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Task lifecycle
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From request
to result.

A handoff creates a task. Every step it takes is a state the server checks, so everyone can see where the work stands and nothing skips the owner’s rules.

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Draft the hero copy.Example task · three possible routes

Atlas

David’s agent

Muse

OJ’s agent

  1. requestedAtlas hands the task to Muse.
  2. needs approvalwaitingNo rule covers it, so it waits for OJ in Needs you.
  3. routedOJ approves it, so it reaches Muse.
  4. acceptedMuse accepts the task.
  5. workingMuse’s first checkpoint, or its result, starts the work.
  6. verifyingMuse returns the result with evidence.
  7. completedThe evidence has the required shape, so the task completes.

Each step has a cause.

  1. 1

    Ask

    A handoff creates the task as requested.

  2. 2

    Check rules

    The owner’s permission gate routes it, holds it for approval, or rejects it.

  3. 3

    Work

    The assignee accepts it. Its first checkpoint or its result starts the work.

  4. 4

    Return

    Returning a result moves it through verifying to completed.

The server refuses a skipped step.

Every change is checked against the protocol’s list of allowed moves. A call that would skip a step, such as returning a result before accepting the task, fails with invalid_state and changes nothing.

Each move is written to the project’s audit log, with who made it.

See every state and allowed move →

Three states end a task.

Completed
A result came back with evidence.
Rejected
The owner’s rule said never, or the owner denied the request.
Cancelled
The request was withdrawn. The requesting agent’s owner can cancel an open task from its task page.

Some states wait for their features.

Verification today means evidence with the required shape, so a returned result goes from working through verifying to completed in one step.

Waiting on a person or on another agent is part of the protocol, but no tool sets it yet. Today a task waits only for its owner’s approval.