From efe3cabaaf9ef68101a1926a93c939316fd16cd2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: =?UTF-8?q?Carlos=20Flor=C3=AAncio?= <carlosmflorencio@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2026 21:05:26 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix: restore automation sidebar running indicator (#3064)

---
 .../sections/automations-section.test.tsx     |  74 +++++++++++
 .../sections/automations-section.tsx          |  26 ++--
 .../runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts     |  17 +++
 .../runs/use-automation-summaries.ts          |   6 +-
 .../web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts |  38 ++++++
 .../plan.md                                   | 118 ++++++++++++++++++
 .../task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md         | 102 +++++++++++++++
 .../office/requirements/automation-runs.md    |   1 +
 .../office/system-design/automation-runs.md   |  15 +++
 9 files changed, 389 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/plan.md
 create mode 100644 docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md

diff --git a/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx b/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx
index 8a7c0ea3c4..a2a9dab096 100644
--- a/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { act, cleanup, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { TooltipProvider } from "@kandev/ui/tooltip";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type { Automation } from "@/lib/types/automation";
+import { LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS } from "@/components/runs/use-live-refresh";
 
 const WORKSPACE_ID = "workspace-1";
 const AUTOMATION_ID = "automation-1";
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   listAutomationSummaries: vi.fn(),
   activeWorkspaceId: { current: "workspace-1" as string | undefined },
   sectionExpanded: { current: {} as Record<string, boolean> },
+  responsive: { isMobile: false },
   toggleSection: vi.fn(),
   setCollapsed: vi.fn(),
 }));
@@ -43,6 +45,10 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/routing/client-router", () => ({
   useRouter: () => ({ push: vi.fn() }),
 }));
 
+vi.mock("@/hooks/use-responsive-breakpoint", () => ({
+  useResponsiveBreakpoint: () => mocks.responsive,
+}));
+
 import { AutomationsSection } from "./automations-section";
 
