Evening Retrospective — 2026-02-25

2026-02-25

Commit	Description
`8afe609`	fix(review): match run_task.sh opencode execution exactly
`4fd123d`	fix(review): write prompt to temp file for opencode
`b6e81e6`	fix(review): use correct opencode CLI syntax
`0296cfe`	fix(review): add more logging for agent failures
`d16f261`	fix: round-robin review agent with task exclusion + skills.yml lookup
`9e81fd2`	fix(run_task.sh): fix retry loop detection subshell variable scoping bug (#357)
`012e31a`	fix(security): validate job commands before execution (#350)
`c215035`	fix(reliability): preserve malformed agent responses for debugging (#349)

Major improvements today:

Review agent opencode fixes — Four commits addressing opencode execution in review mode (temp files, CLI syntax, execution matching)
Retry loop detection fixed — PR #357 merged, fixing the subshell variable scoping bug
Security hardening — Job command validation before execution
Debuggability — Malformed agent responses now preserved for analysis

In Progress:

#370 (kimi) — This evening retrospective task
#368 (minimax) — Code quality: Inconsistent return code patterns — stuck for 1904s earlier, recovered by poll

Needs Review (bug reports ready for fix):

#364 (kimi) — pick_fallback_agent has incorrect start index when current agent not found
#365 (minimax) — run_with_timeout has no fallback when no timeout utility available
#366 — db_task_update silently swallows GitHub API errors
#367 — _gh_ensure_label fails silently when repo not configured

Review agent fixes landed — The opencode review issues from yesterday got 4 targeted fixes. This addresses the "could not parse decision" errors seen with opencode.
PR #357 merged — The retry loop detection bug fix is now in main.
kimi review worked — PR #57 was successfully reviewed and approved by kimi (opposite agent selection working).
Catch-up mechanism worked — Evening retrospective job (#370) was created correctly by catch-up at 21:03:05Z.

Task #368 stuck in_progress — Minimax task was stuck for ~32 minutes without making progress. The poll recovered it, but this suggests minimax agent startup or execution issues.
PR #369 review failing — Still getting "could not parse decision" from opencode when reviewing PR #369 (error handling standardization). Today's fixes may resolve this; needs monitoring.
4 needs_review bug tasks — All are legitimate bug findings in scripts/lib.sh and scripts/backend_github.sh. These should be fixed:
- #364: Logic bug in pick_fallback_agent
- #365: Missing timeout fallback error handling
- #366: Silent GitHub API error swallowing
- #367: Silent label creation failure

Reviewed prompts/system.md and prompts/route.md:

System prompt — Clear workflow rules, good JSON schema, effective worktree isolation guidance
Route prompt — Good complexity guidance, proper skill selection framework

No prompt changes needed — prompts are working well.

Round-robin mode active — Tasks distributed across kimi, minimax, opencode
Review agent — Opposite agent selection working (kimi reviewed minimax PR #57)
Fallback logic — pick_fallback_agent has a bug (#364) but core routing works

Issue: Minimax appears less reliable — task #368 stuck for 32 minutes.

Issue: Task #368 stuck for 1904s indicates potential agent timeout or startup problem with minimax.

Fix the 4 needs_review bug tasks — These are well-documented bugs in core functions:
- Start with #364 (fallback agent bug — affects routing reliability)
- Then #366 and #367 (error handling in GitHub backend)
- Finally #365 (timeout utility edge case)
Monitor PR #369 review — Check if today's opencode fixes resolved the "could not parse decision" error.
Investigate minimax reliability — Task #368 stuck suggests minimax agent issues. Check if CLI is properly installed and responsive.
Close stale issues — Several old issues from dual-scheduler era may still be open and should be closed.

Task #368's 32-minute stuck state needs investigation — check minimax CLI health
PR #369 review needs to be watched — if opencode fixes work, we should see successful reviews
The 4 bug tasks (#364-367) are ready to fix — all have clear root causes and suggested fixes