fix(pi-agents-tmux): Monitor times are run-times and local wall time (VST-316)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- pi-agents-tmux: Monitor tree task rows show elapsed/total run-time instead
+  of a jumpy local `HH:MM` clock (`updatedAt` is no longer a time source);
+  detail-pane timestamps render local human time instead of UTC ISO, and the
+  Task Summary gains a Duration line once terminal; running elapsed keeps
+  ticking even with spinner animation off (VST-316).
+
 - growth-guards: the pre-commit shim chain runs `preflight --staged` when
   that skill is installed beside it — a human committing outside any harness
   gets the deterministic checks CI would report, first; a repository's first

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Consumer-impacting changes
 
+### 2.8.3
+
+- Agents popup times are readable run-times, not machine stamps (vstack VST-316). Monitor tree task rows show elapsed run-time — `createdAt` → now while active, `createdAt` → `completedAt` once terminal — instead of a bare local `HH:MM` clock that was ambiguous (duration vs wall time) and jumped whenever a registry poll refreshed `updatedAt`; `updatedAt` is no longer a time-of-day source anywhere in the tree. Detail panes (Session Start/Latest, Task Summary Created/Done) render local human time (`Mar 24, 16:59`) instead of UTC ISO, and the Task Summary gains a Duration line once the task is terminal (the Summary text is cached until status changes, so a live elapsed there would freeze). Running elapsed is minute-granular (`<1m` under a minute) and keeps ticking even with spinner animation disabled — the popup timer now re-renders on a slow cadence while any task is live.
+
 ### 2.8.2
 
 - Oneshot transcript records are written strictly in event order. Each record was a separate concurrent `appendFile` call; such calls land in any order under load, so a transcript could carry an earlier `message_end` after the final buffered partial and `getFinalOutput`/last-assistant-text extraction reported the wrong message (vstack#1311). Appends now run through one ordered chain (`createTranscriptAppender`); a failed write never blocks the next record and surfaces on the result as a `transcript write failed` diagnostic instead of being dropped.

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser.ts

@@ -203,13 +203,26 @@ function createAgentsBrowserComponent(
 	// finished one) and animate spinners. It renders only when something moved, so
 	// an idle pop-up stays still. Always armed — agents can start after the pop-up
 	// opened, when nothing was animating yet.
+	let lastElapsedRender = Date.now();
 	const liveTimer = setInterval(() => {
 		if (closed) return;
 		if (refreshMonitorView()) {
+			lastElapsedRender = Date.now();
 			requestRender();
 			return;
 		}
-		if (spinnersAnimated() && getActiveItems().some((item) => isDashboardAnimatingStatus(item.status))) requestRender();
+		const hasLiveItems = getActiveItems().some((item) => isDashboardAnimatingStatus(item.status));
+		if (spinnersAnimated() && hasLiveItems) {
+			lastElapsedRender = Date.now();
+			requestRender();
+			return;
+		}
+		// Elapsed run-times tick at minute granularity; keep them moving even
+		// with spinner animation off and no lifecycle changes.
+		if (hasLiveItems && Date.now() - lastElapsedRender >= 20_000) {
+			lastElapsedRender = Date.now();
+			requestRender();
+		}
 	}, 120);
 	liveTimer.unref?.();
 	const scheduleResizeRender = () => {

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser/monitor-session-detail.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { effortFromModelId, modelWithoutEffortSuffix, normalizeReasoningEffort }
 import type { AgentBrowserUiState, TraceViewerItem } from "../types.js";
 import { recordRunEffort, recordRunModel } from "./agents-tab.js";
 import {
+	formatLocalDateTime,
 	monitorStatusIcon,
 	monitorStatusText,
 	monitorTaskRowLabel,
@@ -13,13 +14,6 @@ import {
 import { renderTraceContentLine } from "./monitor-task-detail.js";
 import { agentPaneTitle } from "./shared.js";
 
