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Skills/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
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Brummel 52db1abe10 fix(implement-loop): hold plan-contradicting quality findings instead of oscillating to a false BLOCKED
The per-task quality re-loop treated every `changes_requested` as
"deviate to satisfy", and the quality-repair dispatch was not even
given the task text. When a finding's only remedy contradicted a
plan-prescribed name/signature, the implementer renamed off-plan, the
next review flagged "diverges from plan", and the loop oscillated
name-misleads <-> diverges-from-plan until the retry cap, emitting a
false BLOCKED on code that was green the whole time.

Fix (issue's option 2 — the plan knowledge lives with the implementer,
which holds the task text; the quality-reviewer is deliberately blind
to it, so option 1 would have breached that separation):

- The quality-repair dispatch now receives the task text and a HOLD
  CLAUSE. A cosmetic finding (plan kept => build+tests green) is KEPT
  and recorded in a new `held` field; the loop surfaces it as a concern
  instead of chasing a deviation. A finding the implementer judges
  correctness-breaking escalates to BLOCKED, never a silent hold.
- The hold is keyed on two structural signals, never on a self-reported
  status enum (which the implementer contract overloads): the `held`
  array, and a no-op backstop over a required `diff_fingerprint` (a
  changes_requested verdict over an already-seen diff-state means the
  repair was a no-op or cycled back — re-running quality is futile).
  Fingerprints are tracked in a Set so A-B-A edit-then-revert is caught.
- A no-op-backstop concern is labelled neutrally (a byte-identical diff
  cannot tell a principled plan-hold from an ignored bug); implement
  SKILL.md Step 3 now routes a held/unresolved quality finding to
  orchestrator hand-verification before committing, even under /boss.

The held/no-op partition is the implementer's judgement, not enforced
in code — the residual fail-open is bounded to cosmetic-on-green
findings and disclosed, with the orchestrator's Step-3 inspection as
the backstop, the same trust placed in its other self-reports. Verified
across three rounds of adversarial review (held-the-plan paths, fail-
open laundering, schema/Set mechanics) — all closed.

closes #10
2026-06-22 20:11:06 +02:00

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// implement-loop — the per-task implement loop, as a Workflow script.
//
// This is the Workflow-substrate form of what used to be the
// `implement-orchestrator` agent's inline three-phase role-switch loop.
// The substrate change is the point of issue #7's Part B:
//
// • Each per-task phase is now a separate `agent()` call — implementer,
// spec-reviewer, quality-reviewer are dispatched as their existing
// agent-types (they SURVIVE the migration; the inline-role-switch
// ORCHESTRATOR is what retires). A single phase is therefore
// independently invokable, which the inline loop could not offer.
// • Inter-phase aggregation and the re-loop limit are deterministic
// code here, not natural-language reasoning between dispatches.
// • Routing keys on the structured verdict each agent reports (which
// encodes the project's real build/test outcome), not on a guess.
//
// Discipline preserved verbatim from the old loop:
// • The script NEVER commits and NEVER moves main HEAD. All code edits,
// the stats file, and (on PARTIAL/BLOCKED) BLOCKED.md live in the
// working tree as unstaged changes; the orchestrator that invoked
// this workflow inspects and commits.
// • Tasks run SEQUENTIALLY — plan tasks carry implicit ordering
// dependencies, and the script does not know the graph, so a BLOCKED
// task stops the loop rather than skipping ahead.
// • Spec-compliance is gated BEFORE quality, per task.
// • Re-loop limit: 2 repair retries per failure-mode per task; the 3rd
// unresolved attempt escalates to BLOCKED.
// • Quality re-loop hold (issue #10): a quality finding whose only remedy
// would contradict the ratified plan (a name/signature/structure the
// task prescribes) is HELD, not chased into a deviation the next review
// then re-flags. The repair implementer keeps the plan and records the
// finding in `held`; a no-op backstop holds it anyway when a repair
// leaves the diff unchanged (or cycles back) yet quality still flags.
// Either way the finding surfaces as a concern, not a false BLOCKED on a
// green task — and the orchestrator weighs it on its Step-3 inspection.
// A finding the implementer judges correctness-breaking (would not
// build / a test fails / a prescribed caller breaks) escalates to
// BLOCKED instead of holding. The held/no-op partition is the
// implementer's call, not enforced in code (the script cannot tell a
// cosmetic hold from an ignored bug) — hence the neutral concern label
// and the orchestrator backstop, same trust placed in its other reports.
