background agent pings

Skill

Background Agent Pings

Files1
  • @skills/background-agent-pings/SKILL.md

Background Agent Pings

Trust system reminders as agent progress notifications. Don't poll.

Pattern

When you launch a background agent, continue working on other tasks. The system will notify you via reminders when:
  • Agent makes progress: Agent <id> progress: X new tools used, Y new tokens
  • Agent writes output file (check the path you specified)

DO

text
1. Task(run_in_background=true, prompt="... Output to: .claude/cache/agents/<type>/output.md")
2. Continue with next task immediately
3. When system reminder shows agent activity, check if output file exists
4. Read output file only when agent signals completion

DON'T

text
# BAD: Polling wastes tokens and time
Task(run_in_background=true)
Bash("sleep 5 && ls ...")  # polling
Bash("tail /tmp/claude/.../tasks/<id>.output")  # polling
TaskOutput(task_id="...")  # floods context

Why This Matters

  • Polling burns tokens on repeated checks
  • TaskOutput floods main context with full agent transcript
  • System reminders are free - they're pushed to you automatically
  • Continue productive work while waiting

Source

  • This session: Realized polling for agent output wasted time when system reminders already provide progress updates
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