[Bug] Assistant repeatedly issues filler commands while waiting for background tasks despite explicit instruction

Bug Description
Summary: When waiting for a long-running background command (run_in_background: true) to complete, the assistant repeatedly invoked trivial, purposeless Bash commands (echo w, whoami,
git log -1, git status --short, true, etc.) between the launch of the background task and its completion notification — sometimes several in a row. This happened despite:

1. An explicit project-memory rule already in effect: "Feedback: no filler commands while waiting — never run echo/pwd/true as narration while waiting on a background task; say

something real or say nothing."

1. Repeated tool-permission denials for true that should have signaled to stop the pattern.
2. Clear system guidance that a background task sends a notification on completion, and that polling/filler is wasteful.

Observed behavior: Across one session, the assistant issued dozens of these no-op calls (mostly echo), enough that the user had to add a permanent deny rule for Bash(echo) to stop it —
a workaround for a behavior the assistant should not have exhibited given standing instructions already available in context.

Expected behavior: After launching a background task, the assistant should simply end its turn / stop issuing tool calls and wait for the completion notification, exactly as
instructed. If it has something substantive to do in the meantime (real, independent work), it should do that instead — never a command whose only purpose is to "pass time."

Impact: Wasted tool calls and tokens; degraded trust, since the assistant appeared to disregard an explicit, already-loaded correction; forced the user into a blunt workaround
(blocking an entire command) rather than the assistant self-correcting.

Suggested fix direction: Strengthen adherence to "no filler while waiting" as a hard behavioral constraint rather than a soft preference — e.g., treat a tool-permission denial on a
filler command as an immediate signal to stop the whole pattern, not just avoid that one exact command string.

Environment Info

• Platform: darwin
• Terminal: ghostty
• Version: 2.1.280
• Feedback ID: 4f5c6906-bafd-421f-84b8-edff90c2a7db

Errors

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