feat: Auto-resume idle agents for inter-agent conversations

When an agent asks a question via `cw ask` targeting an idle agent,
the conversation router now auto-resumes the idle agent's session so
it can answer. Previously, questions to idle agents sat unanswered
forever because target resolution only matched running agents.

Changes:
- Add `resumeForConversation()` to AgentManager interface and implement
  on MultiProviderAgentManager (mirrors resumeForCommit pattern)
- Relax createConversation target resolution: prefer running, fall back
  to idle (was running-only)
- Trigger auto-resume after conversation creation for idle targets
- Add concurrency lock (conversationResumeLocks Set) to prevent
  double-resume race conditions

apps/server/agent/mock-manager.ts

@@ -471,6 +471,42 @@ export class MockAgentManager implements AgentManager {
     record.info.updatedAt = now;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resume an idle agent to answer an inter-agent conversation.
+   * Mock implementation: marks agent as running and schedules immediate completion.
+   */
+  async resumeForConversation(
+    agentId: string,
+    conversationId: string,
+    question: string,
+    fromAgentId: string,
+  ): Promise<boolean> {
+    const record = this.agents.get(agentId);
+    if (!record || record.info.status !== 'idle' || !record.info.sessionId) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    record.info.status = 'running';
+    record.info.updatedAt = new Date();
+
+    if (this.eventBus) {
+      const event: AgentResumedEvent = {
+        type: 'agent:resumed',
+        timestamp: new Date(),
+        payload: {
+          agentId,
+          name: record.info.name,
+          taskId: record.info.taskId,
+          sessionId: record.info.sessionId,
+        },
+      };
+      this.eventBus.emit(event);
+    }
+
+    this.scheduleCompletion(agentId, { status: 'done', delay: 0, result: 'Answered conversation' });
+    return true;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Clear all agents and pending timers.
    * Useful for test cleanup.

apps/server/agent/types.ts

@@ -237,4 +237,24 @@ export interface AgentManager {
    * @param agentId - Agent to dismiss
    */
   dismiss(agentId: string): Promise<void>;
+
+  /**
+   * Resume an idle agent to answer an inter-agent conversation.
+   *
+   * When Agent A asks Agent B a question via `cw ask` and Agent B is idle,
+   * this resumes B's session with a prompt to answer via `cw answer` and
+   * drain any remaining pending conversations via `cw listen`.
+   *
+   * @param agentId - The idle agent to resume
+   * @param conversationId - The conversation that triggered the resume
+   * @param question - The question being asked
+   * @param fromAgentId - The agent asking the question
+   * @returns true if resume was initiated, false if not possible
+   */
+  resumeForConversation(
+    agentId: string,
+    conversationId: string,
+    question: string,
+    fromAgentId: string,
+  ): Promise<boolean>;
 }

apps/server/dispatch/manager.test.ts

@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ function createMockAgentManager(
     resume: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     getResult: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
     getPendingQuestions: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+    resumeForConversation: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false),
   };
 }
 

apps/server/test/harness.ts

@@ -254,6 +254,11 @@ export interface TestHarness {
    */
   getPendingQuestions(agentId: string): Promise<PendingQuestions | null>;
 
+  /**
+   * Resume an idle agent to answer a conversation (mock: always returns false).
+   */
+  resumeForConversation(agentId: string, conversationId: string, question: string, fromAgentId: string): Promise<boolean>;
+
   /**
    * Get events by type.
    */
@@ -505,6 +510,9 @@ export function createTestHarness(): TestHarness {
 
     getPendingQuestions: (agentId: string) => agentManager.getPendingQuestions(agentId),
 
+    resumeForConversation: (agentId: string, conversationId: string, question: string, fromAgentId: string) =>
+      agentManager.resumeForConversation(agentId, conversationId, question, fromAgentId),
+
     getEventsByType: (type: string) => eventBus.getEventsByType(type),
 
     getEmittedEvents: (type: string) => eventBus.getEventsByType(type),

apps/server/trpc/routers/conversation.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 import type { ProcedureBuilder } from '../trpc.js';
 import { requireConversationRepository, requireAgentManager, requireTaskRepository } from './_helpers.js';
 import type { ConversationCreatedEvent, ConversationAnsweredEvent } from '../../events/types.js';
+import { createModuleLogger } from '../../logger/index.js';
+
+const log = createModuleLogger('conversation-router');
 
 export function conversationProcedures(publicProcedure: ProcedureBuilder) {
   return {
@@ -25,30 +28,34 @@ export function conversationProcedures(publicProcedure: ProcedureBuilder) {
 
         let toAgentId = input.toAgentId;
 
