Submit Task

Submit a Coding Task

You are helping the user submit a well-crafted coding task to the ABCA platform. Good prompts are critical — the agent works autonomously without asking clarifying questions.

Running the CLI: examples below call node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js … from the repo root. In a non-interactive or mise-managed shell node may not be on PATH (command not found) — prefix with mise exec -- (e.g. mise exec -- node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js submit …), or use a global bgagent if installed. If cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js is missing, run mise run build first.

Quick mode: If the user provided a repo and description inline (e.g. "submit task to owner/repo: fix the login bug"), infer the workflow from the description and skip to Step 5:

• PR number or "review PR" → --review-pr
• "iterate on PR" or "fix PR feedback" → --pr
• Just a number → --issue
• Otherwise → --task with the text description

Step 1: Determine Workflow

Use AskUserQuestion to understand what the user wants:

Step 2: Collect Task Details

Based on the workflow, gather:

For coding/new-task-v1:

• Repository (owner/repo)
• GitHub issue number (preferred — agent fetches full context) OR text description
• If using text: the desired end state, scope constraints, acceptance criteria

For coding/pr-iteration-v1:

• Repository (owner/repo)
• PR number
• Optional: Additional guidance ("Focus on security feedback only")

For coding/pr-review-v1:

• Repository (owner/repo)
• PR number
• Optional: Review focus ("Check for SQL injection", "Review test coverage")

Step 3: Prompt Quality Check

Before submitting, validate the prompt against these principles:

Good prompts:

• Describe the desired END STATE, not step-by-step instructions
• Are specific about scope (one logical change per task)
• State preconditions and constraints ("Use React 18, not 19")
• Define verifiable goals ("npm test must pass")
• Provide examples when behavior is ambiguous
• Reference relevant files/modules (not specific line numbers)

Bad prompts (fix these before submitting):

• Too vague: "Fix the bug" -> "Fix 500 on POST /users when email has plus signs"
• Too prescriptive: "Change line 42" -> "Increase auth timeout to 10s for slow connections"
• Kitchen sink: "Fix login, add dark mode, update README" -> Split into separate tasks
• Missing context: "Make it work like the other service" -> Describe explicitly

If the prompt needs improvement, suggest a rewritten version before submitting.

Step 4: Set Cost Controls

Recommend appropriate limits based on task complexity:

Step 5: Submit

Via CLI (preferred):

# From the repo root
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js submit \
  --repo owner/repo \
  --issue 42 \
  --max-turns 100 \
  --max-budget 20 \
  --wait  # Optional: poll until completion

CLI flag reference:

• --repo owner/repo (required)
• --issue N — GitHub issue number (default workflow: coding/new-task-v1)
• --task "description" — Text description (default workflow: coding/new-task-v1)
• --pr N — PR number (coding/pr-iteration-v1)
• --review-pr N — PR number (coding/pr-review-v1)
• --workflow coding/foo-v1 — Explicit workflow override (optional)
• --max-turns N — Turn limit (1-500)
• --max-budget N — USD cost limit ($0.01-$100)
• --idempotency-key KEY — Deduplication key for safe retries
• --trace — Enable detailed tracing (4 KB preview cap + full NDJSON trajectory upload to S3)
• --wait — Poll until terminal status
• --output json|text — Output format

At least one of --issue, --task, --pr, or --review-pr is required.

Via REST API:

curl -X POST "$API_URL/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "repo": "owner/repo",
    "issue_number": 42,
    "workflow_ref": "coding/new-task-v1",
    "max_turns": 100,
    "max_budget_usd": 20
  }'

Step 6: Monitor and Interact

After submission, show how to monitor and steer the task:

# Watch progress in real time (adaptive polling, auto-exits on terminal state)
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js watch <TASK_ID>

# Check status snapshot
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js status <TASK_ID>

# Steer the agent mid-run (combined-turn acknowledgement)
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js nudge <TASK_ID> "Focus on the auth module first"

# View event log
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js events <TASK_ID>

# Download execution trace (requires --trace on submit)
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js trace download <TASK_ID>

# List running tasks
node cli/lib/bin/bgagent.js list --status RUNNING

Task states: SUBMITTED -> HYDRATING -> RUNNING -> COMPLETED/FAILED/CANCELLED/TIMED_OUT

Input Mode Quick Reference

• --issue only: Issue is well-written with clear requirements
• --task only: Ad-hoc work or pre-issue tasks
• --issue + --task: Issue context + scope narrowing or extra guidance
• --pr only: Address all PR review feedback
• --pr + --task: PR feedback + focused scope
• --review-pr only: Full structured code review
• --review-pr + --task: Focused review on specific concerns