Files
shockbot/agents/postRun.ts
T
Colin McDonnell d6de1c369a learnings: edit-in-place tmpfile (drop update_learnings tool) (#635)
* learnings: edit-in-place tmpfile (drop update_learnings tool)

learnings now follow the PR-summary file pattern: server seeds
`pullfrog-learnings.md` from `Repo.learnings` at startup, agent reads
it as part of context, may edit in place during the post-run reflection
turn, server reads back at end-of-run and PATCHes if changed.

motivation: `update_learnings` required the agent to pass the FULL
merged list as a string parameter — an output-token tax that grew
linearly with the learnings size, and a constant prompt-context
expansion since the contents were also inlined into the LEARNINGS
section. for repos with mature learnings the prompt was getting
visibly noisy in CI logs.

key changes:
- new `action/utils/learnings.ts` (seed/read helpers + 10k cap)
- `main.ts`: always seed; `persistLearnings` mirrors `persistSummary`
  (success path, error path, exit-signal handler, idempotent guard,
  byte-trim equality skip); forwards `model` for `LearningsRevision.model`
- `LEARNINGS` prompt section now contains only the file path + a
  one-line "read it" instruction (no contents inlined)
- `update_learnings` MCP tool deleted; `action/mcp/learnings.ts` removed
- reflection turn (`buildLearningsReflectionPrompt`) reframed around
  file editing with explicit prune-stale + leave-alone-if-nothing-new
  framing
- `learningsStep` removed from every mode checklist — surface lives only
  in the LEARNINGS prompt section + the reflection turn now

* learnings: harden seed step + refresh stale docs (review feedback)

Three findings from PR review, all implemented:

1. wrap learnings seed in best-effort try/catch (action/main.ts) —
   the always-on seed block ran unconditionally and an unwrapped
   `seedLearningsFile` (mkdir + writeFile) failure (ENOSPC, EACCES,
   hostile sandbox) would unwind into the outer main() catch and flip
   an otherwise-successful run to " Pullfrog failed" before the
   agent even started. asymmetric with `persistLearnings`'s own
   best-effort contract. wrap and log on failure; downstream
   consumers (`persistLearnings`, agent harnesses, `resolveInstructions`)
   already handle `learningsFilePath: undefined` cleanly.

2. refresh wiki/main.md — `resolveInstructions` parameter renamed
   from `learnings` to `learningsFilePath` in this PR; the data-flow
   diagram and the resolver dependency table both still showed the
   pre-refactor signature.

3. drop deleted `learnings.ts` from ROADMAP.md + RESEARCH.md
   "missing MCP tool tests" bullets — `action/mcp/learnings.ts` was
   removed in this PR; the bullets are otherwise still accurate.
2026-05-08 22:45:26 +00:00

