hermes-agent/tests/run_agent/test_steer.py
Brooklyn Nicholson c883367bd2 fix(agent): keep interrupt-checkpoint scaffolding out of the steered transcript
A mid-stream steer persists an interrupted-turn checkpoint so the model knows
its reply was cut off. That scaffolding — "[This response was interrupted by a
user correction.]" and the "Visible response before the interruption:" header —
was written straight into message content, so every reload painted the raw
machinery as an assistant bubble (and merged it into the preceding tool-call
bubble). Steered transcripts became unreadable.

Reuse the existing display/replay split instead of inventing new surface:
- Carry the scaffolded form in the server-only api_content sidecar (the exact
  bytes replayed to the provider), keep content the user's/agent's real words.
- When nothing reached the screen there is no clean form, so mark the row
  display_kind=hidden — replayed to the model, dropped by every transcript
  surface, exactly like compaction-reference rows.
- Honor display_kind=hidden in the gateway's _history_to_messages projection
  (it only sniffed the [System: convention), so the checkpoint can't leak
  through the live/resume path to the TUI/CLI either.

The model still receives the full interrupted context on the wire; the
transcript shows the partial reply and the user's correction.
2026-07-28 01:05:02 -05:00

610 lines
25 KiB
Python

"""Tests for AIAgent.steer() — mid-run user message injection.
/steer lets the user add a note to the agent's next tool result without
interrupting the current tool call. The agent sees the note inline with
tool output on its next iteration, preserving message-role alternation
and prompt-cache integrity.
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import threading
import pytest
from agent.prompt_builder import STEER_MARKER_OPEN, format_steer_marker
from run_agent import AIAgent
def _bare_agent() -> AIAgent:
"""Build an AIAgent without running __init__, then install the steer
state manually — matches the existing object.__new__ stub pattern
used elsewhere in the test suite.
"""
agent = object.__new__(AIAgent)
agent._pending_steer = None
agent._pending_steer_lock = threading.Lock()
agent._pending_redirect = None
agent._pending_redirect_lock = threading.Lock()
agent._model_request_active = threading.Event()
agent._executing_tools = False
agent._execution_thread_id = None
agent._interrupt_thread_signal_pending = False
agent._interrupt_requested = False
agent._interrupt_message = None
agent._active_children = []
agent._active_children_lock = threading.Lock()
agent._tool_worker_threads = None
agent._tool_worker_threads_lock = None
agent._current_streamed_assistant_text = ""
agent._stream_needs_break = False
agent._strip_think_blocks = lambda content: content
agent.quiet_mode = True
agent.api_mode = "chat_completions"
return agent
class TestSteerAcceptance:
def test_accepts_non_empty_text(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.steer("go ahead and check the logs") is True
assert agent._pending_steer == "go ahead and check the logs"
def test_rejects_empty_string(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.steer("") is False
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_rejects_whitespace_only(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.steer(" \n\t ") is False
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_rejects_none(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.steer(None) is False # type: ignore[arg-type]
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_strips_surrounding_whitespace(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.steer(" hello world \n") is True
assert agent._pending_steer == "hello world"
def test_concatenates_multiple_steers_with_newlines(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("first note")
agent.steer("second note")
agent.steer("third note")
assert agent._pending_steer == "first note\nsecond note\nthird note"
class TestSteerDrain:
def test_drain_returns_and_clears(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("hello")
assert agent._drain_pending_steer() == "hello"
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_drain_on_empty_returns_none(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent._drain_pending_steer() is None
class TestActiveTurnRedirect:
def test_rejects_when_no_turn_is_active(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
assert agent.redirect("change course") is False
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
def test_cancels_only_an_active_model_request(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._model_request_active.set()
assert agent.redirect("use Postgres") is True
assert agent._pending_redirect == "use Postgres"
assert agent._interrupt_requested is True
assert agent._interrupt_message is None
def test_multiple_redirects_preserve_message_boundaries(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._model_request_active.set()
assert agent.redirect("first correction") is True
assert agent.redirect("second correction") is True
assert agent._pending_redirect == (
"first correction\n\n"
"[Additional user correction]\n"
"second correction"
)
def test_hard_interrupt_wins_over_new_redirect(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._model_request_active.set()
agent._interrupt_requested = True
assert agent.redirect("too late") is False
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
def test_reasoning_deltas_are_display_only(self):
"""Streamed reasoning must never accumulate into replayable transcript
state — an assistant checkpoint that inlines chain-of-thought trips
Anthropic's output classifier and permanently bricks the session
(deterministic empty-response storms on every replay)."""
