fix: abort model retries immediately on user cancellation

docs/plans/state.json

@@ -5408,10 +5408,25 @@
         "docs/plans/state.json"
       ],
       "test_status": "pnpm test:run src/config/schema.test.ts src/cli/setup/config.test.ts src/cli/setup/sections.test.ts + pnpm typecheck passing"
+    },
+    "model-retry-cancel-abort-immediacy": {
+      "status": "completed",
+      "date": "2026-02-18",
+      "updated": "2026-02-18",
+      "summary": "Fixed cancellation responsiveness for model retries: `/cancel` now aborts model-router retry backoff loops immediately via abort-aware retry execution and router abort signaling, preventing long waits through remaining retries/fallback steps.",
+      "files_modified": [
+        "src/models/retry.ts",
+        "src/models/retry.test.ts",
+        "src/models/router.ts",
+        "src/models/router.test.ts",
+        "src/backends/native/agent.ts",
+        "docs/plans/state.json"
+      ],
+      "test_status": "pnpm test:run src/models/retry.test.ts src/models/router.test.ts src/backends/native/agent.test.ts + pnpm typecheck passing"
     }
   },
   "overall_progress": {
-    "total_test_count": 1927,
+    "total_test_count": 1930,
     "all_tests_passing": true,
     "p0_completion": "3/3 (100%)",
     "p1_completion": "4/4 (100%)",

src/backends/native/agent.ts

@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ export class NativeAgent {
 
   async process(userMessage: string, attachments?: Attachment[]): Promise<string> {
     this._cancelRequested = false;
+    if ('clearAbort' in this.modelClient && typeof this.modelClient.clearAbort === 'function') {
+      this.modelClient.clearAbort();
+    }
     this._runInProgress = true;
 
     // Detect and strip !!think prefix for per-message thinking mode
@@ -541,6 +544,9 @@ export class NativeAgent {
   cancel(): void {
     if (this._runInProgress) {
       this._cancelRequested = true;
+      if ('requestAbort' in this.modelClient && typeof this.modelClient.requestAbort === 'function') {
+        this.modelClient.requestAbort();
+      }
     }
   }
 

src/models/retry.test.ts

@@ -159,6 +159,34 @@ describe('withRetry', () => {
     expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 
+  it('aborts before first attempt when shouldAbort is true', async () => {
+    const fn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue('never');
+
+    await expect(
+      withRetry(fn, fastConfig, 'abort-test', { shouldAbort: () => true }),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: 'AbortError' });
+    expect(fn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('aborts during backoff sleep when shouldAbort flips true', async () => {
+    let abort = false;
+    const fn = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('temporary failure'));
+
+    const run = withRetry(
+      fn,
+      { ...fastConfig, maxRetries: 3, initialDelayMs: 80, backoffMultiplier: 1, maxDelayMs: 80 },
+      'abort-backoff-test',
+      { shouldAbort: () => abort },
+    );
+
+    setTimeout(() => {
+      abort = true;
+    }, 10);
+
+    await expect(run).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: 'AbortError' });
+    expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
   it('increases delay exponentially between retries', async () => {
     const timestamps: number[] = [];
     const config: RetryConfig = {

src/models/retry.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ export interface RetryConfig {
   nonRetryablePatterns: string[];
 }
 
+export interface RetryExecutionOptions {
+  /** Abort retry loop before next attempt and during backoff sleeps. */
+  shouldAbort?: () => boolean;
+}
+
 export const DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG: RetryConfig = {
   maxRetries: 3,
   initialDelayMs: 1000,
@@ -38,15 +43,34 @@ export async function withRetry<T>(
   fn: () => Promise<T>,
   config: RetryConfig = DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG,
   label?: string,
+  options?: RetryExecutionOptions,
 ): Promise<T> {
   let lastError: Error | undefined;
 
+  const throwAbort = (): never => {
+    const error = new Error('Operation cancelled by user.');
+    error.name = 'AbortError';
+    throw error;
+  };
+
   for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= config.maxRetries; attempt++) {
+    if (options?.shouldAbort?.()) {
+      throwAbort();
+    }
+
     try {
       return await fn();
     } catch (error) {
       lastError = error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error));
 
+      if (lastError.name === 'AbortError') {
+        throw lastError;
+      }
+
+      if (options?.shouldAbort?.()) {
+        throwAbort();
+      }
+
       // Don't retry non-retryable errors
       if (!isRetryable(lastError, config.nonRetryablePatterns)) {
         throw lastError;
@@ -66,9 +90,55 @@ export async function withRetry<T>(
         `[retry] ${label ?? 'operation'} attempt ${attempt + 1}/${config.maxRetries} failed: ${lastError.message}. Retrying in ${Math.round(jitter)}ms...`,
       );
 
