A0 CLI session corruption with Agent Zero

[StirlingGoetz]

When attempting to use both Agent Zero v1.18 and A0 CLI v1.12 (on Windows) to accomplish the following with Kimi K2.6 driving both. I know y'all are looking for feedback. This was the mission of my prompt:

Systematically optimize LM Studio load parameters and model inference parameters for the Qwen3.6-27B model (loaded as qwen36-test) to achieve the highest possible score on a strict agentic coding benchmark. Test across multiple quantization levels (Q4_0, Q4_K_S, Q4_K_M, Q5_K_M, etc.) and context sizes to find the best achievable configuration for a 24GB VRAM budget (RTX 3090).

Technical issues (assuming software bug) seen which prevented success:

• A0 CLI session fractures - I kept seeing session or communication corruption between the two resulting in garbled text in the Windows Terminal PowerShell (latest) terminal. I tried uninstalling/reinstalling the A0 CLI, cache clearing, etc. But couldn't make it work.
• Agent Zero complaining that Code-exec was not enabled in the terminal when it actually was enabled.

Key points for the developers (from Agent Zero, so some of these could be incorrect):

• Root cause: A0 CLI v1.12 is the latest release but Agent Zero Docker v1.18 is 6 versions ahead — protocol mismatch
• Terminal corruption: Server sends UTF-8/markdown-rich payloads; CLI v1.12 misinterprets as raw ANSI → raw binary dumped to terminal
• AsyncIO bug: RuntimeWarning: coroutine 'AgentZeroCLI._dispatch_command' was never awaited — unawaited coroutine leaks
• 30-second timeout: code_execution_remote hard-capped at 30s; long host operations orphan processes and block subsequent commands
• VT mode pollution: Multi-line scripts put terminal into raw VT mode; on disconnect it's not restored to cooked mode
• Reproduction: Any multi-line code_execution_remote >30s or with rich Unicode output triggers corruption + disconnect
• Verified fixes failed: a0 update, uv cache clean + reinstall, UTF-8 encoding, Windows Terminal, direct LAN — all still get v1.12
• Requested fix: Publish A0 CLI v1.18 (or compatible) matching Docker protocol
• Secondary requests: Extend timeout, auto-kill orphans, restore cooked mode on disconnect, version mismatch warning at handshake

A0 CLI v1.12 ↔ Agent Zero Docker v1.18 — Protocol Mismatch Bug Report

Environment

• Host: Windows 11, PowerShell 7.6.2, RTX 3090
• Agent Zero: Docker agent0ai/agent-zero v1.18 (2026-05-26)
• A0 CLI: v1.12 (latest available via uv tool install / a0 update)
• Connection: Direct virtual networking (http://192.168.50.96:50001), no Flare Tunnel
• _a0_connector: Present in container at /a0/plugins/_a0_connector/

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Core Issue: 6-Version Protocol Gap

Component	Version	Status
Agent Zero Docker	v1.18	Latest
A0 CLI	v1.12	Latest available (git HEAD = v1.12)
Gap	6 releases	CLI has no v1.13–v1.18 release

Result: Docker sends wire-format data CLI v1.12 cannot parse → terminal corruption + disconnects.

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Symptom 1: Terminal Corruption (Raw ANSI Dump)

CLI prints raw binary/ANSI escape sequences instead of parsing server messages:

Main other/syn:large:vision Utility other/syn:small:vision Max Power
I[555;82;1M[555;81;1M[555;80;1M...
ParserError: Line 1 argument: 3

Root cause: Server v1.18 sends UTF-8/markdown-rich payloads; CLI v1.12 misinterprets them as raw terminal input.

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Symptom 2: Python AsyncIO Bug

RuntimeWarning: coroutine 'AgentZeroCLI._dispatch_command' was never awaited

Impact: Unawaited coroutine leaks; likely contributes to connection state desync.

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Symptom 3: Remote Execution Session Instability

• 30-second hard timeout on code_execution_remote terminal sessions
• Long-running host commands (>30s) return "Returning control to agent..." but process continues orphaned
• Subsequent commands fail with "Terminal session 0 might be still running" until manual reset
• Old python.exe processes accumulate, blocking new terminal sessions

Impact: Cannot run benchmarks (~100–180s GPU inference) or file operations reliably.

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Symptom 4: VT Mode Pollution

Multi-line PowerShell/Python scripts sent via code_execution_remote put the terminal into raw VT input mode. On disconnect, the terminal is not restored to "cooked" mode, causing all subsequent data to render as corrupted ANSI sequences.

Workaround: User must run [Console]::ResetColor(); Clear-Host or Write-Host "$([char]27)c" to recover.

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Reproduction Steps

1. docker run -d -p 50001:80 --name agent-zero agent0ai/agent-zero:latest (v1.18)
2. uv tool install --upgrade git+https://github.com/agent0ai/a0-connector → installs v1.12
3. a0 → connect to http://192.168.50.96:50001
4. Press F3 (R/W), F4 (Remote Exec)
5. Send any multi-line code_execution_remote command >30s or with rich Unicode output
6. Terminal corrupts; CLI disconnects; remote exec unavailable until restart

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Verified Fixes Attempted (Failed)

Fix	Result
a0 update	Reinstalls v1.12 (same version)
uv cache clean + force reinstall	Same v1.12
[Console]::OutputEncoding = UTF8	Helps rendering but not protocol parsing
Windows Terminal (vs legacy PS)	Same corruption
Direct LAN connection (no tunnel)	Same corruption

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Requested Fix

Publish A0 CLI v1.18 (or compatible release) that matches the Docker image protocol. The git repo HEAD is still tagged v1.12 — no newer CLI exists.

Alternative: Document that Docker v1.18 requires CLI ≥ v1.18 and provide downgrade path:

docker pull agent0ai/agent-zero:v1.12

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Secondary Requests

1. Extend code_execution_remote timeout beyond 30s for long host operations
2. Auto-kill orphaned processes on session reset
3. Restore terminal to cooked mode on disconnect to prevent VT pollution
4. Surface version mismatch warning in a0 connection handshake