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Repair code review gate so it stops blocking headless branches #784

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opened 2026-07-09 08:08:22 +00:00 by coilyco-ops · 4 comments

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-09 08:08:22 +00:00

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Problem

The in-container code-review gate appears broken and is blocking most active headless branches. This is now a recovery blocker: PR workflow work can open or update branches, but if ward agent review cannot run reliably, the seeded engineer cannot pass the pre-landing/PR boundary and the director merge lane cannot trust review summary: passed.

This ticket is intentionally about the review gate itself, not the downstream issues currently stuck behind it.

Current context

Relevant local surfaces to inspect:

docs/dispatch-review.md - expected fail-closed review gate contract.
cmd/ward/agent_review.go and cmd/ward/agent_review_test.go - ward agent review implementation and tests.
internal/reviewpanel - quorum, reviewer parsing, prompt, and panel result handling.
cmd/ward/agent.go - seed text, skip handling, and final comment summary handoff.
~/.ward/review-summary.txt handoff behavior inside containers.

Recovery context:

ward#779 is verifying v0.483.0 recovery behavior.
ward#777, ward#778, ward#780, and ward#782 are active/stuck or canary branches that may be affected by review behavior.
The default/pr workflow now expects CI green plus review before the branch is considered ready. A broken review gate therefore blocks the whole lane.

Do

Reproduce the review-gate failure in a fresh ward checkout with the current branch state. Prefer a small local diff and run the command shape the seed asks for:
```
ward agent review --ci-log <path-to-green-ci-output>
```
Identify whether the failure is in reviewer availability probing, runner invocation, prompt/output parsing, sidecar persistence, summary handoff, or seed/final-comment wiring.
Fix the root cause without weakening the fail-closed contract. If a reviewer really cannot run, the gate should block with an actionable reason; it should not wedge ambiguously or produce an unusable summary.
Add regression coverage for the broken path. Include at least one test that would have caught the current failure mode.
Update docs/dispatch-review.md or docs/FEATURES.md only if the user-visible contract changes.

Acceptance

ward agent review can run successfully in the intended in-container environment when the worker harness is available.
On genuine reviewer unavailability, the output and ~/.ward/review-summary.txt clearly say why the gate blocked.
Active headless workers are no longer blocked by a review-gate implementation bug.
ward exec test passes.
The final issue comment includes the exact reproduced failure and the fixed command output shape.

Dispatch note

Because this issue repairs the review gate, the engineer run for this issue should be dispatched with --skip-review so the broken gate does not block landing its own fix. Keep the normal host pre-flight and test gate.

Codex, via ward agent

## Problem The in-container code-review gate appears broken and is blocking most active headless branches. This is now a recovery blocker: PR workflow work can open or update branches, but if `ward agent review` cannot run reliably, the seeded engineer cannot pass the pre-landing/PR boundary and the director merge lane cannot trust `review summary: passed`. This ticket is intentionally about the review gate itself, not the downstream issues currently stuck behind it. ## Current context Relevant local surfaces to inspect: * `docs/dispatch-review.md` - expected fail-closed review gate contract. * `cmd/ward/agent_review.go` and `cmd/ward/agent_review_test.go` - `ward agent review` implementation and tests. * `internal/reviewpanel` - quorum, reviewer parsing, prompt, and panel result handling. * `cmd/ward/agent.go` - seed text, skip handling, and final comment summary handoff. * `~/.ward/review-summary.txt` handoff behavior inside containers. Recovery context: * `ward#779` is verifying `v0.483.0` recovery behavior. * `ward#777`, `ward#778`, `ward#780`, and `ward#782` are active/stuck or canary branches that may be affected by review behavior. * The default/pr workflow now expects CI green plus review before the branch is considered ready. A broken review gate therefore blocks the whole lane. ## Do 1. Reproduce the review-gate failure in a fresh ward checkout with the current branch state. Prefer a small local diff and run the command shape the seed asks for: ```text ward agent review --ci-log <path-to-green-ci-output> ``` 2. Identify whether the failure is in reviewer availability probing, runner invocation, prompt/output parsing, sidecar persistence, summary handoff, or seed/final-comment wiring. 3. Fix the root cause without weakening the fail-closed contract. If a reviewer really cannot run, the gate should block with an actionable reason; it should not wedge ambiguously or produce an unusable summary. 4. Add regression coverage for the broken path. Include at least one test that would have caught the current failure mode. 5. Update `docs/dispatch-review.md` or `docs/FEATURES.md` only if the user-visible contract changes. ## Acceptance * `ward agent review` can run successfully in the intended in-container environment when the worker harness is available. * On genuine reviewer unavailability, the output and `~/.ward/review-summary.txt` clearly say why the gate blocked. * Active headless workers are no longer blocked by a review-gate implementation bug. * `ward exec test` passes. * The final issue comment includes the exact reproduced failure and the fixed command output shape. ## Dispatch note Because this issue repairs the review gate, the engineer run for this issue should be dispatched with `--skip-review` so the broken gate does not block landing its own fix. Keep the normal host pre-flight and test gate.  Codex, via `ward agent`

coilyco-ops added the

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2026-07-09 08:08:22 +00:00

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-09 08:08:32 +00:00

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🔒 Reserved by ward agent --harness codex — container engineer-codex-ward-784 on host kais-macbook-pro-2.local is carrying this issue (reserved 2026-07-09T08:08:30Z). Concurrent ward agent runs are blocked until it finishes or the reservation goes stale (1h TTL); --force overrides.

