"""Output-pattern failure hints for the terminal tool. When a command exits non-zero, the raw stderr often confuses models into wasted diagnostic turns (e.g. retrying `python` when only `python3` exists, or re-sending a gh field list that the installed gh doesn't support). This module extends the exit-code semantics table in ``terminal_tool`` with an *output-pattern* tier: a bounded scan of the command output that maps well-known failure shapes to one short, actionable recovery hint. Design rules (keep these when adding patterns): * Only fires on non-zero exit codes — never annotate success. * At most ONE hint per result, first match wins; patterns are ordered by observed frequency in production trajectories (state.db mining, Aug 2026). * Scans only the first ``_SCAN_CHARS`` of output — hints must key on error headers, not deep context. * Hints state the *next action*, not a diagnosis essay. One or two sentences. * Pure function, no I/O, no config reads — trivially unit-testable. Frequencies quoted below come from a 250k-terminal-result window of the production session DB (Aug 2026): together these classes cover ~14k failed calls whose retry chains averaged 1.4 extra tool turns each. """ from __future__ import annotations import re from typing import Callable, Optional # Bounded scan window: error headers appear early; deep output is noise. _SCAN_CHARS = 4000 def _hint_gh_unknown_json_field(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~9,175x: gh CLI version drift — model asks for fields the installed # gh doesn't know. gh already prints the valid field list. m = re.search(r'Unknown JSON field: "?(\w+)', output) if not m: return None return ( f"The installed gh does not support the JSON field '{m.group(1)}'. " "The valid field list is printed in the output above — retry using " "only fields from that list." ) def _hint_command_not_found(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~1,010x generic; 837x of them are bare `python` on python3-only distros. m = re.search(r"(?:bash: line \d+: |bash: |sh: \d*:? ?)?([\w.+-]+): command not found", output) if not m: return None missing = m.group(1) if missing == "python": return ( "This system has no bare `python` — use `python3`, or the " "project venv's interpreter (e.g. .venv/bin/python)." ) if missing == "pip": return ( "This system has no bare `pip` — use `pip3`, `python3 -m pip`, " "or the project venv's pip (e.g. .venv/bin/pip)." ) return ( f"`{missing}` is not installed or not on PATH. Verify with " f"`which {missing}`; install it or use an absolute path instead of " "retrying the same command." ) def _hint_module_not_found(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~739x: almost always a venv-activation slip, not a missing dependency. m = re.search(r"(?:ModuleNotFoundError|ImportError): No module named '?([\w.]+)", output) if not m: return None return ( f"Python cannot import '{m.group(1)}'. Most often the wrong " "interpreter is running: activate the project venv (e.g. `source " ".venv/bin/activate`) or invoke its python directly. Only pip " "install if the package is genuinely absent from that venv." ) def _hint_merge_conflict(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~1,172x: models sometimes re-run the failing merge/rebase verbatim. if not re.search(r"^CONFLICT |Automatic merge failed|needs merge", output, re.M): return None return ( "Git merge conflict. Do not retry this command. Resolve the " "conflicted files listed above (edit, then `git add`), then continue " "(`git rebase --continue` / commit the merge) — or abort with " "`--abort`." ) def _hint_already_exists(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~633x: branch/dir/file already exists → retrying unchanged always fails. m = re.search(r"(?:fatal|error):.*?'([^']+)' already exists", output) if not m: return None return ( f"'{m.group(1)}' already exists — retrying unchanged will keep " "failing. Reuse it, choose another name, or delete it first if it is " "genuinely stale." ) def _hint_gh_rate_limit(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: # ~133x: immediate retries burn turns; the limit is time-based. if "API rate limit" not in output and "was submitted too quickly" not in output: return None return ( "GitHub API rate limit hit — immediate retries will keep failing. " "Continue with other work and retry this operation later." ) def _hint_permission_denied(command: str, output: str) -> Optional[str]: if "Permission denied" not in output and "EACCES" not in output: return None return ( "Permission denied. Check ownership/mode of the target path " "(`ls -la`); prefer a user-writable location. Only escalate to sudo " "if the task genuinely requires it." ) # Ordered by production frequency — first match wins. _OUTPUT_HINTS: list[Callable[[str, str], Optional[str]]] = [ _hint_gh_unknown_json_field, _hint_merge_conflict, _hint_command_not_found, _hint_module_not_found, _hint_already_exists, _hint_gh_rate_limit, _hint_permission_denied, ] # Exit-code-only hints for codes the semantics table in terminal_tool does # not cover per-command. Checked after output patterns. _EXIT_CODE_HINTS: dict[int, str] = { 126: "Exit 126: the file was found but is not executable — `chmod +x` it or invoke it via its interpreter (e.g. `bash script.sh`).", 137: "Exit 137: the process was SIGKILLed — usually out-of-memory or an external kill. Reduce memory use or check `dmesg | tail` before retrying.", 124: "Exit 124: the command hit its timeout. Raise timeout= (foreground max 600s) or run it with background=true and notify_on_complete=true.", } def annotate_failure(command: str, exit_code: int, output: str) -> Optional[str]: """Return one short recovery hint for a failed command, or None. Args: command: The command string that ran. exit_code: Its exit code (non-zero for failures). output: Combined stdout/stderr as returned to the model. Only the first ``_SCAN_CHARS`` characters of output are examined and at most one hint is returned. Returns None for exit_code == 0. """ if exit_code == 0: return None window = (output or "")[:_SCAN_CHARS] if window: for fn in _OUTPUT_HINTS: try: hint = fn(command or "", window) except Exception: continue if hint: return hint return _EXIT_CODE_HINTS.get(exit_code)