// • The script has no filesystem or shell access of its own — every
// working-tree mutation (code, stats.json, BLOCKED.md) happens inside
// an agent() call.
//
// Carrier — passed as the Workflow `args` object by the orchestrator:
// mode: 'standard' | 'mini'
// iter_id: e.g. 'ct.2.3' (standard) or 'bugfix-<symptom>' / 'feat-<behaviour>' (mini)
// plan_path: (standard) path under docs/plans
// task_range: (standard, optional) [from, to] inclusive, 1-based
// red_test_path: (mini) absolute path to the RED test from debug / tdd
// cause_summary: (mini) 12 sentences (debugger cause, or tdd spec_summary)
// constraint: (mini) e.g. 'minimal fix, no surrounding cleanup'
export const meta = {
name: 'implement-loop',
description:
'Execute a plan iteration (standard) or a debug/tdd RED->GREEN handoff (mini) task-by-task: implementer -> spec-compliance -> quality, with deterministic re-loop and aggregation. Writes code, tests, stats.json, and (on PARTIAL/BLOCKED) BLOCKED.md to the working tree as unstaged changes; never commits, never moves main HEAD.',
phases: [
{ title: 'Preflight' },
{ title: 'Per-task loop' },
{ title: 'E2E coverage' },
{ title: 'Report' },
],
}
const {
mode = 'standard',
iter_id,
plan_path,
task_range = null,
red_test_path,
cause_summary,
constraint = 'minimal change, no surrounding cleanup',
} = args || {}
const STANDING =
"Standing reading first (the plugin convention): read the project's CLAUDE.md " +
'(its "## Skills plugin: project facts" name the build and test commands and any ' +
'design ledger) and `git log -10 --format=full`. Resolve the build/test commands ' +
'from those facts — do not assume a toolchain.'
// JSON Schemas — force structured verdicts so the script can branch on real outcomes.
const PREFLIGHT_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['clean', 'head_sha', 'branch'],
properties: {
clean: { type: 'boolean', description: '`git status --porcelain` produced no output' },
head_sha: { type: 'string' },
branch: { type: 'string' },
dirty_paths: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
},
}
const TASKS_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['tasks'],
properties: {
tasks: {
type: 'array',
items: {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['id', 'title', 'text'],
properties: {
id: { type: 'integer' },
title: { type: 'string' },
text: { type: 'string', description: 'verbatim task block from the plan' },
},
},
},
},
}
const IMPL_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['status', 'summary'],
properties: {
status: { type: 'string', enum: ['DONE', 'DONE_WITH_CONCERNS', 'NEEDS_CONTEXT', 'BLOCKED'] },
summary: { type: 'string', description: 'one line: what changed (paths + functions)' },
concerns: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
reason: { type: 'string', description: 'on BLOCKED/NEEDS_CONTEXT: the blocker' },
held: {
type: 'array',
description:
'quality-repair dispatch only: quality findings KEPT against the ratified plan because honouring them ' +
'would deviate from a plan-prescribed name/signature/structure while the tree stays green. Each is a ' +
'concern to surface, not a deviation to chase. A finding that would break correctness is NOT held — it ' +
'is escalated via status BLOCKED.',
items: {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['finding', 'kept', 'why'],
properties: {
finding: { type: 'string', description: 'the quality finding being kept (held)' },
kept: { type: 'string', description: 'the plan-prescribed element preserved (name/signature/structure)' },
why: { type: 'string', description: 'why honouring the finding would contradict the ratified plan' },
},
},
},
},
}
const SPEC_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['status'],
properties: {
status: { type: 'string', enum: ['compliant', 'non_compliant', 'unclear', 'infra_blocked'] },
findings: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'missing requirements + unrequested extras' },
ambiguity: { type: 'string' },
},
}
const QUAL_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['status', 'diff_fingerprint'],
properties: {
status: { type: 'string', enum: ['approved', 'changes_requested', 'infra_blocked'] },
issues: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Important + Minor only (Nits never gate)' },
diff_fingerprint: {
type: 'string',
description:
'sha256 hex of the FULL `git diff HEAD` (the whole working-tree diff, not a footprint subset) — REQUIRED; ' +
'the loop compares it across rounds to detect a no-op/cyclic repair and stop oscillating to a false BLOCKED',
},
},
}
const E2E_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['status'],
properties: {
status: { type: 'string', enum: ['DONE', 'DONE_WITH_CONCERNS', 'NEEDS_CONTEXT', 'BLOCKED'] },
fixtures: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
