question dismissal, A2: the silent write + the dismissal pause (owner design 2026-10-03)

- {type:"dismiss"} input event: parse + pure appends with the answer-event
  orphan discipline (dangling-call 400, kind match, answer must be dismissed)
- POST /api/chats/[id]/dismiss: the no-turn composition — write-ahead append,
  409 while a turn runs, emits record-changed (new bus word; idle views sync)
- needsContinuation: an all-dismissed trailing batch demands nothing;
  endsInDismissal = the derived pause predicate (tail-based, no latch)
- wake pipeline: while the record ends in a dismissal the pump holds every
  delivery in the steer queue — the user's next send is the wake (until the
  text-turn steer claim lands, settlement re-pump delivers right after it)
- session-core.dismissQuestion: optimistic skipped card + silent POST;
  chat.tsx confirmAbort question-mode swaps submitAnswer for it; ESC-abort
  popup everywhere (AbortTurnDialog) with popup-Esc claimed via state gate
- parallel question calls dismiss call-by-call (results bind by id)

app/api/chats/[id]/dismiss/route.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/**
+ * THE SILENT DISMISSAL ROUTE (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2"): ESC-abort
+ * from a pending question writes the dismissed toolResult to the record
+ * and wakes NOTHING — no beginTurn, no agent, no tokens. The session
+ * enters the derived dismissal pause (endsInDismissal): job deliveries
+ * hold in the wake pipeline's steer queue, the continuation fold demands
+ * nothing, and the user's next plain message is the wake that carries
+ * the dismissal (plus any held deliveries) into the agent's context.
+ *
+ * Parallel question calls: each dismissal completes exactly its own call
+ * (results bind by toolCallId, not position), so the dock advances
+ * call-by-call and the composer returns only when nothing dangles.
+ *
+ * Guards mirror the turn route's honesty: 404 unknown chat, 400 for an
+ * input that targets no dangling question call (or isn't a real
+ * dismissal), 409 when a turn is somehow running — the dismissing client
+ * heals via the record-changed sync, same as any raced settle.
+ */
+import { ChatInputError, dismissAppends, emit, parseDismissInput } from "@/src/core";
+import { getChat, isTurnRunning, stores } from "@/src/server";
+
+export async function POST(req: Request, ctx: { params: Promise<{ id: string }> }): Promise<Response> {
+	const { id } = await ctx.params;
+	const chat = getChat(id);
+	if (!chat) return Response.json({ error: "Unknown chat" }, { status: 404 });
+
+	let input;
+	try {
+		// The POST-family convention: the body is { input } (chatId lives in
+		// the URL here).
+		const body = (await req.json().catch(() => null)) as { input?: unknown } | null;
+		input = parseDismissInput(body?.input ?? null);
+	} catch (err) {
+		if (err instanceof ChatInputError) return Response.json({ error: err.message }, { status: 400 });
+		throw err;
+	}
+
+	// A dismissal can only target a settled question (question tools end
+	// their turn) — a running turn means something raced; refuse, never
+	// append around a live turn's own persist.
+	if (isTurnRunning(id)) {
+		return Response.json({ error: "A turn is running for this session" }, { status: 409 });
+	}
+
+	let appends;
+	try {
+		appends = dismissAppends(chat, input);
+	} catch (err) {
+		if (err instanceof ChatInputError) return Response.json({ error: err.message }, { status: 400 });
+		throw err;
+	}
+
+	// Write-ahead, turn-less: the record is the only state that moves.
+	const merged = [...chat.messages, ...appends];
+	stores.chatStore.saveMessages(id, merged);
+	emit("record-changed", { chatId: id });
+	return Response.json({ ok: true });
+}

components/abort-turn-dialog.tsx

@@ -17,8 +17,10 @@ import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
  *
  * What "abort" means is mode-dependent: from a running turn it kills
  * the turn (partial stays); from a pending question there is no turn to
- * kill — abort IS dismissal (QuestionAnswerData.dismissed), and the
+ * kill — abort IS dismissal (A2, 2026-10-03): the silent route writes
- * teacher acknowledges the skip in its next turn like any answer.
+ * the skipped toolResult and wakes NOTHING; the session pauses until
+ * the user's next plain message, which carries the dismissal to the
+ * model in its context.
  */
 
