fix(tools): enforce a disabled run_in_background at execution time (review findings)

enableRunInBackground: false removed the parameter from the advertised
schema only — the arg validator deliberately allows undeclared keys, so
a caller (or a model that has seen the parameter elsewhere) could still
force run_in_background: true and start background work past the
deployment's opt-out, in both tool-bash and tool-subagent. Both
producers now refuse the forced key loud in execute(); tests pin the
refusal (and that nothing spawns) alongside the untouched foreground
path; the schema-omission-is-advertising rule is recorded in the
runtime RFC and both READMEs.

packages/bash/tool-bash/README.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ The plugin also contributes the `tool:bash` prompt section (order 105) — the c
 
 | key | default | meaning |
 |---|---|---|
-| `enableRunInBackground` | `true` | Expose `run_in_background` in the schema. Disabled, the parameter is absent entirely (schema and capability never disagree) and the description says background execution is unavailable. |
+| `enableRunInBackground` | `true` | Expose `run_in_background` in the schema. Disabled, the parameter is absent entirely (schema and capability never disagree), the description says background execution is unavailable, and a caller that forces the key anyway is refused at execution time (the arg validator allows undeclared keys, so the schema omission alone is not enforcement). |
 
 ## The `bash` tool
 

packages/bash/tool-bash/src/index.ts

@@ -350,6 +350,13 @@ export function apply(ctx: Context, config: Config): void {
         ...args.timeoutMs !== undefined ? { timeoutMs: args.timeoutMs } : {},
       }
       if (args.run_in_background === true) {
+        // The schema omission is advertising, not enforcement — the arg
+        // validator deliberately allows undeclared keys, so a caller (or a
+        // model that has seen the parameter elsewhere) can still send it.
+        // A disabled deployment must refuse at execution time, loud.
+        if (!backgroundEnabled) {
+          throw new Error('run_in_background is disabled for this deployment (enableRunInBackground: false)')
+        }
         // The generic runtime owns everything task-shaped; without it a task
         // id would be uncollectable — fail loud with the fix, not a dangle.
         const tasks = ctx.get('tasks')

packages/bash/tool-bash/tests/tools.spec.ts

@@ -408,6 +408,15 @@ describe('background execution through the task runtime', () => {
     // The registry-held definition agrees (schema and capability never disagree).
     const parameters = ctx.tools.get('bash')!.parameters as { properties: Record<string, unknown> }
     expect('run_in_background' in parameters.properties).toBe(false)
+
+    // Schema omission is advertising, not enforcement: the arg validator
+    // allows undeclared keys, so a forced run_in_background must be REFUSED
+    // at execution time (review finding) — while foreground still works.
+    const forced = await call(ctx, 'bash', { command: 'echo hi', description: 'test command', run_in_background: true })
+    expect(forced.isError).toBe(true)
+    expect(text(forced)).toContain('run_in_background is disabled for this deployment')
+    const foreground = await call(ctx, 'bash', { command: 'echo hi', description: 'test command' })
+    expect(foreground.isError).toBe(false)
   })
 })
 

packages/subagent/tool-subagent/README.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ The tool description and the `prompt` parameter description are DERIVED from the
 |---|---|
 | `provider` (required) | The `ctx.subagents` provider name to start runs on (`spawn`, `fork`, `acp`, …). |
 | `toolName` | The model-facing tool name to register (default `subagent`). Set a distinct value per load when exposing multiple providers, e.g. `subagent` + `subagent_acp`. |
-| `enableRunInBackground` | Expose `run_in_background` in this instance's schema (default `true`). Disabled, the parameter is absent entirely — delegation through this instance stays strictly synchronous. |
+| `enableRunInBackground` | Expose `run_in_background` in this instance's schema (default `true`). Disabled, the parameter is absent entirely AND a caller that forces the key anyway is refused at execution time (the arg validator allows undeclared keys) — delegation through this instance stays strictly synchronous. |
 | `agentOptions` | Default per-child `{ model? }` applied to every spawned child. (No per-child persona: the deployment persona is a context-wide section every agent shares.) |
 
 ## Foreground lifecycle (synchronous collect)

packages/subagent/tool-subagent/src/index.ts

@@ -253,6 +253,13 @@ export function apply(ctx: Context, config: Config): void {
         }
 
         if (args.run_in_background === true) {
+          // The schema omission is advertising, not enforcement — the arg
+          // validator deliberately allows undeclared keys, so a caller (or a
+          // model that has seen the parameter elsewhere) can still send it.
+          // A disabled instance must refuse at execution time, loud.
+          if (!backgroundEnabled) {
+            throw new Error('run_in_background is disabled for this tool instance (enableRunInBackground: false)')
+          }
           // The generic runtime owns everything task-shaped; without it a task
           // id would be uncollectable — fail loud with the fix, not a dangle.
           const tasks = ctx.get('tasks')

packages/subagent/tool-subagent/tests/tool-subagent.spec.ts

@@ -81,6 +81,21 @@ describe('dsh-tool-subagent', () => {
     expect(schema!.description).not.toContain('task_output')
   })
 
+  it('refuses a forced run_in_background at execution time when the instance disables it (review finding)', async () => {
+    // Schema omission is advertising, not enforcement: the arg validator
+    // allows undeclared keys, so the opt-out must also hold in execute().
+    const ctx = await setup({ provider: 'mock', enableRunInBackground: false })
+    const parent = { id: AgentId('agent-sess-off'), inject: () => {}, session: { header: { version: 0, id: 'sess-off', createdAt: 0 } } } as unknown as Agent
+
+    const forced = await callSubagent(ctx, { description: 'd', prompt: 'p', run_in_background: true }, { agent: parent })
+    expect(forced.isError).toBe(true)
+    expect(text(forced)).toContain('run_in_background is disabled for this tool instance')
+    // The provider was never asked to start a child.
+    expect(ctx.subagents.getProvider('mock')).toBeDefined()
+    const foreground = await callSubagent(ctx, { description: 'd', prompt: 'p' }, { agent: parent })
+    expect(foreground.isError).toBe(false)
+  })
+
   it.each([
     { stopReason: 'aborted' as const, fragment: 'cancelled' },
     { stopReason: 'error' as const, fragment: 'failed' },