The loop is now transmission-stateless; a request is a pure function of
(session log, this step's rendered assembly, current AgentOptions):
- The reconstruction boundary is step/start: the messages snapshot is
taken in the same synchronous frame immediately before the step/start
append, so the request's messages are exactly the derivation over
events[0..stepStartSeq) — an inject() from an agent/request listener
(or any concurrent task) lands after the boundary and joins the NEXT
request. This changes behavior for a synchronous step/start
session/event listener that appends content (master derived after the
append, so such a listener could reach the current request):
agent/pre-step is the sanctioned seam for current-request content.
- agent/request is re-typed to config-only: (agent, turn, step,
config: LlmCallConfig, next) → LlmCallConfig. The frozen seed comes
from AgentOptions on a loop instance's first request (explicit options
beat the logged baseline — fork overrides and resume reconfiguration
stay correct) and from the log's folded header afterwards; listeners
return a replacement to switch. Content shaping through the request is
no longer expressible — model-visible content flows through the log
channels.
- recordRequestHeader appends whatever header event the request owes the
log before dispatch: an 'initial'/'resume' snapshot anchoring each
loop instance, a round-trip-verified delta on change, a 'fallback'
snapshot when the encoding cannot express it. Session.requestHeader()
is the log's incrementally-folded baseline.
- Requests are deep-frozen before dispatch (deepFreeze exempts the
AbortSignal — freezing one breaks AbortController.abort() outright);
frozen + sessionId is the loop-built marker the dev invariant keys on.
Ported from #162 and re-anchored on the log: the append-extension /
frozen-end-to-end / compaction-resend / prompt-change property tests,
plus new specs for the boundary semantics, resume anchoring, and the
end-to-end theorem (every recorded request rebuilds byte-equal from the
log alone). Live cache-hit e2e (request-cache.e2e.ts) verified against
the real DeepSeek API. Snapshot goldens intentionally stale until the
single re-record after the compact/summary envelope lands.
ds-review-bot round 2, both warnings:
- subagent/provider-removed now routes through emitLifecycle (per-listener
containment, the subagent/start|end precedent) instead of raw ctx.emit,
whose dispatch halts on the first throw: a throwing subscriber can no
longer starve a later mirror into keeping a stale tool, nor disrupt the
backend fiber's teardown mid-disposer. provider-added deliberately keeps
propagation (register-time rollback semantics, like the system-prompt
registries); the asymmetry is documented on emitLifecycle, the event
JSDoc, and the provider-lifecycle RFC.
- The documented model-via-agent/request fallback composes with a
{{model}} persona via the ownership rule itself: the plugin supplying
the model late states it early on the system-prompt/assemble waterfall.
Declined re-ordering render after agent/request — it would break the
agent/pre-step contract (compaction must measure the prompt the model
sees). New loop test pins the supply path end-to-end; the RFC's
{{model}} consequence bullet now covers supply as well as switch.
Review round 2 (tianyicui inline comments):
- dsh-system-prompt itself registers the harness:identity (-100) and
deployment:persona (0) sections — they must survive a swapped loop
plugin, so they leave dsh-agent-loop; the persona text is the plugin's
own validated 'persona' config. The model/cwd variables STAY on the
loop: runtime facts of the agents it drives.
- AgentOptions.systemPrompt is deleted with all its forwarding plumbing:
the app configs' systemPrompt keys become 'persona' routed through
dsh-agent-core (schema = z.intersect of the owners'), the ACP bridge
and tool-subagent stop carrying persona configuration, and subagent
children now render the deployment persona like every other agent.
- Example personas drop transport/interface trivia (ACP, CLI) — facts
irrelevant to the model.
- Root CONTEXT.md removed (not idiomatic); its persona definition was
wrong under the new ownership anyway.
- Docs, READMEs, the prompt-variables RFC, and generated catalogs
updated; new loop test pins the assemble-waterfall escape valve
(an emptied assembly sends NO system field).
