Failure Modes

Symptom	Likely cause	Recovery
Agent marks done too early	Weak done condition	Add tests + goal-verifier; tighten /goal text
Goal "forgets" objective after compact	No GOAL.md	Mirror /goal in GOAL.md; agent reads each turn
Endless turns, no progress	Objective too large	Split into smaller goals; use Plan mode first
blocked_reason on first error	Agent too eager to block	Instruct: try 3+ approaches before blocking
Chat flooded with progress	Not using update_goal	Remind agent: milestones → update_goal(message) only
Loop and goal fight	Same file, two automations	Loop triages only; goal executes one item
/goal not in command list	Feature disabled or tool missing	Ensure goal feature enabled; update_goal in toolset

Incident Playbook

1. /goal pause
2. Read GOAL.md + last agent diff
3. Fix environment (credentials, flaky test, deny list)
4. Update GOAL.md with human decision
5. /goal resume or /goal clear + new narrower objective