[BUG] Subtask shows “Start new task” / “Continue” instead of approve/confirm after leave-and-return; queued message lost on attempt_complete

[martin-rueegg]

Problem (one or two sentences)

• After leaving a task whose last step was creating a subtask (or a subtask completion) and coming back, the confirm/approve action is gone and the UI shows “Start new task” or “Continue” instead.
• When a message is already queued and the agent uses attempt_complete, the complete is accepted and returned to the parent while the queued message disappears from the subtask history.

Context (who is affected and when)

Anyone using subtasks (parent → child task) in Zoo Code, especially in JetBrains (WebStorm/PhpStorm). Happens when you navigate away from a subtask or parent mid-flow and return, or when a message is queued while the agent tries to complete the subtask.

Reproduction steps

1. Environment:
   • OS: Windows 11 10.0 (amd64)
   • IDE: WebStorm 2026.2.1 (WS-262.9437.145) / PhpStorm
   • Plugin: Zoo Code v3.76.0
   • Java: 25.0.3, JCEF: Yes
2. Start a task and issue a command that creates a subtask (see commit b0d6fad in the repro repo).
3. Create/enter the new task path (commits ad16e96 → dfa16bd).
4. Navigate back to the first/parent task (dfa16bd / step “3. going back to 1st task”).
5. Observe the action buttons.
6. Press Continue (e869d52), land in the new subtask (75fc21e).
7. Click parent task (cb2218a), then “back to subtask” (caa0367), then “Start new task” (2cfe24e), then after subtask completion (0210178).

Repro artifacts (logs + timeline of commits, oldest → newest reversed in the message above):
https://github.com/metaworx/Zoo-Code-Subtask-Issues

Note from reproduction: at dfa16bd the UI should still show Approve/Deny but instead shows “Continue”.

Expected result

Returning to the subtask (or to the parent waiting on the subtask) keeps the correct action: Approve/Deny or the confirm/complete-subtask control. Queued messages stay in the subtask history when attempt_complete runs.

Actual result

After leave-and-return, the confirm/approve control is missing; UI shows “Continue” or “Start new task”. With a queued message + attempt_complete, the complete is accepted and returned to the parent and the queued message is lost from the subtask history.

Variations tried (optional)

Reproduced in WebStorm and PhpStorm with the same plugin version. Related older reports (#457, #560 and the r/ZooCode thread about subtasks ending with “start a new task”) covered profile-switch / interruption cases; this is the leave-and-return path and the queued-message loss.

App Version

v3.76.0

API Provider (optional)

Not Applicable

Model Used (optional)

N/A (or the model used in the captured run)

Zoo Code Task Links (optional)

(none public)

Relevant logs or errors (optional)

Full capture and step-by-step commit timeline:
https://github.com/metaworx/Zoo-Code-Subtask-Issues

Commit order (newest first in git log; workflow order 1→9):

1. b0d6fad – command to create subtask
   

2. ad16e96 – creating a new task
   

3. dfa16bd – going back to 1st task ← should still show Approve/Deny, shows Continue

4. e869d52 – having pressed Continue
   
   

5. 75fc21e – in the new subtask
   

6. cb2218a – clicking on parent task
   

7. caa0367 – clicking on back to subtask

8. 2cfe24e – clicking on Start new task
9. 0210178 – after completion of subtask Screenshots for each step will be added under that repo (or linked here once uploaded).