Skip to content

fix(tool_calls): drop finish_reason gate from PR #122 recovery (closes #124)#125

Merged
PowerCreek merged 1 commit into
mainfrom
raw-tool-calls-unconditional-recovery
May 27, 2026
Merged

fix(tool_calls): drop finish_reason gate from PR #122 recovery (closes #124)#125
PowerCreek merged 1 commit into
mainfrom
raw-tool-calls-unconditional-recovery

Conversation

@PowerCreek

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Closes #124. PR #122's recovery never fired in production — SDK normalizes finish_reason to stop when stripping type-less tool_call entries; the recovery's finish_reason in {tool_calls, function_call} gate excluded the exact case it was meant to handle. This PR drops the gate + rewrites finish_reason to tool_calls on recovery so downstream consumers see consistent state. 49 tests green including the previously-incorrect counter-case test (now asserts recovery DOES fire on finish_reason=stop).

…#124)

PR #122 / #121 added raw-response fallback for mistral-shaped
tool_calls (type field absent → SDK strips entry → empty
``msg.tool_calls``). The fallback was gated on
``finish_reason in {"tool_calls", "function_call"}`` — assuming the
SDK preserved finish_reason while dropping the tool_call entry.

Field-tested on duplex sandbox container: the SDK actually
normalizes finish_reason to ``stop`` when it strips the type-less
tool_call. The recovery NEVER FIRED on the actual mistral shape;
the structural-empty recovery (#69 / #67) fired instead and
surfaced the noisy "Your previous response was empty" message.

## Fix

Drop the finish_reason gate. Whenever the SDK gives empty
``msg.tool_calls`` but the raw response shape carries tool_calls,
recover them — wire-level evidence is authoritative. Additionally,
rewrite the normalized ``finish_reason`` to ``"tool_calls"`` so
downstream consumers (``conversation_loop.py:3180`` tool branch,
the structural-empty + finish_reason-tools guards) see a
consistent state.

## Tests

- Updated 1 test in
  ``tests/agent/test_tool_call_type_default.py``:
  ``test_normalize_recovers_when_sdk_normalized_finish_reason_to_stop``
  (previously asserted recovery DIDN'T fire on stop, now asserts
  it DOES — matches field-observed SDK behavior + the bug
  symptom). Also asserts finish_reason gets rewritten to
  ``tool_calls`` for downstream consistency.
- 49 total green across affected suites — no regression on the
  SDK-happy path or the #67/#99/#108/#118 recovery families.

## Composition

- #121 / PR #122 — original fix, gated finish_reason too narrowly
- **this PR** — drops the gate; recovers whenever raw has tool_calls
@PowerCreek PowerCreek merged commit 332322f into main May 27, 2026
@PowerCreek PowerCreek deleted the raw-tool-calls-unconditional-recovery branch May 27, 2026 04:29
PowerCreek added a commit that referenced this pull request May 28, 2026
…143) (#145)

T3 of the #143 thin-client refactor scope. When the active provider
is ``devagentic-local``, augment ``disabled_toolsets`` with
``"clarify"`` before the ``get_tool_definitions`` call.

## Rationale

Per devagentic#203 §1.3 + the #143 scope: devagentic-side intent
classifier knows when clarification is actually needed and can
surface it via an OpenAI-shaped assistant message. Hermes' modal
TUI clarify-tool was a layered opinion fighting devagentic-side
classification — both rotation's debug evidence + sandbox UX
showed the dual-source as confusing (clarify modal popped even
with --yolo, ignoring devagentic-side intent signals).

This is the smallest of the T1-T3 sequence and the cleanest
revert path — purely a tool-registry adjustment for one provider.

## Behavior

| Setting | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| provider=devagentic-local, no --enable-toolset | clarify enabled | clarify implicitly disabled |
| provider=devagentic-local, --enable-toolset clarify | clarify enabled | clarify enabled (explicit override) |
| provider=other | unchanged | unchanged |

A boot-line print informs operators of the implicit disable + how
to re-enable for legacy workflows. Composes naturally with the
existing ``HERMES_TOOLS_SUBSET`` narrowing (#75/#87) — disable
happens first, then subset narrows further if set.

## Tests

- 4 source-level tests in
  ``tests/agent/test_t3_clarify_default_out.py``: patch-landed,
  explicit-enable-overrides-implicit-disable, re-enable hint
  visible in print message, strict-equality on provider name
  (no prefix/alias matching to avoid surprise on related
  providers).
- 21 total green across affected suites (T3 + diag-env-gate).

