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* fix(terminal): three-layer defense against watch_patterns notification spam Background processes that stack notify_on_complete=True with watch_patterns can flood the user with duplicate, delayed notifications — matches deliver asynchronously via the completion queue and continue arriving minutes after the process has exited. The docstring warning against this (PR #12113) has proven insufficient; agents still misuse the combination. Three layered defenses, each sufficient on its own: 1. Mutual exclusion (terminal_tool.py): When both flags are set on a background process, drop watch_patterns with a warning. notify_on_complete wins because 'let me know when it's done' is the more useful signal and fires exactly once. Extracted as _resolve_notification_flag_conflict() so the rule is testable in isolation. 2. Suppress-after-exit (process_registry.py): _check_watch_patterns() now bails the moment session.exited is True. Post-exit chunks (buffered reads draining after the process is gone) no longer produce notifications. This is the fix flagged as future work in session 20260418_020302_79881c. 3. Global circuit breaker (process_registry.py): Per-session rate limits don't catch the sibling-flood case — N concurrent processes can each stay under 8/10s and still collectively spam. New WATCH_GLOBAL_MAX_PER_WINDOW=15 cap trips a 30-second cooldown across ALL sessions, emits a single watch_overflow_tripped event, silently counts dropped events, and emits a watch_overflow_released summary when the cooldown ends. Also updates the tool schema + docstring to document the new behavior. Tests: 8 new tests covering all three fixes (suppress-after-exit x2, mutual-exclusion resolver x4, global breaker trip/cooldown/release x2). All 60 tests across test_watch_patterns.py, test_notify_on_complete.py, test_terminal_tool.py pass. Real-world trigger: self-inflicted in session 20260425_051924 — three concurrent hermes-sweeper review subprocesses each set watch_patterns= ['failed validation', 'errored'] AND notify_on_complete=True, then iterated over multiple items, producing enough matches per process to defeat the per-session cap while staying under the global cap that didn't yet exist. * fix(terminal): aggressive 1-per-15s watch_patterns rate limit + strike-3 promotion Per Teknium's direction, the watch_patterns rate limit is now much more aggressive and self-healing. ## New rule — per session - HARD cap: 1 watch-match notification per 15 seconds per process. - Any match arriving inside the cooldown window is dropped and counts as ONE strike for that window (many drops in the same window still = 1 strike). - After 3 consecutive strike windows, watch_patterns is permanently disabled for the session and the session is auto-promoted to notify_on_complete semantics — exactly one notification when the process actually exits. - A cooldown window that expires with zero drops resets the consecutive strike counter — healthy cadence is forgiven. ## Schema + docstring rewritten The tool schema description now gives the model explicit guidance: - notify_on_complete is 'the right choice for almost every long-running task' - watch_patterns is for RARE one-shot signals on LONG-LIVED processes - Do NOT use watch_patterns with loops/batch jobs — error patterns fire every iteration and will hit the strike limit fast - Mutual exclusion is stated on both parameter descriptions - 1/15s cooldown and 3-strike promotion are stated in the watch_patterns description so the model sees the contract every turn ## Removed - WATCH_MAX_PER_WINDOW (8/10s) and WATCH_OVERLOAD_KILL_SECONDS (45) — the new 1/15s limit subsumes both; keeping them would double-count. - _watch_window_hits / _watch_window_start / _watch_overload_since fields on ProcessSession. Replaced by _watch_last_emit_at / _watch_cooldown_until / _watch_strike_candidate / _watch_consecutive_strikes. ## Kept - Global circuit breaker across all sessions (15/10s → 30s cooldown) as a secondary safety net for concurrent siblings. Still valuable when 20 short-lived processes each fire once — none individually violates the per-session limit. - Suppress-after-exit guard. - Mutual exclusion resolver at the tool entry point. ## Tests - 6 new tests in TestPerSessionRateLimit covering: first match delivers, second in cooldown suppressed, multi-drop = single strike, 3 strikes disables + promotes, clean window resets counter, suppressed count carried to next emit. - Global circuit breaker tests rewritten to use fresh sessions instead of hacking removed per-window fields. - 50/50 watch_patterns + notify_on_complete tests pass. - 60/60 including test_terminal_tool.py pass.