fix(cli): report call status start as unknown

.changeset/call-status-started-unknown.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@call-e/cli": patch
+---
+
+Report `call_started: "unknown"` on `call status` failures instead of hardcoding `true`.

packages/cli/docs/cli-reference.md

@@ -175,7 +175,10 @@ first clarification question when available.
 
 Call workflow failures include a `stage` of `plan_call`, `run_call`, or
 `get_call_run`, plus `call_started` and `retry_safe` guidance. A `plan_call`
-failure reports `call_started: false` and is safe to retry. If `run_call` may
+failure reports `call_started: false` and is safe to retry. A `call status`
+(`get_call_run`) failure reports `call_started: "unknown"` and `retry_safe:
+true`: a status lookup cannot know whether a call exists, and `true` is
+reserved for a stable `run_id` from `run_call`. If `run_call` may
 have been accepted but no stable `run_id` was received, the CLI reports
 `call_started: "unknown"`, `retry_safe: false`, an opaque `recovery_id`, and
 `next_argv`. Use that array as the next request's `argv`, preserving all

packages/cli/lib/cli.js

@@ -1242,7 +1242,7 @@ async function fetchCallStatus({ config, deps, runId }) {
     deps,
     stage: "get_call_run",
     toolArguments: { run_id: runId },
-    callStarted: true,
+    callStarted: "unknown",
     retrySafe: true,
   });
 }
@@ -1508,7 +1508,7 @@ async function handleCallCommand({ command, positional, options, config, deps, s
         deps,
         stage: toolName,
         toolArguments: buildStatusArguments(options),
-        callStarted: true,
+        callStarted: "unknown",
         retrySafe: true,
       });
       localizeCallStatusResultTimestamps(result, options, deps.env || process.env);

packages/cli/test/cli.test.js

@@ -2090,6 +2090,39 @@ test("call run invokes run_call then get_call_run once", async () => {
   assert.doesNotMatch(result.stdout, /run-token/);
 });
 
+test("call status auth failure reports call_started unknown", async () => {
+  const cacheRoot = makeTempRoot("calle-cli-call-status-auth");
+  let fetchCalled = false;
+  const result = await run(
+    [
+      "call",
+      "status",
+      "--run-id",
+      "run_does_not_exist",
+      "--base-url",
+      "https://mcp.example",
+      "--cache-root",
+      cacheRoot,
+    ],
+    {
+      fetchImpl: async () => {
+        fetchCalled = true;
+        throw new Error("fetch should not be called");
+      },
+    }
+  );
+  const payload = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+
+  assert.equal(result.code, 1);
+  assert.equal(fetchCalled, false);
+  assert.equal(payload.ok, false);
+  assert.equal(payload.error.code, "auth_required");
+  assert.equal(payload.stage, "get_call_run");
+  assert.equal(payload.call_started, "unknown");
+  assert.equal(payload.retry_safe, true);
+  assert.notEqual(payload.call_started, true);
+});
+
 test("call status maps flags to get_call_run arguments", async () => {
   const cacheRoot = makeTempRoot("calle-cli-call-status");
   const serverUrl = "https://mcp.example/mcp/openagent_oauth";