agent = _bare_agent()
seen = []
agent.reasoning_callback = seen.append
agent._fire_reasoning_delta("visible provider thinking")
# Displayed to the surface, but never checkpointed anywhere.
assert seen == ["visible provider thinking"]
assert not getattr(agent, "_current_streamed_reasoning_text", "")
def test_response_completion_before_redirect_lock_rejects_correction(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._model_request_active.set()
started = threading.Event()
outcome = {}
def redirect():
started.set()
outcome["accepted"] = agent.redirect("late correction")
with agent._pending_redirect_lock:
worker = threading.Thread(target=redirect)
worker.start()
assert started.wait(timeout=1)
# Mirrors conversation_loop clearing the request-active marker
# under this same lock before redirect can commit its slot.
agent._model_request_active.clear()
worker.join(timeout=1)
assert outcome["accepted"] is False
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
def test_hard_stop_wins_concurrent_redirect(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._model_request_active.set()
start = threading.Barrier(3)
outcome = {}
def redirect():
start.wait()
outcome["redirect"] = agent.redirect("change course")
def hard_stop():
start.wait()
agent.interrupt("stop requested")
redirect_thread = threading.Thread(target=redirect)
stop_thread = threading.Thread(target=hard_stop)
redirect_thread.start()
stop_thread.start()
start.wait()
redirect_thread.join(timeout=1)
stop_thread.join(timeout=1)
assert redirect_thread.is_alive() is False
assert stop_thread.is_alive() is False
assert agent._interrupt_requested is True
assert agent._interrupt_message == "stop requested"
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
def test_codex_app_server_hard_stop_reaches_native_session(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
calls = []
agent.api_mode = "codex_app_server"
agent._codex_session = type(
"_CodexSession",
(),
{"request_interrupt": lambda self: calls.append("interrupt")},
)()
agent.interrupt()
assert calls == ["interrupt"]
def test_codex_app_server_redirect_rejects_after_hard_stop(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
calls = []
agent.api_mode = "codex_app_server"
agent._interrupt_requested = True
agent._codex_session = type(
"_CodexSession",
(),
{"request_steer": lambda self, text: calls.append(text) or True},
)()
assert agent.redirect("too late") is False
assert calls == []
def test_redirect_during_tool_execution_uses_safe_steer_boundary(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._executing_tools = True
assert agent.redirect("also check migrations") is True
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
assert agent._pending_steer == "also check migrations"
assert agent._interrupt_requested is False
class TestActiveTurnRedirectCheckpoint:
def test_assistant_tail_puts_correction_last(self):
from agent.conversation_loop import _apply_active_turn_redirect
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._current_streamed_assistant_text = "Visible draft."
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "start"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "committed assistant item"},
]
_apply_active_turn_redirect(agent, messages, "Use Postgres instead.")
assert [m["role"] for m in messages] == ["user", "assistant", "user"]
assert messages[-1]["role"] == "user"
assert messages[-1]["content"] == "Use Postgres instead."
assert sum(1 for m in messages if m["role"] == "assistant") == 1
# Scaffolding is provider-replay text, carried in the sidecar so the
# model still sees the interrupted context — never in the transcript.
replayed = messages[-1]["api_content"]
assert "Visible draft." in replayed
assert "Context from the interrupted assistant response" in replayed
assert replayed.endswith("Use Postgres instead.")
def test_scaffolding_never_lands_in_transcript_content(self):
"""The checkpoint machinery is for the MODEL, not the transcript.