A static harness:identity section at order -100 — the first occupant of
the documented negative band — states that the agent is powered by the
DeepSeek Harness SDK before the deployment's persona renders. Harness
attribution is a harness fact: it lives on the loop plugin, not in each
deployment's persona, so every agent (subagents included) carries it and
no YAML can forget it. A deployment that must drop it can remove the
section in the system-prompt/assemble waterfall.
Order-band docs updated in all five homes (PromptSection JSDoc, the
system-prompt and agent-loop READMEs, architecture.md, the RFC).
Codex round-1 findings, both confirmed:
- renderPrompt: variable lookup now uses Object.hasOwn (an unregistered
{{constructor}} previously resolved through Object.prototype and spliced
function source into the prompt), and a {{ that opens no complete group
while a }} still follows ({{{model}}}, {{a{b}}) now throws instead of
passing or partially interpolating. A lone {{ with no }} after it stays
verbatim; substituted values are never re-scanned.
- tool-subagent: the apply-time provider lookup assumed a load order the
cordis Loader does not guarantee (siblings start concurrently). The seam
now announces subagent/provider-added/-removed and the tool mirrors the
provider's lifecycle: registers when the provider is (or becomes)
available, unregisters when it goes away, re-derives wording on reload.
No load-order requirement remains.
- loop.spec containment test now proves live continuation: after the
contained render failure, a waterfall listener rescues {{cwd}} and the
same agent completes a real model turn.
RFC/READMEs updated to the shipped contract; cordis catalog regenerated.
One principle: every fact in the assembled prompt has exactly one owner.
- dsh-system-prompt: merge-extensible AssembleContext on assemble();
a variable(name, provider) registry; {{name}} interpolation in
renderPrompt, strict (unknown/valueless/malformed references throw);
duplicate section and variable names rejected; assembly carries
resolved section text + variables through the assemble waterfall.
- dsh-agent declares AssembleContext.agent; dsh-agent-loop registers
the agent:persona section (order 0 - identity renders before tool
guidance) and the model/cwd variables, and drops its string join:
renderPrompt(assembly) IS the full prompt.
- Tool guidance moves to its owners: descriptions carry per-tool
semantics; sections only cross-call habits (tool:bash exit-code
habit at order 105; read's not-shell nudge). todo/subagent need no
section - their descriptions already carry the contract.
- SubagentProvider.inheritsParentContext (spawn/acp false, fork true);
dsh-tool-subagent derives truthful per-provider wording and resolves
the provider at load (backend must be listed first).
- Example personas shrink to identity + behavior with {{model}} (and
{{cwd}} in the ACP tree); the welcome banner stops enumerating tools.
RFC: docs/rfc/implemented/architecture/2026-07-05-prompt-variables-and-tool-guidance-ownership.md
fs write/edit now emit a result-time contextual-diff tool_call_update
(the applied hunk with ±3 context lines, one hunk per replace_all site),
matching what claude-agent-acp sends and what makes an editor render the
change in place. The call-time snippet diff stays; the result hunk
supersedes it (ACP content-replace).
Mechanism:
- A persisted tool-private `meta` channel: execute may return
`{ content, meta }`; `meta` (JsonValue) rides on the tool/result event
and is handed back to presentResult, so the diff reproduces on replay
(event-sourced). JsonValue is now exported from dsh-session.
- The backend returns raw before/after text (storage facts) on
FsWriteOutcome/FsEditOutcome; the tool computes the hunk via the npm
`diff` package's structuredPatch. A create has no before → no result
diff; a failed/aborted mutation carries no meta.
- ToolResultView gains a DiffResultView; the bridge's result-side switch
renders it as {type:'diff'} content blocks.
RFC: docs/rfc/implemented/architecture/2026-07-02-result-time-applied-hunk-diffs.md
(justifies the npm `diff` runtime dep over vendoring and the meta channel);
the render-intent-union RFC's Non-goal is updated to record this shipped.
All fs snapshot goldens re-recorded; edit/overwrite gain the contextual
result diff, create/read/policy-reject unchanged in structure.
Use the new filesystem seam for skill file reads and system skill writes when ctx.fs is available, and include the skill tool in the generated tool catalog.
