v1.57.2.0 feat: AskUserQuestion prose fallback when the tool fails at runtime

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,73 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.57.2.0] - 2026-06-08
+
+## **When the question picker breaks mid-skill, gstack asks in plain text instead of stalling.**
+## **Every skill detects a dead AskUserQuestion and falls back to a full decision brief you answer by typing a letter.**
+
+AskUserQuestion is how every gstack skill asks you to decide. When the host's question
+tool fails at runtime, which Conductor's MCP integration currently does intermittently,
+skills used to stall or hard-block. Now each skill detects the failure, works out
+whether a human is actually present, and if so re-renders the exact same decision as a
+text message: a plain-English explanation of the issue, a completeness score on each
+choice, and a recommendation with its reason, one paragraph per choice. You answer by
+typing a single letter. Headless eval runs still block cleanly (no human to answer);
+orchestrator sessions keep auto-choosing. This whole release was built and reviewed
+through that fallback, because the Conductor tool was down the entire session.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+No production benchmark for a reliability path like this. These are the behavior and
+coverage facts, verifiable with `bun test test/gstack-session-kind.test.ts
+test/resolver-ask-user-format.test.ts test/auq-error-fallback-hook.test.ts`.
+
+| When AskUserQuestion fails | Before | After |
+|---|---|---|
+| Interactive session (human present) | stall / hard BLOCK | full prose decision brief, answer by letter |
+| Headless eval / CI | BLOCK | BLOCK (unchanged, correct) |
+| Orchestrator (OpenClaw) session | undefined | auto-choose recommended (contract kept) |
+| Session kinds detected | 0 | 3 (interactive / headless / spawned) |
+| New tests guarding the path | 0 | 34 |
+
+The text brief is not a degraded stub. It carries the same three things the picker
+shows: a clear explanation of what is being decided, a `Completeness: X/10` on every
+choice, and a recommendation with the reason it wins.
+
+### What this means for you
+
+If your host's question tool flakes out, a skill no longer dies on you. You get the
+same decision to make, in text, and you reply with a letter. Nothing changes when the
+tool works normally. If you run gstack headless, those sessions still block on a needed
+question exactly as before, so eval determinism is intact.
+
+### Itemized changes
+
+#### Added
+- `gstack-session-kind` classifies each session as interactive, headless, or spawned,
+  echoed as `SESSION_KIND` at skill start so any skill can branch on it.
+- Plain-text fallback for AskUserQuestion: on a tool failure in an interactive session,
+  the skill renders the full decision brief (issue ELI10 + per-choice completeness +
+  recommendation) as markdown you answer by typing a letter, then stops and waits.
+- A defensive hook that, when an AskUserQuestion call errors, reminds the agent to run
+  the fallback for the current session kind.
+
+#### Changed
+- AskUserQuestion is still sent as a normal tool call; the prose path applies only when
+  the tool is unavailable or erroring, and never on a `[plan-tune auto-decide]` result.
+
+#### Fixed
+- Section-loading tests use the canonical kebab test names, so the test-coverage gate
+  matches them.
+- External-host doc-freshness checks are deterministic, no longer dependent on a prior
+  full regeneration.
+
+#### For contributors
+- The eval/E2E runners set `GSTACK_HEADLESS=1` so headless runs classify correctly;
+  interactive-path suites opt out per-run.
+- Per-skill `maxSizeRatio` override in the carve-guards registry; `document-release`
+  gets 1.08 headroom for the cross-cutting preamble addition while every other skill
+  keeps the 1.05 ceiling.
+
 ## [1.57.0.0] - 2026-06-07
 
 ## **Three more heavyweight skills load lighter, and every carved skill finally has a test that proves it loads.**

SKILL.md

@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ echo "SKILL_PREFIX: $_SKILL_PREFIX"
 source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-repo-mode 2>/dev/null) || true
 REPO_MODE=${REPO_MODE:-unknown}
 echo "REPO_MODE: $REPO_MODE"
+_SESSION_KIND=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-session-kind 2>/dev/null || echo "interactive")
+case "$_SESSION_KIND" in spawned|headless|interactive) ;; *) _SESSION_KIND="interactive" ;; esac
+echo "SESSION_KIND: $_SESSION_KIND"
 _LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
 echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
 _TEL=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get telemetry 2>/dev/null || true)
@@ -124,7 +127,7 @@ In plan mode, allowed because they inform the plan: `$B`, `$D`, `codex exec`/`co
 
 ## Skill Invocation During Plan Mode
 
-If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If no variant is callable, the skill is BLOCKED — stop and report `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable` per the AskUserQuestion Format rule. At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
+If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If AskUserQuestion is unavailable or a call fails, follow the AskUserQuestion Format failure fallback: `headless` → BLOCKED; `interactive` → the prose fallback (also satisfies end-of-turn). At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
 
 If `PROACTIVE` is `"false"`, do not auto-invoke or proactively suggest skills. If a skill seems useful, ask: "I think /skillname might help here — want me to run it?"
 

