diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 1fac48ea..5b0d3719 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -100,12 +100,13 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
   `bash_commands` stat into turn-stats.sqlite.
 - **`hive-subagent-mcp/`** — per-agent claude-subagent runner daemon
   (`hive-subagent-daemon`); spawns nested claude sessions on request and
-  serves `start`/`continue`/`interrupt` directly over streamable-http (no
-  stdio bridge). Independent of `hive-bash-mcp` (a subagent is a much
-  heavier capability than a bash command). No task files — the daemon's
-  only state is an in-memory map of currently-running processes, live
-  only as long as the process is; the actual claude session survives a
-  daemon restart independently (see `session.rs`'s module doc).
+  serves `start`/`continue`/`status`/`interrupt` directly over
+  streamable-http (no stdio bridge). Independent of `hive-bash-mcp` (a
+  subagent is a much heavier capability than a bash command). No task
+  files — the daemon's only state is an in-memory map of currently-running
+  processes, live only as long as the process is; the actual claude
+  session survives a daemon restart independently (see `session.rs`'s
+  module doc).
 - **`hive-sh4re/`** — shared wire types (Agent / Manager request +
   response, `Message`, `Approval`, `HelperEvent`) used across the unix
   sockets. Host-admin-socket and hive-priv-socket wire types have been
diff --git a/claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/claude-subagents/SKILL.md b/claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/claude-subagents/SKILL.md
index d5a11c5a..756b8604 100644
--- a/claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/claude-subagents/SKILL.md
+++ b/claude-plugins/plugins/base/skills/claude-subagents/SKILL.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ description: Spin up a short-lived headless `claude` sub-instance to grind throu
 
 A sub-instance you spawn inherits the same filesystem and credentials you
 have. This is a first-class tool for offloading a bounded, mechanical
-batch - not a hack.
+batch.
 
 ## When to use it
 
@@ -20,72 +20,26 @@ batch - not a hack.
 
 ## The `subagent` MCP tools
 
-Your container's `subagent` MCP server (`hive-subagent-daemon`) is this
-skill's recipe as MCP calls — no manual shell-wrapping, no hand-rolled
-backgrounding:
+Your container's `subagent` MCP server (`hive-subagent-daemon`) runs this
+skill's recipe for you:
 
 ```
 start(name, prompt_file, model?, trigger?)
 continue(name, prompt, model?)
+status(name)
 interrupt(name, force?)
 ```
 
-`name` ↔ `--name`, `model` ↔ `--model`, `prompt_file` ↔
-`--append-system-prompt-file`, `trigger`/`prompt` ↔ `-p`. `start` returns
-once the process is confirmed running, not once it finishes — a
-completion lands as a todo (`get_loose_ends`), same as any other producer.
-There's no `status` poll: check on a subagent by `continue`-ing it (refused
-while it's still running, which is itself the "still going" signal) or by
-reading its completion todo. `interrupt` genuinely stops a running turn
-(`force: true` for SIGKILL) — unlike bash tasks' `kill`, this isn't
-limited to a still-pending state.
+`start` and `continue` return as soon as the process is confirmed
+running, not once it finishes — a completion lands as a todo
+(`get_loose_ends`), same as any other producer. Use `status` for a
+zero-cost "is it still going" check; reach for `continue` only once you
+actually have a new instruction for it, since that spends a turn.
+`interrupt` genuinely stops a running turn (`force: true` for SIGKILL).
 