-      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, jitter));
+      await sleepWithAbort(jitter, options?.shouldAbort);
     }
   }
 
   throw lastError ?? new Error('Retry failed with no error');
 }
+
+async function sleepWithAbort(delayMs: number, shouldAbort?: () => boolean): Promise<void> {
+  if (!shouldAbort) {
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, delayMs));
+    return;
+  }
+
+  await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const endAt = Date.now() + delayMs;
+    const checkIntervalMs = Math.min(100, Math.max(20, Math.floor(delayMs / 5)));
+    let timeout: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
+    let interval: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
+
+    const cleanup = () => {
+      if (timeout) {
+        clearTimeout(timeout);
+      }
+      if (interval) {
+        clearInterval(interval);
+      }
+    };
+
+    const rejectAbort = () => {
+      cleanup();
+      const error = new Error('Operation cancelled by user.');
+      error.name = 'AbortError';
+      reject(error);
+    };
+
+    if (shouldAbort()) {
+      rejectAbort();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      cleanup();
+      resolve();
+    }, Math.max(0, endAt - Date.now()));
+
+    interval = setInterval(() => {
+      if (shouldAbort()) {
+        rejectAbort();
+      }
+    }, checkIntervalMs);
+  });
+}

src/models/router.test.ts

@@ -476,6 +476,38 @@ describe('setClient and labels', () => {
     expect(router.isTierStrict('default')).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  it('requestAbort interrupts retry loop before fallback chain', async () => {
+    const primary = {
+      chat: vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('temporary failure')),
+    } as unknown as ModelClient;
+    const fallback = {
+      chat: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        content: 'fallback',
+        stopReason: 'end_turn',
+        usage: { inputTokens: 1, outputTokens: 1 },
+      }),
+    } as unknown as ModelClient;
+
+    const router = new ModelRouter({
+      default: primary,
+      fallbackChain: [fallback],
+      retryConfig: {
+        maxRetries: 3,
+        initialDelayMs: 80,
+        backoffMultiplier: 1,
+        maxDelayMs: 80,
+        nonRetryablePatterns: [],
+      },
+    });
+
+    const run = router.chat({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'hi' }] });
+    setTimeout(() => router.requestAbort(), 10);
+
+    await expect(run).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: 'AbortError' });
+    expect(primary.chat).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(fallback.chat).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it('setOnTierChange does not replace existing listeners', () => {
     const router = new ModelRouter({
       default: { chat: vi.fn() } as unknown as ModelClient,

src/models/router.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
   private retryConfig?: RetryConfig;
   private tierChangeListeners: Array<(tier: ModelTier) => void> = [];
   private strictTiers: Set<ModelTier> = new Set();
+  private abortRequested = false;
 
   constructor(config: ModelRouterConfig) {
     this.clients = new Map();
@@ -89,8 +90,11 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
 
     // Try primary client (with retry if configured)
     try {
+      this.throwIfAborted();
       if (this.retryConfig) {
-        return await withRetry(() => primaryClient.chat(request), this.retryConfig, 'primary model');
+        return await withRetry(() => primaryClient.chat(request), this.retryConfig, 'primary model', {
+          shouldAbort: () => this.abortRequested,
+        });
       }
       return await primaryClient.chat(request);
     } catch (error) {
@@ -105,6 +109,7 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
     // Try tier-specific fallbacks first
     const tierFallbackList = this.tierFallbacks.get(useTier) ?? [];
     for (let i = 0; i < tierFallbackList.length; i++) {
+      this.throwIfAborted();
       try {
         const reason = `Primary model failed (${errors[0].message}), using tier fallback #${i + 1}`;
         logger.debug(reason);
@@ -118,6 +123,7 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
 
     // Then try global fallback chain
     for (let i = 0; i < this.fallbackChain.length; i++) {
+      this.throwIfAborted();
       const fallbackClient = this.fallbackChain[i];
       try {
         const reason = `Primary model failed (${errors[0].message}), using global fallback #${i + 1}`;
@@ -238,6 +244,14 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
     return this.strictTiers.has(tier);
   }
 
+  requestAbort(): void {
+    this.abortRequested = true;
+  }
+
+  clearAbort(): void {
+    this.abortRequested = false;
+  }
+
   getLabel(tier: ModelTier): string {
     return this.labels.get(tier) ?? 'unknown';
   }
@@ -249,4 +263,13 @@ export class ModelRouter implements ModelClient {
     }
     return result;
   }
+
+  private throwIfAborted(): void {
+    if (!this.abortRequested) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const error = new Error('Operation cancelled by user.');
+    error.name = 'AbortError';
+    throw error;
+  }
 }