diff --git a/atropos/agent/atropos_agent.py b/atropos/agent/atropos_agent.py
index 0bc2637c4eb..88edc53d358 100644
--- a/atropos/agent/atropos_agent.py
+++ b/atropos/agent/atropos_agent.py
@@ -32,16 +32,13 @@ load_dotenv()
 
 
 # Default system prompt with tool calling instructions.
-#
-# IMPORTANT: In training-mode environments we want "raw text in -> raw text out" and we
-# parse tool calls from completion text. Do not rely on server-specific `tool_calls` fields.
 AGENT_SYSTEM_PROMPT = """You are a deep thinking AI. You MUST enclose your internal reasoning inside <think>...</think> tags.
 
 You are a function calling AI model.
 
 You are provided with function signatures within <tools></tools> XML tags.
-You may call one or more functions to assist with the user query. Don't make assumptions about what values to plug into functions.
-
+You must call one or more functions to assist with the user query. Don't make assumptions about what values to plug into functions.
+You can ONLY respond without a tool call if you are totally certain you have the final answer to the user's question or task
 After calling & executing a function, you will be provided with function results within <tool_response></tool_response> XML tags.
 
 Here are the available tools:
@@ -314,6 +311,24 @@ class AtroposAgent:
             return model
         return None
 
+    def _infer_server_base_url_for_debug(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Best-effort inference of the configured base_url for debug logging.
+
+        This is helpful when diagnosing hangs / retries at the transport layer.
+        """
+        servers = getattr(self.server, "servers", None)
+        if isinstance(servers, list) and servers:
+            s0 = servers[0]
+            cfg = getattr(s0, "config", None)
+            base_url = getattr(cfg, "base_url", None) or getattr(s0, "base_url", None)
+            if isinstance(base_url, str) and base_url:
+                return base_url
+        base_url = getattr(self.server, "base_url", None)
+        if isinstance(base_url, str) and base_url:
+            return base_url
+        return None
+
     def _extract_response_metadata(self, response: Any) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """
         Extract lightweight, JSON-serializable metadata from an OpenAI-style response.
@@ -359,6 +374,8 @@ class AtroposAgent:
             # Avoid dumping megabytes by default; messages can be huge.
             meta = {
                 "step": step_num,
+                "base_url": self._infer_server_base_url_for_debug(),
+                "model": chat_kwargs.get("model") or self._infer_server_model_for_debug(),
                 "chat_kwargs_keys": sorted(list(chat_kwargs.keys())),
                 "n": chat_kwargs.get("n"),
                 "max_tokens": chat_kwargs.get("max_tokens"),
@@ -421,8 +438,12 @@ class AtroposAgent:
         - `ATROPOS_AGENT_CHAT_TIMEOUT_S`: if set, wraps the await in `asyncio.wait_for`.
         - `ATROPOS_DEBUG_AGENT_WAIT_EVERY_S`: if set, prints a heartbeat while waiting.
         """
+        # Hard guardrail: never allow a single chat completion to block for more than 2 minutes.
+        # This is essential for RL data-gen stability; long hangs should be treated as failures (score=0).
         timeout_s_raw = os.getenv("ATROPOS_AGENT_CHAT_TIMEOUT_S")
-        timeout_s = float(timeout_s_raw) if timeout_s_raw else None
+        timeout_s_default = 120.0
+        timeout_s = float(timeout_s_raw) if timeout_s_raw else timeout_s_default
+        timeout_s = min(timeout_s, 120.0)
 
         wait_every_raw = os.getenv("ATROPOS_DEBUG_AGENT_WAIT_EVERY_S")
         wait_every_s = float(wait_every_raw) if wait_every_raw else None
@@ -452,9 +473,15 @@ class AtroposAgent:
                 raise
 