-Everything else in this skill (model choice, prompt hygiene, splitting
-big batches, verify-then-report) applies unchanged; only the launch
-mechanics differ from a raw shell invocation.
-
-No `subagent` MCP server on this container? Fall back to the manual
-command below — same recipe, you drive the backgrounding yourself.
-
-## The spawn command (manual fallback)
-
-Put the task recipe in a file and pass it as a path, with a short `-p`
-trigger:
-
-```bash
-claude --name <memorable> --model <cheaper-than-you> --dangerously-skip-permissions \
-       --append-system-prompt-file task-prompt.md \
-       -p "Carry out the task described in your instructions."
-```
-
-- **`--name <memorable>`** - names the session so you can `--resume` it
-  by name for follow-ups.
-- **`--model <cheaper-than-you>`** - think about which model the task
-  actually needs; don't spend a bigger model's tokens than your own on
-  mechanical work a cheaper one handles fine. Never use a _bigger_ model
-  than yourself for a sub-agent - if the task needs that much capability,
-  it's not the "mechanical batch" case this skill is for.
-- **`--dangerously-skip-permissions`** - required in headless (`-p`)
-  mode. Without it, tool calls that would normally prompt for approval
-  are auto-**denied** non-interactively, so the sub-agent silently does
-  nothing. Acceptable here because the sub-instance runs inside your
-  already-sandboxed environment, with your already-scoped credentials,
-  on a bounded task - don't reach for it when the task could touch
-  things outside its intended blast radius.
-- **`--append-system-prompt-file <path>`** - read the recipe from a
-  file rather than inlining it in `-p` (which is bounded by `ARG_MAX` -
-  a long recipe passed as `-p "$(cat …)"` can blow past it and the exec
-  fails). Keeps Claude Code's default scaffolding and adds your recipe
-  on top.
-- **`-p "<trigger>"`** - headless print mode. Keep this short: just
-  tell the sub-agent to act on its file-supplied instructions.
-
-## Run it in the background, don't babysit
-
-Wrap the launch in a background bash task and end your turn - your
-bash-task runner already captures stdout/stderr and hands you a
-completion pointer, and ending the turn keeps you reachable for other
-work while the sub-agent grinds.
+Model choice, prompt hygiene, splitting big batches, verify-then-report —
+everything else in this skill — applies exactly the same whether you're
+calling the tool or thinking through the recipe by hand.
 
 ## Prompt hygiene - this is where batches succeed or fail
 
@@ -121,10 +75,9 @@ running at once instead of handing the whole thing to one.
   different files never race on the same working tree or index. For a
   non-git batch (issue relabeling, API calls), independent items don't
   need filesystem isolation at all — just launch N in parallel.
-- **Launch all N in the background and don't babysit any single one** —
-  same as the one-subagent case, just N background bash tasks instead of
-  one. Check on them as a batch, not by polling each individually in a
-  loop.
+- **Launch all N and don't babysit any single one** — same as the
+  one-subagent case, just N `start` calls instead of one. Check on them
+  as a batch, not by polling each individually in a loop.
 - **Mind the container's memory cap before picking N.** Your whole
   container shares one `MemoryMax` (a few GB by default) with every
   subagent you spawn _and_ your own process. A `claude` process plus its
@@ -147,10 +100,10 @@ threaded — the coordination overhead isn't worth it below that size.
 
 ## Resume for follow-ups
 
-`claude --resume <name> -p "Now run the same procedure over the second batch."`
-reuses the same session, so the sub-agent keeps every constant and
-gotcha it already discovered instead of re-learning the surface from a
-cold prompt. Spawn a new `--name` only for a genuinely unrelated task.
+`continue` reuses the same session, so the sub-agent keeps every constant
+and gotcha it already discovered instead of re-learning the surface from
+a cold prompt. Reach for `start` under a new name only for a genuinely
+unrelated task.
 
 ## Verify, then report
 
@@ -160,14 +113,12 @@ anything the sub-agent left ambiguous or exempted for a human call.
 
 ## Pitfalls (all observed in practice)
 
-- No `--dangerously-skip-permissions` → headless tool calls denied, the
-  sub-agent burns a run doing nothing.
 - Using a model bigger than yourself → paying premium cost for
   mechanical work that didn't need it.
 - Skipping the one-item tuning pass → a systematic mistake smeared
   across the whole batch.
-- Spawning fresh instead of `--resume` for a follow-up → throws away
-  all the context the first pass earned.
+- `start`-ing fresh instead of `continue`-ing for a follow-up → throws
+  away all the context the first pass earned.
 - Baking an unverified assumption into the recipe - if a quick check
   suggests something "isn't possible" or "doesn't exist," confirm it
   before writing that conclusion into the prompt; a wrong assumption
diff --git a/docs/tools/README.md b/docs/tools/README.md
index 04fd50a1..b3946dc0 100644
--- a/docs/tools/README.md
+++ b/docs/tools/README.md
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ debug agent behavior.
 - **[bash](bash.md)** — background shell execution (`mcp__bash__*`),
   available on every agent unconditionally.
 - **[subagent](subagent.md)** — spawn nested headless claude sessions
-  (`mcp__subagent__{start,continue,interrupt}`), shipped default-on for
-  every agent today alongside `bash` (expected to become a real opt-in
-  capability later).
+  (`mcp__subagent__{start,continue,status,interrupt}`), shipped
+  default-on for every agent today alongside `bash` (expected to become a
+  real opt-in capability later).
 - **[forge](forge.md)** — the `hive-forge` Forgejo CLI every agent has
   for issues, PRs, and comments. Not an MCP tool — a binary agents
   shell out to instead of ad-hoc curl.
diff --git a/docs/tools/bash.md b/docs/tools/bash.md
index 9b373aaf..2fa6f7c3 100644
--- a/docs/tools/bash.md
+++ b/docs/tools/bash.md
@@ -102,12 +102,6 @@ MCP tools directly over streamable-http on `hyperhive.mcp.bashHttpPort`
 stdio child, so there's no per-turn MCP re-registration race and no
 round-trip socket hop for tool calls.
 
