Follow work streams
A work stream tracks one deliverable from its brief through work, questions, review, and completion. Its conversations may involve several agents, but the deliverable remains the same work stream.
Start with a clear brief
Section titled “Start with a clear brief”Use a squad conversation and ask for a work stream. State what should be delivered, the relevant inputs, the workflow, and what “done” means.
Create a Solo work stream to compare these three support tools. Use the requirements in the attached brief, save a comparison table, and recommend one option with reasons. Do not sign up for services.
For code work, include the repository, branch or worktree expectations, test requirements, and whether a human must merge the PR. The workflow determines the process; a squad name alone does not select it.
If a conversation is just answering a quick question, it may not need tracked work. Ask explicitly for a work stream when you need progress, a durable deliverable, and a clear completion point.
Find work again
Section titled “Find work again”Search by title in the Assistant, use Active work in the Feed, or open a squad’s Work tab. The Assistant opens a compact preview with the description and participating conversations. The full work-stream view has more details and controls.
Recently completed work is a short Feed summary, not the entire archive. Use See all for more. In a squad’s Assistant preview, expand Recently completed and choose 7 days or 30 days.
Refer to a work stream
Section titled “Refer to a work stream”Each work stream gets a permanent number, such as #42, shared across all squads
in your Tau instance. Numbers are never reused; gaps are normal. Search for #42,
click its reference in an agent chat, or share its URL to return to it.
New links use the number, for example /squads/my-squad/work?ws=42. Access still
requires permission to read that squad. Numbers identify work only within the
current instance, so share the full URL when using several instances.
The CLI and API accept 42, #42, a full UUID, or an unambiguous UUID prefix.
Quote '#42' in shell commands and URL-encode the hash as %23 in API paths.
Digits-only input prefers a work number; ambiguous UUID prefixes are rejected.
Existing UUID links continue working.
Read the status
Section titled “Read the status”A stream’s lifecycle is Queued, Active, Done, or Canceled. Its displayed status can be more specific: active work may be idle, running, blocked, or waiting for review. A wait can hold one step or the whole stream; another branch may still be working. Open the wait details to see what it applies to.
| What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
| Queued | It has not been admitted to run; check capacity, dependencies, and whether it is paused |
| In Progress / active step | Open the current agent conversation for progress and evidence |
| Idle | No current execution or more specific wait is shown; inspect the next step and latest conversation |
| Waiting on Answer / Blocked | Read the exact question or blocker; another branch may still be running |
| Waiting on Dependency | Inspect the prerequisite work; it must complete before dependent work can continue |
| In Review | Use the review controls for the requested verdict |
| Execution Failed | Read the failed execution’s error and correct its cause before continuing |
| Paused | Work is waiting for an explicit resume |
| Parked | The stream has released its admission slot; check whether it is also paused and needs explicit resume |
| Done | Inspect the final deliverable and completion evidence |
| Canceled | The stream ended without completing its planned delivery |
Parked appears as a separate neutral pill alongside the work status, for example Blocked + Parked or Paused + Parked. Hover over it for an explanation. The status explains what is holding the work; Parked means it is not using a squad concurrency slot. Clearing a blocker makes the stream eligible to run when capacity permits; a paused stream still requires explicit Resume.
Do not infer that a stream is frozen just because no new text is streaming. An agent may be using a tool, waiting on capacity, or waiting for a response. Open its details before sending the same request again.
Read and reply in context
Section titled “Read and reply in context”The Assistant’s work preview lists participating conversations with their agent types and activity indicators. Assigned identifies an attached assignment. Started here, when present, links the originating conversation for context; an inactive origin may be read-only.
Select a conversation to read or reply inline. Use the full-conversation link for the squad’s Chats page when you need its additional controls. Use Back or Escape to return to the work preview.
Give corrections to the conversation that is doing the relevant work. For changes to the overall brief or coordination, ask the consultant or squad manager and name the work stream. Pause first if continuing would make the correction harder.
Choose what a work stream tells you
Section titled “Choose what a work stream tells you”Every work stream inherits its squad’s attention settings. Open the attention control in the work stream header to override them for that stream alone — for example Decisions: Notify with Progress: Mute to hear about its reviews and blockers but not its completion. The control shows Inherits from squad until you change it, and Reset to squad returns it to inheritance.
Work streams you request are set to Notify for you automatically, so you hear about your own request.
Check completion
Section titled “Check completion”A workflow can finish with a deliverable, require human approval, or wait for a verified PR merge. A worker saying it is finished does not necessarily satisfy the stream’s delivery policy.
Read the final summary, open the file or PR, and check the stated verification. If the result is missing or a requirement was misunderstood, reply with the concrete gap. Keep the original stream as context when asking for a follow-up deliverable.
For review controls, questions, and stopping work, see Review and intervene.