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No live, per-step trace of an in-flight loop run over MCP — only coding_loop_status and a post-hoc detail #767

Description

@serge-ivo

The gap

Owner feedback (instance bd43f4de, 2026-08-15): there is no real-time, per-step observability into a running coding/agent loop from an external MCP client. While a run is in flight the only signal is coding_loop_status (status, iteration, lastProgressAt, and — once finished — a one-line detail). There is no way to see what the agent is actually doing mid-run: no per-iteration tool calls with their inputs/outputs, no reasoning, no partial output, no streaming progress. instance_activity records chat-session events only and shows nothing from loop runs, so during a run the instance looks idle even though work is happening.

Why it matters

When a run stalls or fails, the owner cannot tell whether it is mid-way through a legitimate long step, silently stuck, or doing something it was told not to do. In one case the only evidence of destructive behaviour was the phrase Acts: deleted files recursively in the post-hoc summary, with no way to see which files or why while it was happening.

Ask

Expose a live, per-step trace of a loop run to the owner — each iteration's tool calls with arguments and results, plus streaming/incremental output — through the same MCP surface that starts the run, queryable while the run is still in flight. agent_trace already does this for chat turns (chat.in/tool.call/chat.out); loop runs need the equivalent, not just a terminal detail after the fact.

Not a duplicate of

Filed from owner feedback fd60c895-bc18-4ee3-b4f1-de9b351ad4f7.

Activity

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    P1: blocks external usersMust be true before someone who is not the owner can run an agent (#68)backendBackend / Worker / API workcoderThe Coder wedge agent (#68) — Engine, Pilot, Co-pilot, Loop, OverseerenhancementNew feature or requestmcpMCP server surface — the operator's instrument panel, not the productobservabilityA displayed value the code cannot produce, or that means something other than its label

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