Background tasks

A background task lets Nock or a coding agent keep working while you return to the rest of the app. It has its own status, questions, result, and Stop task control. Hiding the notch or starting another conversation does not stop it.

Know which kind of work you started

• Nock worker or build: Nock’s agent is doing the requested work on your computer. Its task card shows progress, questions, and a result.
• Claude Code or Codex task: Nock has handed the request to that coding tool. With Find agents running, a supported task can appear as a coding chat in the Agents panel; other requests appear as tasks.
• Chat Manager conversation: a coding chat you opened or asked Chat Manager to control. It has its own chat window and conversation. It is not a background task card.
• Cloud bot: a separate cloud-running agent, not a local worker. Cloud bots are marked Beta. Availability and included usage depend on the account and plan.
• Team handoff: a message to another person or outside agent. It can be queued or delivered without being answered. It is not a Nock worker result.

See Chat coordination for the full map.

Find and read a task

Open Tasks from the notch and choose a card. Statuses answer different questions:

• Working or Queued: work is active or waiting for its turn. Read the card before asking for the same work again.
• Needs your approval or Waiting for you: a decision is required. Open the task and read the action or question before responding.
• Complete or Done: the run ended. Open its result and verify the requested outcome and any tests.
• Stopped or Failed: inspect the partial result and files before deciding what to do next. If the card allows it, use Continue to resume.

Stop the correct work

Choose Stop task on the task you want to interrupt. A new voice request is not a stop command for a running coding task; it can be queued instead. Stopping prevents work that has not started, interrupts the current run where supported, and drops follow-ups that are still waiting behind it. It cannot undo changes or external actions already completed.

Before retrying, check the task’s existing changes and see whether its previous attempt already completed the action. For interrupted or failed work, see Continue a task and Coding task troubleshooting.

Keep your project safe

Give each task one clear outcome and a specific project. Avoid starting two tasks that edit the same files at the same time. When a run reports that it finished, inspect its diff and the exact checks it ran; a green task status is not a substitute for reviewing the result.

See Coding agents, Project folders, and Task approvals.