Persisting ``[This response was interrupted by a user correction.]``
into ``content`` painted raw scaffolding as an assistant bubble on
every reload. It must ride in ``api_content`` (replayed to the
provider) while ``content`` stays clean, or be marked
``display_kind="hidden"`` when there is no clean form at all.
"""
from agent.conversation_loop import _apply_active_turn_redirect
scaffolding = (
"[This response was interrupted by a user correction.]",
"Visible response before the interruption:",
"[Context from the interrupted assistant response]",
)
for tail_role in ("tool", "assistant"):
for streamed in ("Partial reply on screen.", ""):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._current_streamed_assistant_text = streamed
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "start"}]
if tail_role == "assistant":
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": "committed"})
else:
messages.append(
{"role": "assistant", "tool_calls": [{"id": "a"}]}
)
messages.append(
{"role": "tool", "content": "out", "tool_call_id": "a"}
)
_apply_active_turn_redirect(agent, messages, "New direction.")
for msg in messages:
if msg.get("display_kind") == "hidden":
continue # dropped by every transcript surface
content = str(msg.get("content", ""))
for marker in scaffolding:
assert marker not in content, (
f"scaffolding leaked into visible content "
f"(tail={tail_role}, streamed={bool(streamed)}): {content!r}"
)
# The user's correction is always shown verbatim.
assert messages[-1]["content"] == "New direction."
# ...and the model still receives the interrupted context.
replayed = "".join(
str(m.get("api_content") or m.get("content", "")) for m in messages
)
assert "[This response was interrupted by a user correction.]" in replayed
if streamed:
assert streamed in replayed
def test_checkpoint_never_replays_chain_of_thought(self):
"""Raw CoT serialized into checkpoint content reads to Anthropic's
output classifier as reasoning-injection; because the checkpoint is
persisted and replayed on every later call, one redirect during a
thinking phase permanently bricked sessions with deterministic
empty-response storms (July 2026). Reasoning must never appear in
replayable content — in either the assistant-checkpoint or the
merged-user-correction shape."""
from agent.conversation_loop import _apply_active_turn_redirect
for tail_role in ("user", "assistant"):
agent = _bare_agent()
# Simulate a surface having displayed reasoning this turn.
agent._current_streamed_reasoning_text = "SECRET chain of thought."
agent._current_streamed_assistant_text = "Visible draft."
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "start"}]
if tail_role == "assistant":
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": "committed"})
_apply_active_turn_redirect(agent, messages, "Change course.")
# Check BOTH the transcript content and the replayed sidecar —
# the sidecar is what actually reaches the provider.
serialized = "".join(
str(m.get("content", "")) + str(m.get("api_content") or "")
for m in messages
)
assert "SECRET chain of thought." not in serialized
assert "Reasoning shown before the interruption" not in serialized
assert "Visible draft." in serialized
def test_checkpoint_omits_reasoning_label_when_nothing_visible(self):
from agent.conversation_loop import _apply_active_turn_redirect
agent = _bare_agent()
agent._current_streamed_reasoning_text = "thinking only, no text yet"
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "start"}]
_apply_active_turn_redirect(agent, messages, "New direction.")
checkpoint_row = messages[-2]
# Nothing was on screen, so the row exists only for the model: hidden
# from every transcript surface, scaffolding replayed via the sidecar.
assert checkpoint_row["display_kind"] == "hidden"
assert (
checkpoint_row["api_content"]
== "[This response was interrupted by a user correction.]"
)
assert messages[-1]["content"] == "New direction."
class TestSteerInjection:
def test_appends_to_last_tool_result(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("please also check auth.log")
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "what's in /var/log?"},
{"role": "assistant", "tool_calls": [{"id": "a"}, {"id": "b"}]},
{"role": "tool", "content": "ls output A", "tool_call_id": "a"},
{"role": "tool", "content": "ls output B", "tool_call_id": "b"},
]
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=2)
# The LAST tool result is modified; earlier ones are untouched.
assert messages[2]["content"] == "ls output A"
assert "ls output B" in messages[3]["content"]
assert STEER_MARKER_OPEN in messages[3]["content"]
assert "please also check auth.log" in messages[3]["content"]