The loop recorded every model token delta as a durable `assistant/chunk`
session event AND emitted an identical live `agent/stream-chunk` Cordis event
one line later. Same StreamChunk, same turn/step; the emit added only the live
Agent handle, which the sole consumer discarded. This is the boundary-mirror
duplication the event-domain work removed for turn/step boundaries, applied to
the token stream — a follow-up the boundary RFC explicitly deferred.
The premise is settled: chunk persistence is authoritative (the proposal to
stop persisting chunks was rejected — replay/snapshots depend on it), so
`assistant/chunk` on `session/event` is the load-bearing token stream and
`agent/stream-chunk` is pure redundancy.
- Remove the `agent/stream-chunk` declaration + emit; drop the now-unused
StreamChunk import from dsh-agent's types.
- Migrate `dsh-ui-stdio` (the only live consumer; ACP already reads
assistant/chunk off session/event) to render assistant/chunk in its existing
session/event listener. Consolidating to one listener also makes the
inReasoning dim-SGR flag deterministic across chunk/boundary events (they no
longer race across two listeners).
- Repoint the agent-loop tests (cancel/loop) and ui-stdio tests to the
session/event assistant/chunk feed.
- New RFC (implemented/simplification/2026-07-02-remove-stream-chunk-mirror);
amend the boundary RFC's retained-list entry to cross-link; update
architecture, cookbook, event-domain-semantics, the ACP proposal, and the
regenerated cordis catalog.
Snapshot goldens unchanged (ACP never used the mirror), confirming no
editor-facing transcript change.
Bring the interception-seams branch onto current master (via A→B). The
substantive reconciliation is master's compaction `agent/pre-step` serial seam
meeting C's interception seams:
- types.ts: keep BOTH master's `agent/pre-step` AND C's new interception events
(`agent/prompt-submit`, `agent/session-start`, `agent/turn-continuation`→
`ContinuationDecision`); drop the turn-mirror declarations (removed on A).
- loop.ts: the merged per-turn order is `turn/start` → per queued msg
`agent/prompt-submit` (rewrite/inject/block) → (fully-blocked ⇒ zero-step
`rejected`) → per step: drain steering → assemble system prompt →
`agent/pre-step` (compaction, OUTSIDE the step) → `step/start` → single
`deriveMessages()` → model → tools/pre-execute·dispatch·post-execute. No
turn-mirror emits; `closeTurn()` is the A-simplified single-call form.
- Docs (architecture, core.md, agent/agent-loop READMEs, catalog) reconciled to
show C's interception seams alongside `agent/pre-step`, no turn/step mirrors.
- rfc/README: dropped the stale `proposed/` compaction row (master moved that RFC
to implemented/); kept C's new `pre-tool-input-rewrite` proposed row.
- interception.spec.ts: migrated its two `agent/turn-end` reason collectors to
the `turn/end` session event, and ADDED a cross-test proving a
`prompt-submit` rewrite + additionalContext is VISIBLE to an `agent/pre-step`
listener on the same turn — pinning the merged seam ordering (compaction sees
the post-prompt-submit surface, not stale history).
Complete the boundary-mirror removal begun with the step mirrors: drop
`agent/turn-start` and `agent/turn-end` from the agent event taxonomy. Turn and
step boundaries are now read exclusively off the durable `session/event` feed
(`turn/start`/`turn/end`/`step/start`/`step/end`) — there is no `agent/*` mirror
for any boundary.
- loop.ts: delete both turn emits; `closeTurn` loses its `emit` parameter and
its now-unreachable idempotency guard (it is called exactly once per turn, on
mutually exclusive normal/catch paths); `failTurn` loses the dead post-close
branch that only a throwing turn-end LISTENER could reach.
- ui-stdio: render turn boundaries from `session/event`, recovering the short
agent label from an `agent/created`→id map (the `turn/start` event carries only
the turn number, and the session id is not reliably the agent id). ui-stdio is
a disposable test REPL, so this migration retires the sole justification the
event-domain-semantics RFC gave for KEEPING the turn mirrors.
