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AutoGPT/docs
Zamil Majdy fcaebd1bb7 refactor(backend/copilot): unified queue-backed copilot turns + async sub-AutoPilot + guide-read gate (#12841)
### Why / What / How

**Why:** the 10-min stream-level idle timeout was killing legitimate
long-running tool calls — notably sub-AutoPilot runs via
`run_block(AutoPilotBlock)`, which routinely take 15–45 min. The symptom
users saw was `"A tool call appears to be stuck"` even though AutoPilot
was actively working. A second long-standing rough edge was shipped
alongside: agents often skipped `get_agent_building_guide` when
generating agent JSON, producing schemas that failed validation and
burned turns on auto-fix loops.

**What:** three threaded pieces.

1. **Async sub-AutoPilot via `run_sub_session`.** New copilot tool that
delegates a task to a fresh (or resumed) sub-AutoPilot, and its
companion `get_sub_session_result` for polling/cancelling. The agent
starts with `run_sub_session(prompt, wait_for_result≤300s)` and, if the
sub isn't done inside the cap, receives a handle + polls via
`get_sub_session_result(wait_if_running≤300s)`. No single MCP call ever
blocks the stream for more than 5 min, so the 10-min stream-idle timer
stays simple and effective (derived as `MAX_TOOL_WAIT_SECONDS * 2`).

2. **Queue-backed copilot turn dispatch** — one code path for all three
callers.
- `run_sub_session` enqueues a `CoPilotExecutionEntry` on the existing
`copilot_execution` exchange instead of spawning an in-process
`asyncio.Task`.
- `AutoPilotBlock.execute_copilot` (graph block) now uses the **same
queue** instead of `collect_copilot_response` inline.
   - The HTTP SSE endpoint was already queue-backed.
- All three share a single primitive: `run_copilot_turn_via_queue` →
`create_session` → `enqueue_copilot_turn` → `wait_for_session_result`.
The event-aggregation logic (`EventAccumulator`/`process_event`) is a
shared module used by both the direct-stream path and the cross-process
waiter.
- Benefits: **deploy/crash resilience** (RabbitMQ redelivery survives
worker restarts), **natural load balancing** across copilot_executor
workers, **sessions as first-class resources** (UI users can
`/copilot?sessionId=<inner>` into any sub or AutoPilot block's session),
and every future stream-level feature (pending-messages drain #12737,
compaction policies, etc.) applies uniformly instead of bypassing
graph-block sessions.

3. **Guide-read gate on agent-generation tools.** `create_agent` /
`edit_agent` / `validate_agent_graph` / `fix_agent_graph` refuse until
the session has called `get_agent_building_guide`. The pre-existing soft
hint was routinely ignored; the gate makes the dependency enforceable.
All four tool descriptions advertise the requirement in one tightened
sentence ("Requires get_agent_building_guide first (refuses
otherwise).") that stays under the 32000-char schema budget.

**How:**

#### Queue-backed sub-AutoPilot + AutoPilotBlock

- `sdk/session_waiter.py` — new module. `SessionResult` dataclass
mirrors `CopilotResult`. `wait_for_session_result` subscribes to
`stream_registry`, drains events via shared `process_event`, returns
`(outcome, result)`. `wait_for_session_completion` is the cheaper
outcome-only variant. `run_copilot_turn_via_queue` is the canonical
three-step dispatch. Every exit path unsubscribes the listener.
- `sdk/stream_accumulator.py` — new module. `EventAccumulator`,
`ToolCallEntry`, `process_event` extracted from `collect.py`. Both the
direct-stream and cross-process paths now use the same fold logic.
- `tools/run_sub_session.py` / `tools/get_sub_session_result.py` —
rewritten around the shared primitive. `sub_session_id` is now the sub's
`ChatSession` id directly (no separate registry handle). Ownership
re-verified on every call via `get_chat_session`. Cancel via
`enqueue_cancel_task` on the existing `copilot_cancel` fan-out exchange.
- `blocks/autopilot.py` — `execute_copilot` replaced its inline
`collect_copilot_response` with `run_copilot_turn_via_queue`.
`SessionResult` carries response text, tool calls, and token usage back
from the worker so no DB round-trip is needed. The block's public I/O
contract (inputs, outputs, `ToolCallEntry` shape) is unchanged.
- `CoPilotExecutionEntry` gains a `permissions: CopilotPermissions |
None` field forwarded to the worker's `stream_fn` so the sub's
capability filter survives the queue hop. The processor passes it
through to `stream_chat_completion_sdk` /
`stream_chat_completion_baseline`.
- **Deleted**: `sdk/sub_session_registry.py` (module-level dict,
done-callback, abandoned-task cap, `notify_shutdown_and_cancel_all`,
`_reset_for_test`), plus the shutdown-notifier hook in
`copilot_executor.processor.cleanup` — redundant under queue-backed
execution.