# And pending_steer is consumed.
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_no_op_when_no_steer_pending(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
messages = [
{"role": "assistant", "tool_calls": [{"id": "a"}]},
{"role": "tool", "content": "output", "tool_call_id": "a"},
]
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=1)
assert messages[-1]["content"] == "output" # unchanged
def test_no_op_when_num_tool_msgs_zero(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("steer")
messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=0)
# Steer should remain pending (nothing to drain into)
assert agent._pending_steer == "steer"
def test_marker_labels_text_as_out_of_band_user_message(self):
"""The injection marker must attribute the appended text to the user
via the explicit out-of-band marker (which the system prompt tells the
model to trust) — otherwise the model reads it as untrusted tool output
and refuses it as suspected prompt injection. Cache-safe: it only
rewrites existing tool content, never the message-role sequence.
"""
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("stop after next step")
messages = [{"role": "tool", "content": "x", "tool_call_id": "1"}]
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=1)
content = messages[-1]["content"]
assert STEER_MARKER_OPEN in content
assert "stop after next step" in content
def test_multimodal_content_list_preserved(self):
"""Anthropic-style list content should be preserved, with the steer
appended as a text block."""
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("extra note")
original_blocks = [{"type": "text", "text": "existing output"}]
messages = [
{"role": "tool", "content": list(original_blocks), "tool_call_id": "1"}
]
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=1)
new_content = messages[-1]["content"]
assert isinstance(new_content, list)
assert len(new_content) == 2
assert new_content[0] == {"type": "text", "text": "existing output"}
assert new_content[1]["type"] == "text"
assert "extra note" in new_content[1]["text"]
def test_restashed_when_no_tool_result_in_batch(self):
"""If the 'batch' contains no tool-role messages (e.g. all skipped
after an interrupt), the steer should be put back into the pending
slot so the caller's fallback path can deliver it."""
agent = _bare_agent()
agent.steer("ping")
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "x"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "y"},
]
# Claim there were N tool msgs, but the tail has none — simulates
# the interrupt-cancelled case.
agent._apply_pending_steer_to_tool_results(messages, num_tool_msgs=2)
# Messages untouched
assert messages[-1]["content"] == "y"
# And the steer is back in pending so the fallback can grab it
assert agent._pending_steer == "ping"
class TestSteerThreadSafety:
def test_concurrent_steer_calls_preserve_all_text(self):
agent = _bare_agent()
N = 200
def worker(idx: int) -> None:
agent.steer(f"note-{idx}")
threads = [threading.Thread(target=worker, args=(i,)) for i in range(N)]
for t in threads:
t.start()
for t in threads:
t.join()
text = agent._drain_pending_steer()
assert text is not None
# Every single note must be preserved — none dropped by the lock.
lines = text.split("\n")
assert len(lines) == N
assert set(lines) == {f"note-{i}" for i in range(N)}
class TestSteerClearedOnInterrupt:
def test_clear_interrupt_drops_pending_steer(self):
"""A hard interrupt supersedes any pending steer — the agent's
next tool iteration won't happen, so delivering the steer later
would be surprising."""
agent = _bare_agent()
# Minimal surface needed by clear_interrupt()
agent._interrupt_requested = True
agent._interrupt_message = None
agent._interrupt_thread_signal_pending = False
agent._execution_thread_id = None
agent._tool_worker_threads = None
agent._tool_worker_threads_lock = None
agent.steer("will be dropped")
agent._pending_redirect = "also drop this"
assert agent._pending_steer == "will be dropped"
agent.clear_interrupt()
assert agent._pending_steer is None
assert agent._pending_redirect is None
class TestPreApiCallSteerDrain:
"""Test that steers arriving during an API call are drained before the
next API call — not deferred until the next tool batch. This is the
fix for the scenario where /steer sent during model thinking only lands
after the agent is completely done."""
def test_pre_api_drain_injects_into_last_tool_result(self):
"""If a steer is pending when the main loop starts building
api_messages, it should be injected into the last tool result
in the messages list."""
