diff --git a/src/agent/subagent/registry.ts b/src/agent/subagent/registry.ts
index b2cc8446..d6f76b94 100644
--- a/src/agent/subagent/registry.ts
+++ b/src/agent/subagent/registry.ts
@@ -47,10 +47,9 @@ export function initSubagentRegistry(): void {
           resumedRuns.add(runId);
           handleRunCompletion(record);
         }
-      }
-      // If not ended, the child agent session is lost on restart —
-      // mark as ended with unknown outcome
-      else if (!record.startedAt) {
+      } else {
+        // If not ended, the child agent session is lost on restart —
+        // mark as ended with unknown outcome
         record.endedAt = Date.now();
         record.outcome = { status: "unknown" };
         persist();
@@ -246,6 +245,10 @@ function handleRunCompletion(record: SubagentRunRecord): void {
 
   if (!announced) {
     console.warn(`[SubagentRegistry] Announce flow failed for run ${record.runId}`);
+    // Allow retry on next restart if announce failed.
+    record.cleanupHandled = false;
+    persist();
+    return;
   }
 
   // Handle session cleanup
diff --git a/src/agent/tools/sessions-spawn.ts b/src/agent/tools/sessions-spawn.ts
index 0dfb5c8c..9ae2cc69 100644
--- a/src/agent/tools/sessions-spawn.ts
+++ b/src/agent/tools/sessions-spawn.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ export function createSessionsSpawnTool(
           model,
         });
 
+        // Write the task to the child (non-blocking) before registering,
+        // so waitForIdle() observes the queued work.
+        childAgent.write(task);
+
         // Register the run for lifecycle tracking
         registerSubagentRun({
           runId,
@@ -111,9 +115,6 @@ export function createSessionsSpawnTool(
           timeoutSeconds,
         });
 
-        // Write the task to the child (non-blocking)
-        childAgent.write(task);
-
         return {
           content: [
             {