 function mkAutomation(overrides: Partial<Automation> = {}): Automation {
@@ -77,6 +83,9 @@ function renderOpenSection() {
 beforeEach(() => {
   mocks.activeWorkspaceId.current = WORKSPACE_ID;
   mocks.sectionExpanded.current = {};
+  mocks.responsive.isMobile = false;
+  mocks.listAutomations.mockReset();
+  mocks.listAutomationSummaries.mockReset();
   mocks.listAutomations.mockResolvedValue([mkAutomation()]);
   mocks.listAutomationSummaries.mockResolvedValue([]);
 });
@@ -223,6 +232,71 @@ describe("AutomationsSection", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("AutomationsSection live running state", () => {
+  it("refreshes a visible row and swaps its indicator as the run state changes", async () => {
+    mocks.listAutomationSummaries
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce([{ automation_id: AUTOMATION_ID, open_runs: 0 }])
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce([{ automation_id: AUTOMATION_ID, open_runs: 1 }])
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce([
+        {
+          automation_id: AUTOMATION_ID,
+          open_runs: 0,
+          last_run: {
+            id: "run-1",
+            automation_id: AUTOMATION_ID,
+            status: "succeeded",
+            created_at: new Date().toISOString(),
+          },
+        },
+      ]);
+
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
+    try {
+      renderOpenSection();
+      await screen.findByTestId(`sidebar-automation-${AUTOMATION_ID}`);
+      await waitFor(() => expect(mocks.listAutomationSummaries).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1));
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS);
+      });
+      const runningIndicator = await screen.findByTestId(
+        `sidebar-automation-running-${AUTOMATION_ID}`,
+      );
+      expect(runningIndicator.classList).toContain("animate-spin");
+      expect(runningIndicator.getAttribute("aria-hidden")).toBe("true");
+      expect(screen.getByText("Running.")).toBeTruthy();
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS);
+      });
+      await waitFor(() => expect(mocks.listAutomationSummaries).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3));
+      expect(screen.queryByTestId(`sidebar-automation-running-${AUTOMATION_ID}`)).toBeNull();
+      expect(screen.getByText("Idle.")).toBeTruthy();
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("AutomationsSection responsive visibility", () => {
+  it("does not fetch or poll health while the desktop rail is hidden on mobile", async () => {
+    mocks.responsive.isMobile = true;
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
+    try {
+      renderOpenSection();
+      await screen.findByTestId(`sidebar-automation-${AUTOMATION_ID}`);
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS * 2);
+      });
+
+      expect(mocks.listAutomationSummaries).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
 describe("AutomationsSection empty state", () => {
   it("keeps an empty section folded until the user opens it", () => {
     mocks.listAutomations.mockResolvedValue([]);
diff --git a/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx b/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx
index 0c451a94b7..1bb3098c32 100644
--- a/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
-import { IconBolt, IconListDetails } from "@tabler/icons-react";
+import { IconBolt, IconListDetails, IconLoader2 } from "@tabler/icons-react";
 import Link from "@/components/routing/app-link";
 import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from "@kandev/ui/tooltip";
 import { useAppStore } from "@/components/state-provider";
@@ -12,9 +12,11 @@ import {
 } from "@/components/runs/automation-rows";
 import type { AutomationRow } from "@/components/runs/automation-rows";
 import { useAutomationSummaries } from "@/components/runs/use-automation-summaries";
+import { useLiveRefresh } from "@/components/runs/use-live-refresh";
 import { useWorkspaceAutomations } from "@/components/runs/use-workspace-automations";
 import { AUTOMATIONS_HREF } from "@/components/runs/runs-view";
 import { usePathname } from "@/lib/routing/client-router";
+import { useResponsiveBreakpoint } from "@/hooks/use-responsive-breakpoint";
 import { useNow } from "@/hooks/use-now";
 import { cn, formatRelativeTime } from "@/lib/utils";
 import {
@@ -78,10 +80,18 @@ function AutomationRowLink({ row, active }: { row: AutomationRow; active: boolea
         active ? SIDEBAR_ITEM_ACTIVE : SIDEBAR_ITEM_INACTIVE,
       )}
     >
-      <span
-        className={cn("h-1.5 w-1.5 shrink-0 rounded-full", STATE_DOT_CLASS[state])}
-        aria-hidden="true"
-      />
+      {state === "running" ? (
+        <IconLoader2
+          className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0 animate-spin text-blue-500"
+          aria-hidden="true"
+          data-testid={`sidebar-automation-running-${automation.id}`}
+        />
+      ) : (
+        <span
+          className={cn("h-1.5 w-1.5 shrink-0 rounded-full", STATE_DOT_CLASS[state])}
+          aria-hidden="true"
+        />
+      )}
       {/* The dot is decorative, so the state reaches a screen reader here. */}
       <span className="sr-only">{`${t(STATE_LABEL_KEY[state])}.`}</span>
       <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate">{automation.name}</span>
@@ -118,6 +128,7 @@ export function AutomationsSection({ collapsed }: { collapsed: boolean }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const pathname = usePathname();
   const workspaceId = useAppStore((s) => s.workspaces.activeId);
+  const { isMobile } = useResponsiveBreakpoint();
   // Folded until asked for. Automations are a background concern — they run
   // whether or not anyone is looking — so they should not push the tasks
   // someone came here to work on off the bottom of the rail.
@@ -130,11 +141,12 @@ export function AutomationsSection({ collapsed }: { collapsed: boolean }) {
   // has to say how many it is hiding — a section that starts shut and shows
   // nothing reads as empty, and nobody opens it. Health summaries are the
   // heavier read and buy nothing until the rows themselves are on screen.
-  const showing = !collapsed && expanded;
+  const showing = !collapsed && expanded && !isMobile;
   const listScope = collapsed ? undefined : (workspaceId ?? undefined);
   const summaryScope = showing ? (workspaceId ?? undefined) : undefined;
   const { automations } = useWorkspaceAutomations(listScope);
-  const { summaries } = useAutomationSummaries(summaryScope);
+  const { summaries, refresh } = useAutomationSummaries(summaryScope);
+  useLiveRefresh(showing, refresh);
   const rows = buildAutomationRows(automations, summaries);
 
