paced chats stay on one session.
+        """
+        if requested is not None:
+            return requested
+        return settings.session_idle_timeout_seconds
+
     async def create_session(self, req: SessionCreateRequest) -> SessionTable:
         """
         Create a new session in a group.
@@ -404,7 +418,7 @@ class MessagingService(BaseService):
             group_id=req.group_id,
             max_message_count=req.max_message_count,
             max_content_length=req.max_content_length,
-            timeout_seconds=req.timeout_seconds,
+            timeout_seconds=self._resolve_session_timeout(req.timeout_seconds),
             status=SessionStatus.ACTIVE,
             scope=req.scope,
         )
@@ -643,7 +657,7 @@ class MessagingService(BaseService):
             max_time_window=(_minutes_to_timedelta(request.max_time_window_minutes)),
             max_message_count=request.max_message_count,
             max_content_length=request.max_content_length,
-            timeout_seconds=request.timeout_seconds,
+            timeout_seconds=self._resolve_session_timeout(request.timeout_seconds),
             status=SessionStatus.ACTIVE,
         )
         self.session.add(new_session)
@@ -1141,7 +1155,11 @@ class MessagingService(BaseService):
             group_id=cast("UUID", group.id),
             max_message_count=(req.config.max_message_count if req.config else None),
             max_content_length=(req.config.max_content_length if req.config else None),
-            timeout_seconds=(req.config.timeout_seconds if req.config else 300),
+            timeout_seconds=(
+                req.config.timeout_seconds
+                if req.config and req.config.timeout_seconds is not None
+                else settings.session_idle_timeout_seconds
+            ),
             scope=req.scope,
         )
 

roboco/services/optimal_brain/indexes/docs.py

@@ -85,8 +85,16 @@ class DocsIndexPlugin(BaseIndexPlugin):
             ]
             return md_files + txt_files
         if source_path.exists():
-            return [source_path]
-        logger.warning(f"Source not found: {source}")
+            # Only markdown/text files are docs; a recorded path to a source
+            # file (e.g. a .tsx) is not indexable and is skipped quietly.
+            if source_path.suffix.lower() in {".md", ".txt"}:
+                return [source_path]
+            logger.debug(f"Skipping non-doc source path: {source}")
+            return []
+        # A documenter may record a path for a doc that was not written under
+        # the docs root; this is not actionable at index time, so log at debug
+        # instead of flooding a warning on every pass.
+        logger.debug(f"Doc source not found, skipping: {source}")
         return []
 
     def _read_file_record(

roboco/services/project.py

@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ from uuid import UUID
 from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
+from roboco.config import settings
 from roboco.db.tables import ProjectTable
+from roboco.exceptions import ValidationError
 from roboco.models.base import Team
 from roboco.models.project import ProjectCreate, ProjectUpdate
 from roboco.services.base import BaseService, ConflictError, NotFoundError
@@ -35,6 +37,22 @@ class ProjectService(BaseService):
     # CRUD OPERATIONS
     # =========================================================================
 
+    def _assert_git_url_allowed(self, git_url: str | None) -> None:
+        """Reject a project repo URL that matches a protected (denylisted) repo.
+
+        Keeps agent commits/merges out of a repository that must not receive
+        them — e.g. the roboco source repo during a smoke run.
+        """
+        if not git_url:
+            return
+        for protected in settings.protected_git_urls:
+            if protected and protected in git_url:
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    "Project git_url may not point at a protected repository "
+                    f"('{protected}').",
+                    field="git_url",
+                )
+
     async def create(
         self,
         data: ProjectCreate,
@@ -61,6 +79,8 @@ class ProjectService(BaseService):
                 resource_type="project",
             )
 
+        self._assert_git_url_allowed(data.git_url)
+
         # Encrypt git token if provided
         encrypted_token = None
         if data.git_token:
@@ -141,6 +161,8 @@ class ProjectService(BaseService):
         if not project:
             return None
 
+        self._assert_git_url_allowed(data.git_url)
+
         # Handle git_token specially (empty string clears, None leaves unchanged)
         token_updated = False
         if data.git_token is not None:

roboco/services/task.py

@@ -87,6 +87,12 @@ _DESCENDANT_EXECUTABLE_TASK_TYPES: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
     {TaskType.CODE.value, TaskType.DOCUMENTATION.value, TaskType.DESIGN.value}
 )
 
+# Implementation-cell teams. A board/advisory role must never own a cell task —
+# including the cell's own coordination/planning task (which carries a cell team
+# but not a CODE/DOC/DESIGN type), so escalating one toward a board role is
+# diverted to the cell pool instead of handing ownership up.
+_CELL_TEAMS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"backend", "frontend", "ux_ui"})
+
 
 def _is_descendant_executable_task(task: TaskTable) -> bool:
     """True for a child task that does cell-executed work (#14 guard).
@@ -108,6 +114,19 @@ def _is_descendant_executable_task(task: TaskTable) -> bool:
     return str(type_value) in _DESCENDANT_EXECUTABLE_TASK_TYPES
 
 
+def _is_cell_team_task(task: TaskTable) -> bool:
+    """True for a descendant task owned by an implementation cell.
+
+    Complements ``_is_descendant_executable_task``: a cell's coordination /
+    planning task carries a cell ``team`` but not a CODE/DOC/DESIGN ``task_type``,
+    so the executable-type check alone would let it escalate onto a board role.
+    """
+    if task.parent_task_id is None:
+        return False
+    team_value = getattr(task.team, "value", task.team)
+    return str(team_value) in _CELL_TEAMS
+
+
 # Notes fields (dev_notes, qa_notes, quick_context) are append-only —
 # every revision cycle adds more. Cap total size so a task that cycles
 # dozens of times doesn't grow into megabytes. When we exceed the cap,
@@ -974,6 +993,47 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
         )
         return task
 