Do not comment on or edit this issue to steer the run while it is reserved. The engineer seeded the body once at launch and never re-reads it, so a comment or edit reaches only human readers, never the running engineer. A correction goes to a new issue, dispatched fresh — that is the only channel that reaches a run in flight. Where the forge supports it, ward locks this conversation to make that a road-block rather than a convention (ward#494).

run seed context — what this run is carrying (ward#609)

Resolved: coilyco-flight-deck/ward#784 · branch issue-784 · harness codex · workflow direct-main
Run: engineer-codex-ward-784 · ward v0.483.0 · dispatched 2026-07-09T08:08:30Z
Comment thread: 0 included in the pre-flight read, 0 stripped (ward's own automated comments).

Static container doctrine and seed boilerplate are identical every run and omitted here (they ride ward v0.483.0).

— Codex, via ward agent

🔒 Reserved by `ward agent --harness codex` — container `engineer-codex-ward-784` on host `kais-macbook-pro-2.local` is carrying this issue (reserved 2026-07-09T08:08:30Z). Concurrent `ward agent` runs are blocked until it finishes or the reservation goes stale (1h TTL); `--force` overrides. **Do not comment on or edit this issue to steer the run while it is reserved.** The engineer seeded the body once at launch and never re-reads it, so a comment or edit reaches only human readers, never the running engineer. A correction goes to a **new issue, dispatched fresh** — that is the only channel that reaches a run in flight. Where the forge supports it, ward locks this conversation to make that a road-block rather than a convention (ward#494). <details><summary>run seed context — what this run is carrying (ward#609)</summary> - **Resolved:** `coilyco-flight-deck/ward#784` · branch `issue-784` · harness `codex` · workflow `direct-main` - **Run:** `engineer-codex-ward-784` · ward `v0.483.0` · dispatched `2026-07-09T08:08:30Z` - **Comment thread:** 0 included in the pre-flight read, 0 stripped (ward's own automated comments). Static container doctrine and seed boilerplate are identical every run and omitted here (they ride ward v0.483.0). </details>  — Codex, via `ward agent`

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-09 08:12:01 +00:00

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WARD-OUTCOME: blocked - review summary: blocked: The branch is identical to origin/main (same HEAD 68e4687) with no staged or unstaged source changes, so it does not rep...

Review panel verdicts:

codex: The branch is identical to origin/main (same HEAD 68e4687) with no staged or unstaged source changes, so it does not repair the review gate at all. I also ran the targeted cmd/ward review tests and ... (conf 0.99)
claude: ERROR: claude: exit status 1: {"type":"system","subtype":"hook_started","hook_id":"8c611bad-f22b-449e-b3e7-450f176b1f13","hook_name":"SessionStart:startup","hook_event":"SessionStart","uuid":"c1495906... (conf 0.00)
goose: ERROR: goose: exit status 1: error: No provider configured. Run 'goose configure' first. (conf 0.00)

— Codex, via ward agent

WARD-OUTCOME: blocked - review summary: blocked: The branch is identical to origin/main (same HEAD 68e4687) with no staged or unstaged source changes, so it does not rep... Review panel verdicts: - codex: The branch is identical to origin/main (same HEAD 68e4687) with no staged or unstaged source changes, so it does not repair the review gate at all. I also ran the targeted `cmd/ward` review tests and ... (conf 0.99) - claude: ERROR: claude: exit status 1: {"type":"system","subtype":"hook_started","hook_id":"8c611bad-f22b-449e-b3e7-450f176b1f13","hook_name":"SessionStart:startup","hook_event":"SessionStart","uuid":"c1495906... (conf 0.00) - goose: ERROR: goose: exit status 1: error: No provider configured. Run 'goose configure' first. (conf 0.00)  — Codex, via `ward agent`

coilyco-ops referenced this issue from a commit

2026-07-09 08:22:15 +00:00

fix(review): probe reviewer launch gates before running

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-09 08:22:54 +00:00

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The failure I reproduced was a reviewer that looked present on PATH but still failed its launch probe, which used to turn into a late block instead of an upfront unavailable reason. The fix moves that check into the availability probe and I added a regression with a fake claude binary that exits through the auth-smoke-test path. Confidence is high. The remaining rough edge is still env-sensitive reviewer setup, but the blocked-path reason is now explicit and fail-closed.

WARD-OUTCOME: done - reviewer availability now uses the real launch gates, so a binary on PATH is no longer enough to count as runnable. workflow: direct-main; review summary: skipped: review gate skipped by --skip-review / --no-review-gate The failure I reproduced was a reviewer that looked present on PATH but still failed its launch probe, which used to turn into a late block instead of an upfront unavailable reason. The fix moves that check into the availability probe and I added a regression with a fake claude binary that exits through the auth-smoke-test path. Confidence is high. The remaining rough edge is still env-sensitive reviewer setup, but the blocked-path reason is now explicit and fail-closed.

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-09 18:16:32 +00:00

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Validation pass: this is complete for the scoped review-gate repair. The latest outcome says reviewer availability now uses real launch gates and the fix landed with regression coverage. Remaining reviewer environment/auth rough edges are tracked by the later brokered-QA/review-gate work, so this stale completed ticket should not stay in the headless queue.

— Codex, via director surface

coilyco-ops closed this issue

2026-07-09 18:16:32 +00:00