# Task Mailbox — Push Messages Into Running Sessions

**Status:** PARKED (2026-06-04) — not building this.
**Why parked:** The generic Claude-Mailbox plugin (the `mcp__mailbox__*` tools used in normal sessions) already covers the core need — cross-session messaging, inbox checks, a sender — at the harness level for any project. Integrating it directly into ClaudeDo (task/worktree-scoped inboxes, per-worktree CLAUDE.md + hook seeding, UI badges, `send_to_peer`) is a sizable build (migration + MCP tools + SignalR + UI + hooks) for marginal gain over the plugin. Revisit only if the generic plugin proves insufficient for the parallel-session workflow. The original proposal is kept below for reference.

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**Context:** the user runs parallel Claude sessions (e.g. backend + frontend) and wants to push messages into a session while it's busy inside a subagent. A shared folder works for one-offs; this turns it into a first-class ClaudeDo feature so every future parallel-session project gets it for free.

## Problem

Claude CLI processes one turn at a time. While a subagent (or any long tool) runs, no new user input can be injected. The harness offers no mid-execution interrupt. The workable window is *between* tool calls — so we need a cheap "inbox check" the agent can poll at natural checkpoints, plus a UI affordance and a cross-session sender.

## Design

### 1. Data

New table `task_messages`:

| col | type | notes |
|---|---|---|
| `id` | INTEGER PK | |
| `task_id` | TEXT FK → tasks.id | recipient |
| `sender` | TEXT | `'user'` \| `'task:<id>'` (for cross-session) |
| `body` | TEXT | markdown |
| `created_at` | TEXT | ISO |
| `delivered_at` | TEXT NULL | set when inbox pulls it |

EF Core migration + repository. Async, CancellationToken, matches existing conventions.

### 2. Worker MCP tools (extend existing `mcp__claudedo__*` server)

- **`check_inbox(task_id)`** → returns undelivered messages for this task and marks them delivered. Idempotent. Empty array if nothing pending.
- **`send_to_task(task_id, body)`** → inserts a row. Callable from *any* session — this is how the frontend session tells the backend session something.
- **`inbox_status(task_id)`** → `{ pending: int }` for a cheap "is there anything?" poll.

All three run in-proc in the Worker, go through the existing repository layer.

### 3. SignalR additions on `WorkerHub`

Server methods (UI → Worker):
- `SendTaskMessage(taskId, body)` — UI calls this; worker inserts the row and fires `TaskMessageQueued`.

Client events (Worker → UI):
- `TaskMessageQueued(taskId, pendingCount)` — so the UI can show an unread badge.
- `TaskMessageDelivered(taskId, pendingCount)` — when the agent pulls it, badge clears.

### 4. UI

On every `Running` task row + detail pane:
- "Send to session" textarea + Enter to submit → `SendTaskMessage`.
- Unread badge showing `pendingCount`.
- Read-only message timeline (who sent what, when delivered).

### 5. Agent-side poll discipline

Two complementary mechanisms so it's robust whether or not the agent remembers:

**a) CLAUDE.md instruction** (seeded by worker into each worktree's `CLAUDE.md`):
> After every subagent completes and before starting the next step, call `mcp__claudedo__check_inbox`. Treat returned messages as user input with priority over the current plan.

**b) PostToolUse hook on `Agent`** (written into the worktree's `.claude/settings.json` by the Worker when it creates the tree):
- Runs `mcp__claudedo__inbox_status` via a tiny CLI shim the worker ships.
- If `pending > 0`, the hook emits a system reminder: "Inbox has N pending messages — call `mcp__claudedo__check_inbox` now."
- Keeps the burden off the agent's memory. Belt + suspenders.

### 6. Cross-session pattern

Backend session and frontend session are just two tasks with known IDs. Either can call `send_to_task(other_id, body)` via the MCP server. No shared folder needed — the DB is already the shared channel.

To make this ergonomic:
- A "linked tasks" concept: tag two tasks as peers at creation time. The Worker exposes `send_to_peer(body)` as sugar around `send_to_task` so neither session needs to hardcode the other's UUID.

## Limits (honest)

- Messages arrive *between* tool calls, not mid-tool. A 20-minute subagent still blocks 20 minutes. Splitting work into shorter subagents is still the right discipline.
- If the agent ignores the CLAUDE.md instruction, the hook catches it next tool call — but we can't force immediate consumption.
- `-p` (print) mode with stdin prompt is one-shot and can't be extended. This design targets *interactive* sessions (Planning Sessions already use this mode). For queued `-p` runs, the mailbox is effectively a post-run instruction carrier.

## Why this is the repeatable "Grundgerüst"

Once this lands in ClaudeDo, the workflow becomes:
1. Create two linked tasks (`backend`, `frontend`) with `working_dir` set.
2. Start each — each gets its own worktree, its own Planning Session terminal, its own inbox with `check_inbox` + `send_to_peer`.
3. Push messages from the UI or from the other session. No per-project scaffolding, no custom hooks, no shared folder.

Every future parallel-session project inherits the mailbox.

## Build order (suggested)

1. Migration + repo + model. Tests first.
2. MCP tools (`check_inbox`, `send_to_task`, `inbox_status`) + unit tests.
3. SignalR method + events + UI textarea/badge.
4. Worker writes CLAUDE.md addendum + `.claude/settings.json` hook into each new worktree.
5. Linked-tasks sugar (`send_to_peer`).
6. Manual verification: queue a long subagent, send a message, confirm it's picked up at the next tool boundary.

## Open questions

- Should messages be deleted or soft-kept after delivery? Leaning soft-kept for the timeline UI.
- Priority / interrupt semantics — do we want a "high priority" flag that the agent should surface immediately vs. batch?
- Should `send_to_peer` also work when the peer is `Queued` (i.e. not yet running)? Probably yes — deliver on start.
