[DOCS] [Agent view] `claude agents` rows keep showing "failed" or "completed" after a background agent is resumed with `SendMessage`; v2.1.205 fix is not reflected in `agent-view.md`, `sub-agents.md`, or `tools-reference.md`

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-view

Section/Topic

• The "Read session state" section of agent-view.md (specifically the state-icon/shape tables at the top of "Monitor sessions with agent view").
• The "Organize the list" section of agent-view.md (the paragraph describing the Completed group).
• The "Version history" table at the bottom of agent-view.md (currently stops at v2.1.203 and has no v2.1.205 row).
• The "Resume subagents" section of sub-agents.md (the sentence that begins "If a stopped subagent receives a SendMessage, it auto-resumes in the background").
• The SendMessage row in the alphabetical tools table on tools-reference.md.

Current Documentation

The agent-view.md "Read session state" section defines each row state only in terms of when the indicator is set, not when it is cleared:

### Read session state Each row starts with an icon whose color and animation show the session's state: | State | Icon shows as | What it means | | :---------- | :------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Working | Animated | Claude is actively running tools or generating a response | | Needs input | Yellow | Claude is waiting on a specific question or permission decision from you | | Idle | Dimmed | The session has nothing to do and is ready for your next prompt | | Completed | Green | The task finished successfully | | Failed | Red | The task ended with an error | | Stopped | Grey | The session was stopped with Ctrl+X or claude stop |

The "Organize the list" section says:

Agent view groups sessions so the ones that need input are at the top, with Ready for review and Needs input above Working and Completed. These group names don't map one-to-one to the [states](#read-session-state) above: a session moves to Ready for review when it has an open pull request, and Completed collects finished, failed, and stopped sessions together.

The sub-agents.md "Resume subagents" section says:

If a stopped subagent receives a SendMessage, it auto-resumes in the background without requiring a new Agent invocation.

The tools-reference.md SendMessage row says:

| SendMessage | Sends a message to an agent team teammate, or resumes a subagent by its agent ID or name. Stopped subagents auto-resume in the background. Structured team-protocol messages require agent teams. A receiver never treats a message from another agent as your consent or approval. |

The agent-view.md "Version history" table stops at v2.1.203 and never adds a v2.1.205 row:

| Version | Change | | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | v2.1.203 | {/ min-version: 2.1.203 /}A gateway ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL exported in the dispatching shell reaches the sessions dispatched from it into that same directory when the supervisor shares that gateway environment, instead of being dropped while the API key exported alongside it was kept. The dispatching shell's PATH is applied to each session's worker. Pressing ← while subagents are running waits for them instead of restarting them after ten seconds. The empty list always shows the section headers with a description under each. Typing @ in the dispatch input also lists the launch repository's registered git worktrees that live inside its directory tree. An effort inherited from the effortLevel setting follows later edits to that setting instead of being fixed at dispatch. Opening a stopped session whose conversation is already open in another running session is refused with a message instead of failing the row. A command that isn't available in agent view leaves the typed text in the input. A WorktreeCreate hook that fails outside a git repository no longer blocks the session from editing files. |

What's Wrong or Missing?

The v2.1.205 changelog states:

Fixed background agents staying shown as "failed" or "completed" in the agent list after being resumed with SendMessage

The current documentation does not tell readers what state icon and group an agent occupies when it is resumed via SendMessage. The "Read session state" legend, the "Organize the list" grouping description, the "Resume subagents" prose, and the SendMessage tool row all stop at "auto-resumes in the background" without explaining the row-state follow-through, and the "Version history" table currently ends at v2.1.203 with no v2.1.205 row to summarize the fix.

A user resuming a stopped or failed background agent via SendMessage before v2.1.205 could see the row stay in Completed even though the agent was processing again, with no documented way to confirm the resume took effect from the list itself. The same gap explains why the agent view page never says when an icon should leave the Completed or Failed group on its own.

Suggested Improvement

Option A: Minimum fix (agent view + version history)

Add a v2.1.205 row at the top of the agent-view.md "Version history" table:

| v2.1.205 | {/ min-version: 2.1.205 /}A background agent resumed with SendMessage moves back to Working (or Needs input when the resumed turn prompts for input) in claude agents and out of the Completed group, instead of staying shown as failed or completed. |

Extend the "Read session state" table with a row that captures the resume behavior:

| State | Icon shows as | What it means | | :-------- | :------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Resumed | Animated | The session had stopped or failed; SendMessage brought it back to Working |

In "Organize the list", add a sentence:

A background agent resumed with SendMessage moves back to Working (or to Needs input if the next turn prompts for a question); v2.1.205 fixed a case where such a row stayed in Completed.

Option B: Full cross-reference update

In addition to Option A:

In sub-agents.md "Resume subagents" (after the existing If a stopped subagent receives a SendMessage… line):

Once it resumes, the agent view row moves back to Working under the Working group instead of staying in Completed. {/ min-version: 2.1.205 /}Before v2.1.205, the row kept showing failed or completed until you opened the session; the fix moves the row back to the active group as soon as SendMessage resumes it.

In the tools-reference.md SendMessage row, append after the existing v2.1.199 note:

{/ min-version: 2.1.205 /}As of v2.1.205, a background agent resumed this way moves back to the active group in claude agents instead of staying shown as failed or completed.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

| Page | Context |
|------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-view | Primary documentation for background-session row state; missing v2.1.205 row in Version history and resume behavior in "Read session state" / "Organize the list" |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents | "Resume subagents" describes auto-resume but not the agent view row follow-through |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/tools-reference | SendMessage row mentions auto-resume only, with no v2.1.205 note |

Total scope: 3 pages affected.

Version numbers where behavior differs: The fixed behavior begins in v2.1.205. Earlier versions kept the row in the Completed group with a stale failed/completed icon after the agent resumed, so users had to open the row to confirm the resume took effect.

Changelog reference (v2.1.205, 2026-07-08):

Fixed background agents staying shown as "failed" or "completed" in the agent list after being resumed with SendMessage