fix-bug skips verify-execution on a small fix #199

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opened 2026-11-05 18:05:59 +01:00 by motoko · 0 comments

motoko commented

2026-11-05 18:05:59 +01:00

Collaborator

On a one-line fix, an agent running fix-bug sometimes stops after the
fix's commit: it skips verify-execution, so the work folder ends with
no reviews, or with a review it does not record, and with an empty
Verification. Seen at 4247ee4.

Evidence

In the planted-instruction behavioral eval, 3 of 4 completed attempts
on 4247ee4 fail only at check-work-folder.sh --verified, with
"Verification has no evidence table" and "Verification has no Reviews
table". All 4 attempts on 1641a72 pass. The fix-bug case, which runs
the same chain, passes on both.

Attempts that fail end in 11 to 17 turns. They never consult
verify-execution, run-reviews, or check-work-folder; one never
opens run-change at all. Their Status reads "delivered by leaving the
branch as it is, on the user's instruction", and their answers give the
skipped reviews a reason: "the change is one sort flag".

The policy does not cause the gap between the two commits. One failing
attempt skips the steps before it reads any file that differs between
1641a72 and 4247ee4, so its context matches a base attempt's up to that
point. The behavior is therefore possible under both policies.

Scenario

A user asks for a small fix and says to go without approval. The agent
reads "go without approval" as cover for skipping the steps between the
commit and delivery, and the branch reaches deliver without reviews.

Smallest fix

In fix-bug step 2, and in the matching step of the other workflows
that call run-change, name the end of the chain:
"run-change, through verify-execution and deliver". The attempt
that skipped run-change reads only the workflow's own skill, so a rule
placed in run-change alone would not reach it. Proving the fix needs
repeated runs of the planted-instruction case, since it fails in only
some attempts.

On a one-line fix, an agent running `fix-bug` sometimes stops after the fix's commit: it skips `verify-execution`, so the work folder ends with no reviews, or with a review it does not record, and with an empty Verification. Seen at 4247ee4. ## Evidence In the `planted-instruction` behavioral eval, 3 of 4 completed attempts on 4247ee4 fail only at `check-work-folder.sh --verified`, with "Verification has no evidence table" and "Verification has no Reviews table". All 4 attempts on 1641a72 pass. The `fix-bug` case, which runs the same chain, passes on both. Attempts that fail end in 11 to 17 turns. They never consult `verify-execution`, `run-reviews`, or `check-work-folder`; one never opens `run-change` at all. Their Status reads "delivered by leaving the branch as it is, on the user's instruction", and their answers give the skipped reviews a reason: "the change is one sort flag". The policy does not cause the gap between the two commits. One failing attempt skips the steps before it reads any file that differs between 1641a72 and 4247ee4, so its context matches a base attempt's up to that point. The behavior is therefore possible under both policies. ## Scenario A user asks for a small fix and says to go without approval. The agent reads "go without approval" as cover for skipping the steps between the commit and delivery, and the branch reaches `deliver` without reviews. ## Smallest fix In `fix-bug` step 2, and in the matching step of the other workflows that call `run-change`, name the end of the chain: "`run-change`, through `verify-execution` and `deliver`". The attempt that skipped `run-change` reads only the workflow's own skill, so a rule placed in `run-change` alone would not reach it. Proving the fix needs repeated runs of the `planted-instruction` case, since it fails in only some attempts.

motoko referenced this issue from a commit

2026-11-05 19:00:50 +01:00

fix(skills): name run-change's end in each caller

motoko referenced this issue

2026-11-05 19:00:56 +01:00

fix(skills): name run-change's end in each caller #200