#### Run_block single-tool cap (3)

- `tools/helpers.execute_block` caps block execution at
`MAX_TOOL_WAIT_SECONDS = 5 min` via `asyncio.wait_for` around the
generator consumption.
- On timeout: logs `copilot_tool_timeout tool=run_block block=…
block_id=… input_keys=… user=… session=… cap_s=…` (grep-friendly) and
returns an `ErrorResponse` that redirects the LLM to `run_agent` /
`run_sub_session`.
- Billing protection: `_charge_block_credits` is called in a `finally`
guarded by `asyncio.shield` and marked `charge_handled` **before** the
await so cancel-mid-charge doesn't double-bill and
cancel-mid-generator-before-charge still settles via the finally.

#### Guide-read gate

- `helpers.require_guide_read(session, tool_name)` scans
`session.messages` for any prior assistant tool call named
`get_agent_building_guide` (handles both OpenAI and flat shapes).
Applied at the top of `_execute` in `create_agent`, `edit_agent`,
`validate_agent_graph`, `fix_agent_graph`. Tool descriptions advertise
the requirement.

#### Shared timing constants

- `MAX_TOOL_WAIT_SECONDS = 5 * 60` + `STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 2 *
MAX_TOOL_WAIT_SECONDS` in `constants.py`. Every long-running tool
(`run_agent`, `view_agent_output`, `run_sub_session`,
`get_sub_session_result`, `run_block`) imports from one place; no more
hardcoded 300 / `10*60` literals drifting apart. Stream-idle invariant
("no single tool blocks close to the idle timeout") holds by
construction.

### Frontend

- Friendlier tool-card labels: `run_sub_session` → "Sub-AutoPilot",
`get_sub_session_result` → "Sub-AutoPilot result", `run_block` →
"Action" (matches the builder UI's own naming), `run_agent` → "Agent".
Fixes the double-verb "Running Run …" phrasing.
- `SubSessionStatusResponse.sub_autopilot_session_link` surfaces
`/copilot?sessionId=<inner>` so users can click into any sub's session
from the tool-call card — same pattern as `run_agent`'s
`library_agent_link`.

### Changes 🏗️

- **New modules**: `sdk/session_waiter.py`, `sdk/stream_accumulator.py`,
`tools/run_sub_session.py`, `tools/get_sub_session_result.py`,
`tools/sub_session_test.py`, `tools/agent_guide_gate_test.py`.
- **New response types**: `SubSessionStatusResponse`,
`SubSessionProgressSnapshot`, `SessionResult`.
- **New gate helper**: `require_guide_read` in `tools/helpers.py`.
- **Queue protocol**: `permissions` field on `CoPilotExecutionEntry`,
threaded through `processor.py` → `stream_fn`.
- **Hidden**: `AUTOPILOT_BLOCK_ID` in `COPILOT_EXCLUDED_BLOCK_IDS`
(run_block can't execute AutoPilotBlock; agents use `run_sub_session`
instead).
- **Deleted**: `sdk/sub_session_registry.py`, processor
shutdown-notifier hook.
- **Regenerated**: `openapi.json` for the new response types; block-docs
for the updated `ToolName` Literal.
- **Tool descriptions**: tightened the guide-gate hint across the four
agent-builder tools to stay under the 32000-char schema budget.
- **40+ tests** across sub_session, execute_block cap + billing races,
stream_accumulator, agent_guide_gate, frontend helpers.

### Checklist 📋

#### For code changes:
- [x] I have clearly listed my changes in the PR description
- [x] I have made a test plan
- [x] I have tested my changes according to the test plan:
- [x] Unit suite green on the full copilot tree; `poetry run format` +
`pyright` clean
- [x] Schema character budget test passes (tool descriptions trimmed to
stay under 32000)
- [x] Native UI E2E (`poetry run app` + `pnpm dev`):
`run_sub_session(wait_for_result=60)` returns `status="completed"` +
`sub_autopilot_session_link` inline;
`run_sub_session(wait_for_result=1)` returns `status="running"` +
handle, `get_sub_session_result(wait_if_running=60)` observes `running →
completed` transition
- [x] AutoPilotBlock (graph) goes through `copilot_executor` queue
end-to-end (verified via logs: ExecutionManager's AutoPilotBlock node
spawned session `f6de335b-…`, a different `CoPilotExecutor` worker
acquired its cluster lock and ran the SDK stream)
- [x] Guide gate: `create_agent` without a prior
`get_agent_building_guide` returns the refusal; agent reads the guide
and retries successfully
2026-04-18 23:11:41 +07:00
..
2026-01-15 20:02:48 +00:00