         try:
-            if timeout_s and timeout_s > 0:
-                return await asyncio.wait_for(_await_call(), timeout=timeout_s)
-            return await _await_call()
+            return await asyncio.wait_for(_await_call(), timeout=timeout_s)
+        except asyncio.TimeoutError as e:
+            print("\n=== ATROPOS_DEBUG_AGENT_CHAT_TIMEOUT ===", flush=True)
+            print({"step": step_num, "timeout_s": timeout_s}, flush=True)
+            raise RuntimeError(f"chat_completion timed out after {timeout_s:.1f}s") from e
+        except asyncio.CancelledError:
+            # Treat cancellation as a hard failure rather than crashing the whole env run.
+            # (Atropos/BaseEnv may cancel tasks during shutdown or retries.)
+            raise RuntimeError("chat_completion cancelled") from None
         except Exception as e:
             detail: Dict[str, Any] = {
                 "step": step_num,
diff --git a/atropos/envs/swe_smith_oracle_env.py b/atropos/envs/swe_smith_oracle_env.py
index 587bd440d10..fee0c9ab7bb 100644
--- a/atropos/envs/swe_smith_oracle_env.py
+++ b/atropos/envs/swe_smith_oracle_env.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import os
 import random
 import time
-from typing import Any, Dict, List, Literal, Optional, Tuple
+from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 
 from pydantic import Field
 
@@ -41,13 +41,14 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnvConfig(AgentEnvConfig):
         description="If true, score tests on PASS_TO_PASS ∪ FAIL_TO_PASS; else PASS_TO_PASS only.",
     )
 
+    prompt_mode: str = Field(
+        default="problem_statement",
+        description="Task prompt content: 'problem_statement' (fast) or 'problem_statement+text' (slower, includes dataset 'text').",
+    )
+
     repo_base_url: str = Field(default="https://github.com", description="Base URL for repo cloning")
     install_timeout_s: float = Field(default=600.0)
     test_timeout_s: float = Field(default=600.0)
-    verification_mode: Literal["pytest", "install"] = Field(
-        default="install",
-        description="How to score trajectories: 'pytest' runs dataset tests, 'install' scores based on repo install success.",
-    )
 
     tokenizer_name: str = Field(default="NousResearch/Hermes-4.3-36B", description="Tokenizer name for RL tokenization")
 
@@ -78,12 +79,15 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
     def config_init(cls) -> Tuple[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig, List[APIServerConfig]]:
         # Defaults for running the env via CLI in offline `process` mode.
         # Override via env vars or `--env.*` flags as needed.
-        base_url = (
+        base_url_raw = (
             os.getenv("ATROPOS_SERVER_BASE_URL")
             or os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL")
             or os.getenv("LLM_BASE_URL")
             or "http://127.0.0.1:8080"
         )
+        base_url = base_url_raw.rstrip("/")
+        if not base_url.endswith("/v1"):
+            base_url = f"{base_url}/v1"
         model = os.getenv("ATROPOS_SERVER_MODEL") or os.getenv("LLM_MODEL") or "hermes-4-36b"
         api_key = os.getenv("ATROPOS_SERVER_API_KEY") or os.getenv("NOUS_API_KEY") or os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY") or "local"
 
@@ -108,7 +112,7 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
         server_configs = [
             APIServerConfig(
                 model_name=model,
-                base_url=f"{base_url.rstrip('/')}/v1",
+                base_url=base_url,
                 api_key=api_key,
                 num_max_requests_at_once=1,
                 num_requests_for_eval=1,
@@ -184,69 +188,43 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
         problem = str(item.get("problem_statement") or "")
         context = str(item.get("text") or "")
 