note: { type: 'string' },
},
}
const FINALIZE_SCHEMA = {
type: 'object',
additionalProperties: false,
required: ['stats_path', 'wrote_blocked_md'],
properties: {
stats_path: { type: 'string' },
wrote_blocked_md: { type: 'boolean' },
files_touched: { type: 'integer' },
},
}
// ---- Phase 0 — clean-tree preflight ------------------------------------
phase('Preflight')
const pre = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nYou are the clean-tree preflight for an implement iteration. ` +
'Run `git status --porcelain`, `git rev-parse HEAD`, and `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`. ' +
'Report whether the tree is clean (no porcelain output), the HEAD sha, the branch, and any dirty paths. ' +
'Do NOT modify anything, do NOT commit. The HEAD sha is an informational anchor only — never a reset target.',
{ label: 'preflight', phase: 'Preflight', schema: PREFLIGHT_SCHEMA },
)
if (!pre) return { status: 'BLOCKED', iter_id, reason: 'infra: preflight agent did not return' }
if (!pre.clean) {
return {
status: 'BLOCKED',
iter_id,
reason: 'infra: working tree dirty — the orchestrator must clean it before re-invoking',
dirty_paths: pre.dirty_paths || [],
}
}
const startSha = pre.head_sha
// ---- Phase 1 — assemble the task list ----------------------------------
let tasks
if (mode === 'mini') {
tasks = [
{
id: 1,
title: 'drive the RED test to GREEN',
text:
`Make this RED test pass: ${red_test_path}\n\n` +
`Context (debugger cause, or tdd spec_summary): ${cause_summary}\n\n` +
`Constraint: ${constraint}`,
},
]
} else {
const extracted = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nRead the plan at ${plan_path}. Extract ` +
(task_range ? `tasks ${task_range[0]}..${task_range[1]} (inclusive, 1-based)` : 'every task') +
', each as its VERBATIM block with the task id and a one-line title. Do not summarise or reorder. Do not edit anything.',
{ label: 'plan-extract', phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: TASKS_SCHEMA },
)
if (!extracted || !extracted.tasks || extracted.tasks.length === 0) {
return { status: 'NEEDS_CONTEXT', iter_id, reason: `no tasks extracted from ${plan_path}` }
}
tasks = extracted.tasks
}
// ---- Phase 2 — per-task loop (sequential) ------------------------------
phase('Per-task loop')
async function runTask(task) {
// 2.1 — implementer phase
const impl = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nImplement this task exactly, RED-first if it adds behaviour (TDD is an independent ` +
'inner-loop discipline — add the failing test inline even if the task text forgot to script it). ' +
'Build and test must be green before you report DONE. Leave all edits UNSTAGED; never commit.\n\n' +
`mode: ${mode}\niter_id: ${iter_id}\n\nTASK ${task.id}${task.title}\n${task.text}`,
{ agentType: 'implementer', label: `impl:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: IMPL_SCHEMA },
)
if (!impl) return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: 'implementer agent did not return' }
if (impl.status === 'BLOCKED') return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: impl.reason || 'worker-blocked' }
if (impl.status === 'NEEDS_CONTEXT') return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: `context-exhausted: ${impl.reason || ''}` }
const concerns = impl.concerns || []
// 2.2 — spec-compliance check (gated before quality), with repair re-loop
for (let round = 0; ; round++) {
const spec = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nSpec-compliance review of task ${task.id}. Compare \`git diff HEAD\` against the task ` +
'text ONLY — list missing requirements and unrequested extras. No quality opinions, no fix proposals. ' +
`Focus on the files this task claims to touch.\n\nTASK ${task.id}${task.title}\n${task.text}`,
{ agentType: 'spec-reviewer', label: `spec:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: SPEC_SCHEMA },
)
if (spec && spec.status === 'compliant') break
if (spec && spec.status === 'unclear') return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: 'spec-ambiguous', detail: spec.ambiguity }
if (round >= 2) return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: 'review-loop-exhausted (spec-compliance)' }
// repair: re-dispatch the implementer with the review findings as the repair brief
await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nRepair task ${task.id} to satisfy the spec-compliance review. Address EACH finding; ` +
'do not widen scope. Keep build + tests green; leave edits unstaged.\n\n' +
`TASK ${task.id}${task.title}\n${task.text}\n\nFINDINGS:\n- ${(spec?.findings || ['(none reported)']).join('\n- ')}`,
{ agentType: 'implementer', label: `impl-fix-spec:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: IMPL_SCHEMA },
)
}
// 2.3 — quality check, with repair re-loop.