-        // Resolve target agent from taskId
+        // Resolve target agent from taskId — prefer running, fall back to idle
         if (!toAgentId && input.taskId) {
           const agents = await agentManager.list();
-          const match = agents.find(a => a.taskId === input.taskId && a.status === 'running');
+          const running = agents.find(a => a.taskId === input.taskId && a.status === 'running');
+          const idle = agents.find(a => a.taskId === input.taskId && a.status === 'idle');
+          const match = running ?? idle;
           if (!match) {
             throw new TRPCError({
               code: 'NOT_FOUND',
-              message: `No running agent found for task '${input.taskId}'`,
+              message: `No running or idle agent found for task '${input.taskId}'`,
             });
           }
           toAgentId = match.id;
         }
 
-        // Resolve target agent from phaseId
+        // Resolve target agent from phaseId — prefer running, fall back to idle
         if (!toAgentId && input.phaseId) {
           const taskRepo = requireTaskRepository(ctx);
           const tasks = await taskRepo.findByPhaseId(input.phaseId);
           const taskIds = new Set(tasks.map(t => t.id));
           const agents = await agentManager.list();
-          const match = agents.find(a => a.taskId && taskIds.has(a.taskId) && a.status === 'running');
+          const running = agents.find(a => a.taskId && taskIds.has(a.taskId) && a.status === 'running');
+          const idle = agents.find(a => a.taskId && taskIds.has(a.taskId) && a.status === 'idle');
+          const match = running ?? idle;
           if (!match) {
             throw new TRPCError({
               code: 'NOT_FOUND',
-              message: `No running agent found for phase '${input.phaseId}'`,
+              message: `No running or idle agent found for phase '${input.phaseId}'`,
             });
           }
           toAgentId = match.id;
@@ -80,6 +87,24 @@ export function conversationProcedures(publicProcedure: ProcedureBuilder) {
           },
         });
 
+        // Auto-resume idle target agent so it can answer the conversation
+        const targetAgent = await agentManager.get(toAgentId);
+        if (targetAgent && targetAgent.status === 'idle') {
+          try {
+            const resumed = await agentManager.resumeForConversation(
+              toAgentId, conversation.id, input.question, input.fromAgentId,
+            );
+            if (resumed) {
+              log.info({ conversationId: conversation.id, toAgentId }, 'auto-resumed idle agent for conversation');
+            }
+          } catch (err) {
+            log.warn(
+              { conversationId: conversation.id, toAgentId, err: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err) },
+              'failed to auto-resume agent for conversation',
+            );
+          }
+        }
+
         return conversation;
       }),
 

docs/agent.md

@@ -115,6 +115,25 @@ cw account add --token <token> --email user@example.com
 
 Stored as `credentials: {"claudeAiOauth":{"accessToken":"<token>"}}` and `configJson: {"hasCompletedOnboarding":true}`.
 
+## Auto-Resume for Conversations
+
+When Agent A asks Agent B a question via `cw ask` and Agent B is idle, the conversation router automatically resumes Agent B's session. This mirrors the `resumeForCommit()` pattern.
+
+### Flow
+
+1. `createConversation` tRPC procedure creates the conversation record
+2. Target resolution prefers `running` agents, falls back to `idle` (previously only matched `running`)
+3. After creation, checks if target agent is idle → calls `agentManager.resumeForConversation()`
+4. Agent resumes with a prompt to: answer via `cw answer`, drain pending conversations via `cw listen`, then complete
+
+### Guards
+
+- Agent must be `idle` status with a valid `sessionId`
+- Provider must support resume (`resumeStyle !== 'none'`)
+- Worktree must still exist (`existsSync` check)
+- In-memory `conversationResumeLocks` Set prevents double-resume race when multiple conversations arrive simultaneously
+- Resume failure is caught and logged — conversation is always created even if resume fails
+
 ## Auto-Cleanup & Commit Retries
 
 After an agent completes (status → `idle`), `tryAutoCleanup` checks if its project worktrees have uncommitted changes:

docs/dispatch-events.md

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 | **Worktree** | `worktree:created`, `worktree:removed`, `worktree:merged`, `worktree:conflict` | 4 |
 | **Account** | `account:credentials_refreshed`, `account:credentials_expired`, `account:credentials_validated` | 3 |
 | **Preview** | `preview:building`, `preview:ready`, `preview:stopped`, `preview:failed` | 4 |
-| **Conversation** | `conversation:created`, `conversation:answered` | 2 |
+| **Conversation** | `conversation:created`, `conversation:answered` | 2 | `conversation:created` triggers auto-resume of idle target agents via `resumeForConversation()` |
 | **Log** | `log:entry` | 1 |
 
 ### Key Event Payloads