345 lines
16 KiB
TypeScript

import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
import { LIFECYCLE_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS } from "../lifecycle.ts";
import { log } from "../utils/cli.ts";
import {
SPAWN_ACTIVITY_TIMEOUT_CODE,
SPAWN_TIMEOUT_CODE,
SpawnTimeoutError,
spawn,
} from "../utils/subprocess.ts";
import {
type AgentResult,
type AgentUsage,
buildCommitPrompt,
getGitStatus,
hasPostRunIssues,
MAX_POST_RUN_RETRIES,
mergeAgentUsage,
type PostRunIssues,
type StopHookFailure,
} from "./shared.ts";
/**
* hook output can flow into two size-sensitive places: the LLM resume prompt
* (context window) and AgentResult.error (surfaced in GitHub comments capped
* at 65535 chars). truncate the tail to keep both bounded; the tail is
* usually the most actionable part of a failing script's output.
*/
const MAX_HOOK_OUTPUT_CHARS = 4096;
function truncateHookOutput(raw: string): string {
if (raw.length <= MAX_HOOK_OUTPUT_CHARS) return raw;
return `...(truncated, showing last ${MAX_HOOK_OUTPUT_CHARS} chars)\n${raw.slice(-MAX_HOOK_OUTPUT_CHARS)}`;
}
/**
* run the user-configured stop hook.
*
* parallel to `executeLifecycleHook` (which soft-fails with a warning), but
* returns structured output so agent harnesses can feed the failure back into
* the session as a resume prompt.
*
* - non-zero exit → `StopHookFailure`, actionable: the output is fed to the
* agent so it can fix the underlying issue.
* - timeout / spawn error → null, treated as passed: we can't usefully ask the
* agent to fix an infrastructure problem, and retrying would risk infinite
* loops.
*/
export async function executeStopHook(script: string): Promise<StopHookFailure | null> {
log.info("» executing stop hook...");
try {
const result = await spawn({
cmd: "bash",
args: ["-c", script],
env: process.env,
timeout: LIFECYCLE_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS,
activityTimeout: 0,
onStdout: (chunk) => process.stdout.write(chunk),
onStderr: (chunk) => process.stderr.write(chunk),
});
if (result.exitCode === 0) {
log.info("» stop hook passed");
return null;
}
// include both streams — scripts often emit a benign warning to stderr
// and the actionable error to stdout (or vice versa), and picking one
// starves the agent of the diagnostic it needs. stderr-first so stdout
// (typically longer, where truncation is more likely to bite) keeps its
// tail — summaries/totals usually live at the end.
const combined = [result.stderr.trim(), result.stdout.trim()].filter(Boolean).join("\n");
const output = truncateHookOutput(combined);
log.info(`» stop hook failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}`);
return { exitCode: result.exitCode, output };
} catch (err) {
const isTimeout =
err instanceof SpawnTimeoutError &&
(err.code === SPAWN_TIMEOUT_CODE || err.code === SPAWN_ACTIVITY_TIMEOUT_CODE);
const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
log.warning(
`stop hook ${isTimeout ? "timed out" : "failed to spawn"}: ${msg} — skipping retry`
);
return null;
}
}
export function buildStopHookPrompt(failure: StopHookFailure): string {
return [
`STOP HOOK FAILED — the repo-configured stop hook exited with code ${failure.exitCode}. your work is not done until the hook exits cleanly. address the issue below and push any resulting changes to a pull request.`,
"",
"```",
failure.output || "(no output)",
"```",
].join("\n");
}
/** check whether the seeded summary file is byte-identical to its seed.
* a missing or unreadable file returns false (don't nudge — the agent
* may have legitimately deleted it, or the seed step failed; the read-
* back path in main.ts handles both cases by skipping persist). */
async function isSummaryUnchanged(filePath: string, seed: string): Promise<boolean> {
try {
const current = await readFile(filePath, "utf8");
return current === seed;
} catch {
return false;
}
}
export function buildSummaryStalePrompt(filePath: string): string {
return [
`PR SUMMARY UNTOUCHED — the rolling PR summary file at \`${filePath}\` is byte-identical to its seed; this run did not edit it.`,
"",
"review the diff and update the file in place to reflect what changed in the PR. update intent, key changes, and any risks worth flagging — keep the existing section headings stable so incremental runs produce clean diffs.",
"",
"if the diff is genuinely too small or noisy to warrant rewriting (e.g. a one-line typo fix, a comment tweak, a formatting-only change), it's fine to leave the structure as-is — but at minimum confirm you considered it by appending one line to the appropriate section noting the run. silence is not an option; the snapshot is what the next review run reads as context.",
].join("\n");
}
/**
* check the post-run gates: did the stop hook pass, is the working tree
* clean, and (when applicable) did the agent touch the rolling PR summary
* snapshot? returns everything that still needs nudging so the caller can
* render a single combined resume prompt.
*
* the summary-stale check is skipped when `summaryFilePath` / `summarySeed`
* are not provided; this is the common case (non-PR runs, runs where the
