diff --git a/hive-agent-mcp/src/mcp/mod.rs b/hive-agent-mcp/src/mcp/mod.rs
index 75a86481..aa36a839 100644
--- a/hive-agent-mcp/src/mcp/mod.rs
+++ b/hive-agent-mcp/src/mcp/mod.rs
@@ -350,6 +350,11 @@ impl AgentServer {
         passing its id + kind to `cancel_loose_end`. Empty result is reported clearly. Todos \
         cap at 40 rows; a trailer line says how many more are pending — clear the shown ones \
         with `mark_todos_done`, then call again for the rest.\n\
+        A row that is still genuinely in flight (a running bash task, say) doesn't need an \
+        early ack — only mark done the ones you've actually resolved. A real content change \
+        (like a task finishing) un-acks and resurfaces the same row on its own, so acking it \
+        while it's still running buys nothing and just costs you a second, redundant call \
+        later.\n\
         Pass `agent: \"<name>\"` to inspect a specific peer agent's threads. Direct \
         child agents are always accessible. For non-children, the `query_agent_state` \
         capability is required — without it the request is rejected with an error."