Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · anyhow::Error

failed to record sub-agent verification approval: {err}

Error message

failed to record sub-agent verification approval: {err}

What it means

Raised when record_operation_approval fails while attaching the root Operate verification lease to a depth-1 sub-agent (the operate-verification:{agent_id} reference). The sub-agent's own registration succeeded, but the provenance record of the approved verification could not be written; the spawn is aborted to avoid an agent running with unrecorded verification provenance.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/tools/subagent/mod.rs:2897

                    "agent",
                    format!("agent:{agent_id}:spawn"),
                ),
            )
            .map_err(|err| anyhow!("failed to register sub-agent work: {err}"))?;

        // A root Operate verification lease is provenance, not delegated
        // authority. Nested workers cannot inherit this bit.
        if runtime.accept_verification && runtime.spawn_depth == 1 {
            let reference = format!("operate-verification:{agent_id}");
            if let Err(err) = lifecycle.work.record_operation_approval(
                &lifecycle.session_id,
                &lifecycle.external,
                &reference,
                "agent",
                &format!("agent:{agent_id}:approval"),
            ) {
                let _ = lifecycle.reconcile_state(OwnerState::Failed, 1, None);
                return Err(anyhow!(
                    "failed to record sub-agent verification approval: {err}"
                ));
            }
        }
        Ok(Some(lifecycle))
    }

    fn reconcile_record(&self, record: &AgentWorkerRecord) -> Result<bool, String> {
        let Some(snapshot) = agent_worker_owner_snapshot(record) else {
            return Ok(false);
        };
        self.work.reconcile_operation(&self.session_id, snapshot)
    }

    fn reconcile_state(
        &self,
        state: OwnerState,
        seq: u64,

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Check the inner {err} from the work registry (usually a shut-down session or storage failure)
2. Ensure the parent's Operate approval is still valid before spawning verification-capable children
3. Retry the spawn once the work registry accepts approvals again

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/tui/src/tools/subagent/mod.rs:2897 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bf9a04673654edd2. Report an issue: GitHub.