-        # The dataset "text" field can be extremely large (e.g. includes large code blobs
-        # and long test lists). In local dev and bring-up runs this can make the first LLM
-        # call appear "hung" while the model chews through a massive prompt. Keep a cap.
-
-        # TODO: Remove, smoke test only
-        def _cap(s: str, n: int) -> tuple[str, bool]:
-            if len(s) <= n:
-                return s, False
-            return s[:n], True
-
-        problem, problem_trunc = _cap(problem, 8_000)
-        context, context_trunc = _cap(context, 12_000)
-
         nodeids = self._tests_for_item(item)
-        tests_preview = "\n".join(f"- {t}" for t in nodeids[:50])
-        if len(nodeids) > 50:
-            tests_preview += f"\n- ... ({len(nodeids) - 50} more)"
+        tests_list = "\n".join(f"- {t}" for t in nodeids)
 
         repo_dir = self._repo_name(item)
-        verify_note = ""
-        # TODO: Remove, smoke testing only
-        if self.config.verification_mode == "install":
-            verify_note = (
-                "\nVerification for this run is INSTALL-ONLY:\n"
-                "- Your goal is to make `python -m pip install -e .` succeed in a repo-local venv (./.venv).\n"
-                "- You may skip running pytest to save time.\n"
-            )
-
-        trunc_note = ""
-        if problem_trunc or context_trunc:
-            trunc_note = (
-                "\nNOTE: Some context was truncated to keep prompts manageable in local dev.\n"
-                f"- problem_statement_truncated={problem_trunc}\n"
-                f"- text_truncated={context_trunc}\n"
-            )
 
         tests_block = (
             "Run these tests to verify:\n"
-            f"{tests_preview}\n\n"
+            f"{tests_list}\n\n"
             "When done, briefly describe what you changed and confirm tests pass."
         )
-        if self.config.verification_mode == "install":
-            # Keep install-only prompts short and avoid huge test lists.
-            tests_block = (
-                "When done, briefly describe what you changed and confirm that "
-                "`python -m pip install -e .` succeeds."
+
+        prompt_mode = (self.config.prompt_mode or "problem_statement").strip().lower()
+        if prompt_mode not in {"problem_statement", "problem_statement+text"}:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Invalid prompt_mode={self.config.prompt_mode!r}. "
+                "Expected 'problem_statement' or 'problem_statement+text'."
             )
 
+        context_block = ""
+        if prompt_mode == "problem_statement+text" and context:
+            # Note: We intentionally do NOT truncate/cap here. This mode is for debugging / richer prompts and can be slow.
+            context_block = f"\nAdditional context:\n{context}\n"
+
         return (
             "You are a senior software engineer. Fix the repository so the specified tests pass.\n\n"
             f"Repository: {repo} (checked out at base_commit={base_commit})\n"
             f"Workspace path: ./{repo_dir}\n\n"
             "Constraints:\n"
+            "- You MUST use the terminal tool to inspect, edit, and verify the repository. Do not respond with a patch file.\n"
+            f"- Start by inspecting the repo (e.g. `ls`, `cd ./{repo_dir}`, `git status`).\n"
             "- Use a workspace-local virtualenv (e.g. inside the repo at ./.venv) to avoid cross-run contamination.\n"
             "- Use non-interactive commands only.\n\n"
             "- Terminal commands run under POSIX /bin/sh and each tool call runs in a fresh shell (no persisted env vars).\n"
             "  Avoid bash-only `source`; prefer `. .venv/bin/activate` or `.venv/bin/python ...`.\n\n"
-            f"{verify_note}\n"
-            f"{trunc_note}\n"
             "Problem statement:\n"
             f"{problem}\n\n"
-            "Additional context:\n"
-            f"{context}\n\n"
+            f"{context_block}\n"
             f"{tests_block}"
         )
 
@@ -275,74 +253,61 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
             flush=True,
         )
 
-        # Prefer a lightweight "fetch by sha" to avoid pulling full history.
-        # If it fails (some servers disallow fetching unadvertised objects, or we hit
-        # shallow-object edge cases), fall back to a full clone
+        # Repo setup strategy:
+        # - Maintain a shared, per-container bare repo cache under /data/repo_cache
+        # - For each trajectory, create an isolated git worktree under the slot workspace
+        # This avoids cloning/fetching full repos per trajectory and is crucial for multiplexing.
 
