fix(cli): keep sub-agents of a chat in use during session cleanup

[hdcodedev]

Issue

Fixes #14500

Context

Automatic session cleanup deleted sub-agent sessions from chats that were still in use. A sub-agent's timestamp stops changing when it finishes, and a new message in the chat updates only the chat. Cleanup judged each sub-agent on its own timestamp, so returning to an older chat left its earlier sub-agents to be deleted on the next pass. The sub-agent cards then showed no content, the sub-agent viewer stayed on "Initializing", and the agent could no longer resume those sub-agents.

Implementation

KiloSessionRetention.expiredRoots now judges every session by its top-level chat, so a chat and all its sub-agents are kept, held back as busy, or deleted together.

Screenshots / Video

Before

data-cleanup-bug.mp4

After

data-cleanup-fix.mp4

How to Test

Manual/local verification

• Human: reproduced the bug in bun run extension:isolated on 776d8b2c56 using the reviewer steps below. The sub-agent was deleted, and its viewer stayed on "Initializing". After the fix, the same steps keep the sub-agent.
• Agent: ran the old expiredRoots over a read-only copy of a real profile. One chat resumed a day after its first sub-agents ran lost 7 of its 17 sub-agents at a 12-day limit, with no manual edits to the data.
• Agent: bun test ./test/kilocode/session/retention.test.ts and bun run typecheck in packages/opencode pass.

Reviewer test steps

Use an isolated instance. With a 1-day limit, cleanup deletes every chat in the profile older than a day.

1. Run bun run extension:isolated.
2. In the Kilo sidebar, send:

   Use the task tool to start a general subagent. Have the subagent run `ls` in the current folder and report the file names back to you. Do not list the files yourself.
   

   Wait for the General Agent card to finish.
3. Make the sub-agent 3 days old:

   sqlite3 .kilo-dev/data/kilo/kilo.db "
   create temp table kid as select id from session where parent_id is not null order by time_created desc limit 1;
   update session set time_updated = time_updated - 259200000 where id in kid;
   update message set time_created = time_created - 259200000 where session_id in kid;
   update part set time_updated = time_updated - 259200000 where session_id in kid;"

4. Open Settings → Checkpoints, turn on Enable automatic session cleanup, set Keep sessions for (days) to 1, and click Run Cleanup Now.
5. Open the chat from History and click the sub-agent card. It still lists its tool calls, and the last-run summary reports 0 deleted.

Blocked checks and substitute verification

• None.

Checklist

• Issue linked above, or exception explained
• Tests/verification described
• Screenshots/video included for visual changes, or marked N/A
• Changeset considered for user-facing changes
• I personally reviewed the diff and can explain the changes, including any AI-assisted work.

[kilo-code-bot]

Code Review Summary

Status: No Issues Found | Recommendation: Merge

Files Reviewed (4 files)

• .changeset/cleanup-keeps-subagents.md
• packages/kilo-docs/pages/code-with-ai/features/checkpoints.md
• packages/opencode/src/kilocode/session/retention.ts
• packages/opencode/test/kilocode/session/retention.test.ts

The new top() climb makes each session's expiry decision come from its top-level chat, so expired is upward-closed and a chat plus all its sub-agents are kept, held back as busy, or deleted together. I traced the busy/candidate two-pass flow and the unchanged cascade, progress, and abort tests; behavior stays consistent, the cycle guard terminates on cyclic parent links, and orphan rows fall back to their own subtree. No memory or resource leaks introduced.

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_{Review guidance: REVIEW.md from base branch main}

[marius-kilocode]

Thanks for the fix!