agent = _bare_agent()
# Simulate messages after a tool batch completed
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "do something"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "ok", "tool_calls": [
{"id": "tc1", "function": {"name": "terminal", "arguments": "{}"}}
]},
{"role": "tool", "content": "output here", "tool_call_id": "tc1"},
]
# Steer arrives during API call (set after tool execution)
agent.steer("focus on error handling")
# Simulate what the pre-API-call drain does:
_pre_api_steer = agent._drain_pending_steer()
assert _pre_api_steer == "focus on error handling"
# Inject into last tool msg (mirrors the new code in run_conversation)
for _si in range(len(messages) - 1, -1, -1):
if messages[_si].get("role") == "tool":
messages[_si]["content"] += format_steer_marker(_pre_api_steer)
break
assert STEER_MARKER_OPEN in messages[-1]["content"]
assert "focus on error handling" in messages[-1]["content"]
assert agent._pending_steer is None
def test_pre_api_drain_restashes_when_no_tool_message(self):
"""If there are no tool results yet (first iteration), the steer
should be put back into _pending_steer for the post-tool drain."""
agent = _bare_agent()
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "hello"},
]
agent.steer("early steer")
_pre_api_steer = agent._drain_pending_steer()
assert _pre_api_steer == "early steer"
# No tool message found — put it back
found = False
for _si in range(len(messages) - 1, -1, -1):
if messages[_si].get("role") == "tool":
found = True
break
assert not found
# Restash
agent._pending_steer = _pre_api_steer
assert agent._pending_steer == "early steer"
def test_pre_api_drain_finds_tool_msg_past_assistant(self):
"""The pre-API drain should scan backwards past a non-tool message
(e.g., if an assistant message was somehow appended after tools)
and still find the tool result."""
agent = _bare_agent()
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "do something"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "let me check", "tool_calls": [
{"id": "tc1", "function": {"name": "web_search", "arguments": "{}"}}
]},
{"role": "tool", "content": "search results", "tool_call_id": "tc1"},
]
agent.steer("change approach")
_pre_api_steer = agent._drain_pending_steer()
assert _pre_api_steer is not None
for _si in range(len(messages) - 1, -1, -1):
if messages[_si].get("role") == "tool":
messages[_si]["content"] += format_steer_marker(_pre_api_steer)
break
assert "change approach" in messages[2]["content"]
class TestSteerMarkerContract:
def test_system_prompt_note_describes_the_real_marker(self):
"""The system-prompt note tells the model which marker to trust; it
must reference the exact open/close the injector emits, or the model
trusts a marker that never appears (and vice-versa)."""
from agent.prompt_builder import STEER_CHANNEL_NOTE, STEER_MARKER_CLOSE
emitted = format_steer_marker("hi")
assert STEER_MARKER_OPEN in emitted and STEER_MARKER_CLOSE in emitted
assert STEER_MARKER_OPEN in STEER_CHANNEL_NOTE and STEER_MARKER_CLOSE in STEER_CHANNEL_NOTE
def test_marker_no_longer_uses_the_distrusted_label(self):
"""Regression: the bare 'User guidance:' line read as tool content and
got refused as injection — it must not come back."""
assert "User guidance:" not in format_steer_marker("hi")
class TestSteerCommandRegistry:
def test_steer_in_command_registry(self):
"""The /steer slash command must be registered so it reaches all
platforms (CLI, gateway, TUI autocomplete, Telegram/Slack menus).
"""
from hermes_cli.commands import resolve_command
cmd = resolve_command("steer")
assert cmd is not None
assert cmd.name == "steer"
assert cmd.category == "Session"
assert cmd.args_hint == "<prompt>"
def test_steer_in_bypass_set(self):
"""When the agent is running, /steer MUST bypass the Level-1
base-adapter queue so it reaches the gateway runner's /steer
handler. Otherwise it would be queued as user text and only
delivered at turn end — defeating the whole point.
"""
from hermes_cli.commands import ACTIVE_SESSION_BYPASS_COMMANDS, should_bypass_active_session
assert "steer" in ACTIVE_SESSION_BYPASS_COMMANDS
assert should_bypass_active_session("steer") is True
if __name__ == "__main__": # pragma: no cover
pytest.main([__file__, "-v"])