diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/manager.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/manager.py
index ce0c11d4de..2c3ee251af 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/manager.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/manager.py
@@ -190,6 +190,13 @@ class CoPilotExecutor(AppProcess):
         if not self.cancel_client.is_ready:
             self.cancel_client.disconnect()
         self.cancel_client.connect()
+
+        # Check again after connect - shutdown may have been requested
+        if self.stop_consuming.is_set() and not self.active_tasks:
+            logger.info("Stop consuming requested during reconnect - disconnecting")
+            self.cancel_client.disconnect()
+            return
+
         cancel_channel = self.cancel_client.get_channel()
         cancel_channel.basic_consume(
             queue=COPILOT_CANCEL_QUEUE_NAME,
@@ -212,6 +219,13 @@ class CoPilotExecutor(AppProcess):
         if not self.run_client.is_ready:
             self.run_client.disconnect()
         self.run_client.connect()
+
+        # Check again after connect - shutdown may have been requested
+        if self.stop_consuming.is_set() and not self.active_tasks:
+            logger.info("Stop consuming requested during reconnect - disconnecting")
+            self.run_client.disconnect()
+            return
+
         run_channel = self.run_client.get_channel()
         run_channel.basic_qos(prefetch_count=self.pool_size)
 
@@ -299,16 +313,18 @@ class CoPilotExecutor(AppProcess):
 
         task_id = entry.task_id
 
-        # Check for local duplicate
+        # Check for local duplicate - task is already running on this executor
         if task_id in self.active_tasks:
-            logger.warning(f"Task {task_id} already running locally")
-            ack_message(reject=True, requeue=True)
+            logger.warning(
+                f"Task {task_id} already running locally, rejecting duplicate"
+            )
+            ack_message(reject=True, requeue=False)
             return
 
         # Try to acquire cluster-wide lock
         cluster_lock = ClusterLock(
             redis=redis.get_redis(),
-            key=f"copilot_lock:{task_id}",
+            key=f"copilot:task:{task_id}:lock",
             owner_id=self.executor_id,
             timeout=settings.config.cluster_lock_timeout,
         )
@@ -352,7 +368,10 @@ class CoPilotExecutor(AppProcess):
             try:
                 if exec_error := f.exception():
                     logger.error(f"Execution for {task_id} failed: {exec_error}")
-                    ack_message(reject=True, requeue=True)
+                    # Don't requeue failed tasks - they've been marked as failed
+                    # in the stream registry. Requeuing would cause infinite retries
+                    # for deterministic failures.
+                    ack_message(reject=True, requeue=False)
                 else:
                     ack_message(reject=False, requeue=False)
             except BaseException as e:
@@ -402,9 +421,8 @@ class CoPilotExecutor(AppProcess):
             channel = client.get_channel()
             channel.connection.add_callback_threadsafe(lambda: channel.stop_consuming())
 
-            try:
-                thread.join(timeout=300)
-            except TimeoutError:
+            thread.join(timeout=300)
+            if thread.is_alive():
                 logger.error(
                     f"{prefix} Thread did not finish in time, forcing disconnect"
                 )
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/processor.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/processor.py
index f8040df403..5da9077341 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/processor.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/processor.py
@@ -151,11 +151,8 @@ class CoPilotProcessor:
         except Exception as e:
             elapsed = time.monotonic() - start_time
             log.error(f"Execution failed after {elapsed:.2f}s: {e}")
-            # Ensure task is marked as failed in stream registry
-            asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
-                self._mark_task_failed(entry.task_id, str(e)),
-                self.execution_loop,
-            ).result(timeout=10.0)
+            # Note: _execute_async already marks the task as failed before re-raising,
+            # so we don't call _mark_task_failed here to avoid duplicate error events.
             raise
 
     async def _execute_async(
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/utils.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/utils.py
index 473a1ff80a..60d9cb22bf 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/utils.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/copilot/executor/utils.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ COPILOT_CANCEL_EXCHANGE = Exchange(
     name="copilot_cancel",
     type=ExchangeType.FANOUT,
     durable=True,
-    auto_delete=True,
+    auto_delete=False,
 )
 COPILOT_CANCEL_QUEUE_NAME = "copilot_cancel_queue"