[BUG] Subagent dispatch prompt and returned result hidden in main thread — collapsed line cannot be expanded (regression after 2.1.160, still in 2.1.170)
Environment
- Claude Code version: 2.1.170 (native install, Linux)
- Platform: Linux (WSL2, Windows Terminal,
TERM=xterm-256color) - Model: claude-fable-5 (also reproduced on Opus 4.x sessions)
- Regression range: worked correctly in 2.1.160; broken somewhere in 2.1.161–2.1.170 (I skipped intermediate versions, but I downgraded to 2.1.160 specifically because of this, and just confirmed it still reproduces on 2.1.170)
Description
When the main thread dispatches a subagent via the Agent/Task tool, the main-thread UI shows only a collapsed one-line summary (e.g. Done (10 tool uses · 45.6k tokens · 2m 2s)). Neither the dispatch prompt (the brief the main agent wrote for the subagent) nor the subagent's final returned text can be viewed from the UI:
- The collapsed line cannot be expanded (ctrl+e / ctrl+o do not reveal the prompt or the result)
- The data is not lost — both are fully present in the session transcript JSONL — it is purely a rendering/visibility issue
This breaks any plan-review workflow built on subagents. Example from a real session today: an architecture-design subagent returned a 15,587-character implementation plan as its final result. The orchestrator then asked me to choose between the proposed options — but the plan itself was never displayed, so there was nothing to base the decision on without manually parsing the transcript JSONL.
Steps to reproduce
- In an interactive session, have the main agent dispatch a subagent with a substantial prompt, e.g. a custom agent that produces a design/plan as its final message (any
Task/Agenttool call reproduces it; mine came from a plugin command that spawns architect/reviewer agents) - Wait for the subagent to finish
- Observe the main thread
Expected behavior
As in ≤ 2.1.160: the subagent dispatch shows the prompt/brief being sent, and on completion the agent's returned result is rendered (or at minimum is expandable / visible in the ctrl+o transcript view).
Actual behavior
Only the collapsed summary line is shown. No way to read the brief or the result from the UI.
Evidence (session transcript JSONL, v2.1.170)
The tool_use and tool_result entries contain the full content that the UI never renders:
tool_use Agent subagent_type=<custom architect agent>
input.prompt length = 5,022 chars <- brief, not displayed
tool_result (same tool_use_id)
text block #1 length = 15,587 chars <- full returned plan, not displayed
text block #2: "agentId: ... <usage>subagent_tokens: 45625, tool_uses: 10,
duration_ms: 122378</usage>" <- only this summary is reflected in the UI
Happy to provide the full (redacted) JSONL excerpts or run a bisect across 2.1.161–2.1.169 if that helps narrow the regression.