diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 362f1e4..d7a35a6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,10 +148,17 @@ Or drive the tool directly:
 | `analyze-one` | One cluster, optionally by `cluster` hash. |
 | `update` | Upgrade the slopo CLI. |
 
-The long actions run as **background jobs** by default (pass `foreground: true`
-to run inline). Embedding takes minutes, and slopo writes its progress to a log
-file rather than to stdout, so there is nothing to stream — the job handle
-carries the log path instead.
+`prepare` — the warm-up — starts a **background job** by default, because embedding
+takes minutes and slopo writes its progress to a log file rather than to stdout,
+so there is nothing to stream; the job handle carries the log path instead. The
+other actions return their report directly, and any of them can be backgrounded
+with `run_in_background: true` — the same parameter name `dsh-tool-bash` uses.
+
+That asymmetry is deliberate. A completion notice is best-effort: a **killed** job
+deliberately produces none, and an agent whose turn has already ended may have the
+notice injected rather than be woken for it. So the action that returns a report
+the caller can use immediately is worth more than a job id it has to remember to
+collect — and only the genuinely long step depends on being watched.
 
 ## Where things live
 
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index f47b95e..c1d5cbf 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -70,7 +70,16 @@ const SKILL_NAMES = ['slopo-review', 'slopo-analyze-ignore', 'slopo-analyze-one'
 const SKILLS_DIR = fileURLToPath(new URL('./skills/', import.meta.url))
 
 /** Long-running actions, in the order the tool description advertises them. */
-const BACKGROUND_ACTIONS = new Set(['prepare', 'review', 'analyze', 'analyze-one'])
+/**
+ * Actions that default to a background job.
+ *
+ * Only the warm-up. `index` plus `embed` is the long, watchable step — the one
+ * the user asked to be able to watch — while a review finds a warm index and
+ * returns its report directly. Named after dsh-tool-bash's `run_in_background`,
+ * because a model's prior is that backgrounding is something it ASKS for rather
+ * than the default.
+ */
+const BACKGROUND_BY_DEFAULT = new Set(['prepare'])
 
 /** Every configuration field this plugin exposes. */
 const SETTING_KEYS = [
@@ -386,9 +395,9 @@ export function apply(ctx, config) {
         'dsh-slopo settings; "prepare" runs the local index and then embeds (the slow, possibly costly ' +
         'step); "review" finds similar code involving Git changes; "analyze" triages the whole codebase; ' +
         '"analyze-one" reports a single cluster by hash; "update" upgrades the slopo CLI. Slopo is ' +
-        'installed and driven as a separate process. Long actions run as background jobs because ' +
-        'embedding a repository takes minutes and slopo writes its progress to a log file rather than ' +
-        'to stdout.',
+        'installed and driven as a separate process. "prepare" starts a background job by default, because ' +
+        'indexing and embedding a repository takes minutes and slopo writes its progress to a log file rather ' +
+        'than to stdout; everything else returns its report directly.',
       parameters: {
         action: {
           type: 'string',
@@ -398,9 +407,11 @@ export function apply(ctx, config) {
         },
         base: { type: 'string', description: 'Git ref to compare against for "review". Defaults to HEAD.' },
         cluster: { type: 'string', description: 'Cluster hash for "analyze-one". Omit for the next cluster.' },
-        foreground: {
+        run_in_background: {
           type: 'boolean',
-          description: 'Run a long action inline instead of as a background job. Defaults to false.',
+          description:
+            'Return a job id instead of the result, for a run long enough to watch. Defaults to true for ' +
+            '"prepare" (the warm-up) and false for everything else, which is quick once the index is warm.',
         },
         config: {
           type: 'json',
@@ -417,7 +428,9 @@ export function apply(ctx, config) {
             return [
               {
                 type: 'text',
-                text: `Started slopo ${value.action} as background job ${value.jobId}.${log} Read the job output when it settles.`,
+                text:
+                  `Started slopo ${value.action} as background job ${value.jobId}.${log} You will be notified when ` +
+                  `it settles; collect it with job_output for "${value.jobId}" (add wait: true if you are blocked on it).`,
               },
             ]
           }
@@ -740,7 +753,12 @@ export function apply(ctx, config) {
             details: { counted, excludes, maxIndexUnits: Number(settings.maxIndexUnits) },
           })
 