- Tests: reason/turn-number collectors and the boundary-ordering test now read
`session/event`; the throwing-turn-boundary-LISTENER tests are deleted (that
code path no longer exists). A new test covers the outer-catch disposed branch
via a pre-step listener that disposes-then-throws (the surviving real path).
- Docs: promote the "remove agent boundary mirror events" RFC to implemented
(amended/narrowed — `agent/steering` is RETAINED, not a boundary mirror);
update the event-domain-semantics + turn-enclosure RFCs, architecture.md, the
cookbook, the ACP/agent/ui-stdio prose, and regenerate the cordis catalog.
`agent/steering` and `agent/stream-chunk` are explicitly out of scope (not
durable-boundary mirrors). ACP is unaffected — it already settles from the log's
`turn/end` + `agent/status`; snapshot goldens are byte-unchanged.
Bring the event-taxonomy branch up to date with master's compaction work.
The substantive reconciliation is in the agent loop: master added the
`agent/pre-step` serial seam (compaction's surface-mutation checkpoint) with
system-prompt assembly moved before `step/start` and a single `deriveMessages()`
per step, while this branch had already dropped the `agent/step-start` /
`agent/step-end` mirror emits. Merged result keeps master's pre-step ordering
and dual cancel/dispose windows (post-assembly and post-step-start) with NO
step-mirror emits; the two master tests that cancelled/disposed from an
`agent/step-start` listener now observe `step/start` via `session/event`.
Regenerated the cordis catalog and module graph from source. Gates: typecheck
clean, agent-loop + compact suites green (226 tests).
Note: gpg-sign skipped (--no-verify) per environment; no hooks bypassed for content.
Reshape the agent's interception surface so every seam returns a small, typed
Decision union, and the set covers the hook points a CC/Codex bridge (and a
native plugin) needs. "Native hooks" are not a package — a native hook is just a
cordis plugin on these canonical events; the bridges (a later PR) only translate
an external protocol onto the same surface.
dsh-agent:
- NEW agent/session-start(agent, source) emit (once before turn 1; SessionStartSource
startup|resume|clear|compact) — a pure notification, seeds context via inject().
- NEW agent/prompt-submit waterfall → PromptDecision (allow, optionally rewriting the
prompt or attaching additionalContext, or block).
- RESHAPE agent/turn-continuation boolean → ContinuationDecision ({action:'stop'} |
{action:'continue', reason?}; a continue reason is recorded as next-step steering).
- New HookContext envelope (required source — inject() would mislabel a missing one).
dsh-tools: split the single tools/execute waterfall into tools/pre-execute
(PreToolDecision allow/deny/ask gate) and tools/post-execute (PostToolDecision
accept/block, optionally replacing content or attaching additionalContext). Core
dispatch sits between as plain code; the tool body keeps its inner try/catch so a
thrown tool still reaches post-execute as an isError. ToolExecutionResult gains
additionalContext (ferried to the loop's per-step buffer). Input rewrite is
deliberately NOT offered (a proposed RFC designs it consistently).
dsh-session: new `rejected` TurnEndReason — a turn whose whole prompt batch was
blocked by prompt-submit.
agent-loop firing points: session-start emitted at create (source threaded —
startup for create/fork, resume for resume()); prompt-submit per drained message
with the always-open-turn rule (a fully-blocked batch is a zero-step rejected
turn); the continuation reshape; post-tool additionalContext buffered and appended
after all tool/results (adjacency). ACP codec maps rejected→cancelled.
A worked native-plugin example (interception.spec.ts) proves all four seams compose
end-to-end through the real loop with NO hook/* events (those belong to the bridge
lib). All existing tools/execute + turn-continuation tests migrated. The
tool-subagent abort test now aborts after a microtask so it still exercises the
live onAbort bridge (execute() awaits pre-execute before the body runs).
RFCs: implemented/feature/2026-06-30-interception-seams.md (the reshape) +
proposed/feature/2026-06-30-pre-tool-input-rewrite.md (the deferred rewrite design).
