Awaiting clarification
A pipeline paused with an amber "Needs your input" badge. Find the question and answer it so the pipeline can resume.
What this means
The pipeline is in Awaiting clarification. The agents had a question they couldn't answer alone, so the pipeline paused and is waiting for a person to reply. This is normal. It's how Bilbis avoids guessing.
The pipeline keeps polling. The state badge stays amber. Polling continues until you reply, an admin cancels, or a 48-hour timeout fires. (The 48-hour window is flagged for backend confirmation.)
When to use this page
- A pipeline is in Awaiting clarification.
- The browser tab title shows a
?glyph in front of the task. - The dashboard or pipelines list highlights an amber row reading "Needs your input".
Before you start
Open the pipeline detail page. Two tabs matter:
- Clarifications - where the question lives and where you reply on the web channel. The tab indicator pulses while a question is pending.
- Timeline - gives context. The state transition into Awaiting clarification has a "Reason" callout naming what the agent didn't know.
Common causes
Most clarifications fall into one of three shapes.
Branch needed
The agent couldn't read a target branch from your task description, and the Merge target branch field on the form was blank.
The clarification row shows a blue Branch needed badge and a small input field.
What to do: type a branch name like dev or main. Long-form replies like "merge into staging" also work - Bilbis tries to extract the branch name. If the agent can't read a branch out of your reply, it returns a 409 error and the field stays editable so you can try again.
Multi-repo split needed
You used Let Bilbis pick with several candidate repos, and the Repo Router decided the task spans more than one. It's asking whether to split the work into child pipelines.
The row shows a violet Multi-repo split needed badge and two buttons.
What to do:
- Click Yes, split - Bilbis spawns one child pipeline per routed repo. The parent transitions to a "split" state and tracks the children.
- Click No, cancel - the parent ends in Failed. No work happens.
Free-text question
A general question. Could be about a path, a value, a yes/no decision the agent isn't confident about.
The row shows a plain badge and a free-text input.
What to do: type your answer. Be brief and specific. Click Send reply.
The two channels
A clarification is delivered through one of two channels. The contract is set when the question is asked - you can't switch.
Web channel
The default. Bilbis shows the question on the Clarifications tab and you reply there.
Steps:
- Open the pipeline.
- Click Clarifications.
- Read the question.
- Reply using the input or buttons.
- Click submit. The pipeline resumes within seconds.
Jira channel
Used when the pipeline was triggered from a Jira ticket and your product is configured for Jira clarifications. Bilbis posts the question as a comment on the Jira issue. Replies happen on Jira.
Steps:
- Open the pipeline.
- The Clarifications tab shows a banner pointing at Jira.
- Click the link to the Jira comment, if present.
- Reply on the Jira issue.
- Wait. Bilbis polls Jira every few minutes. The pipeline resumes after the next poll picks up the reply.
What to do when you didn't ask anything
You may see Awaiting clarification even though no one on your team asked Bilbis a question. That's expected - the agent is the one asking. Open the pipeline, click Clarifications, and read what the agent wants.
Permissions
| Action | Who can do it |
|---|---|
| Read the question | Any role. |
| Reply on the web channel | Any role. |
| Cancel a clarification | Admin or owner. |
| Reply on Jira | Whoever can comment on the issue. |
Cancelling a clarification
Sometimes the task is no longer relevant and you don't want to wait. An admin can cancel.
- On the Clarifications tab, the Jira-channel banner has a Cancel pipeline button. Pipelines on the web channel are cancelled from the header Cancel button.
- Confirm in the dialog.
- The pipeline transitions to Cancelled. Any work the agent already did inside its container is discarded.
What happens if you don't reply
A scheduled job auto-cancels stuck clarifications after 48 hours. The pipeline ends in Cancelled if no one replies in time. The agent's progress is discarded.
(48-hour window flagged for backend confirmation.)
Problems and fixes
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| The Clarifications tab dot won't stop pulsing. | A question is still pending. Open the tab and reply. |
| I replied on the web channel but the pipeline didn't resume. | Refresh the page. A 409 error means the agent couldn't read your reply - try a shorter, clearer answer. |
| The branch input rejected my reply. | The agent couldn't read a branch out of your text. Try just the branch name (dev, main). |
| The split buttons keep disabling. | A reply is in flight. Wait a moment, then click again. |
| I replied on Jira but the pipeline is still paused. | Wait. Bilbis polls Jira every few minutes. If it's been longer than ten minutes, double-check the comment is on the right Jira issue and visible to Bilbis's user. |
| The pipeline ended in Cancelled and I never cancelled it. | Either an admin cancelled, or the 48-hour auto-cancel fired. (Window flagged for backend confirmation.) |
| There's no input or button on the Clarifications tab. | The channel is Jira. Reply on the Jira comment instead. The tab banner names the channel. |
Related pages
- Clarifications and approvals - the full feature reference, including approval flow.
- Pipeline troubleshooting (overview) - symptom-based jump table.
- Pipeline states - every state and badge color.
- Create a pipeline - the Merge target branch and Let Bilbis pick fields that influence whether a clarification fires.