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[Bug]: Framework-written FAILED status drops status.timestamp, persisting last_updated as NULL #1331
Description
What happened?
When the framework itself writes a terminal FAILED state (consumer failure, producer failure), the resulting TaskStatus carries no timestamp. Because TaskManager.save_task_event replaces the status wholesale via task.status.CopyFrom(event.status) (src/a2a/server/tasks/task_manager.py:265), the previously stamped status.timestamp is cleared, and DatabaseTaskStore.save derives last_updated from status.timestamp (src/a2a/server/tasks/database_task_store.py:152-156) — persisting NULL.
Consequences:
ListTasksordering (which sorts onlast_updated) drops the task to the end;- the
status_timestamp_afterfilter never matches the task again; - API responses lose the
status.timestampfield entirely.
The behavior is also internally inconsistent: the cancel-failure path _mark_task_as_failed (src/a2a/server/agent_execution/active_task.py:945-963) copies the existing status and only overwrites state (preserving the timestamp), while the consumer failure path _write_failed_status (active_task.py:161-169) and the producer failure path construct a fresh TaskStatus(state=...) with no timestamp.
Reproduction
Self-contained script (main @ 494a8ec, Python 3.10)
import asyncio
from a2a.auth.user import UnauthenticatedUser
from a2a.helpers.proto_helpers import new_task_from_user_message
from a2a.server.agent_execution import AgentExecutor
from a2a.server.context import ServerCallContext
from a2a.server.events import EventQueue
from a2a.server.request_handlers import DefaultRequestHandlerV2
from a2a.server.tasks import InMemoryTaskStore
from a2a.types.a2a_pb2 import (
AgentCapabilities,
AgentCard,
Message,
Part,
Role,
SendMessageConfiguration,
SendMessageRequest,
TaskState,
)
class ExplodingExecutor(AgentExecutor):
task_id = None
async def execute(self, context, event_queue):
task = new_task_from_user_message(context.message)
self.task_id = task.id
await event_queue.enqueue_event(task)
raise RuntimeError('agent crashed mid-flight')
async def cancel(self, context, event_queue):
pass
async def main():
task_store = InMemoryTaskStore()
executor = ExplodingExecutor()
handler = DefaultRequestHandlerV2(
agent_executor=executor,
task_store=task_store,
agent_card=AgentCard(
name='t',
version='1.0',
capabilities=AgentCapabilities(streaming=True),
),
)
params = SendMessageRequest(
message=Message(
role=Role.ROLE_USER, message_id='m1', parts=[Part(text='Hi')]
),
configuration=SendMessageConfiguration(
accepted_output_modes=['text/plain']
),
)
try:
await handler.on_message_send(
params, ServerCallContext(user=UnauthenticatedUser())
)
except Exception as e:
print(f'on_message_send raised {type(e).__name__} (expected)')
task = await task_store.get(
executor.task_id, ServerCallContext(user=UnauthenticatedUser())
)
print(
f'persisted: state={TaskState.Name(task.status.state)}, '
f'timestamp set={task.status.HasField("timestamp")}'
)
asyncio.run(main())Observed output:
on_message_send raised RuntimeError (expected)
persisted: state=TASK_STATE_FAILED, timestamp set=False
Expected behavior
Every task state transition the framework writes — including failures — should carry a status.timestamp, matching what TaskUpdater.update_status does for agent-driven transitions.
Suggested fix
Either:
- stamp the current time in the three framework failure paths (
_write_failed_status, the producer failure path, and — for consistency —_mark_task_as_failed), or - in
TaskManager.save_task_event, preserve the previousstatus.timestampwhen the incoming status event has none.
Happy to submit a PR with tests.
Related
Observed as a secondary effect in the reproduction of #1313.
Code of Conduct
- I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct
Activity
rohityan commentedon Oct 15, 2026
Hi @Linux2010 , thanks for reporting this. I was able to reproduce this issue.
When an unhandled exception is raised during agent execution, the exception is caught within
ActiveTask._run_producer. In this error-handling path, the framework transitions the task toTaskState.TASK_STATE_FAILEDdirectly on the retrieved task instance and passes it toTaskManager.save_task_event. Becausetask.status.stateis mutated without stampingtask.status.timestamp, and becauseTaskManager.save_task_eventpersists rawTaskevents directly viaTaskManager._save_taskwithout generating or merging timestamp metadata as is done forTaskStatusUpdateEvent,task.status.timestampremains unset. Consequently,DatabaseTaskStore._to_ormevaluatestask.status.HasField('timestamp')as False, persistinglast_updatedasNULLand breaking downstream queries, sorting, and time-based filtering.Between the two options you proposed, Option 1 (stamping current time at the failure sites) is the right approach. However, option 1 alone is not fully comprehensive because it only patches known caller sites, leaving the database vulnerable if other code paths or raw
Task/TaskStatusUpdateEventinstances emit a state transition without a timestamp. To be truly robust, it must be paired with a defensive guard inTaskManager.save_task_eventthat auto-populatestimestampwith current time whenever any terminal state arrives unstamped.Please feel free to contribute and link a PR. Assigning this issue to you till your linked PR gets reviewed.
Linux2010 commentedon Oct 16, 2026
PR submitted: #1346
Implements both layers as endorsed: the three failure sites in
ActiveTasknow stamp the current time explicitly, andTaskManager.save_task_eventgained the defensive backstop that auto-populates the timestamp whenever a terminal state arrives unstamped (rawTaskand status-event paths both covered; non-terminal states and explicitly provided timestamps untouched). Tests cover all four behaviors plus the end-to-end persistence from the issue's reproduction.fix(server): always stamp status.timestamp on terminal task states