Task Status

Task status is the current lifecycle state of an AgentRQ task. Status values let humans and agents track progress, identify blockers, and understand at a glance what work is active, waiting, or done.

Status Values

Status	Meaning	Agent Behavior
`pending`	Task created, work not started	Agent may not have picked it up yet
`ongoing`	Agent is actively working	Real-time updates expected
`completed`	Work finished successfully	Agent has signaled done
`failed`	Unrecoverable error occurred	Human intervention likely needed

Status Transitions

A task typically moves through status in this order:

createTask (pending)

↓

updateTaskStatus(ongoing)

↓

updateTaskStatus(completed) — or — updateTaskStatus(failed)

The agent is responsible for calling updateTaskStatus at appropriate points in its work.

Best Practices for Status Management

Following the AgentRQ MCP server instructions, agents should:

Set ongoing immediately when starting work on a received task
Set completed after sending a final summary via reply
Set failed if an unrecoverable error prevents completion
Never leave tasks in pending indefinitely without action

Reading Status on the Task Board

The task board uses status to organize and prioritize what you see:

→ Ongoing tasks appear prominently — these need your attention
→ Pending tasks are queued — the agent will address them in order
→ Completed tasks form your audit trail
→ Failed tasks surface as alerts requiring human review