Summary
The timing shown at the end of a session becomes hard to understand once subagents are involved.
I tested this because I thought subagent time might be missing from the parent session's time. After checking the behavior more closely, it seems the bigger problem is not that time is missing, but that the UI does not clearly explain what each time value means.
What the UI feels like today
When there are no subagents, the timing feels straightforward:
- you ask for something
- the assistant works
- the session ends
- the time at the bottom feels like "how long that took"
When subagents are involved, the UI becomes much less clear:
- the parent session has its own time
- the subagent has its own time
- tool calls may also have their own timing
- it is not obvious whether these times are separate, overlapping, or included inside each other
That makes it easy to think some time is being dropped, or that the total is wrong.
Simple example without subagents
What the UI seems to show:
- one main session
- one visible duration
What is actually happening:
- one assistant is doing the work directly
- the displayed time mostly matches what a user expects as "how long this took"
This case is easy to understand.
Simple example with subagents
What the UI seems to show:
- the main session has a duration
- the subagent task also has a duration
What a user may assume:
- the main session took X
- the subagent took Y
- maybe the real total should be X + Y
What seems to actually be happening:
- the parent session waits while the subagent works
- the subagent duration is happening inside the parent session's duration
- but the UI does not make that relationship obvious
So the user sees two times, but not a clear explanation of how they relate.
Why this is confusing
From a user point of view, the question is simple:
"How long did this whole thing take?"
Right now, the UI appears to show pieces of that answer, but not in a clearly labeled way.
Especially with subagents, it is hard to tell the difference between:
- total session time
- parent assistant time
- subagent time
- tool execution time
Suggested improvement
At the end of a session, make the labels much clearer.
For example, something like:
- Total session elapsed
- Main assistant duration
- Subagent duration
- Tool runtime
Even if not all of these are shown, the UI should make it obvious whether subagent time is:
- included in the parent time
- separate from the parent time
- overlapping with other displayed times
Expected
A user should be able to glance at the bottom of the session and immediately understand:
- how long the whole session took
- how long subagent work took
- whether the subagent time is already included in the main session time
Actual
When subagents are used, the timing is easy to misread. It is not obvious what the displayed durations represent or how they relate to each other.
Why this matters
OpenCode makes subagents a visible part of the workflow, so timing becomes part of the user experience.
If the meaning of the timings is unclear, users can easily think:
- time is missing
- totals are wrong
- subagent work is not being counted properly
Clearer labeling would make the session summary much easier to trust.
Summary
The timing shown at the end of a session becomes hard to understand once subagents are involved.
I tested this because I thought subagent time might be missing from the parent session's time. After checking the behavior more closely, it seems the bigger problem is not that time is missing, but that the UI does not clearly explain what each time value means.
What the UI feels like today
When there are no subagents, the timing feels straightforward:
When subagents are involved, the UI becomes much less clear:
That makes it easy to think some time is being dropped, or that the total is wrong.
Simple example without subagents
What the UI seems to show:
What is actually happening:
This case is easy to understand.
Simple example with subagents
What the UI seems to show:
What a user may assume:
What seems to actually be happening:
So the user sees two times, but not a clear explanation of how they relate.
Why this is confusing
From a user point of view, the question is simple:
"How long did this whole thing take?"
Right now, the UI appears to show pieces of that answer, but not in a clearly labeled way.
Especially with subagents, it is hard to tell the difference between:
Suggested improvement
At the end of a session, make the labels much clearer.
For example, something like:
Even if not all of these are shown, the UI should make it obvious whether subagent time is:
Expected
A user should be able to glance at the bottom of the session and immediately understand:
Actual
When subagents are used, the timing is easy to misread. It is not obvious what the displayed durations represent or how they relate to each other.
Why this matters
OpenCode makes subagents a visible part of the workflow, so timing becomes part of the user experience.
If the meaning of the timings is unclear, users can easily think:
Clearer labeling would make the session summary much easier to trust.