Chapter 05
Creating and Running Tasks
A task is a unit of engineering work scoped to a repository and branch. This page covers creating one, the instance lifecycle, the workflow from your seat, and how to control a running task.
What a Task Is
You describe engineering work; Vyazen spins up an isolated instance and runs an agent to do it on the branch, following the structured workflow. The agent researches your code, asks questions, drafts a design, implements, verifies, reviews, and proposes a pull request, pausing for your approval at the key gates.
Create a Task
From the tasks page, choose New task:
- Repository: pick a connected repo (it must be indexed and ready).
- Branch: the branch the agent will work on.
- Title: a short summary.
- Instructions: describe what you want, as you would to a teammate. The clearer and more specific you are, the better the result. Mention constraints, related files, or conventions if they matter.
The task is created as a draft, then Vyazen provisions an instance and the agent begins.
suggestion
Instance Lifecycle
Each task runs in its own instance. Its status moves through these states (shown on the task's status bar):
| State | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Provisioning | Vyazen is spinning up the isolated environment for the task. |
| Starting | The environment and agent are coming online. |
| Ready | The instance is up and the agent is (or will be) working. |
| Running | The agent is actively working through the workflow. |
| Pausing / Resuming | You (or an admin) paused the instance; resuming restarts it. |
| Terminating | The instance is being torn down. |
| Terminated | The instance is gone; the task record and its history remain. |
| Failed | Something went wrong; see FAQ & troubleshooting. |
The Workflow From Your Seat
The agent works through the workflow phases:
Research
the agent studies your code and the task
Clarifyapproval gate · Questions
asks you questions to remove ambiguity
Designapproval gate · Design sign-off
proposes an approach and asks for your sign-off
Plan
breaks the work into ordered, testable steps
Implement
writes the code, one step at a time
Verify
runs checks and confirms the work passes
Review
reviews its own changes for quality and drift
Pull requestapproval gate · Your approval
proposes a PR for your review
Not every task runs every phase (a small fix may skip design), but research, verification, and a PR are always present.
Approval Gates
The agent pauses at approval gates and waits for you:
- Questions: answer to remove ambiguity before it commits to an approach.
- Design sign-off: approve its plan before implementation begins.
Nothing is committed or pushed without your approval. The chat shows each gate as an interactive card: see Working with the agent.
Instance Controls
From the task detail view you can:
- Retry: restart the agent's turn or the task if it failed.
- Pause / Resume: stop and later resume the instance (useful for long-running tasks).
- Terminate: tear down the instance. The task record and history stay.
Status & History
The tasks page lists your tasks, split into active and archived. Each task detail view shows the instance status, a workflow panel summarizing progress, and the full agent chat history.