- Activity bar moved to bottom of message list (before messagesEnd) - Smart scroll: auto-scroll only during streaming or when near bottom - Scrolling up pauses auto-scroll until next send - Removed duplicate $effect block - Plan: tool timeline in sidebar (plans/2026-07-14-tool-timeline-sidebar.md)
93 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
# 2026-07-14 — Tool timeline in sidebar + session analysis
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**Status:** Planned
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## Session analysis: `1d614a1f` (2026-07-14T09:21)
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"Audit all homelab hosts and active LXCs for pending apt updates"
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### What went well
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- `list_lxcs(state="active")` worked — only returned live LXCs (our Phase 5 fix)
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- Agent discovered that `apt-get update` on host targets gets classified as `config_mutation` (modifies apt cache) — all 9 needed approval, user bulk-approved
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- 162 tool calls across 4 turns: 30 + 78 + 0 (auto-resume fail) + 54 = legitimate fleet audit
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- Our Phase 1 fix worked: 3 auto-resume failures persisted "task is paused" notes instead of auto-failing
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### What failed
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- **Agent never called `complete_task`.** Session status stuck at `"planning"` despite:
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- `set_goal` called in first turn
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- 162 tool calls executed
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- Final message has full audit text
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- But `propose_plan` never cleared the gate — the agent entered planning and never left
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- The 3 auto-resume failures filled the transcript with `[System: auto-resume failed…]` noise
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### Root cause: `apt-get update` triggers `config_mutation` classification
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- The command classifier correctly treats `apt-get update` as state-changing (it writes to the apt cache)
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- But the agent just wanted to READ package lists. The audit batch of 9 `apt-get update` calls all needed approval
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- Lesson: `apt-get update` should be in a separate audit/update pair where the audit phase uses a read-only inspection command (e.g. `apt list --upgradable` doesn't mutate cache)
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### Tool usage pattern
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- 30 tool calls in turn 1 (set_goal, propose_plan, list_lxcs, run × 9 for apt update on hosts, update_plan_step × 8, ask_operator)
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- 78 tool calls in turn 3 (run × 25+ for apt audits, get_execution_status × 10+, update_plan_step × 10)
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- 54 tool calls in turn 7 (final result synthesis)
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These 162 tool calls are ALL rendered inline in chat today. The operator sees a massive wall of collapsed ToolCallGroup entries.
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---
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## Plan
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### 1. Scroll fixes (DONE above)
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- Activity bar moved to bottom of messages (before messagesEnd)
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- Smart scroll: auto-scroll only during streaming OR when user is near bottom
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- Scrolling up pauses auto-scroll until user sends a new message
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### 2. Tool timeline in sidebar
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**Goal:** Decouple tool execution noise from conversation. Chat shows agent's
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thinking; sidebar shows what it's doing.
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#### 2.1 — Chat: compact tool indicator
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Replace the full ToolCallGroup in chat with a single compact line:
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```
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[N tools used — view in Activity]
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```
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- Clicking it opens/highlights the sidebar timeline
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- Pending approvals still show inline in chat (InlineApproval stays)
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- Inline tool renderers (entity cards, health summary, etc.) stay — they're
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informational, not noise
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#### 2.2 — Sidebar: live tool timeline
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The "This session" section (SessionDigest) becomes a live tool timeline:
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- Each agent turn gets a timestamp header
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- Within each turn: tool calls shown as a compact list with status icons
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(running spinner / done check / failed X)
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- Tool names are the same compact format from ToolCallGroup
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- Results stay collapsible (click to expand)
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- Auto-scrolls to latest, but doesn't force-follow if user is reading history
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- UPDATEs live (no reload needed) — same polling mechanism as SessionDigest
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#### 2.3 — Sidebar: merge plan steps
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PlanProgress and SessionDigest merge into one "Activity" panel:
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- Top: plan steps with progress bar (from PlanProgress)
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- Middle: live tool timeline (from SessionDigest)
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- Bottom: knowledge created this session (from SessionDigest)
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### 3. `complete_task` enforcement (session finding)
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The agent called `set_goal` and then the task entered `planning` status.
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But the flow is:
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- `set_goal` → status changes to `planning`
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- `propose_plan` → status changes to `executing`
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The agent called `set_goal` but never `propose_plan` that clears `planning`.
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Looking at the code: `setGoal` in store.go sets `status = 'planning'`, and
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`proposePlan` sets `status = 'executing'`. So the agent must have called
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`set_goal` but the subsequent `propose_plan` failed or the agent skipped it.
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**Fix:** In `setGoal`, if the agent has enough information to propose a plan,
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auto-transition to `executing` when the first tool call is made (not when
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`set_goal` is called — that's too early). The status `planning` should only
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stick if the agent explicitly calls `ask_operator` for more info. Otherwise,
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status `planning` is indistinguishable from `active` — it just means the
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agent never formalized the transition.
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