-        # TODO: tbh, should just do this before setting up worktree & after sandbox build
-        clone_attempts: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
-        clone_attempts.append(
-            (
-                "shallow_fetch_sha",
-                (
-                    f"rm -rf {repo_dir} && "
-                    f"git init {repo_dir} && "
-                    f"cd {repo_dir} && "
-                    "export GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 && "
-                    "export GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 && "
-                    "git config advice.detachedHead false && "
-                    f"git remote add origin {clone_url} && "
-                    f"git fetch --depth 1 origin {base_commit} && "
-                    "git checkout -q FETCH_HEAD"
-                ),
-            )
-        )
-        clone_attempts.append(
-            (
-                "full_clone_checkout",
-                (
-                    f"rm -rf {repo_dir} && "
-                    f"GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone {clone_url} {repo_dir} && "
-                    f"cd {repo_dir} && "
-                    "git config advice.detachedHead false && "
-                    f"git checkout -q {base_commit}"
-                ),
-            )
+        def _repo_cache_slug(repo_name: str) -> str:
+            return repo_name.replace("/", "__")
+
+        repo_slug = _repo_cache_slug(repo)
+        cache_root = "/data/repo_cache"
+        bare_repo = f"{cache_root}/{repo_slug}.git"
+        lock_file = f"{cache_root}/.locks/{repo_slug}.lock"
+
+        # Use flock to serialize operations that mutate the shared bare repo (fetch/worktree).
+        # util-linux (flock) is included in the sandbox image.
+        worktree_cmd = (
+            "set -e; "
+            f"rm -rf {repo_dir}; "
+            f"mkdir -p {cache_root}/.locks; "
+            f": > {lock_file}; "
+            f"flock -x {lock_file} sh -lc '"
+            f"set -e; "
+            "export GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0; "
+            "export GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1; "
+            f"if [ ! -d \"{bare_repo}\" ]; then "
+            f"  git init --bare \"{bare_repo}\"; "
+            f"  git -C \"{bare_repo}\" remote add origin \"{clone_url}\"; "
+            "fi; "
+            f"git -C \"{bare_repo}\" remote set-url origin \"{clone_url}\"; "
+            f"git -C \"{bare_repo}\" worktree prune || true; "
+            f"if ! git -C \"{bare_repo}\" cat-file -e \"{base_commit}^{{commit}}\" 2>/dev/null; then "
+            f"  git -C \"{bare_repo}\" fetch --depth 1 origin \"{base_commit}\" || true; "
+            "fi; "
+            f"if ! git -C \"{bare_repo}\" cat-file -e \"{base_commit}^{{commit}}\" 2>/dev/null; then "
+            f"  git -C \"{bare_repo}\" fetch --prune origin; "
+            "fi; "
+            f"git --git-dir=\"{bare_repo}\" worktree add --detach \"{repo_dir}\" \"{base_commit}\"; "
+            "'"
         )
 
-        clone_res = None
-        for label, cmd in clone_attempts:
-            t_attempt = time.perf_counter()
-            print(f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} clone attempt: {label}", flush=True)
-            res = await exec_tool(
-                ToolCall(
-                    name="terminal",
-                    arguments={"command": cmd, "timeout": self.config.install_timeout_s},
-                )
+        print(f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} preparing worktree from repo cache", flush=True)
+        res = await exec_tool(
+            ToolCall(
+                name="terminal",
+                arguments={"command": worktree_cmd, "timeout": self.config.install_timeout_s},
             )
-            clone_res = res
-            if res.success:
-                print(
-                    f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} clone ok ({label}) in {time.perf_counter() - t_attempt:.2f}s",
-                    flush=True,
-                )
-                break
-            print(
-                f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} clone failed ({label}) in {time.perf_counter() - t_attempt:.2f}s: "
-                f"{res.error}",
-                flush=True,
-            )
-
-        if clone_res is None or not clone_res.success:
-            err = clone_res.error if clone_res is not None else "unknown"
-            out = clone_res.output if clone_res is not None else ""
+        )
+        if not res.success:
             raise RuntimeError(
-                "git clone/checkout failed "
-                f"(repo={repo}, base_commit={base_commit}, instance_id={instance_id}): {err}\n{out}"
+                "git worktree setup failed "
+                f"(repo={repo}, base_commit={base_commit}, instance_id={instance_id}): {res.error}\n{res.output}"
             )
 