// The plan-vs-finding judgement lives here, with the implementer that holds
// the task text — the quality-reviewer is deliberately blind to it. The hold
// is keyed on two structural signals, never on a self-reported status enum
// (which the implementer's contract overloads): the `held` array the repair
// returns, and a no-op backstop (a changes_requested verdict over a diff
// whose fingerprint was already reviewed-and-flagged this task means the
// intervening repair changed nothing or cycled back, so re-running quality
// is futile).
let heldConcerns = []
const seenFingerprints = new Set()
for (let round = 0; ; round++) {
const qual = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nQuality review of task ${task.id} (spec-compliance is already green — do not re-check it). ` +
'Read every chunk of `git diff HEAD` in this task\'s footprint. Report only Important and Minor issues; ' +
'Nits never gate. Also report `diff_fingerprint` (REQUIRED): the sha256 hex of the FULL `git diff HEAD` ' +
'(`git diff HEAD | sha256sum` — the whole working-tree diff, NOT narrowed to this task\'s footprint). ' +
'The loop compares it across rounds to detect a no-op/cyclic repair.',
{ agentType: 'quality-reviewer', label: `qual:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: QUAL_SCHEMA },
)
if (qual && qual.status === 'approved') break
// No-op / cyclic-repair backstop: a changes_requested verdict over a diff-state already reviewed-and-flagged
// this task means the intervening repair changed nothing (or cycled back to an earlier state) — the
// implementer kept the plan, or rejected the finding. Re-running quality would only re-flag identical code,
// so stop here rather than burning the retry budget down to a false BLOCKED. A byte-identical diff cannot
// distinguish a principled plan-hold from an ignored finding, so the concern is labelled neutrally and left
// for the orchestrator to adjudicate on its Step-3 inspection.
if (qual && qual.status === 'changes_requested' && qual.diff_fingerprint && seenFingerprints.has(qual.diff_fingerprint)) {
heldConcerns = (qual.issues && qual.issues.length ? qual.issues : ['(finding not reported)']).map(
(i) =>
'unresolved quality finding — the repair left the diff unchanged (a kept plan-prescribed element, or a ' +
`finding the implementer rejected); verify by hand on inspection: ${i}`,
)
break
}
if (round >= 2) return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: 'review-loop-exhausted (quality)' }
if (qual && qual.diff_fingerprint) seenFingerprints.add(qual.diff_fingerprint)
const fix = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nThe quality review of task ${task.id} requested changes. Address EACH Important/Minor issue; ` +
'do not widen scope; keep build + tests green; leave edits unstaged. The task text below is the ratified plan.\n\n' +
'HOLD CLAUSE — most issues you simply fix. But if honouring an issue would force you to deviate from a ' +
'name, signature, or structure THIS TASK prescribes (or to break the downstream callers the plan ' +
'prescribes), do NOT deviate. Two cases:\n' +
' • The finding is cosmetic — keeping the plan leaves the build and tests GREEN (e.g. a name reads ' +
'slightly off but everything compiles and passes). KEEP the plan, fix every other issue, and record each ' +
'kept finding in `held` (finding / kept / why). Do not rename or restructure to chase it.\n' +
' • Honouring the plan would make the code WRONG — it would not build, a test would fail, or a ' +
'prescribed caller would break. That is a real plan-vs-correctness conflict, not a cosmetic hold: report ' +
'status BLOCKED with the conflict in `reason`. Never bury a correctness defect in `held`.\n' +
'A finding whose only remedy is to diverge from the ratified plan must be held or escalated, never chased ' +
'into a deviation the next review flags.\n\n' +
`TASK ${task.id}${task.title}\n${task.text}\n\nISSUES:\n- ` + (qual?.issues || ['(none reported)']).join('\n- '),
{ agentType: 'implementer', label: `impl-fix-qual:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: IMPL_SCHEMA },
)
if (fix && (fix.status === 'BLOCKED' || fix.status === 'NEEDS_CONTEXT')) {
// The implementer judged a finding a real plan-vs-correctness conflict. Escalate loudly so it is
// adjudicated, rather than letting that judgement ride a green commit as a quiet concern.
