diff --git a/src/group-queue.ts b/src/group-queue.ts
index d1f980c..f72f6a0 100644
--- a/src/group-queue.ts
+++ b/src/group-queue.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const BASE_RETRY_MS = 5000;
 interface GroupState {
   active: boolean;
   idleWaiting: boolean;
+  isTaskContainer: boolean;
   pendingMessages: boolean;
   pendingTasks: QueuedTask[];
   process: ChildProcess | null;
@@ -39,6 +40,7 @@ export class GroupQueue {
       state = {
         active: false,
         idleWaiting: false,
+        isTaskContainer: false,
         pendingMessages: false,
         pendingTasks: [],
         process: null,
@@ -142,7 +144,8 @@ export class GroupQueue {
    */
   sendMessage(groupJid: string, text: string): boolean {
     const state = this.getGroup(groupJid);
-    if (!state.active || !state.groupFolder) return false;
+    if (!state.active || !state.groupFolder || state.isTaskContainer) return false;
+    state.idleWaiting = false; // Agent is about to receive work, no longer idle
 
     const inputDir = path.join(DATA_DIR, 'ipc', state.groupFolder, 'input');
     try {
@@ -181,6 +184,7 @@ export class GroupQueue {
     const state = this.getGroup(groupJid);
     state.active = true;
     state.idleWaiting = false;
+    state.isTaskContainer = false;
     state.pendingMessages = false;
     this.activeCount++;
 
@@ -215,6 +219,7 @@ export class GroupQueue {
     const state = this.getGroup(groupJid);
     state.active = true;
     state.idleWaiting = false;
+    state.isTaskContainer = true;
     this.activeCount++;
 
     logger.debug(
@@ -228,6 +233,7 @@ export class GroupQueue {
       logger.error({ groupJid, taskId: task.id, err }, 'Error running task');
     } finally {
       state.active = false;
+      state.isTaskContainer = false;
       state.process = null;
       state.containerName = null;
       state.groupFolder = null;
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index d3815db..061740f 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ async function processGroupMessages(chatJid: string): Promise<boolean> {
       resetIdleTimer();
     }
 
-    if (!result.result && result.status === 'success') {
+    if (result.status === 'success') {
       queue.notifyIdle(chatJid);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/task-scheduler.ts b/src/task-scheduler.ts
index 9910bdd..0579a8c 100644
--- a/src/task-scheduler.ts
+++ b/src/task-scheduler.ts
@@ -89,16 +89,18 @@ async function runTask(
   const sessionId =
     task.context_mode === 'group' ? sessions[task.group_folder] : undefined;
 
-  // Idle timer: writes _close sentinel after IDLE_TIMEOUT of no output,
-  // so the container exits instead of hanging at waitForIpcMessage forever.
-  let idleTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
+  // After the task produces a result, close the container promptly.
+  // Tasks are single-turn — no need to wait IDLE_TIMEOUT (30 min) for the
+  // query loop to time out. A short delay handles any final MCP calls.
+  const TASK_CLOSE_DELAY_MS = 10000;
+  let closeTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
 
-  const resetIdleTimer = () => {
-    if (idleTimer) clearTimeout(idleTimer);
-    idleTimer = setTimeout(() => {
-      logger.debug({ taskId: task.id }, 'Scheduled task idle timeout, closing container stdin');
+  const scheduleClose = () => {
+    if (closeTimer) return; // already scheduled
+    closeTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+      logger.debug({ taskId: task.id }, 'Closing task container after result');
       deps.queue.closeStdin(task.chat_jid);
-    }, IDLE_TIMEOUT);
+    }, TASK_CLOSE_DELAY_MS);
   };
 
   try {
@@ -118,10 +120,9 @@ async function runTask(
           result = streamedOutput.result;
           // Forward result to user (sendMessage handles formatting)
           await deps.sendMessage(task.chat_jid, streamedOutput.result);
-          // Only reset idle timer on actual results, not session-update markers
-          resetIdleTimer();
+          scheduleClose();
         }
-        if (!streamedOutput.result && streamedOutput.status === 'success') {
+        if (streamedOutput.status === 'success') {
           deps.queue.notifyIdle(task.chat_jid);
         }
         if (streamedOutput.status === 'error') {
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ async function runTask(
       },
     );
 
-    if (idleTimer) clearTimeout(idleTimer);
+    if (closeTimer) clearTimeout(closeTimer);
 
     if (output.status === 'error') {
       error = output.error || 'Unknown error';
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@ async function runTask(
       'Task completed',
     );
   } catch (err) {
-    if (idleTimer) clearTimeout(idleTimer);
+    if (closeTimer) clearTimeout(closeTimer);
     error = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
     logger.error({ taskId: task.id, error }, 'Task failed');
   }