You'll noticeTier: how much it should matter to you
2Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
1Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
Background AgentsArea: what it touches
ImprovementsKind: in v2.1.268,
ImprovementsSection of the release
What
A new canReadOutputFile flag is now tracked on background/async agent launches, defaulting to true, and set explicitly in several agent dispatch and relaunch code paths.
Status and notification messages for a stopped or interrupted background agent now check this flag: when it's false, Claude Code tells you to resume the agent and ask it for a status report, instead of suggesting you check its worktree or output file for partial work.
The message shown when a background agent from a previous session can't be restarted now also depends on this flag: if the output file can be read, it still suggests checking the worktree/output; if not, it suggests messaging the agent for a status report instead.
Why
Not every background agent leaves behind a readable output file. This change makes the guidance Claude Code gives you match what's actually possible, instead of pointing you to a file you can't inspect.