 /** What Esc is aborting — drives copy and the confirm action. */

components/chat.tsx

@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ export function Chat({
 	// (core/view.ts projectView); sends are ONE explicit input event each
 	// ({chatId, input} — the stash indirection died with the SDK), and the
 	// turn stream is the VERBATIM AgentEvent passthrough the server emits.
-	const { messages, nativeMessages, send, submitAnswer, setMessages, adoptRecord, status, error, stop, clearError, resumeStream, setReattachSettled } =
+	const { messages, nativeMessages, send, submitAnswer, dismissQuestion, setMessages, adoptRecord, status, error, stop, clearError, resumeStream, setReattachSettled } =
 		useChatSession({ chatId, initialMessages, initiallyInFlight });
 
 	// The reattach settled terminal → the sync-and-continue seam (below).
@@ -323,14 +323,15 @@ export function Chat({
 				return;
 			}
 			// From a pending question there is no turn to kill — abort IS
-			// dismissal, riding the same answer path as any answer (the
+			// dismissal (A2, 2026-10-03): the skipped toolResult lands via the
-			// teacher acknowledges the skip in its next turn).
+			// SILENT route — no turn, no wake, nothing generates. The session
+			// pauses at the user's choice; the next plain send is the wake.
 			const p = pendingRef.current;
 			if (!p) return;
 			const question = (p.input as { question?: string } | null)?.question ?? "";
-			void submitAnswer(p.tool, p.toolCallId, dismissedAnswer(toolQuestionKind(p.tool), question));
+			void dismissQuestion(p.toolCallId, dismissedAnswer(toolQuestionKind(p.tool), question));
 		},
-		[abortInFlightTurn, submitAnswer],
+		[abortInFlightTurn, dismissQuestion],
 	);
 	// Mount continuation: if the stored transcript ends with a fulfilled tool
 	// (a job result landed while no client was open), resume the lesson — the
@@ -879,6 +880,17 @@ export function Chat({
 		// Fully idle — a turn we never saw (every window missed): adopt now.
 		void syncFromServer();
 	});
+	useServerEvent("record-changed", (p) => {
+		// The silent dismissal write (A2, 2026-10-03): no turn ever ran, so
+		// only the record moved. Other tabs and post-error windows adopt;
+		// our OWN dismissal already rendered its optimistic append — syncing
+		// here too is harmless (the adoption law swaps local ids for the
+		// server's). Busy states ignore it: a running turn owns the view,
+		// and the write is 409-guarded against exactly that anyway.
+		if (p.chatId !== chatId) return;
+		if (localStreamRef.current || turnInFlightRef.current) return;
+		void syncFromServer();
+	});
 
 	const onSend = () => {
 		if (busy || pending) return;

components/session-core.ts

@@ -513,6 +513,30 @@ export class SessionModel {
 		return this.send({ type: "answer", toolCallId, answer: output });
 	}
 
+	/** The dismissal path (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2"): the skipped
+	 * toolResult lands optimistically, then the SILENT route persists it
+	 * — no turn, no stream, nothing wakes. The session pauses at the
+	 * user's choice; the next plain send is the wake. On failure the
+	 * durable record wins: the error surfaces, the record-changed sync
+	 * (or any later refetch) replaces the optimistic append with truth. */
+	async dismissQuestion(toolCallId: string, answer: QuestionAnswerData): Promise<void> {
+		if (!this.readyRef) return;
+		const tool = pendingCallTool([...this.base, ...this.tail], toolCallId) ?? "quiz";
+		this.mutate(() => {
+			this.tail = [...this.tail, { ...newAnswerResult(toolCallId, tool, answer), id: localId() }];
+		});
+		try {
+			const res = await this.fetch(`/api/chats/${this.chatId}/dismiss`, {
+				method: "POST",
+				headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+				body: JSON.stringify({ input: { type: "dismiss", toolCallId, answer } }),
+			});
+			if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`The dismissal failed (${res.status}).`);
+		} catch (err) {
+			this.setError((err as Error).message);
+		}
+	}
+
 	/** Local detach: cancel the consume, keep the partial tail. The page's
 	 *  settle watch adopts the record when the server turn finishes. */
 	stop(): void {

