web/agent_health.py

@@ -77,3 +77,34 @@ def classify_issue_health(
     if total_wakeups >= STALL_WAKEUP_THRESHOLD:
         return "stalled"
     return "idle"
+
+
+# A zombie needs at least this many recovery-marker wakeups before the watchdog
+# auto-escalates it — filters a single transient recovery wake from a genuine,
+# budget-burning loop. Escalation reassigns the issue to the chair (via
+# escalate_issue), so an escalated issue is agent-unowned next sweep and never
+# re-escalates (idempotent by construction).
+ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY = 2
+
+
+def zombie_escalation(item: dict) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
+    """Decide whether a health item warrants auto-escalation to the chair.
+
+    Pure (no I/O) so the watchdog's policy is unit-tested. Returns
+    ``(severity, reason)`` for a persistent zombie, else ``None``. Severity
+    scales with loop intensity — a long-running loop (``>=5`` recovery wakes)
+    is ``high``, a fresh one ``medium``. Only ``zombie`` items escalate: a
+    ``stalled``/``working``/``idle`` issue is not a recovery loop.
+    """
+    if item.get("health") != "zombie":
+        return None
+    recovery = int(item.get("recovery_wakeups", 0))
+    if recovery < ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY:
+        return None
+    severity = "high" if recovery >= 5 else "medium"
+    reason = (
+        f"auto-escalation (watchdog): זוהתה לולאת-recovery — {recovery} יקיצות-שחזור "
+        f"על {item.get('identifier')} ({item.get('agent_name')}); ה-issue נמסר לחיים "
+        f"במקום להמשיך לשרוף budget."
+    )
+    return severity, reason

web/app.py

@@ -124,18 +124,66 @@ async def _interaction_reaper_loop():
             logger.warning("interaction reaper sweep failed", exc_info=True)
 
 
+# Watchdog kill-switch — set AGENT_ZOMBIE_AUTO_ESCALATE=0 to observe health
+# without acting (escalation stays available manually via the endpoint).
+_ZOMBIE_AUTO_ESCALATE = os.environ.get("AGENT_ZOMBIE_AUTO_ESCALATE", "1") != "0"
+
+
+async def _zombie_escalation_loop():
+    """Watchdog: auto-escalate persistent recovery-loop zombies to the chair (#218+#222).
+
+    Every 15 min, derive per-issue health (#222) and hand any persistent zombie
+    (a recovery loop, ``>=`` ``ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY`` recovery wakeups)
+    to the human via the loop-safe escalate primitive (#218) — closing the loop
+    that today burns budget until a human notices. Server-side on purpose: an
+    agent stuck in a recovery loop cannot reliably self-escalate. Idempotent —
+    an escalated issue is agent-unowned next sweep, so it is not re-escalated.
+    """
+    from web.agent_health import zombie_escalation
+
+    while True:
+        try:
+            await asyncio.sleep(900)
+            if not _ZOMBIE_AUTO_ESCALATE:
+                continue
+            health = await pc_get_agent_health()
+            for item in health.get("items", []):
+                decision = zombie_escalation(item)
+                if decision is None:
+                    continue
+                severity, reason = decision
+                result = await pc_escalate_issue(item["issue_id"], severity, reason)
+                if result.get("ok"):
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "watchdog auto-escalated %s (%s, %d recovery wakeups) to chair [%s]",
+                        item.get("identifier"), item.get("agent_name"),
+                        item.get("recovery_wakeups", 0), severity,
+                    )
+                else:
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "watchdog escalation failed for %s: %s",
+                        item.get("identifier"), result.get("error"),
+                    )
+        except asyncio.CancelledError:
+            raise
+        except Exception:
+            logger.warning("zombie escalation sweep failed", exc_info=True)
+
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     UPLOAD_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     await db.init_schema()
     sync_task = asyncio.create_task(git_sync.sweep_loop())
     reaper_task = asyncio.create_task(_interaction_reaper_loop())
+    watchdog_task = asyncio.create_task(_zombie_escalation_loop())
     try:
         yield
     finally:
         sync_task.cancel()
         reaper_task.cancel()
-        for _t in (sync_task, reaper_task):
+        watchdog_task.cancel()
+        for _t in (sync_task, reaper_task, watchdog_task):
             try:
                 await _t
             except asyncio.CancelledError:

web/tests/test_agent_health.py

@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ from agent_health import (  # noqa: E402
     STALL_WAKEUP_THRESHOLD,
     classify_issue_health,
     is_recovery_reason,
+    zombie_escalation,
 )
+from agent_health import ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY  # noqa: E402
 
 
 # ── pure classifier ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -45,6 +47,34 @@ def test_quiet_open_issue_is_idle():
     assert classify_issue_health(has_live_run=False, recovery_wakeups=0, total_wakeups=1) == "idle"
 
 
+# ── watchdog escalation policy (pure) ───────────────────────────────────────
+def _item(health, recovery):
+    return {"health": health, "recovery_wakeups": recovery, "identifier": "CMP-141", "agent_name": "writer"}
+
+
+def test_zombie_escalation_medium_for_fresh_loop():
+    decision = zombie_escalation(_item("zombie", ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY))
+    assert decision is not None
+    severity, reason = decision
+    assert severity == "medium"
+    assert "CMP-141" in reason and "recovery" in reason.lower()
+
+
+def test_zombie_escalation_high_for_long_loop():
+    severity, _ = zombie_escalation(_item("zombie", 5))
+    assert severity == "high"
+
+
+def test_zombie_below_threshold_is_not_escalated():
+    assert zombie_escalation(_item("zombie", ZOMBIE_ESCALATE_MIN_RECOVERY - 1)) is None
+
+
+def test_non_zombie_never_escalates():
+    assert zombie_escalation(_item("stalled", 9)) is None
+    assert zombie_escalation(_item("idle", 0)) is None
+    assert zombie_escalation(_item("working", 9)) is None
+
+
 def test_is_recovery_reason_markers():
     assert is_recovery_reason("source_scoped_recovery_action")
     assert is_recovery_reason("issue_continuation_needed")