* dispatcher didn't request snapshot generation, runs where the seed step
* failed). loop callers also pass these as undefined after the agent has
* already been nudged once, to avoid burning the retry budget on a soft
* non-blocking gate.
*/
export async function collectPostRunIssues(params: {
stopScript: string | null | undefined;
summaryFilePath?: string | undefined;
summarySeed?: string | undefined;
}): Promise<PostRunIssues> {
const issues: PostRunIssues = {};
if (params.stopScript) {
const failure = await executeStopHook(params.stopScript);
if (failure) issues.stopHook = failure;
}
const status = getGitStatus();
if (status) issues.dirtyTree = status;
if (params.summaryFilePath && params.summarySeed !== undefined) {
const stale = await isSummaryUnchanged(params.summaryFilePath, params.summarySeed);
if (stale) issues.summaryStale = { filePath: params.summaryFilePath };
}
return issues;
}
export function buildPostRunPrompt(issues: PostRunIssues): string {
const parts: string[] = [];
if (issues.stopHook) parts.push(buildStopHookPrompt(issues.stopHook));
if (issues.dirtyTree) parts.push(buildCommitPrompt(issues.dirtyTree));
if (issues.summaryStale) parts.push(buildSummaryStalePrompt(issues.summaryStale.filePath));
return parts.join("\n\n---\n\n");
}
/**
* prompt for a dedicated post-run reflection turn nudging the agent to edit
* the rolling learnings file if it discovered anything worth persisting.
*
* this exists because passive "if you learned something, write it down"
* instructions baked into mode checklists are frequently ignored — the agent
* stays focused on the task and the meta-ask falls through. delivering it
* as its own resume turn, with nothing competing for attention, raises the
* fire rate substantially.
*
* the file is the single source of truth — there is no separate MCP tool
* call. the server reads the file at end-of-run and persists any edits to
* `Repo.learnings`.
*/
export function buildLearningsReflectionPrompt(filePath: string): string {
return [
`REFLECTION — before you finish, think back over this task: did you discover anything about this repo's setup, test commands, conventions, or patterns that is high-confidence and would reliably help future runs?`,
"",
`the rolling learnings file is at \`${filePath}\`. read it first if you haven't already, then edit it in place using your native file tools. the server reads this file at end-of-run and persists any changes — there is no tool to call.`,
"",
`keep the file healthy:`,
`- only add bullets when the finding is high-confidence AND broadly useful. skip speculative, one-off, or "maybe" findings.`,
`- prune bullets that are clearly wrong, no longer relevant, or low-signal (rarely useful). a focused, accurate file beats a long stale one.`,
`- format: flat bullet list, one fact per line starting with \`- \`. deduplicate against existing entries — if a bullet covers the same fact, update it in place instead of adding a duplicate.`,
`- leave the file alone if you have nothing substantively new to add and the existing entries still look healthy. silence is a valid outcome — just reply "done" and stop.`,
].join("\n");
}
/**
* shared post-run retry loop used by every agent harness.
*
* checks the post-run gates (stop hook + dirty tree), and if either is
* failing, invokes `resume` to let the agent fix and push in the same turn.
* bails at `MAX_POST_RUN_RETRIES` attempts. the `canResume` predicate is
* consulted before each retry — harnesses that can't re-enter the session
* (e.g. claude without a sessionId) return false here.
*
* an optional `reflectionPrompt` fires exactly once, after the gates first
* observe a clean state. it's a one-shot nudge (e.g. "update learnings if
* relevant"), not a gate, so it does not consume the gate-retry budget. if
* the reflection turn dirties the tree, the loop picks that up on the next
* iteration via the normal dirty-tree gate.
*
* stop hook must pass for the run to succeed; persistent hook failures are
* surfaced as `AgentResult.error`. dirty-tree-only failures preserve prior
* behavior: they're logged but don't fail the run.
*/
export async function runPostRunRetryLoop<R extends AgentResult>(params: {
initialResult: R;
initialUsage: AgentUsage | undefined;
stopScript: string | null | undefined;
/** absolute path to the seeded PR summary file. when set together with
* `summarySeed`, the loop checks after each agent attempt whether the
* file has been edited; if not, it nudges the agent ONCE via a resume
* turn (subsequent iterations skip the check so we don't keep burning
* retries on a soft gate when the agent has decided no edit is warranted). */
summaryFilePath?: string | undefined;
/** exact bytes of the seeded summary file used for the unchanged-check. */
summarySeed?: string | undefined;
resume: (context: { prompt: string; previousResult: R }) => Promise<R>;
canResume?: ((result: R) => boolean) | undefined;
reflectionPrompt?: string | undefined;
}): Promise<AgentResult> {
let result = params.initialResult;
let aggregatedUsage = params.initialUsage;
let finalIssues: PostRunIssues = {};
