# Read and manage agent runs

> Every agent run is recorded with its plan, its summary, the records it touched and its credit cost. You can open a run while it is still going, stop it, and ask the agent follow-up questions afterwards.

- Source: https://spiich.ai/help/background-agents/monitor-agent-runs
- Section: Background agents
- Who can do this: Everyone
- Time: 5 minutes
- Last updated: 2026-08-24

Nothing an agent does is hidden. Each run keeps the plan it wrote for itself, the evidence behind each step, the records it created or updated, and the full conversation. Reading one run properly is usually faster than rewriting an agent's instructions on a hunch.

## Where runs show up

- **The agent dashboard.** Click any agent row. **Recent runs** is at the bottom of the page.
- **The sidebar.** Expand the **Background Agents** section, hover an agent, and a popover shows its five most recent runs with their statuses, clickable straight into the run.
- **Chat.** Ask the assistant what an agent did, for example "what did my lead gen agent do yesterday?".

An agent with no runs yet says "This agent's first run will appear here the next time its trigger conditions are met."

## What the agent dashboard tells you

Four headline metrics sit at the top: **Runs**, **Next run**, **Credits used** and **Last activity**. Below them:

| Panel | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| **Setup answers** | What you told the builder during setup, with a link back to the setup conversation |
| **Daily spend** | A credit spend chart with a period selector |
| **Records** | The **Up next** and **Already run** tabs, with eligibility and next opportunity per record |
| **Recent runs** | The run list |
| **Agent setup** | Schedule, Cost, Run scope, Created |
| **Capabilities** | Which of Email, Slack and Enrichment are enabled |

## What a run page shows

Open a run and you get, in order:

1. **The run plan.** The checklist the agent wrote for itself, each step marked `Pending`, `In progress`, `Done`, `Blocked` or `Canceled`, carrying the evidence behind it.
2. **An executive summary.** What the run concluded, in a paragraph.
3. **Entities modified.** The CRM records the run created or updated, grouped by type, with counts of new versus updated and links into your CRM.
4. **The activity flow.** Step by step, what the agent read, searched and wrote.
5. **The full conversation.** Everything the agent said to itself while working.

The header carries the status, when it ran, the trigger type and the credit cost. While a run is still going the page shows what it has finished so far plus **Still working**, and it refreshes itself while the tab is open.

## Stopping a run

1. **Open the active run**
   Go to **Background Agents**, open the agent, and click the run in **Recent runs**. Active runs are marked with a spinner.

2. **Click Stop process**
   It is in the top right. Confirm in "Stop this process?", or click **Keep running** to leave it alone.

3. **Read what survived**
   The run flips to `Canceled`. Steps that were already done stay `Done` with their evidence; steps that were pending or in progress now read `Canceled`. Partial output and diagnostics stay readable.

4. **Check for staged changes**
   If the agent had staged CRM changes before stopping, they are still in **Proposals** waiting for you.

> **Careful:** Stopping is cooperative. The agent stops after its current action, so an action already in flight when you press Stop can still complete. If it was mid-send, the email may still go out.

Only active runs can be stopped. A finished run returns "Only active runs can be stopped".

## Asking about a run afterwards

At the bottom of a finished run is an **Ask a follow-up question...** box. The conversation continues from the run's own thread, so the agent still has the full context of what it did and why. Use it for the questions the summary does not answer: why it skipped a company, where a number came from, what it would need to do better next time.

## What runs cost

Every run is metered in credits. The price per run is shown in the **Cost** column on the agent list, in the **Agent setup** panel on the dashboard, and in the confirmation dialog before any manual run. Some agents charge a fixed price per run, others charge per unit they deliver, and some are free.

Below the agent list, **Usage History** itemises every charge with **Type**, **Agent**, **Record**, **Charged to**, **Cost** and **Date**. Failed attempts appear there too, labelled "Out of credits" or "Daily limit exceeded". The **Analytics** tab charts the same data.

> **Admin only:** At the bottom of the Background Agents page, admins can switch on a **Low credit warning** and drag **Warn below** to a percentage of the monthly credit allowance. Workspace admins are emailed when the balance drops below it. Everyone else sees the setting read-only.

For what credits cost and how your allowance works, see [Credits and usage](/help/workspace/credits-and-usage) or [talk to us](/contact).

## Limits

- Only the 10 most recent runs per agent are kept in the run list, and the sidebar popover shows 5.
- A run has a wall-clock ceiling of 12 hours. A run still marked active after that is displayed as `Canceled`, because a stalled run never reaches a final status on its own.
- Run history refreshes only while the browser tab is visible.

## If something goes wrong

**A run has said "Running" for hours and never finishes.** It stalled without reaching a final status. Open it and click **Stop process**, or wait: after 12 hours it is shown as `Canceled` automatically. Completed steps and their evidence stay readable either way.

**"Could not load runs" or "Could not load this run".** The run history is temporarily unavailable, usually during a deploy. Click **Try again**. Nothing is lost: runs that already completed are still recorded.

**"Run not detected. The agent run did not appear."** The run was accepted but did not surface within 30 seconds. Reload the agent dashboard. If it truly never starts, check the credit balance and whether the agent is paused.

**A run page says "No messages in this run".** The run produced no conversation, usually because it failed very early. Check the header for the status, then look in **Usage History** for a matching failed row labelled "Out of credits" or "Daily limit exceeded".

**Every agent is paused and admins were emailed.** The workspace ran out of credits mid-run. Top up in [`Settings > Billing`](https://app.spiich.ai/settings/billing), then resume each agent with the play button. More symptoms in [Agent problems](/help/troubleshooting/agent-problems).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I see a run someone else’s agent produced?

Yes. Viewing agents and reading their run history is open to every member, whether or not you are allowed to create agents. What you cannot do without the grant is pause, edit or delete someone else’s agent.

### Are older runs deleted?

The run list keeps the 10 most recent runs per agent, so older detail rolls off the list. The credit charges themselves stay in **Usage History**, and any CRM records a run created or updated are permanent, since they live in your CRM.

### What does a Blocked step in the run plan mean?

The agent could not complete that step. Each step in the run plan carries the evidence behind it, so open the step to see what the agent had when it stopped. The activity flow shows what it did before and after.

### Can I be notified when a run finishes?

Switch on **Allow email sending** or **Allow Slack messaging** on the agent and add yourself as a recipient. The agent then sends its report where you already work, rather than you checking the dashboard. See [What an agent is allowed to do](/help/background-agents/agent-permissions).

## Related

- [What background agents are](https://spiich.ai/help/background-agents/background-agents-overview)
- [What an agent is allowed to do](https://spiich.ai/help/background-agents/agent-permissions)
- [Triggers and schedules](https://spiich.ai/help/background-agents/agent-triggers)
- [A background agent did not do what you expected](https://spiich.ai/help/troubleshooting/agent-problems)
- [Background Agents](https://spiich.ai/product/background-agents)