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.57.0.0
+1.57.2.0

autoplan/SKILL.md

@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ echo "SKILL_PREFIX: $_SKILL_PREFIX"
 source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-repo-mode 2>/dev/null) || true
 REPO_MODE=${REPO_MODE:-unknown}
 echo "REPO_MODE: $REPO_MODE"
+_SESSION_KIND=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-session-kind 2>/dev/null || echo "interactive")
+case "$_SESSION_KIND" in spawned|headless|interactive) ;; *) _SESSION_KIND="interactive" ;; esac
+echo "SESSION_KIND: $_SESSION_KIND"
 _LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
 echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
 _TEL=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get telemetry 2>/dev/null || true)
@@ -133,7 +136,7 @@ In plan mode, allowed because they inform the plan: `$B`, `$D`, `codex exec`/`co
 
 ## Skill Invocation During Plan Mode
 
-If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If no variant is callable, the skill is BLOCKED — stop and report `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable` per the AskUserQuestion Format rule. At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
+If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If AskUserQuestion is unavailable or a call fails, follow the AskUserQuestion Format failure fallback: `headless` → BLOCKED; `interactive` → the prose fallback (also satisfies end-of-turn). At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
 
 If `PROACTIVE` is `"false"`, do not auto-invoke or proactively suggest skills. If a skill seems useful, ask: "I think /skillname might help here — want me to run it?"
 
@@ -305,11 +308,31 @@ AI orchestrator (e.g., OpenClaw). In spawned sessions:
 
 **Rule:** if any `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` variant is in your tool list, prefer it. Hosts may disable native AUQ via `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion` (Conductor does, by default) and route through their MCP variant; calling native there silently fails. Same questions/options shape; same decision-brief format applies.
 
-**If no AskUserQuestion variant appears in your tool list, this skill is BLOCKED.** Stop, report `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable`, and wait for the user. Do not write decisions to the plan file as a substitute, do not emit them as prose and stop, and do not silently auto-decide (only `/plan-tune` AUTO_DECIDE opt-ins authorize auto-picking).
+If AskUserQuestion is unavailable (no variant in your tool list) OR a call to it fails, do NOT silently auto-decide or write the decision to the plan file as a substitute. Follow the **failure fallback** below.
+
+### When AskUserQuestion is unavailable or a call fails
+
+Tell three outcomes apart:
+
+1. **Auto-decide denial (NOT a failure).** The result contains `[plan-tune auto-decide] <id> → <option>` — the preference hook working as designed. Proceed with that option. Do NOT retry, do NOT fall back to prose.
+2. **Genuine failure** — no variant in your tool list, OR the variant is present but the call returns an error / missing result (MCP transport error, empty result, host bug — e.g. Conductor's MCP AskUserQuestion is flaky and returns `[Tool result missing due to internal error]`).
+   - If it was present and **errored** (not absent), retry the SAME call **once** — but only if no answer could have surfaced (a missing-result error can arrive after the user already saw the question; retrying would double-prompt, so if it may have reached them, treat as pending, don't retry).
+   - Then branch on `SESSION_KIND` (echoed by the preamble; empty/absent ⇒ `interactive`):
+     - `spawned` → defer to the **Spawned session** block: auto-choose the recommended option. Never prose, never BLOCKED.
+     - `headless` → `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable`; stop and wait (no human can answer).
+     - `interactive` → **prose fallback** (below).
+
+**Prose fallback — render the decision brief as a markdown message, not a tool call.** Same information as the tool format below, different structure (paragraphs, not ✅/❌ bullets). It MUST surface this triad:
+
+1. **A clear ELI10 of the issue itself** — plain English on what's being decided and why it matters (the question, not per-choice), naming the stakes. Lead with it.
+2. **Completeness scores per choice** — explicit `Completeness: X/10` on EACH choice (10 complete, 7 happy-path, 3 shortcut); use the kind-note when options differ in kind not coverage, but never silently drop the score.
+3. **The recommendation and why** — a `Recommendation: <choice> because <reason>` line plus the `(recommended)` marker on that choice.
+
+Layout: a `D<N>` title + a one-line note that AskUserQuestion failed and to reply with a letter; the issue ELI10; the Recommendation line; then ONE paragraph per choice carrying its `(recommended)` marker, its `Completeness: X/10`, and 2-4 sentences of reasoning — never a bare bullet list; a closing `Net:` line. Split chains / 5+ options: one prose block per per-option call, in sequence. Then STOP and wait — the user's typed answer is the decision. In plan mode this satisfies end-of-turn like a tool call.
 