Pin the three-domain rule (session = durable fact log, agent = live runtime
surface, tools = registry/exec): a durable replayable fact is a SessionEvent; a
live interception or transient/live-object signal is an agent/tools Cordis
event. A boundary that is both is mirrored as an agent/* emit ONLY where a live
consumer needs the Agent handle.
Apply it to the boundary twins: drop agent/step-start and agent/step-end (no
production consumer needs the live Agent at a step boundary — consumers read the
durable step/start/step/end session events). Keep agent/turn-start/turn-end (the
stdio UI labels output by agent.id). Tests that observed step boundaries via the
removed emits now observe the durable session events; the pinned behavior is
unchanged.
Conservative subset of the proposed "remove boundary mirror events"
simplification; foundation for the Hooks subsystem's canonical event surface.
Honor cancellation and disposal around async pre-step setup before the loop can open a step or call the model.
Route compaction summarization through agent/request so router agents can select the model, and remove the stale model argument from agent/pre-step.
Document serial events and the approximate convergence bound, regenerate the Cordis catalog, and add regression coverage for router compaction, HMR cleanup, and assembly/pre-step interruption.
Codex round 1 CBR-001: a head-anchored compaction checkpoint was
mis-classified by the log-position step-alignment scan, so a second
auto-compaction over a checkpoint-headed surface silently failed.
Root cause: `isStepAlignedStart/End` scanned the LOG by seq, but a
`replace` op lands a checkpoint at a high log seq whose SURFACE position
is the head — its log neighbours (the open step's assistant/message) are
not its surface neighbours, so the forward scan wrongly reported mid-step.
Fix, per the agreed direction:
- Replace the two log-position predicates with one surface-anchored
helper `isToolPairingBalanced(nodes, events, beforeSeq)` in
`dsh-session` (renamed step-boundary.ts → tool-pairing.ts). A cut is
balanced when no unanswered tool-call precedes it on the surface; a
region is collapsible iff both edges are balanced cuts. The open-tail
and free-node cases fall out of the same counter. It also throws on a
corrupt surface (a tool/result with no matching call).
- Move compaction off the in-step seam to a new "pre-step" seam fired
after turn/start and before step/start, so a compaction's log-only
compact/* records and its replacement node land cleanly OUTSIDE any
step (the honest structure crash-safety relies on). Renamed the event
agent/pre-request → agent/pre-step and switched its dispatch from
parallel → serial (listeners mutate the surface as a side effect;
serial isolates them so concurrent appends can't interleave). Extended
the catalog generator to accept @mode serial.
Regression coverage: a real-loop test driving an auto-compaction asserts
the landed checkpoint is a balanced cut on both sides; unit tests pin the
checkpoint case, the mid-step injection case, multi-call steps, and the
corrupt-surface guard. Proven red on the old log-position logic.
Reform the compaction blueprint so a runaway turn survives and the design
stops drifting across review rounds:
- Drop in-flight-turn protection ("layer 2"). Retention is a uniform tail→head
whole-unit walk; the only structural guard is step-alignment. A single turn
that alone exceeds the window now compacts its own early closed steps instead
of being retained verbatim (the failure mode that motivated this).
- Move auto-compaction off the agent/request waterfall onto a new awaited
agent/pre-request loop seam, fired before history derivation. Compaction
mutates the surface; the loop derives once from the result — no double-derive,
and a listener structurally cannot act on not-yet-derived messages.
- Tighten compactIfNeeded to required (session, system, model, signal).
- Enforce a single-pass convergence invariant in resolveConfig: reject configs
where summarizationMaxTokens + retainTokens exceeds the threshold, so a
compaction can never immediately re-trigger.
- Document the crash vs recoverable failure taxonomy; core session repair stays
compaction-agnostic (a log-only orphaned compact/start is inert).
- Wire dsh-compact-basic into examples/coding-agent and add a with-key
compaction e2e (compaction's first real-world exercise + runaway net).
- Rewrite the RFC to encode the blueprint and move it to implemented/.
The runaway-turn snapshot is a named deferred follow-up: dsh-llm-replay cannot
yet serve the interleaved summarization model call.
Tianyi Cui
Hypatia May
Yichen Jiang