-function formatDateTime(raw: string | undefined): string {
-	if (!raw) return "—";
-	const date = new Date(raw);
-	if (!Number.isFinite(date.getTime())) return raw;
-	return date.toISOString().replace("T", " ").replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, "Z");
-}
-
 function formatDurationBetween(start: string | undefined, end: string | undefined): string {
 	const startMs = Date.parse(start ?? "");
 	const endMs = Date.parse(end ?? "");
@@ -81,8 +75,8 @@ export function renderMonitorSessionDetail(group: MonitorSessionGroup | undefine
 		model ? `Model    ${model}` : "",
 		effort ? `Effort   ${effort}` : "",
 		sessionDetail ? `Session  ${sessionDetail}` : "",
-		`Start     ${formatDateTime(group.createdAt)}`,
-		`Latest    ${formatDateTime(group.latestAt)}`,
+		`Start     ${formatLocalDateTime(group.createdAt)}`,
+		`Latest    ${formatLocalDateTime(group.latestAt)}`,
 		`Duration  ${formatDurationBetween(group.createdAt, group.latestAt)}`,
 		`Tasks     ${taskCountText} · ${monitorStatusBreakdown(group)}`,
 		group.usage ? `Usage     ${formatUsageStats(group.usage)}` : "Usage     —",

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser/monitor-task-detail.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 	highlightInlinePreview,
 } from "../format.js";
 import { readTextFileIfExists, recordTraceRef } from "../renderers.js";
+import { monitorStatusIsTerminal } from "../task-records.js";
 import { formatTranscriptForDisplay, inputDeliveryLabel } from "../transcripts.js";
 import {
 	MONITOR_SUBTAB_LABELS,
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ import {
 	type PaneTaskRecord,
 	type TraceViewerItem,
 } from "../types.js";
+import { formatLocalDateTime, monitorTaskRunTime } from "./monitor-tree.js";
 import { agentActivePill, agentDivider, agentInactivePill, agentPaneTitle } from "./shared.js";
 
 function wrapPlainNoEllipsis(text: string, width: number): string[] {
@@ -218,8 +220,11 @@ export async function traceViewerItems(record: PaneTaskRecord, taskNumber?: numb
 		`Task ID  ${record.taskId}`,
 		usage ? `Usage    ${usage}` : "",
 		delivery ? `Delivery  ${delivery}` : "",
-		`Created  ${record.createdAt}`,
-		record.completedAt ? `Done     ${record.completedAt}` : "",
+		`Created  ${formatLocalDateTime(record.createdAt)}`,
+		record.completedAt ? `Done     ${formatLocalDateTime(record.completedAt)}` : "",
+		// Duration only once terminal: this text is cached until the record's
+		// status changes, so a live elapsed here would freeze at load time.
+		monitorStatusIsTerminal(record.status) ? `Duration  ${monitorTaskRunTime(record)}` : "",
 		artifactLines.length ? BLANK : "",
 		artifactLines.length ? "Artifacts" : "",
 		artifactLines.length ? "---------" : "",

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser/monitor-tree.ts

@@ -80,12 +80,38 @@ export function monitorStatusText(status: PaneTaskStatus, theme: Theme): string
 	return theme.fg(paneCompletionTone(status), status);
 }
 
-function recordClockTime(record: PaneTaskRecord): string {
-	const raw = record.completedAt ?? record.updatedAt ?? record.createdAt;
-	if (!raw) return "--:--";
-	const date = new Date(raw);
-	if (!Number.isFinite(date.getTime())) return "--:--";
-	return `${String(date.getHours()).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(date.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0")}`;
+const MONTH_LABELS = ["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"];
+
+export function formatLocalDateTime(raw: string | undefined): string {
+	const ms = Date.parse(raw ?? "");
+	if (!Number.isFinite(ms)) return "—";
+	const date = new Date(ms);
+	const year = date.getFullYear() === new Date().getFullYear() ? "" : ` ${date.getFullYear()}`;
+	return `${MONTH_LABELS[date.getMonth()]} ${date.getDate()}${year}, ${String(date.getHours()).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(date.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0")}`;
+}
+
+export function formatRunDuration(startRaw: string | undefined, endRaw?: string): string {
+	const startMs = Date.parse(startRaw ?? "");
+	if (!Number.isFinite(startMs)) return "—";
+	const endMs = endRaw === undefined ? Date.now() : Date.parse(endRaw);
+	if (!Number.isFinite(endMs) || endMs < startMs) return "—";
+	const totalSeconds = Math.floor((endMs - startMs) / 1000);
+	const hours = Math.floor(totalSeconds / 3600);
+	const minutes = Math.floor((totalSeconds % 3600) / 60);
+	if (hours > 0) return `${hours}h ${String(minutes).padStart(2, "0")}m`;
+	if (minutes > 0) return `${minutes}m`;
+	return `${totalSeconds}s`;
+}
+
+// Run-time only: elapsed while active, total once terminal. `updatedAt` is
+// never a source — registry polls refresh it, which made the old clock-of-day
+// display jump on every poll.
+export function monitorTaskRunTime(record: PaneTaskRecord): string {
+	if (monitorStatusIsTerminal(record.status)) return formatRunDuration(record.createdAt, record.completedAt ?? "");
+	// Minute granularity while running: the popup refreshes elapsed times on a
+	// slow cadence, so a seconds display would visibly lag between renders.
+	const elapsed = formatRunDuration(record.createdAt);
+	return /^\d+s$/.test(elapsed) ? "<1m" : elapsed;
 }
 