   return (
diff --git a/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts b/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts
index fd7ecb1242..f712f7a83a 100644
--- a/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,23 @@ describe("useAutomationSummaries", () => {
     expect(result.current.loading).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it("keeps the last successful summaries when a refresh fails", async () => {
+    mockList
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce([mkSummary(A1, 1)])
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error(SOCKET_CLOSED));
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useAutomationSummaries(WORKSPACE));
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.summaries[0]?.open_runs).toBe(1));
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      result.current.refresh();
+    });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.error).toBe(SOCKET_CLOSED));
+
+    expect(result.current.summaries).toEqual([mkSummary(A1, 1)]);
+  });
+
   it("clears a previous workspace's error when switching", async () => {
     mockList.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error(SOCKET_CLOSED));
     const { result, rerender } = renderHook(({ ws }) => useAutomationSummaries(ws), {
diff --git a/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.ts b/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.ts
index 8c1c3bbfdc..20f2d1cf26 100644
--- a/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.ts
+++ b/apps/web/components/runs/use-automation-summaries.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,11 @@ export function useAutomationSummaries(workspaceId: string | undefined) {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (requestRef.current !== requestId) return;
-        setLoaded({ workspaceId, summaries: EMPTY_SUMMARIES });
+        setLoaded((current) =>
+          current.workspaceId === workspaceId
+            ? current
+            : { workspaceId, summaries: EMPTY_SUMMARIES },
+        );
         setError(
           err instanceof Error ? err.message : t("automations:failedToLoadAutomationActivity"),
         );
diff --git a/apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts b/apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts
index 0c41045f4f..3d3a20991d 100644
--- a/apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { Locator, Page } from "@playwright/test";
 import { test, expect } from "../fixtures/test-base";
 import type { ApiClient } from "../helpers/api-client";
+import { watchWs } from "../helpers/causal-waits";
 
