fix(agent): make a binary @file: reference actionable instead of a dead end

OutThisLife · OutThisLife · commit 7ffc216bc03d · 2026-06-09T19:16:46.000-05:00
A binary @file: ref (PDF, docx, spreadsheet, …) expanded to a bare "binary files are not supported" warning with no content. The model saw a failure and gave up — e.g. a dropped PDF came back as a text note claiming the type was unsupported, even though the file was staged on disk right next to it. Inject an actionable content block instead: the path, mime type, size, and a nudge to use its tools to read/convert/view the file (and explicitly not to tell the user the type is unsupported). General across every binary type — not PDF-specific. The file already resolves where the agent's tools run (local cwd or the staged copy in a remote session workspace), so it can act on it directly.
diff --git a/agent/context_references.py b/agent/context_references.py
@@ -246,7 +246,14 @@ def _expand_file_reference(
     if not path.is_file():
         return f"{ref.raw}: path is not a file", None
     if _is_binary_file(path):
-        return f"{ref.raw}: binary files are not supported", None
+        # A binary file can't be inlined as text, but it IS on disk (the agent's
+        # tools run where this resolves — the local cwd, or the staged copy in a
+        # remote session workspace). Returning a bare "not supported" warning
+        # with no content was a dead end: the model saw a failure and gave up
+        # (told the user the file type wasn't supported). Instead, hand it an
+        # actionable block — the path, type, size, and a nudge to use its tools —
+        # so it can read/convert/view the file itself.
+        return None, _binary_reference_block(ref, path)
 
     text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
     if ref.line_start is not None:
@@ -493,6 +500,30 @@ def _rg_files(path: Path, cwd: Path, limit: int) -> list[Path] | None:
     return files[:limit]
 
 
+def _human_bytes(n: int) -> str:
+    size = float(n)
+    for unit in ("B", "KB", "MB", "GB"):
+        if size < 1024 or unit == "GB":
+            return f"{int(size)} {unit}" if unit == "B" else f"{size:.1f} {unit}"
+        size /= 1024
+    return f"{size:.1f} GB"
+
+
+def _binary_reference_block(ref: ContextReference, path: Path) -> str:
+    mime, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(path.name)
+    mime = mime or "application/octet-stream"
+    try:
+        size = _human_bytes(path.stat().st_size)
+    except OSError:
+        size = "unknown size"
+    return (
+        f"📎 {ref.raw} ({mime}, {size}) — binary file, not inlined as text. "
+        f"It is available on disk at `{path}`. Use your tools to work with it "
+        f"(read or convert it, extract its text, or view/render it as needed); "
+        f"do not tell the user the file type is unsupported."
+    )
+
+
 def _file_metadata(path: Path) -> str:
     if _is_binary_file(path):
         return f"{path.stat().st_size} bytes"
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_context_references.py b/tests/agent/test_context_references.py
@@ -192,21 +192,40 @@ def test_expand_git_diff_staged_and_log(sample_repo: Path):
     assert "VALUE = 2" in result.message
 
 
-def test_binary_and_missing_files_become_warnings(sample_repo: Path):
+def test_missing_file_becomes_warning(sample_repo: Path):
     from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references
 
     result = preprocess_context_references(
-        "Check @file:blob.bin and @file:nope.txt",
+        "Check @file:nope.txt",
         cwd=sample_repo,
         context_length=100_000,
     )
 
     assert result.expanded
-    assert len(result.warnings) == 2
-    assert "binary" in result.message.lower()
+    assert len(result.warnings) == 1
     assert "not found" in result.message.lower()
 
 
+def test_binary_file_yields_actionable_block_not_a_dead_warning(sample_repo: Path):
+    from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references
+
+    result = preprocess_context_references(
+        "Check @file:blob.bin",
+        cwd=sample_repo,
+        context_length=100_000,
+    )
+
+    assert result.expanded
+    # The whole point: a binary attachment must NOT degrade into a discouraging
+    # warning that makes the model give up — it gets an actionable content block.
+    assert not result.warnings
+    assert "blob.bin" in result.message
+    assert "binary" in result.message.lower()
+    assert "not supported" not in result.message.lower()
+    # And it must point the agent at the file so it can act on it with tools.
+    assert str(sample_repo / "blob.bin") in result.message
+
+
 def test_soft_budget_warns_and_hard_budget_refuses(sample_repo: Path):
     from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references
 
