From 62c562a3f18b9859500560e3a980f29d121bc30d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tim Lingo <1timlingo@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:19:09 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix(chat): agent write_file/edit_file no longer return false
 success receipts (BUG-29)
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Root cause: dispatch_tool's write_file returned {"ok":true} without checking
fs_write's result, and edit_file returned ok:true even when old_text was absent
(str_replace silently no-ops) and its fs_write was also unchecked. Any failed
or no-op write fed the model a false success receipt, which it then repeated
to the user as fact.

The change (Receipt Contract rule 1 — a tool result must reflect what actually
happened):
- write_file: check fs_write's return (1 = all bytes written, 0 = fail);
  on failure return {"error":"write failed"} in the handler's existing
  error-JSON shape.
- edit_file: reject empty old_text, verify old_text is actually present
  (str_contains) before replacing, and check the fs_write result the same way.
- Verification is by operation result, NOT an fs_read read-back: fs_read arms
  the runtime's one-shot binary send length, the exact mechanism that truncated
  the safety-contact response (#96). Same honest-write pattern as that fix.

E2E evidence (sandboxed elb build, dispatch_tool driven directly):
- unpatched: write_file into a chmod-000 dir -> {"ok":true} (lie);
  edit_file with absent old_text -> {"ok":true} (lie, file untouched)
- patched:   same calls -> {"error":"write failed"} /
  {"error":"old_text not found in file"}; happy paths still ok:true
- scripts/verify-soul-contract.sh on the patched soul: GATE PASS (27/27
  presence + immutability)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 chat.el | 33 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 26 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/chat.el b/chat.el
index f29ee92..4de2f22 100644
--- a/chat.el
+++ b/chat.el
@@ -1680,13 +1680,18 @@ 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")
         }
-        // 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.
+        // BUG-29 (Receipt Contract rule 1) + BUG-6 (disk truth): fs_write's result
+        // was ignored, so a failed write (missing/unwritable dir, disk full) still
+        // returned {"ok":true} — a false receipt fed straight to the model. Check
+        // fs_write's return (1 = all bytes written, 0 = fail): an operation-result
+        // check, stronger than a post-hoc fs_exists, which false-passes when an
+        // overwrite fails but the stale file remains. A read-back via fs_read is
+        // deliberately NOT used: fs_read arms the runtime's one-shot binary send
+        // length, which truncated longer HTTP responses (the #96 failure mode).
+        // Still return the RESOLVED path so callers/model narrate only disk truth.
         let dest: String = resolve_in_root(path, root)
-        fs_write(dest, content)
-        if !fs_exists(dest) {
+        let write_ok: Int = fs_write(dest, content)
+        if write_ok == 0 {
             return json_safe("{\"error\":\"write failed - nothing landed at " + dest + "\"}")
         }
         return json_safe("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\"" + dest + "\"}")
@@ -1766,8 +1771,22 @@ fn dispatch_tool(tool_name: String, tool_input: String) -> String {
         if str_eq(content, "") {
             return json_safe("{\"error\":\"file not found\"}")
         }
+        // BUG-29 (Receipt Contract rule 1): when old_text was absent (or empty),
+        // str_replace was a silent no-op and the handler still claimed ok:true —
+        // a false receipt. Verify the text is actually present before replacing.
+        if str_eq(old_text, "") {
+            return json_safe("{\"error\":\"old_text is required\"}")
+        }
+        if !str_contains(content, old_text) {
+            return json_safe("{\"error\":\"old_text not found in file\"}")
+        }
         let updated: String = str_replace(content, old_text, new_text)
-        fs_write(resolved, updated)
+        // BUG-29: the fs_write result was also unchecked — a failed write still
+        // returned ok:true. Same honest-write check as write_file above.
+        let write_ok: Int = fs_write(resolved, updated)
+        if write_ok == 0 {
+            return json_safe("{\"error\":\"write failed\"}")
+        }
         return json_safe("{\"ok\":true}")
     }
     if str_eq(tool_name, "remember") {