-        const wantsBackground = args.foreground !== true && BACKGROUND_ACTIONS.has(args.action)
+        // Background is for the long warm-up, not for every action. A completion
+        // notice is best-effort: a KILLED job deliberately produces none, and an
+        // agent whose turn has ended may have the message injected rather than be
+        // woken for it. A review that returns its report directly is worth more
+        // than a job id the caller has to remember to collect.
+        const wantsBackground = args.run_in_background ?? BACKGROUND_BY_DEFAULT.has(args.action)
         const jobs = ctx.get('jobs')
 
         if (wantsBackground && jobs !== undefined) {
diff --git a/test/plugin.test.js b/test/plugin.test.js
index ce95fc0..d3a11de 100644
--- a/test/plugin.test.js
+++ b/test/plugin.test.js
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ test('review writes a config the plugin owns and passes the key only in the envi
     embeddingApiKey: 'super-secret',
   })
   const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
-  const value = await tool.execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp/nonexistent-repo-xyz'))
+  const value = await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp/nonexistent-repo-xyz'))
   // It will fail — there is no git repo there — but the failure must be a
   // reported one, and the config must have been materialised first.
   assert.equal(value.kind, 'foreground')
@@ -282,27 +282,43 @@ test('review writes a config the plugin owns and passes the key only in the envi
   assert.doesNotMatch(written, /super-secret/)
 })
 
-test('a background-capable profile gets a job handle instead of a blocking call', async () => {
+test('only the warm-up backgrounds by default; the query actions return directly', async () => {
   const started = []
+  const ran = []
   const { state } = harness(
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768 },
-    { withJobs: true },
+    { withJobs: true, shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 1519 code units from 165 files.' }) },
   )
   // ctx.get('jobs') is consulted at call time, not at apply time, so the fake
   // registry can be installed after the plugin has loaded.
   state.jobs = {
     start(spec) {
       started.push(spec)
-      return 'slopo-1'
+      return `slopo-${started.length}`
     },
   }
   const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
-  const value = await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
-  assert.equal(value.kind, 'background')
-  assert.equal(value.jobId, 'slopo-1')
+
+  // A review returns its report. A completion notice is best-effort — a killed
+  // job produces none, and an ended turn may only get the message injected — so
+  // the query actions must not depend on one.
+  const reviewed = await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  assert.equal(reviewed.kind, 'foreground')
+  assert.match(reviewed.report, /cluster 1/)
+  assert.equal(started.length, 0, 'a review must not become a job the caller has to collect')
+
+  // prepare is the long, watchable step, so it does.
+  const prepared = await tool.execute({ action: 'prepare' }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  assert.equal(prepared.kind, 'background')
+  assert.equal(prepared.jobId, 'slopo-1')
   assert.equal(started.length, 1)
   assert.equal(started[0].kind, 'slopo')
   assert.equal(typeof started[0].run, 'function')
+
+  // And either can be asked for explicitly, under the framework's own name.
+  const forced = await tool.execute({ action: 'analyze', run_in_background: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  assert.equal(forced.kind, 'background')
+  assert.equal(started.length, 2)
 })
 
 test(
@@ -337,10 +353,10 @@ test(
     })
     const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
 
-    const prepared = await tool.execute({ action: 'prepare', foreground: true }, execContext(repo))
+    const prepared = await tool.execute({ action: 'prepare', run_in_background: false }, execContext(repo))
     assert.equal(prepared.ok, true, JSON.stringify(prepared))
 