         print(
-            f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} setup_trajectory_workspace(): clone complete in {time.perf_counter() - t0:.2f}s",
+            f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} setup_trajectory_workspace(): worktree ready in {time.perf_counter() - t0:.2f}s",
             flush=True,
         )
         return {"repo_dir": repo_dir, "base_commit": base_commit}
@@ -380,43 +345,10 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
         _ = trajectory_id
         repo_dir = self._repo_name(item)
 
-        if self.config.verification_mode == "install":
-            # Training correctness: do not reward trajectories that never actually used tools.
-            if agent_result is not None and getattr(agent_result, "total_tool_calls", 0) <= 0:
-                return 0.0, {
-                    "verification_mode": "install",
-                    "error": "No tool calls were made by the agent",
-                }
-
-            print(f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} verify (install): running pip install -e .", flush=True)
-            t0 = time.perf_counter()
-            install_cmd = (
-                f"cd {repo_dir} && "
-                "python -m venv .venv && "
-                ". .venv/bin/activate && "
-                "python -m pip install -U pip setuptools wheel && "
-                "python -m pip install -e ."
-            )
-            res = await exec_tool(
-                ToolCall(name="terminal", arguments={"command": install_cmd, "timeout": self.config.install_timeout_s})
-            )
-            ok = bool(res.success)
-            print(
-                f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} verify (install): {'ok' if ok else 'fail'} "
-                f"in {time.perf_counter() - t0:.2f}s",
-                flush=True,
-            )
-            return (1.0 if ok else 0.0), {
-                "verification_mode": "install",
-                "install_success": ok,
-                "error": res.error,
-                "verification_messages": [{"role": "user", "content": res.to_xml()}],
-            }
-
         # Training correctness: do not reward trajectories that never actually used tools.
         if agent_result is not None and getattr(agent_result, "total_tool_calls", 0) <= 0:
             return 0.0, {
-                "verification_mode": "pytest",
+                "verification_mode": "dataset_tests",
                 "error": "No tool calls were made by the agent",
             }
 
@@ -424,7 +356,7 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
         if not nodeids:
             return 0.0, {"error": "No tests provided"}
 
-        print(f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} verify (pytest): ensuring venv + deps", flush=True)
+        print(f"[SweSmithOracleEnv] tid={trajectory_id} verify (dataset_tests): ensuring venv + deps", flush=True)
         setup_cmd = (
             f"cd {repo_dir} && "
             "python -m venv .venv && "
@@ -439,7 +371,7 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
         verification_messages = [{"role": "user", "content": setup_res.to_xml()}]
         if not setup_res.success:
             return 0.0, {
-                "verification_mode": "pytest",
+                "verification_mode": "dataset_tests",
                 "phase": "install",
                 "error": setup_res.error,
                 "output": setup_res.output,
@@ -459,7 +391,7 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
             verification_messages.append({"role": "user", "content": res.to_xml()})
             if not res.success:
                 return 0.0, {
-                    "verification_mode": "pytest",
+                    "verification_mode": "dataset_tests",
                     "phase": "pytest",
                     "failed_chunk": chunk_idx,
                     "error": res.error,
@@ -467,7 +399,7 @@ class SweSmithOracleEnv(AgentEnv[SweSmithOracleEnvConfig]):
                     "verification_messages": verification_messages,
                 }
 
-        return 1.0, {"verification_mode": "pytest", "passed": True, "verification_messages": verification_messages}
+        return 1.0, {"verification_mode": "dataset_tests", "passed": True, "verification_messages": verification_messages}
 
     async def score_trajectory(self, item: Item, final_response: str) -> float:
         # Not used; scoring happens in verify_and_score_trajectory.