-Independent daemon (own crate, own process/systemd unit/MCP server
-`subagent`): `hive-subagent-daemon` — see [`subagent.md`](subagent.md).
-Spawns nested claude sessions rather than shell commands, so it keeps no
-task files here or anywhere else; a subagent task never shows up in this
-daemon's `status`/`kill` or the running-tasks panel.
-
 ### Completion as a todo (loose-ends v2)
 
 When a bash task changes state, `hive-bash-daemon` upserts a single keyed
diff --git a/docs/tools/subagent.md b/docs/tools/subagent.md
index ff80c833..0de5845a 100644
--- a/docs/tools/subagent.md
+++ b/docs/tools/subagent.md
@@ -1,102 +1,54 @@
-# Subagent tools
+# Subagent daemon
 
-Spawns nested headless `claude` sessions via `hive-subagent-daemon`. Tools
-land as `mcp__subagent__<tool>` (the MCP server name is `subagent`, not
-`hyperhive`). Shipped default-on for every agent today —
-`nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix` always injects `subagent` into
-`hyperhive.extraMcpServers` (with `allowedTools = ["*"]`), same as `bash`.
-The operator's own framing: shipped default-on for now, expected to become
-a real opt-in capability later (not built yet).
+`hive-subagent-daemon` (crate `hive-subagent-mcp`) spawns nested headless
+`claude` sessions on request. Own process, own systemd unit, own MCP
+server (`subagent`, not `hyperhive`) — independent of `hive-bash-daemon`:
+a subagent is a full nested claude process, a materially heavier
+capability than a background shell command, so it gets its own
+deployable/restartable unit rather than living inside the bash daemon.
 
-See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for _when_ to reach for this
-(mechanical, bounded batches) versus doing the work inline.
+Shipped default-on for every agent — `nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix` injects
+`subagent` into `hyperhive.extraMcpServers` unconditionally (`allowedTools
+= ["*"]`), same as `bash`. The operator's own framing: default-on for
+now, a real opt-in capability later.
+
+For what the tools do and when an agent should reach for them, see the
+`subagent` MCP server's own tool descriptions and the
+`base:claude-subagents` skill — this page covers the daemon as deployed
+infrastructure, not the agent-facing API.
 
 ## Tools
 
-### `start(name, prompt_file, model?, trigger?)`
+Served under the `subagent` MCP server (`mcp__subagent__<tool>`): `start`,
+`continue`, `status`, `interrupt`.
 
-Start a fresh subagent session under `name`, running in the background.
-Returns as soon as the process is confirmed running — not once it
-finishes.
+## State
 
-- `name` — session display name: claude's own `--name`/`--resume` session
-  title, and this daemon's tracking key while the process is alive.
-  `[a-z0-9-]`, max 63 chars. Reusable once a prior session under that name
-  has _finished_; refused while one is still running.
-- `prompt_file` — path to a file passed as `--append-system-prompt-file`,
-  the subagent's actual task instructions. A file, not an inline string,
-  to avoid `ARG_MAX` on a large recipe.
-- `model` — `--model` for the subagent's own claude invocation. Omit for
-  claude's own default.
-- `trigger` — written to the subagent's stdin as its first turn's prompt.
-  Defaults to a generic "carry out your instructions" nudge.
+In-memory only: a map of currently-running processes, live only as long
+as the daemon process is. A daemon restart stops whatever was running
+rather than adopting it. The durable record of a subagent's existence is
+claude's own on-disk session (`hive_claude::SessionStore`), which
+`continue` reattaches to independent of the daemon's own lifetime — a
+restart loses the *in-flight turn*, not the subagent's history.
 
-A prior _finished_ session under the same name is archived first (renamed
-`.jsonl.archived`, not deleted) — a real fresh start, not a silent resume
-of old history.
+## Compaction trade-off
 
-Exposed as `mcp__subagent__start`.
+Built on `hive_claude::Claude::spawn` + `RunningClaude::wait` directly
+rather than `InfiniteSession::run`, since only the low-level driver
+exposes a cancel handle to stop a turn mid-flight — that's what makes
+`interrupt` genuinely stop a running turn rather than only cancelling a
+still-pending one. The cost: a turn that overflows the context window
+surfaces as an error rather than self-healing via reactive compaction.
+Subagents are meant to be bounded, single-batch work, not sessions
+long-lived enough to need in-place compaction — a real follow-up if that
+assumption stops holding.
 