 function recordInvocationTimestamp(record: PaneTaskRecord): number {
@@ -95,10 +121,10 @@ function recordInvocationTimestamp(record: PaneTaskRecord): number {
 
 export function monitorTaskRowLabel(record: PaneTaskRecord, taskNumbers: Map<string, number>): string {
 	const number = taskNumbers.get(record.taskId);
-	const clock = recordClockTime(record);
+	const runTime = monitorTaskRunTime(record);
 	// `#1` is suppressed so the first task per session reads as plain `Task · <time>`.
 	// Numbers only appear from the second task onward.
-	return number && number > 1 ? `#${number} · ${clock}` : `· ${clock}`;
+	return number && number > 1 ? `#${number} · ${runTime}` : `· ${runTime}`;
 }
 
 export function buildMonitorSessionGroups(records: PaneTaskRecord[]): MonitorSessionGroup[] {

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@vanillagreen/pi-agents-tmux",
-  "version": "2.8.2",
+  "version": "2.8.3",
   "description": "Pi extension for delegating work to project or user agents, including persistent tmux agent panes.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "keywords": [

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/tests/dashboard-ux.test.ts

@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@ test("Monitor numbers repeated agent launches as sessions and resets task number
 	const tree = renderMonitorTree(monitorTreeRows(groups), records, new Set(), uiState({ tab: "monitor", pane: "list" }), 180, theme as any, 20).join("\n").replace(/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m/g, "");
 	assert.match(tree, /reviewer-arch · 1 task · /);
 	// `#1` is suppressed everywhere; only `#2+` should appear.
-	assert.match(tree, /Task · \d{2}:\d{2} · completed/);
+	assert.match(tree, /Task · 0s · completed/);
 	assert.doesNotMatch(tree, /Task #1\b/);
 	assert.doesNotMatch(tree, /bg · reviewer-arch|session #2 · fresh|reviewer-arch #2/);
 
@@ -942,7 +942,8 @@ test("Monitor session selection shows aggregate detail", () => {
 	assert.match(plain, /Usage:/);
 	assert.match(plain, /Pane ID:\s+%1/);
 	assert.match(plain, /Transcript:\s+\/tmp\/planner-session\.jsonl/);
-	assert.match(plain, /Task #2 · \d{2}:\d{2} · running/);
+	// Running rows show elapsed run-time (createdAt → now), not clock-of-day.
+	assert.match(plain, /Task #2 · \d+h \d{2}m · running/);
 
 	const colored = renderMonitorSessionDetail(group, taskNumberById([first, second]), uiState({ tab: "monitor" }), 140, 40, ansiTheme as any).join("\n");
 	assert.match(colored, /\x1b\[35m\x1b\[1mSession/);

pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/tests/monitor-times.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+import {
+	formatLocalDateTime,
+	formatRunDuration,
+	monitorTaskRowLabel,
+	monitorTaskRunTime,
+} from "../extensions/subagent/browser/monitor-tree.js";
+import { traceViewerItems } from "../extensions/subagent/browser/monitor-task-detail.js";
+import type { PaneTaskRecord } from "../extensions/subagent/types.js";
+
+function record(overrides: Partial<PaneTaskRecord>): PaneTaskRecord {
+	return {
+		agent: "reviewer",
+		createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+		status: "running",
+		task: "review the diff",
+		taskId: "task-1",
+		...overrides,
+	};
+}
+
+test("running task row shows elapsed run-time, never clock-of-day", () => {
+	const createdAt = new Date(Date.now() - 5 * 60_000).toISOString();
+	const rec = record({ createdAt, updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
+	const label = monitorTaskRowLabel(rec, new Map());
+	assert.equal(label, "· 5m");
+});
+
+test("updatedAt never moves the displayed time", () => {
+	const createdAt = new Date(Date.now() - 12 * 60_000).toISOString();
+	const early = monitorTaskRunTime(record({ createdAt, updatedAt: "2001-01-01T01:01:00Z" }));
+	const late = monitorTaskRunTime(record({ createdAt, updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() }));
+	assert.equal(early, late);
+	assert.equal(early, "12m");
+});
+
+test("terminal task shows total createdAt→completedAt duration, stable across polls", () => {
+	const createdAt = "2026-03-24T23:59:33Z";
+	const completedAt = "2026-03-25T00:16:58Z";
+	const rec = record({ completedAt, createdAt, status: "completed", updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
+	assert.equal(monitorTaskRunTime(rec), "17m");
+	assert.equal(monitorTaskRowLabel(rec, new Map([["task-1", 2]])), "#2 · 17m");
+});
+
+test("terminal task without completedAt shows a dash, not updatedAt", () => {
+	const rec = record({ createdAt: "2026-03-24T23:59:33Z", status: "failed", updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
+	assert.equal(monitorTaskRunTime(rec), "—");
+});
+
+test("running sub-minute elapsed is minute-granular", () => {
+	const rec = record({ createdAt: new Date(Date.now() - 20_000).toISOString() });
+	assert.equal(monitorTaskRunTime(rec), "<1m");
+});
+
+test("task Summary carries Duration only once terminal", async () => {
+	const done = record({ completedAt: "2026-03-25T00:16:58Z", createdAt: "2026-03-24T23:59:33Z", status: "completed" });
+	const live = record({ createdAt: new Date(Date.now() - 5 * 60_000).toISOString() });
+	const doneItems = await traceViewerItems(done);
+	const liveItems = await traceViewerItems(live);
+	assert.match(doneItems[0]!.text, /Duration {2}17m(\n|$)/);
+	assert.doesNotMatch(liveItems[0]!.text, /Duration/);
+});
+
+test("formatRunDuration shapes", () => {
+	assert.equal(formatRunDuration("2026-03-24T00:00:00Z", "2026-03-24T01:01:40Z"), "1h 01m");
+	assert.equal(formatRunDuration("2026-03-24T00:00:00Z", "2026-03-24T00:00:45Z"), "45s");
+	assert.equal(formatRunDuration("2026-03-24T01:00:00Z", "2026-03-24T00:00:00Z"), "—");
+	assert.equal(formatRunDuration("not-a-date", "2026-03-24T00:00:00Z"), "—");
+	assert.equal(formatRunDuration(undefined), "—");
+});
+
+test("formatLocalDateTime renders local wall time, not UTC ISO", () => {
+	const iso = "2026-03-24T23:59:33Z";
+	const date = new Date(iso);
+	const months = ["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"];
+	const year = date.getFullYear() === new Date().getFullYear() ? "" : ` ${date.getFullYear()}`;
+	const expected = `${months[date.getMonth()]} ${date.getDate()}${year}, ${String(date.getHours()).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(date.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0")}`;
+	const rendered = formatLocalDateTime(iso);
+	assert.equal(rendered, expected);
+	assert.doesNotMatch(rendered, /Z$/);
+	assert.doesNotMatch(rendered, /T\d{2}/);
+	assert.equal(formatLocalDateTime("garbage"), "—");
+	assert.equal(formatLocalDateTime(undefined), "—");
+});

tools/size-ratchet-baseline.tsv

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ cli/src/vsix.rs	637
 cli/tests/hook_contract.rs	1548
 cli/tests/hook_lifecycle.rs	1545
 hooks/block-repo-copy.sh	511
-pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser.ts	637
+pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/browser.ts	650
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/dashboard.ts	431
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/dispatch.ts	580
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/format.ts	776
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/runner.ts	1327
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/subagent-render.ts	473
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/tasks.ts	1010
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/extensions/subagent/types.ts	487
-pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/tests/dashboard-ux.test.ts	1170
+pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/tests/dashboard-ux.test.ts	1171
 pi-extensions/pi-agents-tmux/tests/session-lanes.test.ts	2439
 pi-extensions/pi-background-tasks/extensions/background-tasks.ts	986
 pi-extensions/pi-background-tasks/extensions/wake-events.ts	600