return {
id: task.id,
title: task.title,
outcome: 'BLOCKED',
reason: `quality/plan conflict: ${fix.reason || 'honouring a quality finding would break the ratified plan'}`,
}
}
if (fix && fix.held && fix.held.length) {
// The implementer kept plan-prescribed elements against cosmetic findings. Stop chasing — re-running
// quality would only re-flag the unchanged code. Surface the held findings as concerns to weigh.
heldConcerns = fix.held.map(
(h) => `quality finding held against the ratified plan: ${h.finding} — kept ${h.kept}; honouring it would ${h.why}`,
)
break
}
}
return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'DONE', concerns: [...concerns, ...heldConcerns] }
}
const results = []
for (const task of tasks) {
const r = await runTask(task)
results.push(r)
if (r.outcome === 'BLOCKED') break // do not skip ahead — task ordering dependencies are unknown
}
const completed = results.filter((r) => r.outcome === 'DONE')
const blocked = results.find((r) => r.outcome === 'BLOCKED')
let outcome
if (!blocked) outcome = 'DONE'
else if (completed.length > 0) outcome = 'PARTIAL'
else outcome = 'BLOCKED'
// ---- Phase 3 — E2E coverage (standard mode, only on a full clean run) --
let e2e = null
if (mode === 'standard' && outcome === 'DONE') {
phase('E2E coverage')
e2e = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nThe iteration completed. Identify 13 invariants worth protecting and write the smallest ` +
'E2E fixtures for them in the project\'s canonical fixture form; each test\'s doc comment names the property ' +
'it protects. Run the project\'s test command — all green. Leave edits unstaged; never commit.\n\n' +
`iter_id: ${iter_id}\nshipped: ${completed.map((c) => `#${c.id} ${c.title}`).join('; ')}`,
{ agentType: 'tester', label: 'e2e', phase: 'E2E coverage', schema: E2E_SCHEMA },
)
}
// ---- Phase 4/5 — finalize: stats.json always, BLOCKED.md on non-DONE ----
phase('Report')
const aggregate = {
iter_id,
mode,
started_from: startSha,
outcome,
tasks_total: tasks.length,
tasks_completed: completed.length,
task_summaries: results.map((r) => ({ id: r.id, title: r.title, outcome: r.outcome })),
concerns: results.flatMap((r) => r.concerns || []),
blocked_detail: blocked ? { task: blocked.id, reason: blocked.reason, detail: blocked.detail || null } : null,
}
const fin = await agent(
`${STANDING}\n\nFinalize an implement iteration. Using the aggregate below:\n` +
'1. Write a stats file at `/tmp/iter-' + iter_id + '/stats.json` (or under the project stats dir if its facts ' +
'declare one) containing: iter_id, date (from `date +%F`), mode, outcome, tasks_total, tasks_completed, and ' +
'blocked_reason (or null).\n' +
(outcome === 'DONE'
? '2. Do NOT write BLOCKED.md — this run is DONE.\n'
: '2. Write `BLOCKED.md` at the repo ROOT (uncommitted by convention; never staged). Sections: a `# BLOCKED — ' +
'iter ' + iter_id + '` header with Date/Started-from/Status/Tasks-completed, `## What ran` (one line per DONE ' +
'task), `## What did not` (the blocked task, its reason, and a one-line suggested next step), `## Concerns`, ' +
'and `## Files touched` (from `git diff --name-only HEAD`).\n') +
'Report the stats path, whether you wrote BLOCKED.md, and the count from `git diff --name-only HEAD | wc -l`. ' +
'Do NOT commit anything.\n\nAGGREGATE:\n' + JSON.stringify(aggregate, null, 2),
{ label: 'finalize', phase: 'Report', schema: FINALIZE_SCHEMA },
)
// ---- End-report — the orchestrator reads this, inspects the tree, commits.
return {
status: outcome,
iter_id,
mode,
started_from: startSha,
tasks_total: tasks.length,
tasks_completed: completed.length,
task_summaries: aggregate.task_summaries,
concerns: aggregate.concerns,
e2e_fixtures: e2e ? e2e.fixtures || [] : [],
stats_path: fin ? fin.stats_path : null,
blocked_md: fin && fin.wrote_blocked_md ? 'BLOCKED.md (uncommitted)' : null,
files_touched: fin ? fin.files_touched : null,
blocked_detail: aggregate.blocked_detail,
}