components/session.ts

@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ export function useChatSession({ chatId, initialMessages, initiallyInFlight }: U
 			void model.submitAnswer(tool, toolCallId, output),
 		[model],
 	);
+	const dismissQuestion = useCallback(
+		(toolCallId: string, answer: QuestionAnswerData) => void model.dismissQuestion(toolCallId, answer),
+		[model],
+	);
 	const setMessages = useCallback((record: LhMessage[]) => model.setMessages(record), [model]);
 	const adoptRecord = useCallback((record: LhMessage[]) => model.adoptRecord(record), [model]);
 	const stop = useCallback(() => model.stop(), [model]);
@@ -106,6 +110,7 @@ export function useChatSession({ chatId, initialMessages, initiallyInFlight }: U
 		error: state.error,
 		send,
 		submitAnswer,
+		dismissQuestion,
 		setMessages,
 		adoptRecord,
 		stop,

src/core/events.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ export interface ServerEvents {
 	"activity-changed": Record<string, never>;
 	/** The session list changed (create, delete, title). */
 	"chats-changed": Record<string, never>;
+	/** A chat's record changed WITHOUT a turn (the silent dismissal write).
+	 *  Same notify-then-fetch contract as the turn events: open views of
+	 *  the chat refetch and adopt the durable record. */
+	"record-changed": { chatId: string };
 }
 
 export type ServerEventType = keyof ServerEvents;
@@ -51,6 +55,7 @@ export const SERVER_EVENT_TYPES = [
 	"jobs-changed",
 	"activity-changed",
 	"chats-changed",
+	"record-changed",
 ] as const satisfies readonly ServerEventType[];
 
 /** One notification: the type discriminates the payload. */

src/core/input-events.ts

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import {
 	newAnswerResult,
 	newUserMessage,
 } from "./native-messages.ts";
-import { QUESTION_TOOLS } from "./pending.ts";
+import { QUESTION_TOOLS, toolQuestionKind } from "./pending.ts";
 
 /** One client-originated input event (the POST body's `input`). */
 export type ChatInput =
@@ -50,6 +50,45 @@ export type SteerInput = { type: "steers"; steers: LhMessage[] };
 /** Every input the turn composition accepts. */
 export type TurnInput = ChatInput | SteerInput;
 
+/** The dismissal event (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2"): NEVER composes a
+ *  turn — the silent route appends + persists and wakes nothing. The
+ *  answer rides the event (mirroring the answer event) but must actually
+ *  BE a dismissal: the silent path must never inject a live answer
+ *  wake-free. Parallel question calls each get their own dismiss event;
+ *  results reference their calls by id, so the appends stay independent. */
+export type DismissInput = { type: "dismiss"; toolCallId: string; answer: QuestionAnswerData };
+
+/** Parse and validate a dismissal event off a request body. */
+export function parseDismissInput(input: unknown): DismissInput {
+	if (typeof input !== "object" || input === null) throw new ChatInputError("input must be an object");
+	const i = input as Record<string, unknown>;
+	if (i.type !== "dismiss") throw new ChatInputError(`unknown input type: ${String(i.type)}`);
+	if (typeof i.toolCallId !== "string" || i.toolCallId.length === 0) {
+		throw new ChatInputError("dismiss input requires toolCallId");
+	}
+	const answer = i.answer as QuestionAnswerData | undefined;
+	if (typeof answer !== "object" || answer === null) {
+		throw new ChatInputError("dismiss input requires the dismissal answer object");
+	}
+	if (answer.dismissed !== true) {
+		throw new ChatInputError("dismiss input's answer must be a dismissal (dismissed: true)");
+	}
+	return { type: "dismiss", toolCallId: i.toolCallId, answer };
+}
+
+/** The native appends a dismissal makes (pure — same orphan discipline
+ *  as answers: the call must be a DANGLING question call). */
+export function dismissAppends(record: { messages: LhMessage[] }, input: DismissInput): LhMessage[] {
+	const pending = danglingQuestionOf(record.messages);
+	if (!pending || pending.toolCallId !== input.toolCallId) {
+		throw new ChatInputError("dismiss input targets no pending question call");
+	}
+	if (input.answer.kind !== toolQuestionKind(pending.tool)) {
+		throw new ChatInputError("dismiss input's answer kind does not match the question");
+	}
+	return [newAnswerResult(input.toolCallId, pending.tool, input.answer)];
+}
+
 /** A malformed input event (the honest 400 — the orphan-trap discipline). */
 export class ChatInputError extends Error {}
 

