fix(compressor): rename 'Pending User Asks' / 'Remaining Work' to historical framing (#38364)#38368
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…torical framing
'## Pending User Asks' → '## Outstanding Context'
'## Remaining Work' → '## Prior Activity'
These section headers in the compaction summary body used actionable
language that, when combined with a vague but topically consistent user
instruction, caused the model to treat them as active task definitions
rather than background reference. The SUMMARY_PREFIX meta-instruction
('latest message WINS') was correct for contradictions and topic changes,
but the body sections' framing overrode it for the consistent-but-vague
case.
All section descriptions and instructions in the LLM template are
preserved; only the headers changed to unambiguously historical framing.
The SUMMARY_PREFIX text is also updated to reference the new section
names.
Fixes NousResearch#38364.
tonydwb
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Jun 3, 2026
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Code Review Summary
Verdict: Approved
Pure string rename in the context compressor template. The change is exactly what the description says, with no behavioral regressions:
- "Pending User Asks" → "Outstanding Context"
- "Remaining Work" → "Prior Activity"
All references in the preamble, template, docstring, and inline comment are updated consistently.
✅ Looks Good
- Single file changed, scope is surgical
- Template references updated atomically (preamble, inline comments, docstring)
- No logic changes, no risk of regression
Reviewed by Hermes Agent
…tionable-compaction-sections
Contributor
|
Closing as superseded by PR #44454 (merged), which lands the historical-heading rename across all three template sites plus removal of the "consistent → use as background" carveout — the carveout was the load-bearing part for the scope-expansion you reported in #38364, so renaming alone wouldn't have closed it. Thanks for the report and the PR; both are credited in the merged fix. |
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Summary
Renames two compaction summary section headers from actionable framing to purely historical framing:
## Pending User Asks→## Outstanding Context## Remaining Work→## Prior ActivityThe
SUMMARY_PREFIXis also updated to reference the new names. All section descriptions and LLM-prompt instructions are preserved — only the headers change.Root Cause
The compaction summary body (generated by the LLM summarizer) used section headers with actionable language: "## Pending User Asks" and "## Remaining Work." While the
SUMMARY_PREFIXmeta-instruction correctly says "latest message WINS" for contradictions and topic changes, its carveout for consistency ("if consistent, use as background") creates a trap: when the user's latest message is vague but topically consistent, the model reads the actionable-sounding headers as the real task definition and silently expands scope beyond what the skill's filters allow.Format beats framing: the structured task-like headers "## Remaining Work" and "## Pending User Asks" in the body carry more weight than the meta-instruction in the prefix telling the model they are background.
Fix
Ten replacements in
agent/context_compressor.py:"Remaining Work" replaces "Next Steps""Prior Activity" replaces "Next Steps"'## Pending User Asks' / '## Remaining Work''## Outstanding Context' / '## Prior Activity'## Pending User Asks## Outstanding Context## Remaining Work## Prior ActivityQuestions, Files, Remaining WorkQuestions, Files, Prior Activity## Pending User Asks## Outstanding Context## Remaining Work## Prior Activity"Pending User Asks""Outstanding Context"Verification
scripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_context_compressor.py— 91 passedscripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_summary_prefix_semantics.py— 5 passedscripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_context_compressor_summary_continuity.py— 3 passedscripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_compressor_historical_media.py tests/agent/test_compressor_image_tokens.py— passedscripts/run_tests.sh tests/agent/test_resume_stale_active_task.py— passedpython3 -c "import ast; ast.parse(open('agent/context_compressor.py').read()); print('Syntax OK')"— OKgrepconfirms all 10 occurrences of old names are replaced with new namesScope Boundaries
Test Plan
Security & Privacy Impact
Checklist
Code
fix(scope):).agent/context_compressor.py).scripts/run_tests.shon all compressor-related test files, Python syntax check.Documentation & Housekeeping
cli-config.yaml.exampleupdate: N/A — no config keys changed.CONTRIBUTING.md/AGENTS.mdupdate: N/A — no workflow or architecture changed.For New Skills
Screenshots / Logs
Closes #38364.