-### `continue(name, prompt, model?)`
+## Configuration
 
-Give an existing named session a new turn — whether that means "the
-previous turn finished, here's a follow-up instruction" or "the daemon
-restarted, reattaching to a session that survived it independently."
-Returns as soon as confirmed running, same as `start`. Refused for a name
-with no session on disk at all, or one currently running.
+`hyperhive.mcp.subagentHttpPort` — the daemon's streamable-http listen
+port. Same pattern as `bashHttpPort`/`matrixHttpPort`: a per-agent default
+assigned by `nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix`, only worth overriding for an
+agent that needs a stable or non-default port.
 
-- `name` — the existing session's name (from a prior `start`).
-- `prompt` — the new turn's prompt.
-- `model` — `--model` for this turn; doesn't have to match whatever
-  `start` used.
-
-Exposed as `mcp__subagent__continue`.
-
-### `interrupt(name, force?)`
-
-Signal `name`'s currently-running process. Only works while it's actually
-running — there's no queued/pending state to cancel pre-emptively.
-
-- `force: false` (default) — SIGINT, letting claude shut down cleanly if
-  it's mid-response.
-- `force: true` — SIGKILL.
-
-Exposed as `mcp__subagent__interrupt`.
-
-Always runs with `--dangerously-skip-permissions --strict-mcp-config` (no
-`--mcp-config` override — a safety property, not a knob).
-
-## Checking on a subagent
-
-There's no `status` tool. A subagent's own claude session — not a
-parallel log this daemon writes — is the record of what it did; read that
-the same way you'd catch up on any other agent, by asking it directly
-(`continue` with a prompt). The daemon pushes exactly one todo per
-session lifetime: when a turn finishes, its completion summary lands via
-`get_loose_ends` like any other producer's todo. `continue` on a name
-that's still running is refused (with that as the tell it's still going)
-rather than queuing behind it.
-
-## Architecture
-
-`hive-subagent-daemon` (own crate, `hive-subagent-mcp`) is independent of
-`hive-bash-daemon` — a subagent spawns a full nested `claude` process, a
-materially heavier capability than a bash command, worth its own
-deployable/restartable unit. Own systemd unit, own streamable-http
-listener on `hyperhive.mcp.subagentHttpPort`.
-
-**No task files.** The daemon's only state is an in-memory map of
-currently-running processes (`name -> Cancel`), live only as long as the
-process is — a restart stops whatever's running rather than adopting it.
-The durable record of a subagent's existence is claude's own on-disk
-session, found again by name via `hive_claude::SessionStore`; that's what
-`continue` reattaches to, restart or not.
-
-**No mid-turn compaction.** Built on `hive_claude::Claude::spawn` +
-`RunningClaude::wait` directly, not `InfiniteSession::run` — the latter
-has no cancel handle to reach in from the outside, which is what would
-make `interrupt` a no-op. The trade: a turn that overflows the context
-window surfaces as a plain error instead of self-healing via reactive
-compaction. Subagents are meant to be bounded, single-batch work (see the
-`base:claude-subagents` skill), not sessions long-lived enough to need
-in-place compaction — a real follow-up if that assumption stops holding.
+Own systemd unit, defined alongside the other per-agent MCP daemons in
+`nix/agent-modules/mcp.nix`.
diff --git a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/mcp.rs b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/mcp.rs
index 493948b3..b083aab6 100644
--- a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/mcp.rs
+++ b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/mcp.rs
@@ -15,20 +15,21 @@ use crate::session::{self, State};
 