src/core/native-messages.ts

@@ -292,6 +292,26 @@ export function answeredCallIds(messages: readonly LhMessage[]): Set<string> {
  * dock's domain — fails the all-answered rule and never fires a turn,
  * exactly as the SDK's every(output-available) did).
  */
+/** Is this record message a user-dismissed question result? The full
+ *  answer rides the toolResult's `details` (newAnswerResult) — the
+ *  dismissal pause and the continuation fold both read it. */
+function isDismissedResult(m: LhMessage): boolean {
+	if ((m as { role?: string }).role !== "toolResult") return false;
+	const details = (m as { details?: unknown }).details as { dismissed?: unknown } | undefined;
+	return details?.dismissed === true;
+}
+
+/** The dismissal pause (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2"): the record ends
+ *  in user dismissal — the session waits for the USER. While paused,
+ *  nothing auto-wakes: the continuation fold demands nothing (below) and
+ *  the wake pipeline holds job deliveries in the steer queue until the
+ *  next send. Derived from the tail — no latch to persist or clear; any
+ *  user message flips it off by changing the record. */
+export function endsInDismissal(messages: readonly LhMessage[]): boolean {
+	const last = messages[messages.length - 1];
+	return last !== undefined && isDismissedResult(last);
+}
+
 export function needsContinuation(messages: readonly LhMessage[]): boolean {
 	const last = messages[messages.length - 1];
 	if (!last || (last as { role?: string }).role !== "toolResult") return false;
@@ -305,6 +325,11 @@ export function needsContinuation(messages: readonly LhMessage[]): boolean {
 	) {
 		start--;
 	}
+	// The dismissal rule (A2): a trailing batch that is ALL user dismissals
+	// owes the agent nothing — the session sits paused at the user's
+	// choice. Mixed batches (impossible while paused — held deliveries
+	// never append — but honest anyway) fall through to the normal rule.
+	if (messages.slice(start).every(isDismissedResult)) return false;
 	const owner = messages[start - 1];
 	if (!owner || (owner as { role?: string }).role !== "assistant") return false;
 	const content = (owner as { content?: unknown }).content;

src/server/jobs.ts

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ import {
 	type SteerMessage,
 } from "../core/contracts.ts";
 import type { TurnInput } from "../core/input-events.ts";
-import { danglingQuestionOf } from "../core/native-messages.ts";
+import { danglingQuestionOf, endsInDismissal } from "../core/native-messages.ts";
 import { fireJobAbort, isJobLive } from "../agent/subagents/aborts.ts";
 import { stores } from "./stores.ts";
 import { isTurnRunning } from "./turn-liveness.ts";
@@ -457,6 +457,17 @@ async function pump(chatId: string): Promise<void> {
 				return;
 			}
 
+			// THE DISMISSAL PAUSE (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2"): the record
+			// ends in a user dismissal — the session waits for the USER. Hold
+			// every marker in the queue (no wake fires) and return; the user's
+			// next send is the wake that carries them (the in-run vehicle below
+			// hands them to that turn once the text-claim lands — until then,
+			// settlement re-pumps and lands them right after it). The pause is
+			// derived from the tail, so any user message un-holds by construction.
+			if (endsInDismissal(fresh.messages)) {
+				return;
+			}
+
 			// DEQUEUE-AT-FIRE (the Wave C lesson from the Wave B regression):
 			// the carried markers leave the registry BEFORE the turn runs —
 			// the wake run's OWN follow-up poll must never see its own cargo,

