unconscious/subconscious: use Option<AutoAgent> instead of placeholder

Previously, spawning an agent used std::mem::replace with an empty-name
AutoAgent as placeholder. This caused ghost stats entries under "" when
those placeholders accidentally got their stats logged.

Now uses Option<AutoAgent> with .take() - the type honestly represents
that the agent is unavailable while running. Panic recovery in
subconscious now properly recreates the agent from its definition.

Co-Authored-By: Proof of Concept <poc@bcachefs.org>

Cargo.lock

@@ -612,6 +612,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "dirs",
  "env_logger",
  "futures",
+ "json5",
  "log",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
@@ -632,8 +633,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "json5",
  "libc",
  "log",
- "scopeguard",
  "serde",
+ "serde_json",
  "tokio",
  "tokio-util",
 ]

src/mind/subconscious.rs

@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ pub struct SubconsciousSnapshot {
 
 struct SubconsciousAgent {
     name: String,
-    auto: AutoAgent,
+    auto: Option<AutoAgent>,
     last_trigger_bytes: u64,
     last_run: Option<Instant>,
     /// The forked agent for the current/last run. Shared with the
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ impl SubconsciousAgent {
 
         Some(Self {
             name: name.to_string(),
-            auto, last_trigger_bytes: 0, last_run: None,
+            auto: Some(auto), last_trigger_bytes: 0, last_run: None,
             forked_agent: None, fork_point: 0, handle: None,
         })
     }
@@ -357,7 +357,8 @@ impl SubconsciousAgent {
     }
 
     fn should_trigger(&self, conversation_bytes: u64, interval: u64) -> bool {
-        if !self.auto.enabled || self.is_running() { return false; }
+        let enabled = self.auto.as_ref().map_or(false, |a| a.enabled);
+        if !enabled || self.is_running() { return false; }
         if interval == 0 {
             return conversation_bytes > self.last_trigger_bytes;
         }
@@ -367,12 +368,15 @@ impl SubconsciousAgent {
     fn snapshot(&self, state: &std::collections::BTreeMap<String, String>, history: Vec<(String, i64)>) -> SubconsciousSnapshot {
         let stats = crate::agent::oneshot::get_stats(&self.name);
         let tool_calls_ewma: f64 = stats.by_tool.values().map(|t| t.ewma).sum();
+        let (enabled, current_phase, turn) = self.auto.as_ref()
+            .map(|a| (a.enabled, a.current_phase.clone(), a.turn))
+            .unwrap_or((false, String::new(), 0));
         SubconsciousSnapshot {
             name: self.name.clone(),
             running: self.is_running(),
-            enabled: self.auto.enabled,
+            enabled,
-            current_phase: self.auto.current_phase.clone(),
+            current_phase,
-            turn: self.auto.turn,
+            turn,
             runs: stats.runs,
             last_run_secs_ago: self.last_run.map(|t| t.elapsed().as_secs_f64()),
             forked_agent: self.forked_agent.clone(),
@@ -408,8 +412,9 @@ impl Subconscious {
     /// closure can capture a reference back.
     pub fn init_output_tool(&mut self, self_arc: std::sync::Arc<tokio::sync::Mutex<Self>>) {
         for agent in &mut self.agents {
+            let Some(ref mut auto) = agent.auto else { continue };
             let sub = self_arc.clone();
-            agent.auto.tools.push(crate::agent::tools::Tool {
+            auto.tools.push(crate::agent::tools::Tool {
                 name: "output",
                 description: "Produce a named output value for passing between steps.",
                 parameters_json: r#"{"type":"object","properties":{"key":{"type":"string","description":"Output name"},"value":{"type":"string","description":"Output value"}},"required":["key","value"]}"#,
@@ -454,8 +459,9 @@ impl Subconscious {
     /// Toggle an agent on/off by name. Returns new enabled state.
     pub fn toggle(&mut self, name: &str) -> Option<bool> {
         let agent = self.agents.iter_mut().find(|a| a.name == name)?;
-        agent.auto.enabled = !agent.auto.enabled;
+        let auto = agent.auto.as_mut()?;
-        Some(agent.auto.enabled)
+        auto.enabled = !auto.enabled;
+        Some(auto.enabled)
     }
 
     pub fn walked(&self) -> Vec<String> {
@@ -486,9 +492,15 @@ impl Subconscious {
             self.agents[i].last_run = Some(Instant::now());
             any_finished = true;
 
