openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug] Subagent task stays in 'running' state forever when /approve is never given [1 participants]

• Error in audit: stale_running / running task appears stuck Task error stale_running 52a588c9-… running 4d21h running task appears stuck

TL;DR

Implement an auto-timeout for tasks waiting for approval to prevent them from remaining in the 'running' state indefinitely.

Guidance

• Introduce a timeout mechanism for tasks awaiting approval, such as auto-cancelling or transitioning them to a 'pending_approval' state after a specified period (e.g., 5 minutes).
• Update the task status to 'pending_approval' instead of 'running' when waiting for user approval to better reflect the task's state.
• Consider implementing a mechanism to auto-cancel tasks with no progress after a certain period to prevent stale tasks.

Example

-- Example SQL query to update task status to 'cancelled' after a certain period
UPDATE task_runs 
SET status = 'cancelled' 
WHERE status = 'running' AND timestamp < (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP - INTERVAL 5 MINUTE);

Notes

The suggested fix implies modifying the task management logic to include timeouts and status updates. However, the exact implementation details depend on the underlying system architecture and the OpenClaw version being used.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by introducing an auto-timeout for tasks waiting for approval, as this directly addresses the issue of tasks remaining in the 'running' state indefinitely.