tests/chat-flow.test.ts

@@ -35,11 +35,16 @@ import { buildSubagentSteer } from "../src/core/contracts.ts";
 import { abortTurn, runningTurn, settledTurnResponse } from "../src/server/turn-runs.ts";
 import { chatStore } from "../src/store/chats.ts";
 import { jobStore } from "../src/store/jobs.ts";
-import { buildAnswer, coerceCorrectAnswer, normalizeOptions, resolveCorrect, type QuestionData } from "../src/core/question-core.ts";
+import { buildAnswer, coerceCorrectAnswer, dismissedAnswer, normalizeOptions, resolveCorrect, type QuestionData } from "../src/core/question-core.ts";
-import { danglingQuestionOf, newAnswerResult } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
+import { danglingQuestionOf, endsInDismissal, newAnswerResult } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
 import { projectView } from "../src/core/view.ts";
 import type { PiEngine } from "../src/agent/models.ts";
 import type { LhMessage } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
+
+// Route-level pin (the chat-birth-stamp pattern): the dismiss route's
+// handler, driven directly. Env is the runner's (the same the static
+// store imports already resolved under).
+const dismissRoute = await import("../app/api/chats/[id]/dismiss/route.ts");
 import { PATHS } from "../config.ts";
 
 // The key-presence turn gate (provider-key interlude, 2026-09-25): scripted
@@ -1155,3 +1160,93 @@ it("explain tool call persists as a pending part; the free-text answer reveals t
 	assert.ok(!/"explanation"/.test(seen), "the answer record carries no explanation field");
 	assert.equal(danglingQuestionOf(saved2.messages), null, "no pending question remains");
 });
+
+// ─── the silent dismissal (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2") ──────────────────
+
+describe("the silent dismissal (A2)", () => {
+	function dismissPost(chatId: string, toolCallId: string): Promise<Response> {
+		return dismissRoute.POST(
+			new Request(`http://test/api/chats/${chatId}/dismiss`, {
+				method: "POST",
+				headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+				body: JSON.stringify({
+					input: { type: "dismiss", toolCallId, answer: dismissedAnswer("quiz", QUIZ_INPUT.question) },
+				}),
+			}),
+			{ params: Promise.resolve({ id: chatId }) },
+		);
+	}
+
+	it("writes the toolResult with NO wake — the next plain message carries it to the model", async () => {
+		const { engine, calls } = scriptedTeacher(defaultLesson);
+		const chat = createConfiguredChat("Test: silent dismissal");
+		createdChats.push(chat.id);
+
+		// Turn 1: the quiz dangles.
+		await drain(await handleChatRequest(post(chat.id, { type: "text", text: "teach me the solar system" }), agentFactory(engine)));
+		assert.ok(danglingQuestionOf(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages), "the quiz is pending");
+
+		// The dismissal: SILENT — record completes the call, nothing wakes.
+		const res = await dismissPost(chat.id, "call-1");
+		assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+		const saved = chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!;
+		assert.equal(danglingQuestionOf(saved.messages), null, "the call is answered by the dismissal");
+		const tail = saved.messages[saved.messages.length - 1]! as { role?: string; details?: { dismissed?: boolean } };
+		assert.equal(tail.role, "toolResult");
+		assert.equal(tail.details?.dismissed, true, "the record's dismissal is the details payload");
+		assert.equal(calls.length, 1, "NO second engine call — the dismissal woke nothing");
+		assert.equal(isTurnRunning(chat.id), false);
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(saved.messages), true, "the session sits dismissal-paused");
+
+		// The next plain message is THE wake — the model sees the skipped
+		// question and the user's text in one context (the steer-batch
+		// outcome, delivered by record truth).
+		await drain(await handleChatRequest(post(chat.id, { type: "text", text: "skip that — tell me about Mars" }), agentFactory(engine)));
+		assert.equal(calls.length, 2, "exactly one wake: the user's message");
+		assert.match(calls[1]!.join("\n"), /dismissed/, "the dismissed result rode the wake's context");
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages), false, "the pause lifted with the send");
+	});
+
+	it("rejects honestly: unknown chat 404, no dangling question 400", async () => {
+		assert.equal((await dismissPost("chat_nonexistent", "call-x")).status, 404);
+		const chat = createConfiguredChat("Test: dismiss no question");
+		createdChats.push(chat.id);
+		chatStore.saveMessages(chat.id, [{ id: "u1", role: "user", content: "hi", timestamp: 1 } as never]);
+		assert.equal((await dismissPost(chat.id, "call-x")).status, 400);
+	});
+
+	it("parallel quizzes dismiss call-by-call — the composer returns only when nothing dangles", async () => {
+		const chat = createConfiguredChat("Test: parallel dismiss");
+		createdChats.push(chat.id);
+		// Two quiz calls in one assistant message (the sequential-execution
+		// shape the tools opt into).
+		chatStore.saveMessages(chat.id, [
+			{ id: "u1", role: "user", content: "hello", timestamp: 1 } as never,
+			{
+				id: "a1",
+				role: "assistant",
+				content: [
+					{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-a", name: "quiz", arguments: { question: "A?" } as never },
+					{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-b", name: "quiz", arguments: { question: "B?" } as never },
+				],
+				api: "openai-completions",
+				provider: "openrouter",
+				model: "test",
+				usage: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
+				stopReason: "toolUse",
+				timestamp: 1,
+			} as never,
+		]);
+
+		// First dismissal completes call-a; call-b still dangles.
+		assert.equal((await dismissPost(chat.id, "call-a")).status, 200);
+		const pending = danglingQuestionOf(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages);
+		assert.equal(pending?.toolCallId, "call-b", "the dock advances to the next question");
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages), true);
+
+		// Second dismissal: nothing dangles, still paused.
+		assert.equal((await dismissPost(chat.id, "call-b")).status, 200);
+		assert.equal(danglingQuestionOf(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages), null, "the composer may return");
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(chatStore.getChat(chat.id)!.messages), true, "paused until the user speaks");
+	});
+});

