Long-running work is still governed work#
Sidekick can now represent more than a single chat turn. The May 2026 runtime delivery added the substrate for cloud-resident work: stored intent, bounded resume, checkpoint events, approval pauses, and evidence at every transition.
The important rule is unchanged: Sidekick must not claim progress without an event. Long-running work is visible as a Job with Steps, Approvals, Outputs, and Proof.
What shipped#
| Capability | What it means |
|---|---|
| cloud-resident execution | Sidekick can hold a bounded workspace-resident job instead of pretending every ask finishes in one turn |
| parallel subagent fanout | A parent Job can dispatch a bounded, fixed-size set of parallel Agents under it — each inherits the parent's scope and connections (never wider), each produces its own proof, and the fan-out still rolls up into one parent record. Bounded and deterministic, not an open-ended swarm. |
| multi-step delivery graphs | A Job isn't always one straight line of Steps — it can branch into several linked pieces of work with dependencies between them, some of which can run at the same time under the bounded fan-out above, then converge into one outcome. |
| behaviour-drift evidence | Drift is surfaced as evidence and candidate follow-up work; it is not auto-applied self-modification |
| routine studio | Non-engineers can compose versioned routines through a governed routine studio rather than needing a developer to hand-code every workflow |
| governed browser connector | Browser-like actions are connector actions inside the federation/runtime boundary, not uncontrolled local computer use |
| async continuation | When a background job finishes, Sidekick picks up the conversation automatically — its follow-up appears in your thread without a reload or a new message from you. |
What this is not#
This is not an opaque autonomous swarm. Scope inheritance, approvals, budget checks, connector admission, evidence receipts, and replay remain load-bearing. If a required connection, gate, or approval is missing, Sidekick should say that plainly and pause or refuse.
How to talk about it#
Use consumer words first: Ask, Job, Steps, Agents, Approvals, Outputs, Proof. Use runtime words when precision matters: resident agent record, checkpoint event, dispatch lease, connector event, and evidence receipt.
Sidekick follows up in your thread when its background work is done. You do not need to ask — it comes to you.