## Composition

Per #143 sequencing (T3 → T1 → T2-gated → T2-default-flip):
- This PR: T3 (clarify default-out)
- Next: T1 (HERMES_DEFER_PERSONA default-flip for devagentic-local)
- Then: T2 (empty-content recovery removal, env-gated then default)
- Later: T4-T6 (tool list / iteration cap / summary fallback)

## Preserved through the refactor

- PR #119 (cascade_exhausted short-circuit) — hermes correctly
  deferring to devagentic; NOT recovery
- PR #122/#125 (raw tool_calls fallback) — pre-recovery wire
  parsing; belt-and-suspenders against future streaming-chunker
  regressions
- PR #131/#136/#138/#141 diagnostics — env-gated via
  HERMES_DIAG_RAW_CAPTURE; no-op when off
PowerCreek added a commit that referenced this pull request May 28, 2026
…MPTY_RECOVERY (refs #143) (#147)

T2 of the #143 thin-client refactor scope. Devagentic-side cascade
(NousResearch#324) + runaway detector (NousResearch#345-348) + exec-terminus (NousResearch#349-354)
now cover the empty-content recovery layer with full intent /
role / dispatch-trace context. Hermes-side recovery layered on top
caused 3×4 dispatch stacking (#118) + mode confusion + invisible
swallow points (#133 debug funnel).

This patch default-flips: the four hermes-side recovery paths are
short-circuited unless ``HERMES_LEGACY_EMPTY_RECOVERY`` is set to
a truthy value. Legacy users opt-in to keep the pre-T2 behavior.

## Gated paths (all skipped when env unset)

| Path | Source | Loc |
|---|---|---|
| ``_finish_wants_tools`` synthetic recovery | PR #108 / #99 | line ~3618 |
| ``_post_tool_empty_retried`` nudge | pre-existing NousResearch#9400-class | line ~3749 |
| ``_structural_empty`` synthetic recovery | PR #69 / #67 | line ~3880 |
| 3-retry empty-content loop | pre-#67 | line ~3927 |

When env unset (default), empty responses fall through to either
the fallback-chain provider switch (if configured) or the clean
``(empty)`` terminal with ``_empty_terminal_sentinel=True``.

## Preserved through T2 (verified by test_t2_legacy_empty_recovery_gate.py)

- **PR #119 cascade_exhausted short-circuit** — hermes correctly
  deferring to devagentic's sentinel; NOT recovery. Source-level
  test asserts the ``if _cascade_err:`` block is NOT prefixed by
  ``_legacy_recovery_on``.
- **PR #122/#125 raw tool_calls fallback** — pre-recovery wire
  parsing in transports/chat_completions.py. Source-level test
  asserts the helper name doesn't appear in conversation_loop
  (lives elsewhere; untouched).
- **PR #131/#136/#138/#141 diagnostics** — env-gated via
  ``HERMES_DIAG_RAW_CAPTURE`` (#140), independent of this env.

## Operator deploy

Default behavior changes: empty responses surface cleanly (no
synthetic re-prompt). To preserve pre-T2 behavior:

```bash
export HERMES_LEGACY_EMPTY_RECOVERY=1
```

The legacy escape hatch is intended as a temporary safety net
while operators validate the thin-client architecture. Once the
devagentic-side cascade is universally deployed + observed to
cover all empty-content cases, the legacy gate can be removed in
a follow-up (the env var stays as a no-op for backward compat).

## Tests

- 23 new tests in
  ``tests/agent/test_t2_legacy_empty_recovery_gate.py``:
  resolver default-false / empty-false / 6 truthy / 6 falsy-or-
  unknown; source-level gate assertions for each of the four
  recovery branches; preserved-path assertions for cascade_exhausted
  + raw tool_calls fallback location; default-off + opt-in
  resolver round-trip.
- 163 total green across affected suites (T2 + existing empty-
  terminal mirror tests + finish_reason_tools_recovery +
  cascade_exhausted + internal_marker_stripping +
  tool_call_type_default + tool_use_enforcement + T3 + T1 persona
  + doctor persona probe).

## Composition

Per #143 sequencing:
- T3 / PR #145 (clarify default-out) — merged ✓
- T1 / PR #146 (persona default-flip) — merged ✓
- **T2 / this PR (empty-content recovery removal, env-gated)**
- Later: T4-T6 (tool list / iteration cap / summary fallback)

The legacy escape hatch design choice (vs. full removal) lets
operators roll back per-deployment if a previously-recovered edge
case surfaces in the field. Diagnostic from #140
(HERMES_DIAG_RAW_CAPTURE) remains the observability tool to spot
any uncovered case.
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

regression on #121 fix: SDK normalizes stripped-tool_call finish_reason to 'stop' — recovery gate too narrow

1 participant