 /**
  * The Automations section of the app sidebar.
@@ -121,4 +122,41 @@ test.describe("Automations section in the app sidebar", () => {
     await expect(testPage.getByTestId(`sidebar-automation-${neverRan.id}`)).toBeVisible();
     await expect(testPage.getByTestId(`sidebar-automation-last-run-${neverRan.id}`)).toHaveCount(0);
   });
+
+  test("refreshes an open row when a run starts without navigation", async ({
+    testPage,
+    apiClient,
+    seedData,
+    prCapture,
+  }) => {
+    const [automation] = await seedAutomations(apiClient, seedData, ["Nightly drift"]);
+    const ws = watchWs(testPage);
+
+    await testPage.goto("/");
+    const header = automationsHeader(testPage);
+    await expect(header).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+
+    const initialSummary = ws.waitForResponse("automation.summaries");
+    await header.click();
+    await initialSummary;
+
+    const row = testPage.getByTestId(`sidebar-automation-${automation.id}`);
+    await expect(row).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(row.getByTestId(`sidebar-automation-running-${automation.id}`)).toHaveCount(0);
+    const urlBeforeRun = testPage.url();
+
+    const liveSummary = ws.waitForResponse("automation.summaries");
+    await apiClient.seedAutomationRun(automation.id, "triggered");
+    await liveSummary;
+
+    const runningIndicator = row.getByTestId(`sidebar-automation-running-${automation.id}`);
+    await expect(runningIndicator).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(runningIndicator).toHaveClass(/animate-spin/);
+    await expect(runningIndicator).toHaveAttribute("aria-hidden", "true");
+    await expect(row.getByText("Running.")).toBeAttached();
+    await expect(testPage).toHaveURL(urlBeforeRun);
+    await prCapture.screenshot("automation-sidebar-running", {
+      caption: "Expanded desktop Automations sidebar with a running automation indicator",
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/plan.md b/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/plan.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..df7df13dbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/plan.md
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+---
+created: 2026-08-26
+status: done
+requirements:
+  - REQ-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001
+system_design:
+  - ../../specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md
+legacy_specs: []
+---
+
+# Implementation Plan: Automation Sidebar Running Indicator
+
+## Overview
+
+Restore live automation health in the visible desktop sidebar and make an open
+run visually unmistakable. The change remains frontend-only: the sidebar will
+reuse the guarded automation-summary request and established live-refresh
+cadence, then render a spinner for the existing `running` state. Focused unit
+and Playwright coverage will prove the idle-to-running transition without a
+reload.
+
+## Scope
+
+### In scope
+
+- Refresh automation health summaries while the expanded Automations section
+  is visible.
+- Stop health refreshes while the section or desktop rail is hidden.
+- Replace the running health dot with an animated loader while preserving the
+  localized screen-reader state.
+- Prove the reported recurring-run case through component and desktop browser
+  coverage.
+
+### Out of scope
+
+- New backend events or WebSocket actions.
+- Scheduler timing, automation admission, run persistence, or concurrency-cap
+  changes.
+- Changes to the `/automations` agenda or detail views.
+- Adding the desktop-only Automations rail section to phone navigation.
+
+## Technical approach
+
+### Visible summary refresh
+
+- In
+  `apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx`, retain the
+  full `useAutomationSummaries` result and pass its stable `refresh` function to
+  `useLiveRefresh` with `showing` as the activity gate.
+- Keep the existing `summaryScope` gate. Initial reads and repeat reads occur
+  only while the section is expanded in the non-collapsed desktop rail; the
+  hook cleanup stops the timer when that condition changes.
+- Reuse `useAutomationSummaries` request ordering rather than adding local
+  response arbitration or another polling abstraction.
+
+### Running indicator
+
+- In `AutomationRowLink`, render a compact Tabler loader with `animate-spin`
+  and a stable automation-scoped test ID when `row.state === "running"`.
+- Keep `STATE_DOT_CLASS` for `idle` and `paused`. Preserve the current
+  screen-reader-only `STATE_LABEL_KEY` text, so the running animation is
+  decorative and the semantic state remains localized.
+- Keep the row height, navigation target, title truncation, trailing last-run
+  age, and pointer behavior unchanged.
+
+### Mobile parity
+
+`AppSidebar` is explicitly desktop-only (`hidden md:block`); phone navigation
+does not render `AutomationsSection`. This is a compact status-content change,
+not a navigation or touch change. The closest mobile visual precedent is the
+shared task-switcher running indicator, which also pairs a compact animated
+state with semantic text. No phone composition, action, scroll owner, safe-area
+rule, or touch target changes, so mobile Playwright coverage is not added for
+this desktop-only surface.
+
+## Tests
+
+- `apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx`
+  covers `AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.9`: an initially idle row re-reads its
+  summary on the live-refresh cadence, changes to an animated running indicator,
+  and returns to a non-running dot after the terminal summary arrives.
+- The same suite asserts that a running row exposes the localized `Running.`
+  text, that only the loader animates, and that folded/collapsed states do not
+  issue health-summary requests.
+
+## E2E tests
+
+- Extend `apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts` for
+  `AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.9`: mount and open the sidebar while an
+  automation is idle, seed an open run through the existing E2E API, wait for
+  the causally matched `automation.summaries` WebSocket response, and assert
+  that the same row shows the animated indicator without navigation or reload.
+- Run the spec in the `chromium` project. The component is not mounted by the
+  `mobile-chrome` layout, and the change does not alter any shared mobile
+  component.
+
+## Work orders
+
+- [x] [Task 01: Restore the live sidebar indicator](task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md)
+
+## Verification results
+
+- PASS `pnpm --filter @kandev/web exec vitest run components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx components/runs/use-live-refresh.test.ts` (22 tests).
+- PASS fixup regression suite covering the responsive visibility and refresh-error cases with the same targets plus `components/runs/use-automation-summaries.test.ts` (30 tests).