tests/jobs.test.ts

@@ -854,6 +854,61 @@ describe("wake pipeline (src/server/jobs.ts)", () => {
 		assert.equal(jobStore.getJob(jobId)!.status, "done");
 	});
 
+	it("the dismissal pause holds deliveries — no wake until the user's next turn settles (A2)", async () => {
+		const { chatId, jobId, steer } = setup();
+		let fired = 0;
+		setTurnRunner(async () => {
+			fired++;
+			return 200;
+		});
+
+		// The record ends in a DISMISSAL (owner design 2026-10-03): the
+		// question was skipped via the silent route — no dangling call (the
+		// quiz gate would pass), so ONLY the dismissal pause holds the wake.
+		chatStore.saveMessages(chatId, [
+			{ id: "u1", role: "user", content: "hello", timestamp: 1 } as never,
+			{
+				id: "a1",
+				role: "assistant",
+				content: [{ type: "toolCall", id: "quiz-call", name: "quiz", arguments: { question: "q" } as never }],
+				api: "openai-completions",
+				provider: "openrouter",
+				model: "test",
+				usage: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
+				stopReason: "toolUse",
+				timestamp: 1,
+			} as never,
+			{
+				id: "r1",
+				role: "toolResult",
+				toolCallId: "quiz-call",
+				toolName: "quiz",
+				content: [{ type: "text", text: "skipped" }],
+				details: { kind: "quiz", questionText: "q", dontKnow: false, answers: [], dismissed: true, answeredAt: "t" },
+				isError: false,
+				timestamp: 1,
+			} as never,
+		]);
+
+		const delivery = deliverJobResult(steer);
+
+		await delay(1200);
+		assert.equal(fired, 0, "no wake while the session sits dismissal-paused");
+		assert.equal(jobStore.getJob(jobId)!.status, "running", "the delivery holds (queued, not lost)");
+
+		// The user's next message is the wake — its turn settles, and the
+		// settlement re-pump lands the held delivery right after it.
+		const record = chatStore.getChat(chatId)!;
+		const afterUser = [...record.messages, { id: "u2", role: "user", content: "moving on", timestamp: 2 } as never];
+		chatStore.saveMessages(chatId, afterUser);
+		settleSteers(chatId, afterUser);
+
+		await waitFor(() => fired > 0, 8000, "wake after the pause lifts");
+		await delivery;
+		await waitFor(() => jobStore.getJob(jobId)!.status !== "running", 8000, "job flip after the held wake");
+		assert.equal(jobStore.getJob(jobId)!.status, "done");
+	});
+
 	it("retries with backoff on a 409 (a client turn raced in) and delivers on the retry", async () => {
 		const { jobId, steer } = setup();
 		let calls = 0;

