From 2c346ee2b8e0baaf82f52716c11ff3b265694289 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tim Lingo <1timlingo@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:02:07 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?fix(engine):=20BUG-6=20=E2=80=94=20approved=20w?=
 =?UTF-8?q?rites=20must=20land,=20and=20say=20where=20(false-receipt=20kil?=
 =?UTF-8?q?l)?=
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Two compounding defects made every pause->approve write_file report success
while writing NOTHING:

1. The naive json_get scanner matches "content" anywhere in the approve
   body — including INSIDE tool_input, which for write_file always carries
   a content field. The handler therefore treated every approved builtin
   write as already-client-executed, skipped dispatch entirely, and handed
   the model the file's own content as the 'tool result'. The model then
   narrated 'Done, created' — a false receipt with no file. Builtin tools
   now ALWAYS dispatch server-side; client content is only honored for
   non-builtin (MCP/client-executed) tools. Stricter only.

2. write_file returned {"ok":true} unconditionally — fs_write's outcome
   was never checked, so any failed write also reported success. The write
   now verifies the file landed (fs_exists) and returns the RESOLVED path
   in the ok payload; failures return a real error naming the destination.

E2E on the test brain (boot 38): approve-path write lands byte-exact and
the result carries the resolved path; auto-run writes unchanged; denied
writes execute nothing. BUG-5 (approve wire lacked tool_name) had been
masking this one — two stacked bugs on the same path.

NOTE for review: the deeper cure is a nesting-aware json reader; this fix
removes the dangerous consequence at the two spots that lie about disk.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 chat.el     | 12 ++++++++++--
 sessions.el |  8 +++++++-
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/chat.el b/chat.el
index 776a636..05a97bd 100644
--- a/chat.el
+++ b/chat.el
@@ -1680,8 +1680,16 @@ fn dispatch_tool(tool_name: String, tool_input: String) -> String {
         if !path_within_root(path, root) {
             return json_safe("denied: path is outside the agent workspace root")
         }
-        fs_write(resolve_in_root(path, root), content)
-        return json_safe("{\"ok\":true}")
+        // BUG-6 fix (2026-07-17): never claim ok without disk truth. fs_write's result was
+        // never checked, so a failed write reported ok — the exact false-receipt failure
+        // the run guards exist to kill. Verify the file landed and return the RESOLVED
+        // path so callers and the model can only narrate what is really on disk.
+        let dest: String = resolve_in_root(path, root)
+        fs_write(dest, content)
+        if !fs_exists(dest) {
+            return json_safe("{\"error\":\"write failed - nothing landed at " + dest + "\"}")
+        }
+        return json_safe("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\"" + dest + "\"}")
     }
     if str_eq(tool_name, "web_get") {
         let url: String = json_get(tool_input, "url")
diff --git a/sessions.el b/sessions.el
index 6e31343..d125f00 100644
--- a/sessions.el
+++ b/sessions.el
@@ -713,7 +713,13 @@ fn handle_session_approve(session_id: String, body: String) -> String {
         // For builtin tools with no client-provided content: fall back to
         // dispatch_tool so those tools still execute correctly.
         let client_content: String = json_get(body, "content")
-        let use_client_content: Bool = !str_eq(client_content, "")
+        // BUG-6 fix (2026-07-17): the naive json_get scanner matches "content" ANYWHERE
+        // in the body — including INSIDE tool_input — so every approved write_file (whose
+        // input always carries a content field) was mistaken for client-executed, never
+        // dispatched, and narrated as done: a false receipt with no file on disk. Builtin
+        // tools now ALWAYS dispatch server-side; client content is only honored for
+        // non-builtin (MCP/client-executed) tools. Stricter only.
+        let use_client_content: Bool = !str_eq(client_content, "") && !is_builtin_tool(approve_tool_name)
         let use_dispatch: Bool = is_builtin_tool(approve_tool_name) && !use_client_content
         let raw_input: String = json_get_raw(body, "tool_input")
         let eff_input: String = if str_eq(raw_input, "") { "{}" } else { raw_input }