# The agent asks the operator, and the chain waits > Source: > Published: 2026-10-25 02:30:55+00:00 *First published on [openspec-ui.dev](https://openspec-ui.dev/articles/the-agent-asks-the-operator-and-the-chain-waits/).* An agent ended its run with four decisions it needed from the operator, and the product offered no way to answer them. A chain would have gone on to the next stage with them open. The owner decided the same day: questions are caught, the run stops and waits, nothing goes on without an answer, the answers are kept in the change's `decisions.md` and in the audit log, and the product's own agent asks in its turn from the start. Every agent stage's instruction asks for `Question for the operator: <…>` lines for decisions the agent needs. The product reads them as markers. `local-llm-acp` gets an `ask_operator` tool that blocks its turn until answered. A `question` event and an `answerQuestion` command are added to the protocol. A `question` waiting kind appears in the run's status. A run that asked waits instead of completing, in a chain or alone, under every autonomy level. Once answered, the stage runs again with the answers — `update` for propose and review, the same command otherwise. `openspec/changes//decisions.md` holds every question and answer. The audit log records both. An agent run on a change with an open question is refused. Questions are answered from the card, the AI panel, the Human-Only Inbox and `openspec-ui-cli answer`. The card shows open questions with answer fields; the panel does the same. The Inbox surfaces questions alongside its usual checkpoint answers. From a terminal: ``` openspec-ui-cli answer --question "Which branch strategy?" --answer "gitflow" ``` Before this, an autonomy level of `full` meant the chain ran without interruption. Now, a question is a hard stop regardless of autonomy level. The chain waits for a human answer, even at full autonomy. This is intentional: a question from an agent is a request for judgment, not a checkpoint the chain can resolve on its own. The refusal of a run past an open question is explicit. If someone tries to start a new agent run on a change that still has unanswered questions, the product says so and names the open questions. This prevents a second agent from running while the first is still waiting for an answer. The code is at [github.com/VeryComplexAndLongName/OpenSpec-UI](https://github.com/VeryComplexAndLongName/OpenSpec-UI), where the repository and packages keep the name OpenSpec-UI. ``` openspec-ui-cli answer --question --answer ```