tests/session-core.test.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ import { afterEach, describe, it } from "node:test";
 import { absorbed, pendingCallTool, SessionModel } from "../components/session-core.ts";
 import type { ChatInput } from "../src/core/input-events.ts";
 import type { LhMessage } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
-import { newUserMessage, newAnswerResult, needsContinuation } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
+import { newUserMessage, newAnswerResult, needsContinuation, endsInDismissal } from "../src/core/native-messages.ts";
+import { dismissedAnswer } from "../src/core/question-core.ts";
 import { buildAnswer, type QuestionData } from "../src/core/question-core.ts";
 
 const realFetch = globalThis.fetch;
@@ -817,6 +818,71 @@ describe("needsContinuation (the native lastAssistantMessageIsCompleteWithToolCa
 	});
 });
 
+// ─── the dismissal pause (owner design 2026-10-03, "A2") ────────────────────
+
+describe("the dismissal pause (needsContinuation + endsInDismissal)", () => {
+	/** The record's silent dismiss write: the toolResult the dismiss route
+	 *  appends (full answer in details — the folds read it there). */
+	function dismissedMsg(callId: string): LhMessage {
+		return {
+			...newAnswerResult(callId, "quiz", dismissedAnswer("quiz", "Pick a planet")),
+			id: `d_${callId}`,
+		} as unknown as LhMessage;
+	}
+
+	it("an all-dismissed tail demands NO continuation — the session waits for the user", () => {
+		const messages = [userText("u1", "topic"), assistantWithCall("a1", "call-q1", "quiz"), dismissedMsg("call-q1")];
+		assert.equal(needsContinuation(messages), false);
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(messages), true, "the pause predicate reads the same tail");
+	});
+
+	it("parallel dismissals: each silent write its own call — still paused", () => {
+		const assistant = {
+			...assistantWithCall("a1", "call-a"),
+			content: [
+				{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-a", name: "quiz", arguments: {} },
+				{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-b", name: "ask_user_question", arguments: {} },
+			],
+		} as unknown as LhMessage;
+		const messages = [
+			userText("u1", "topic"),
+			assistant,
+			dismissedMsg("call-a"),
+			{ ...newAnswerResult("call-b", "ask_user_question", dismissedAnswer("ask", "Why?")), id: "d_call-b" } as unknown as LhMessage,
+		];
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(messages), true);
+		assert.equal(needsContinuation(messages), false, "dismissed by id, not by position — the batch rule holds");
+	});
+
+	it("mixed tail (answered + dismissed) keeps the normal rule — the answer is owed its reaction", () => {
+		const assistant = {
+			...assistantWithCall("a1", "call-a"),
+			content: [
+				{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-a", name: "quiz", arguments: {} },
+				{ type: "toolCall", id: "call-b", name: "quiz", arguments: {} },
+			],
+		} as unknown as LhMessage;
+		const messages = [userText("u1", "topic"), assistant, resultMsg("call-a", "quiz"), dismissedMsg("call-b")];
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(messages), true, "tail ends in the dismissal");
+		assert.equal(needsContinuation(messages), true, "a real answer in the batch still demands the reaction");
+	});
+
+	it("any user message un-pauses (the derived tail flips)", () => {
+		const messages = [
+			userText("u1", "topic"),
+			assistantWithCall("a1", "call-q1", "quiz"),
+			dismissedMsg("call-q1"),
+			userText("u2", "moving on"),
+		];
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(messages), false);
+	});
+
+	it("a normal answer is not a dismissal (the predicate stays honest)", () => {
+		const messages = [userText("u1", "topic"), assistantWithCall("a1", "call-q1", "quiz"), resultMsg("call-q1", "quiz")];
+		assert.equal(endsInDismissal(messages), false);
+	});
+});
+
 // ─── the pending-call tool scan ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe("pendingCallTool", () => {