Fix the local listener

Use these checks when a queued task does not start or the local listener is missing, waiting, or unable to launch a coding agent.

Return to the task's queue action and choose an available coding agent. If the expected choice is hidden or disabled, ask an organization or project administrator to review its availability and command configuration. A listener does not silently substitute a different agent.

The expected result is that the intended agent can be selected before you queue the task.

In the initialized repository for the intended project, run:

alterac-ai listen

Keep that terminal open. Confirm that the CLI and dashboard use the same signed-in account and that the repository's selected project is still available to it.

The expected result is an Active listener status after a polling interval. If it exits, read the reported problem, resolve its authentication or setup cause, then start it again.

Read the local command-approval prompt in the listener terminal. Compare a changed command template with the command you previously approved. Approve it only when you recognize and accept the change; otherwise defer it, correct the coding-agent configuration, and queue the task again.

The expected result is that the listener returns to Active. Waiting for approval keeps the work queued; it is not an automatic launch.

Read the listener's launch diagnostic. When it prints a complete fallback command, open another terminal in the same initialized repository and run that command exactly.

The listener marks the run started before attempting the local terminal launch, so the task can show Agent working even though no coding-agent terminal is attached. If you do not want to run the fallback command, open the task details and choose Start fresh or Requeue and continue as described in review and recover task work.

The expected result is either a coding-agent terminal that owns its own output or a replacement run queued from the task details. Keep the listener open for later work; it does not replay or monitor the worker terminal's output.

Make sure the listener is running for the selected project, then allow one polling interval. If multiple listeners target the same project, stop the extras with Ctrl+C; their dashboard entries disappear after their leases expire. Stop a listener with Ctrl+C when you no longer want it to receive new work. Stop a separately launched worker in its own terminal.

The expected result is one live listener for the project and a task that either starts or reports a concrete queue prerequisite.

Stop attempts to queue or start another run and ask platform support to restore the organization's license. The listener cannot poll or update its presence while the license is expired, and stored CLI authentication remains in place.

If a worker reached Agent working before expiration, let that worker retrieve its exact context and submit its final summary and hand-off. It can move the run to review, but recovery, follow-up, and new starts remain unavailable until reactivation. Existing memberships and project data return without rebuilding them after the license is restored.

For task state and review recovery, see Fix task and review workflows. For the terms in listener status and output, see alterac.ai terminology.