-    const reviewed = await tool.execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext(repo))
+    const reviewed = await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext(repo))
     assert.equal(reviewed.ok, true, JSON.stringify(reviewed))
     assert.match(reviewed.report, /cluster 1/)
     assert.match(reviewed.report, /\* /)
@@ -366,7 +382,7 @@ test('the sandbox policy is resolved for the CALLING SESSION, not the deployment
     },
   )
   const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
-  await tool.execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp/nonexistent-repo-xyz'))
+  await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp/nonexistent-repo-xyz'))
   assert.equal(seen.length, 1, 'the policy must be resolved exactly once')
   assert.ok(seen[0].session !== undefined, 'the calling session must travel with the policy')
   assert.equal(state.shellRequests.length, 1)
@@ -420,7 +436,7 @@ test('a workspace-write session with stateDir inside the workspace proceeds', as
     },
   )
   const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
-  const value = await tool.execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext(workspace))
+  const value = await tool.execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext(workspace))
   assert.notEqual(value.errorCode, 'STATE_OUTSIDE_SANDBOX')
   assert.ok(state.shellRequests.length > 0, 'it should have attempted the run')
   assert.deepEqual(state.shellRequests[0].sandboxPolicy, { mode: 'workspace-write', workspaceRoot: workspace })
@@ -565,7 +581,7 @@ test('a scope over the budget is refused BEFORE anything is embedded', async ()
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768 },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 113768 code units from 1300 files (0 unchanged, 0 removed).' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
 
   assert.equal(value.ok, false)
   assert.equal(value.errorCode, 'SCOPE_TOO_LARGE')
@@ -587,7 +603,7 @@ test('a scope under the budget indexes and then runs the action', async () => {
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768 },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 1519 code units from 165 files (0 unchanged, 0 removed).' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
   assert.equal(value.ok, true)
   assert.match(value.report, /cluster 1/)
   assert.equal(ran.length, 2)
@@ -601,7 +617,7 @@ test('raising the budget lets the same scope through', async () => {
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768, maxIndexUnits: 0 },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 113768 code units from 1300 files.' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
   assert.equal(value.ok, true)
   assert.equal(ran.length, 2)
 })
@@ -616,7 +632,7 @@ test('the config slopo is handed excludes the defaults, and a user list is added
     },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 1519 code units from 165 files.' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
   const { readFileSync } = await import('node:fs')
   const written = readFileSync(value.configPath, 'utf8')
   for (const pattern of ['**/node_modules/**', 'ui/**', 'src/controllers/**']) {
@@ -632,7 +648,7 @@ test('slopo never sees a directory it should not, even when it is asked twice',
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 1519 code units from 165 files.' }) },
   )
   const tool = state.tools.get('slopo')
-  await tool.execute({ action: 'prepare', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  await tool.execute({ action: 'prepare', run_in_background: false }, execContext('/tmp'))
   const afterPrepare = ran.length
   assert.match(ran[0], /\bindex\b/)
   assert.match(ran[1], /\bembed\b/)
@@ -680,7 +696,7 @@ test('the gate reads the DATABASE, so a warm index cannot hide a full backlog',
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768, stateDir },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 0 code units from 0 files (562 unchanged, 0 removed).' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'prepare', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'prepare', run_in_background: false }, execContext('/tmp'))
 
   assert.equal(value.errorCode, 'SCOPE_TOO_LARGE', 'the summary line said zero, the database said 8,607')
   assert.equal(value.details.counted.units, 8607)
@@ -714,7 +730,7 @@ test('a fully embedded index has no backlog and is never refused', async () => {
     { embeddingModel: 'ollama/example:latest', embeddingDimensions: 768, stateDir },
     { shellRun: cannedShell(ran, { indexOutput: 'Indexed 0 code units from 0 files (562 unchanged, 0 removed).' }) },
   )
-  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review', foreground: true }, execContext('/tmp'))
+  const value = await state.tools.get('slopo').execute({ action: 'review' }, execContext('/tmp'))
   assert.equal(value.ok, true, JSON.stringify(value))
   assert.equal(ran.length, 2, 'a done index goes straight to the action')
 })