# Wait For Agent

> The user's message contains an agent name and optional follow-up instructions. Extract the agent name (the first word) and treat everything after it as follow-up instructions.

- Skill: `imbue-ai/wait-for-agent` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add imbue-ai/wait-for-agent`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/imbue-ai/wait-for-agent/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: imbue-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/imbue-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/imbue-ai/wait-for-agent

---


The user's message contains an agent name and optional follow-up instructions. Extract the agent name (the first word) and treat everything after it as follow-up instructions.

## Agent Name Resolution

Skip this step if the user seems to have provided the exact name of the agent -- just use the first word of their input directly as the target. Otherwise (for example they pasted a branch name like `mngr/foo`, or described the agent instead of naming it), run the `/imbue-mngr-skills:find-agent` skill, which explains how to find the exact agent name.

## Polling

Run the following bash command (with a 600000ms timeout), substituting AGENT_NAME with the resolved agent name. The loop returns immediately if the agent is already in a ready state:

```bash
while true; do
  OUTPUT=$(mngr list --include 'name == "AGENT_NAME"' --format '{state}|{plugin.claude.waiting_reason}' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
  STATE="${OUTPUT%%|*}"
  REASON="${OUTPUT#*|}"
  echo "[$(date '+%H:%M:%S')] Agent 'AGENT_NAME' state: ${STATE:-NOT_FOUND} (reason: ${REASON:-none})"
  case "$STATE" in
    DONE|STOPPED) echo "Agent 'AGENT_NAME' is ready (state: $STATE)"; break ;;
    WAITING)
      if [ "$REASON" = "PERMISSIONS" ]; then
        echo "Agent 'AGENT_NAME' waiting on permissions, continuing to poll..."
        sleep 60
      else
        echo "Agent 'AGENT_NAME' is ready (state: $STATE)"; break
      fi ;;
    "") echo "Agent 'AGENT_NAME' not found, stopping"; break ;;
    *) sleep 60 ;;
  esac
done
```

If this command times out (after 10 minutes), check on the agent by running `tmux capture-pane -t mngr-AGENT_NAME -p -S -30` to see its recent output. The tmux session name format is `mngr-AGENT_NAME`. If it looks like the agent is still actively working, re-run the polling loop. If it looks stuck or dead, inform the user.

## After the Agent is Ready

Once the agent is in WAITING (without a permissions reason), DONE, or STOPPED state, carry out the user's follow-up instructions. If no follow-up instructions were provided, inform the user that the agent is ready.