-            let (auto_back, result) = handle.await.unwrap_or_else(
+            let (auto_back, result) = match handle.await {
-                |e| (AutoAgent::new(String::new(), vec![], vec![], 0.6, 0),
+                Ok(r) => (Some(r.0), r.1),
-                     Err(format!("task panicked: {}", e))));
+                Err(e) => {
+                    // Task panicked — auto is lost, need to recreate from def
+                    let recovered = SubconsciousAgent::new(&self.agents[i].name)
+                        .map(|a| a.auto).flatten();
+                    (recovered, Err(format!("task panicked: {}", e)))
+                }
+            };
             self.agents[i].auto = auto_back;
 
             match result {
@@ -585,8 +597,7 @@ impl Subconscious {
             if !self.agents[i].should_trigger(conversation_bytes, interval) { continue; }
             self.agents[i].last_trigger_bytes = conversation_bytes;
 
-            let auto = std::mem::replace(&mut self.agents[i].auto,
+            let Some(auto) = self.agents[i].auto.take() else { continue };
-                AutoAgent::new(String::new(), vec![], vec![], 0.6, 0));
             to_run.push((i, auto));
         }
 

src/mind/unconscious.rs

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ fn save_enabled_config(map: &HashMap<String, bool>) {
 struct UnconsciousAgent {
     name: String,
     enabled: bool,
-    auto: AutoAgent,
+    auto: Option<AutoAgent>,
     handle: Option<tokio::task::JoinHandle<(AutoAgent, Result<(), String>)>>,
     /// Shared agent handle — UI locks to read context live.
     pub agent: Option<std::sync::Arc<crate::agent::Agent>>,
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ impl Unconscious {
             agents.push(UnconsciousAgent {
                 name: def.agent.clone(),
                 enabled,
-                auto,
+                auto: Some(auto),
                 handle: None,
                 agent: None,
                 last_run: None,
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ impl Unconscious {
                 // Get the AutoAgent back from the finished task (stats already updated)
                 match handle.now_or_never() {
                     Some(Ok((auto_back, result))) => {
-                        agent.auto = auto_back;
+                        agent.auto = Some(auto_back);
                         match result {
                             Ok(_) => dbglog!("[unconscious] {} completed (run {})",
                                 agent.name, crate::agent::oneshot::get_stats(&agent.name).runs),
@@ -244,9 +244,11 @@ impl Unconscious {
             store.record_agent_visits(&batch.node_keys, &name).ok();
         }
 
-        // Swap auto out, replace steps with resolved prompts
+        // Take auto out for the spawned task
-        let mut auto = std::mem::replace(&mut self.agents[idx].auto,
+        let Some(mut auto) = self.agents[idx].auto.take() else {
-            AutoAgent::new(String::new(), vec![], vec![], 0.6, 0));
+            dbglog!("[unconscious] {} already running", name);
+            return;
+        };
         let orig_steps = std::mem::replace(&mut auto.steps,
             batch.steps.iter().map(|s| AutoStep {
                 prompt: s.prompt.clone(),
@@ -261,7 +263,7 @@ impl Unconscious {
         if base_url.is_empty() || model.is_empty() {
             dbglog!("[unconscious] API not configured");
             auto.steps = orig_steps;
-            self.agents[idx].auto = auto;
+            self.agents[idx].auto = Some(auto);
             return;
         }
 
@@ -271,7 +273,7 @@ impl Unconscious {
             Err(e) => {
                 dbglog!("[unconscious] config: {}", e);
                 auto.steps = orig_steps;
-                self.agents[idx].auto = auto;
+                self.agents[idx].auto = Some(auto);
                 return;
             }
         };