serve-question: agent restarts open multiple browser tabs at once #566

Summary

When an agent retries or restarts the visual-direction decision page after failures, multiple browser tabs can open at once — each pointing at a different localhost port — instead of reusing a single tab or updating the existing one.

Environment

• Skill: Impeccable serve-question.mjs --start flow
• OS: macOS (open command)
• Harness: Cursor agent

Steps to reproduce

1. Agent runs serve-question.mjs --start --payload direction-roll.json → prints QUESTION URL: http://127.0.0.1:51735/ and QUESTION KEY.
2. Agent runs open "http://127.0.0.1:51735/" (Tab 1).
3. User closes tab or page times out; agent restarts with --start on a new port → http://127.0.0.1:51761/.
4. Agent runs open "http://127.0.0.1:51761/" (Tab 2).
5. Agent fixes payload and restarts again → http://127.0.0.1:51953/.
6. Agent runs open "http://127.0.0.1:51953/" (Tab 3).

Expected

• One decision surface for the user: either reuse the existing tab/window, or open once on the final URL.
• Retries should use --update --key <key> when the server is still alive, or clearly instruct the user to close stale tabs.
• new-work.md says: "open that URL for the user, in-app browser first, then the system opener" — implying a single presentation, not one tab per retry.

Actual

• Three browser tabs opened at once, each on a different localhost port (51735, 51761, 51953).
• Only the latest tab was live; the first two pointed at dead servers.
• The user had to manually close stale tabs and figure out which URL was current.

Impact

• Confusing UX during an already-interactive decision step.
• Looks like a bug in the harness/skill coordination, not just agent error.
• Easy to accidentally answer on a dead tab or miss the active one.

Suggested fix

One or more of:

1. Document: In serve-question.mjs / new-work.md, instruct agents to call open once (on final --start), or reuse --update instead of restart + re-open.
2. Stable port/key: Option to bind a fixed port or reuse the same --key so retries replace the live page instead of spawning new servers.
3. Stop before restart: Agent playbook: always --stop --key before a new --start, and do not open again unless the user closed the tab.
4. Harness hook: If the IDE has an in-app browser, route URL updates there instead of shelling out to open on every retry.

Session notes

This occurred during a single Cursor agent session building an Ekihana Stand home page. The agent restarted the question server twice (page closed without answer; then sketch-loading fix). Each restart triggered a new open, leaving three tabs open simultaneously.