+- PASS `pnpm --filter @kandev/web run typecheck`.
+- PASS targeted ESLint for the changed sidebar component, component test, summary hook, and summary-hook test.
+- PASS `pnpm e2e:run --project chromium tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts` (4 tests).
+- PASS `python3 scripts/lint-spec-files.py --all`.
+
+## Risks
+
+- The E2E stimulus must occur after the initial summary response so the next
+  causally matched response represents the live refresh, not first load.
+- A visible idle section will now perform the same 10-second summary read that
+  running automation pages already use. The query is workspace-bounded and the
+  timer is disabled whenever the section is not visible.
+- The visual branch must not remove the localized state text or change the row
+  geometry.
diff --git a/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md b/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..874aeea349
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/automation-sidebar-running-indicator/task-01-live-sidebar-indicator.md
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+---
+id: "01-live-sidebar-indicator"
+title: "Restore the live sidebar indicator"
+status: done
+wave: 1
+depends_on: []
+plan: "plan.md"
+requirements:
+  - REQ-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001
+acceptance_criteria:
+  - AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.9
+system_design:
+  - ../../specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md
+---
+
+# Task 01: Restore the Live Sidebar Indicator
+
+## Summary
+
+Make the visible Automations sidebar section discover scheduled and manual runs
+that start after the section opens. Render the established running state as an
+animated loader and preserve the row's accessible state, compact geometry, and
+non-running health dots.
+
+## In scope
+
+- Add the component regression test first and capture its idle-to-running
+  failure.
+- Gate the established live-summary refresh on the section's visible state.
+- Render and test the automation-scoped running loader.
+- Extend the existing desktop automation-sidebar Playwright spec with the live
+  transition.
+
+## Out of scope
+
+- Backend automation lifecycle events or API changes.
+- Automation schedule or run-state changes.
+- Mobile navigation or layout changes.
+- Refactoring the agenda, detail view, or shared automation row derivation.
+
+## Acceptance
+
+- An idle automation already visible in the sidebar changes to the animated
+  running indicator within the next live-refresh round trip, without a reload.
+- The final open run disappearing restores the row's idle or paused dot, and
+  folded/collapsed sidebar states issue no repeat summary requests.
+- The animated indicator is decorative, has a stable test ID, and retains the
+  localized Running state for assistive technology without changing row
+  geometry.
+
+## Verification
+
+```bash
+cd apps
+pnpm --filter @kandev/web exec vitest run \
+  components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx \
+  components/runs/use-live-refresh.test.ts
+pnpm --filter @kandev/web run typecheck
+pnpm --filter @kandev/web exec eslint \
+  components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx \
+  components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx
+
+cd web
+pnpm e2e:run --project chromium tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts
+```
+
+## Files likely touched
+
+- `apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.tsx`
+- `apps/web/components/app-sidebar/sections/automations-section.test.tsx`
+- `apps/web/e2e/tests/automations-sidebar.spec.ts`
+
+## Dependencies
+
+None.
+
+## Risks
+
+- The live-response E2E wait can match initial hydration if it is armed before
+  the section has completed its first authoritative summary read.
+- Reusing `useLiveRefresh` must preserve its latest-callback ref behavior and
+  cleanup when visibility changes.
+
+## Parallelism
+
+`sequential`
+
+## Inputs
+
+- `AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.9` and the Automation Runs navigation design.
+- Existing `useAutomationSummaries`, `useLiveRefresh`, and automation-sidebar
+  test patterns.
+- Existing task-switcher animated status treatment as the visual/accessibility
+  precedent.
+
+## Results
+
+- Added the visible-section `useLiveRefresh` gate and reused the guarded summary refresh.
+- Rendered an automation-scoped animated loader for running rows while preserving localized state text and non-running dots.
+- Added component coverage for idle-to-running-to-idle transitions and desktop Chromium coverage for a seeded open run without navigation.
+- Passed focused Vitest (22 tests), typecheck, targeted ESLint, Chromium E2E (4 tests), and specification lint.
+- Fixup preserved the last successful summary after refresh errors and gated polling at the shared 768px mobile boundary; the added regressions passed with the focused suite at 30 tests, typecheck, targeted ESLint, and Chromium E2E (4 tests).
diff --git a/docs/specs/office/requirements/automation-runs.md b/docs/specs/office/requirements/automation-runs.md
index 99b3b27f57..4f4feb5fb9 100644
--- a/docs/specs/office/requirements/automation-runs.md
+++ b/docs/specs/office/requirements/automation-runs.md
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ An automation that produces a report — a nightly drift sweep, a dependency aud
 - **AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.6:** Reasons an enabled automation will not fire, each shown in place of a time: a run is still open and `max_concurrent_runs` is reached; no schedule is set; the trigger itself is switched off. An automation that will not fire stays in the agenda holding its reason — dropping it would make the agenda look complete when it is not.
 - **AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.7:** A standing constraint sits under the agenda, which is exactly what it qualifies: scheduled automations only fire while kandev is running.
 - **AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.8:** **Recent runs** — the cross-automation feed inline, newest first, each entry naming its automation. "Did anything go wrong overnight" is the other half of why someone opens this page; behind a link, they would have to ask for it twice. The filtered lens stays one click away for digging.
+- **AC-OFFICE-AUTOMATION-RUNS-001.9:** While the Automations section is visible, a scheduled or manually triggered run shall update its sidebar row without a page reload. An open run replaces the health dot with an animated running indicator and exposes the localized Running state to assistive technology; after the last open run finishes, the row returns to its non-running health indicator. The section shall stop refreshing its health summaries when it is folded, the desktop rail is collapsed, or the rail is not rendered.
 