 ### Format
 
-Every AskUserQuestion is a decision brief and must be sent as tool_use, not prose.
+Every AskUserQuestion is a decision brief and must be sent as tool_use, not prose — unless the documented failure fallback above applies (interactive session + the call is unavailable/erroring), in which case the prose fallback is the correct output.
 
 ```
 D<N> — <one-line question title>
@@ -389,7 +412,7 @@ Before calling AskUserQuestion, verify:
 - [ ] (recommended) label on one option (even for neutral-posture)
 - [ ] Dual-scale effort labels on effort-bearing options (human / CC)
 - [ ] Net line closes the decision
-- [ ] You are calling the tool, not writing prose
+- [ ] You are calling the tool, not writing prose — unless the documented failure fallback applies (then: prose with the mandatory triad — issue ELI10, per-choice Completeness, Recommendation + `(recommended)` — and a "reply with a letter" instruction, then STOP)
 - [ ] Non-ASCII characters (CJK / accents) written directly, NOT \u-escaped
 - [ ] If you had 5+ options, you split (or batched into ≤4-groups) — did NOT drop any
 - [ ] If you split, you checked dependencies between options before firing the chain

benchmark-models/SKILL.md

@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ echo "SKILL_PREFIX: $_SKILL_PREFIX"
 source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-repo-mode 2>/dev/null) || true
 REPO_MODE=${REPO_MODE:-unknown}
 echo "REPO_MODE: $REPO_MODE"
+_SESSION_KIND=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-session-kind 2>/dev/null || echo "interactive")
+case "$_SESSION_KIND" in spawned|headless|interactive) ;; *) _SESSION_KIND="interactive" ;; esac
+echo "SESSION_KIND: $_SESSION_KIND"
 _LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
 echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
 _TEL=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get telemetry 2>/dev/null || true)
@@ -127,7 +130,7 @@ In plan mode, allowed because they inform the plan: `$B`, `$D`, `codex exec`/`co
 
 ## Skill Invocation During Plan Mode
 
-If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If no variant is callable, the skill is BLOCKED — stop and report `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable` per the AskUserQuestion Format rule. At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
+If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If AskUserQuestion is unavailable or a call fails, follow the AskUserQuestion Format failure fallback: `headless` → BLOCKED; `interactive` → the prose fallback (also satisfies end-of-turn). At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
 
 If `PROACTIVE` is `"false"`, do not auto-invoke or proactively suggest skills. If a skill seems useful, ask: "I think /skillname might help here — want me to run it?"
 

benchmark/SKILL.md

@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ echo "SKILL_PREFIX: $_SKILL_PREFIX"
 source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-repo-mode 2>/dev/null) || true
 REPO_MODE=${REPO_MODE:-unknown}
 echo "REPO_MODE: $REPO_MODE"
+_SESSION_KIND=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-session-kind 2>/dev/null || echo "interactive")
+case "$_SESSION_KIND" in spawned|headless|interactive) ;; *) _SESSION_KIND="interactive" ;; esac
+echo "SESSION_KIND: $_SESSION_KIND"
 _LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
 echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
 _TEL=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get telemetry 2>/dev/null || true)
@@ -127,7 +130,7 @@ In plan mode, allowed because they inform the plan: `$B`, `$D`, `codex exec`/`co
 
 ## Skill Invocation During Plan Mode
 
-If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If no variant is callable, the skill is BLOCKED — stop and report `BLOCKED — AskUserQuestion unavailable` per the AskUserQuestion Format rule. At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
+If the user invokes a skill in plan mode, the skill takes precedence over generic plan mode behavior. **Treat the skill file as executable instructions, not reference.** Follow it step by step starting from Step 0; the first AskUserQuestion is the workflow entering plan mode, not a violation of it. AskUserQuestion (any variant — `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` or native; see "AskUserQuestion Format → Tool resolution") satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement. If AskUserQuestion is unavailable or a call fails, follow the AskUserQuestion Format failure fallback: `headless` → BLOCKED; `interactive` → the prose fallback (also satisfies end-of-turn). At a STOP point, stop immediately. Do not continue the workflow or call ExitPlanMode there. Commands marked "PLAN MODE EXCEPTION — ALWAYS RUN" execute. Call ExitPlanMode only after the skill workflow completes, or if the user tells you to cancel the skill or leave plan mode.
 
 If `PROACTIVE` is `"false"`, do not auto-invoke or proactively suggest skills. If a skill seems useful, ask: "I think /skillname might help here — want me to run it?"