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
 struct StartArgs {
-    /// Session name — becomes both this daemon's tracking key and claude's
-    /// own `--name`/`--resume` session title. Same identifier rules as the
-    /// `bash` server's task names: lowercase, digits, hyphen, max 63 chars.
-    /// Reusable once a prior *finished* session under that name is done —
-    /// rejected while one under the same name is still running.
+    /// Session name — this daemon's tracking key while it's alive, and the
+    /// identity to `continue`/`status`/`interrupt` it by afterward. Same
+    /// identifier rules as the `bash` server's task names: lowercase,
+    /// digits, hyphen, max 63 chars. Reusable once a prior *finished*
+    /// session under that name is done — rejected while one under the same
+    /// name is still running.
     name: String,
-    /// `--model` for the subagent's own claude invocation. Omit for
-    /// claude's own default. The `base:claude-subagents` skill's
-    /// "cheaper-than-you" guidance still applies here.
+    /// Which model the subagent's own session runs. Omit for claude's own
+    /// default. The `base:claude-subagents` skill's "cheaper-than-you"
+    /// guidance still applies here.
     #[serde(default)]
     model: Option<String>,
-    /// Path to a file passed as `--append-system-prompt-file` — the
-    /// subagent's actual task instructions. A file, not an inline string,
-    /// to avoid `ARG_MAX` on a large recipe.
+    /// Path to a file holding the subagent's actual task instructions. A
+    /// file, not an inline string, so a large recipe can't blow past a
+    /// shell argument length limit.
     prompt_file: String,
     /// Written to the subagent's stdin as its first turn's prompt. Default:
     /// a generic "carry out your instructions" nudge — the real task detail
@@ -47,12 +48,18 @@ struct ContinueArgs {
     name: String,
     /// The new turn's prompt, written to the subagent's stdin.
     prompt: String,
-    /// `--model` for this turn. Omit to let claude fall back to its own
+    /// Which model this turn runs. Omit to let claude fall back to its own
     /// default — this does not have to match whatever model `start` used.
     #[serde(default)]
     model: Option<String>,
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
+struct StatusArgs {
+    /// The subagent name to check.
+    name: String,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
 struct InterruptArgs {
     /// The running session's name to signal.
@@ -73,13 +80,12 @@ impl SubagentMcp {
     #[tool(
         description = "Start a fresh claude subagent session under `name`, running in the \
             background. Returns as soon as the process is confirmed running — not once it \
-            finishes; poll for completion via the todo this daemon pushes when the turn ends, \
-            or use `continue` later to give it another turn. A prior *finished* session under \
-            the same name is archived first (real fresh start, not a silent resume); a \
-            *currently running* one is refused. Always runs with \
-            `--dangerously-skip-permissions --strict-mcp-config` (no `--mcp-config` override — \
-            that's a safety property, not a knob). See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for \
-            when to reach for this."
+            finishes; this daemon pushes a todo when the turn ends, or use `continue` later to \
+            give it another turn. A prior *finished* session under the same name is archived \
+            first (real fresh start, not a silent resume); a *currently running* one is \
+            refused. Runs unattended — every tool-call permission prompt is pre-approved rather \
+            than interactively confirmed — with its MCP server set fixed to what this daemon \
+            configures for it. See the `base:claude-subagents` skill for when to reach for this."
     )]
     fn start(&self, Parameters(args): Parameters<StartArgs>) -> String {
         match session::start(
@@ -120,6 +126,19 @@ impl SubagentMcp {
             Err(e) => format!("interrupt error: {e:#}"),
         }
     }
+
+    #[tool(
+        description = "Report whether a subagent is currently running — a zero-cost check that \
+            never launches a process, unlike `continue`. Distinguishes running, idle (a session \
+            exists but nothing is in flight — `continue` to give it another turn), and no such \
+            session at all."
+    )]
+    fn status(&self, Parameters(args): Parameters<StatusArgs>) -> String {
+        match session::status(&self.state, &args.name) {
+            Ok(msg) => msg,
+            Err(e) => format!("status error: {e:#}"),
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 #[tool_handler]
diff --git a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
index d2a503d6..774a6dd3 100644
--- a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
+++ b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
@@ -235,6 +235,30 @@ fn spawn_and_track(
     Ok(format!("subagent `{name}` started"))
 }
 
+/// Report whether `name` is currently running — a zero-cost check that
+/// never launches a process, unlike `continue`. Distinguishes three
+/// states: running, idle (a session exists but nothing is in flight), and
+/// no such session at all.
+///
+/// # Errors
+///
+/// An invalid name, or no session — running or on disk — under `name`.
+pub fn status(state: &State, name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
+    validate_name(name)?;
+    if state.is_running(name) {
+        return Ok(format!("subagent `{name}` is running"));
+    }
+    let config = build_config(name, None, None);
+    let store = build_store(&config)?;
+    if store.find_by_title(name).is_some() {
+        Ok(format!(
+            "subagent `{name}` is idle — its last turn finished; `continue` to give it another"
+        ))
+    } else {
+        anyhow::bail!("no subagent named `{name}` exists — `start` creates one")
+    }
+}
+
 /// Signal `name`'s running process — `force` picks SIGKILL over SIGINT (see
 /// `hive_claude::Cancel::cancel`). Refuses a name with nothing running:
 /// there's no queued/pending state to cancel pre-emptively any more (see