 ## System design
 
diff --git a/docs/specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md b/docs/specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md
index cd5e8e5d8f..7c9bf6a457 100644
--- a/docs/specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md
+++ b/docs/specs/office/system-design/automation-runs.md
@@ -48,6 +48,17 @@ The automation is the object; its runs are its history. The surface is a list an
   nav lists automations.
 - The section fetches only while it is on screen — a collapsed rail or a folded
   section issues no requests, since the sidebar is mounted on every page.
+- While the section is expanded in the desktop rail, `AutomationsSection` uses
+  the shared 10-second live-refresh cadence to re-read
+  `automation.summaries`. `useAutomationSummaries` retains its request-order
+  guard, so a slower earlier response cannot overwrite a later refresh. Folding
+  the section, collapsing the rail, or unmounting the desktop-only rail disables
+  the cadence.
+- `buildAutomationRows` remains the single health-state derivation. An idle or
+  paused row keeps its existing health dot; a running row renders an animated
+  loader in the same compact slot. The loader is decorative and the existing
+  localized state label remains the screen-reader contract, so animation does
+  not replace the semantic Running state.
 
 **`/automations` — the agenda, not an index**
 
@@ -248,6 +259,8 @@ The action is workspace-scoped: the caller must be authorized for `workspace_id`
 | Workspace changes while the list is open | Rows from the previous workspace are never shown under the new one, not even for one frame |
 | Workspace changes while a detail page is open | The page leaves for `/automations`. An automation belongs to one workspace, so continuing to show it under a sidebar that says otherwise is a lie about where the user is |
 | A run finishes while the page is open | The page stops calling it running without a reload. Polling runs only while something is open, so an idle workspace issues no repeat requests |
+| A run starts after the Automations sidebar section is opened | The visible section re-reads health summaries on the live-refresh cadence and replaces the row's health dot with the running indicator without a reload |
+| The Automations sidebar section is folded or the desktop rail is collapsed | Health-summary refresh stops; reopening the visible section performs an authoritative read before displaying current health |
 | A visible run is still reported as open while the health summary says there are no open runs | The detail rail/drawer continues reading until the visible run receives a terminal status, then moves it to Completed without a reload |
 | An open run falls outside the page's own run window | The open count comes from the server, not from the loaded window, so the page still reports work in flight and keeps polling |
 | A user stops a running reused turn | The action addresses its stored run/session/turn identity, cancels that exact turn, and marks only that run failed. |
@@ -289,6 +302,8 @@ The action is workspace-scoped: the caller must be authorized for `workspace_id`
 - **GIVEN** an automation run finished successfully, **WHEN** the user opens it and replies, **THEN** the agent continues in the same session and worktree rather than reporting that the session has ended.
 - **GIVEN** an automation whose newest run is older than the workspace feed's cap reaches back, **WHEN** its row renders, **THEN** it still shows that run's outcome rather than "No runs yet".
 - **GIVEN** a run is in flight, **WHEN** the user leaves the page open, **THEN** it stops reading "Running" once the run finishes, without a reload.
+- **GIVEN** an idle automation is visible in the desktop sidebar, **WHEN** its schedule starts a run, **THEN** the same row shows the animated running indicator and localized Running state without a reload.
+- **GIVEN** a running automation is visible in the desktop sidebar, **WHEN** its last open run finishes, **THEN** the same row returns to its non-running health indicator without a reload.
 - **GIVEN** the detail rail or drawer shows a run as Running while the health summary reports zero open runs, **WHEN** that run receives a terminal status, **THEN** the run moves to Completed without the user reloading the page.
 - **GIVEN** an automation with an open run older than its own capped run window, **WHEN** its detail page renders, **THEN** it still reports that something is running and keeps polling, because the count comes from the server rather than from the window.
 - **GIVEN** the user switches to another workspace while a detail page is open, **WHEN** the switch lands, **THEN** the page leaves for `/automations` rather than showing another workspace's automation.