let gateResumeCount = 0;
let pendingReflection = params.reflectionPrompt;
// nudge for an untouched summary file fires AT MOST ONCE per run. after
// we've delivered the prompt, subsequent gate checks pass undefined so
// the loop doesn't keep flagging the same condition — the agent may have
// legitimately decided no edit is warranted, and re-prompting would
// burn the retry budget without adding signal.
let summaryStaleNudged = false;
while (gateResumeCount < MAX_POST_RUN_RETRIES) {
if (!result.success) break;
const issues = await collectPostRunIssues({
stopScript: params.stopScript,
summaryFilePath: summaryStaleNudged ? undefined : params.summaryFilePath,
summarySeed: summaryStaleNudged ? undefined : params.summarySeed,
});
if (issues.summaryStale) summaryStaleNudged = true;
finalIssues = issues;
if (!hasPostRunIssues(issues)) {
// gates are clean. if a reflection prompt is pending, deliver it once
// and loop back to re-check — the reflection may have touched the tree.
if (!pendingReflection) break;
if (params.canResume && !params.canResume(result)) break;
log.info("» post-run reflection: nudging agent to update learnings if relevant");
const preReflection = result;
const reflectionResult = await params.resume({
prompt: pendingReflection,
previousResult: result,
});
aggregatedUsage = mergeAgentUsage(aggregatedUsage, reflectionResult.usage);
pendingReflection = undefined;
if (!reflectionResult.success) {
// reflection is a best-effort nudge. its failure must not flip a
// successful run to failed — the gated work is already done. keep
// the pre-reflection result and exit without re-running the gates
// (which would risk a flaky false-positive hook failure right after
// it just passed).
log.warning(
`» reflection turn failed (${reflectionResult.error ?? "unknown error"}), preserving prior successful result`
);
result = preReflection;
break;
}
// reflection replies are meta-asks ("done", "updated learnings with N
// bullets") — not a task summary. keep the pre-reflection output so
// the returned AgentResult still reflects what the run accomplished,
// while inheriting reflection-specific fields the harness needs for
// any subsequent gate retry (e.g. the new sessionId claude emits per
// --resume invocation).
// use `||` (not `??`) so an empty pre-reflection output falls through
// to the reflection's reply. runs that only emit MCP tool calls and no
// plain text leave result.output = "" — keeping "" would starve the
// fallback path in handleAgentResult of anything to show.
result = {
...reflectionResult,
output: preReflection.output || reflectionResult.output,
};
continue;
}
// checks still ran even if we can't resume, so the failure gate below
// can still catch a persistent stop-hook failure.
if (params.canResume && !params.canResume(result)) {
log.info("» post-run retry skipped: cannot resume agent session");
break;
}
log.info(`» post-run retry (attempt ${gateResumeCount + 1}/${MAX_POST_RUN_RETRIES})`);
const prompt = buildPostRunPrompt(issues);
// summary-stale is a soft gate that must never flip a successful run to
// failed. when it's the only issue and the resume itself errors out,
// restore the pre-resume successful result and break — persistSummary
// detects the unchanged file via its seed comparison and skips the DB
// write on its own, so no further coordination is needed here.
const onlySummaryStale =
issues.summaryStale !== undefined &&
issues.stopHook === undefined &&
issues.dirtyTree === undefined;
const preResume = result;
result = await params.resume({ prompt, previousResult: result });
aggregatedUsage = mergeAgentUsage(aggregatedUsage, result.usage);
if (!result.success && onlySummaryStale) {
log.warning(
`» summary-stale resume turn failed (${result.error ?? "unknown error"}), preserving prior successful result`
);
result = preResume;
break;
}
gateResumeCount++;
}
// we exhausted retries without observing a clean state — finalIssues
// reflects pre-resume state, so re-check to see what the last resume
// actually did. when the subprocess failed we skip: its own error is more
// actionable than a stale "stop hook still failing" message. when the loop
// already observed a clean state we skip: re-running the hook risks flaky
// false-positive failures right after it just passed.
if (gateResumeCount > 0 && result.success && hasPostRunIssues(finalIssues)) {
// re-check the gates that can actually fail the run (stop hook /
// dirty tree). summary-stale is intentionally NOT re-checked here:
// we already delivered the one-shot nudge, and a still-unchanged
// file at this point is the agent's deliberate choice.
finalIssues = await collectPostRunIssues({ stopScript: params.stopScript });
}
if (result.success && finalIssues.stopHook) {
const retryNote =
gateResumeCount > 0
? ` after ${gateResumeCount} retry ${gateResumeCount === 1 ? "attempt" : "attempts"}`
: "";
return {
...result,
success: false,
error: `stop hook failed${retryNote} (exit code ${finalIssues.stopHook.exitCode}): ${finalIssues.stopHook.output || "(no output)"}`,
usage: aggregatedUsage,
};
}
return { ...result, usage: aggregatedUsage };
}