+    async def admin_set_status(
+        self,
+        task_id: UUID,
+        new_status: TaskStatus,
+        *,
+        actor_id: str | UUID | None = None,
+        actor_role: str | None = None,
+    ) -> TaskTable | None:
+        """Privileged override: set a task's status directly, always audited.
+
+        Bypasses the strict transition validator so an operator can recover a
+        task wedged in a state with no valid in-band move (e.g. a ``blocked``
+        task whose work already merged out-of-band). The change is recorded in
+        the audit log like any other transition — no status change may skip it.
+        """
+        task = await self.get(task_id)
+        if not task:
+            return None
+        from_status = (
+            task.status.value
+            if isinstance(task.status, TaskStatus)
+            else str(task.status)
+        )
+        task.status = new_status
+        await self.session.flush()
+        self._emit_status_transition_audit(
+            task,
+            from_status=from_status,
+            to_status=new_status.value,
+            agent_role=actor_role,
+            audit_agent_id=actor_id,
+        )
+        self.log.info(
+            "Task status set via admin override",
+            task_id=str(task_id),
+            from_status=from_status,
+            to_status=new_status.value,
+            actor=str(actor_id) if actor_id else None,
+        )
+        return task
+
     async def delete(self, task_id: UUID) -> bool:
         """Delete a task and all its descendants."""
         task = await self.get(task_id)
@@ -1735,8 +1795,16 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
         from roboco.services.docs import DOCS_BASE_PATH
 
         path = Path(rel_path)
+        # An absolute path already rooted at the docs base may double the
+        # segment (``/app/docs/docs/...``) or simply be re-anchored here; reduce
+        # it to a path relative to the base so the normalization below applies
+        # uniformly. An absolute path OUTSIDE the docs root (e.g. a workspace
+        # source file) is returned as-is for the indexer to skip.
         if path.is_absolute():
-            return str(path)
+            try:
+                path = path.relative_to(DOCS_BASE_PATH)
+            except ValueError:
+                return str(path)
         parts = path.parts
         if parts and parts[0] == DOCS_BASE_PATH.name:
             path = Path(*parts[1:]) if len(parts) > 1 else Path()
@@ -2238,6 +2306,37 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
             task.active_claimant_id = cast("Any", None)
             await self.session.flush()
             return task
+        # A task the agent owns but cannot advance — it is `blocked` (a blocker
+        # it cannot self-resolve, or a dependency block) — is otherwise a trap:
+        # from `blocked` the agent has no legal forward verb and the dispatcher
+        # keeps respawning it. Releasing the claim returns the task to the pool
+        # for the cell PM to re-delegate. Audited; the active WorkSession is
+        # abandoned so a re-claim does not trip the uniqueness constraint.
+        if task.status == TaskStatus.BLOCKED:
+            pre_status = (
+                task.status.value
+                if isinstance(task.status, TaskStatus)
+                else str(task.status)
+            )
+            prior_owner = cast("Any", task.claimed_by or task.assigned_to)
+            if task.work_session_id:
+                await self._abandon_work_session_best_effort(
+                    task.work_session_id, reason="agent-unclaim-from-blocked"
+                )
+                task.work_session_id = cast("Any", None)
+            task.status = TaskStatus.PENDING
+            task.assigned_to = cast("Any", None)
+            task.claimed_by = cast("Any", None)
+            task.active_claimant_id = cast("Any", None)
+            await self.session.flush()
+            self._emit_status_transition_audit(
+                task,
+                from_status=pre_status,
+                to_status=TaskStatus.PENDING.value,
+                agent_role=None,
+                audit_agent_id=prior_owner,
+            )
+            return task
         if task.status not in (TaskStatus.CLAIMED, TaskStatus.IN_PROGRESS):
             return None
 
@@ -3416,9 +3515,9 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
         primitive — so both the gateway ``escalate`` verb and the HTTP escalate
         route are covered.
         """
-        if _is_descendant_executable_task(task) and await self._is_board_advisory_agent(
-            target_agent_id
-        ):
+        if (
+            _is_descendant_executable_task(task) or _is_cell_team_task(task)
+        ) and await self._is_board_advisory_agent(target_agent_id):
             await self._release_code_task_to_pool(
                 task=task,
                 escalator_slug=escalator_slug,
@@ -5656,6 +5755,12 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
         re-dispatch source), and appends an audit note explaining why the board
         hand-off was refused.
         """
+        pre_status = (
+            task.status.value
+            if isinstance(task.status, TaskStatus)
+            else str(task.status)
+        )
+        prior_owner = cast("Any", task.claimed_by or task.assigned_to)
         task.assigned_to = cast("Any", None)
         task.claimed_by = cast("Any", None)
         task.active_claimant_id = cast("Any", None)
@@ -5670,6 +5775,16 @@ class TaskService(BaseService):
         )
         task.dev_notes = existing_notes + note
         await self.session.flush()
+        # This path sets PENDING directly (bypassing the strict transition
+        # validator), so emit the task.pending audit explicitly — no status
+        # change may skip the audit log.
+        self._emit_status_transition_audit(
+            task,
+            from_status=pre_status,
+            to_status=TaskStatus.PENDING.value,
+            agent_role=None,
+            audit_agent_id=prior_owner,
+        )
         self.log.info(
             "Descendant executable task released to pool instead of board escalation",
             task_id=str(task.id),