fix(cloud-task): relay questions over the durable event stream and park unanswerable ones (#3199)

Author: tatoalo

packages/agent/src/adapters/claude/permissions/permission-handlers.test.ts

@@ -392,3 +392,44 @@ describe("canUseTool auto mode hands-off approval", () => {
     },
   );
 });
+
+describe("AskUserQuestion cancelled outcomes", () => {
+  const QUESTION_INPUT = {
+    question: "Which license should I use?",
+    options: [{ label: "MIT" }, { label: "Apache 2.0" }],
+  };
+
+  it("denies with the parked-question message when cancelled carries one", async () => {
+    const context = createContext("AskUserQuestion", {
+      toolInput: QUESTION_INPUT,
+      client: {
+        sessionUpdate: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+        requestPermission: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+          outcome: { outcome: "cancelled" },
+          _meta: { message: "Waiting for the user to answer." },
+        }),
+      },
+    });
+
+    const result = await canUseTool(context);
+
+    expect(result.behavior).toBe("deny");
+    if (result.behavior === "deny") {
+      expect(result.message).toBe("Waiting for the user to answer.");
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("aborts the tool use on a bare cancelled outcome", async () => {
+    const context = createContext("AskUserQuestion", {
+      toolInput: QUESTION_INPUT,
+      client: {
+        sessionUpdate: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+        requestPermission: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+          outcome: { outcome: "cancelled" },
+        }),
+      },
+    });
+
+    await expect(canUseTool(context)).rejects.toThrow("Tool use aborted");
+  });
+});

packages/agent/src/adapters/claude/permissions/permission-handlers.ts

@@ -305,14 +305,28 @@ async function handleAskUserQuestionTool(
     },
   });
 
+  // A cancelled outcome carrying a message is a deliberate "park the
+  // question" response (Slack relay, unattended cloud run) — deliver it to
+  // the model as a denial so it knows to wait for the user instead of
+  // deciding on its own. A bare cancel remains a tool-use abort.
+  const customMessage = (response._meta as Record<string, unknown> | undefined)
+    ?.message;
+  if (
+    !context.signal?.aborted &&
+    response.outcome?.outcome === "cancelled" &&
+    typeof customMessage === "string"
+  ) {
+    return {
+      behavior: "deny",
+      message: customMessage,
+    };
+  }
+
   if (context.signal?.aborted || response.outcome?.outcome === "cancelled") {
     throw new Error("Tool use aborted");
   }
 
   if (response.outcome?.outcome !== "selected") {
-    const customMessage = (
-      response._meta as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
-    )?.message;
     return {
       behavior: "deny",
       message:

packages/agent/src/server/agent-server.ts

@@ -3083,36 +3083,68 @@ ${signedCommitInstructions}${prLinkInstructions}${shellEfficiencyInstructions}
           }
         }
 
-        // Relay permission requests to the desktop app when:
+        // Relay permission requests to the connected client when:
         // - Plan approvals: always relay because they gate autonomy changes
         //   that require human confirmation (buffered until desktop connects)
-        // - Questions: relay when desktop is connected
+        // - Questions: relay when any client can receive and answer them
         // - Edit/bash in "default" mode: relay for manual approval
         // Other modes auto-approve. No client connected → auto-approve
-        // (except plan approvals, which wait for a desktop).
+        // (except plan approvals, which wait for a desktop, and questions,
+        // which are parked for the user instead of being answered blindly).
         {
           const isQuestion = codeToolKind === "question";
           const sessionPermissionMode = this.getSessionPermissionMode();
-          const needsDesktopApproval =
-            isQuestion ||
-            this.shouldRelayPermissionToClient(sessionPermissionMode);
+          const needsDesktopApproval = this.shouldRelayPermissionToClient(
+            sessionPermissionMode,
+          );
+
+          // With durable event ingest nothing connects to GET /events, so
+          // hasDesktopConnected stays false even while the web/desktop task
+          // views follow the run through the agent-proxy stream. Those views
+          // render permission_request frames and answer via
+          // permission_response, so an active event stream counts as a
+          // reachable client for questions.
+          const hasReachableClient =
+            Boolean(this.session?.hasDesktopConnected) ||
+            this.eventStreamSender !== null;
 
           // A background run has no human to answer a relayed approval
           // (hasDesktopConnected is true from the event-relay reader), so
-          // auto-approve rather than hang on it.
+          // auto-approve non-question permissions rather than hang on them.
+          // Questions are parked (cancelled with message) below so the model
+          // does not pick an answer on the user's behalf.
           if (
             mode !== "background" &&
             (isPlanApproval ||
+              (isQuestion && hasReachableClient) ||
               (needsDesktopApproval && this.session?.hasDesktopConnected))
           ) {
             this.logger.debug("Relaying permission request", {
               kind: params.toolCall?.kind,
               isQuestion,
               hasDesktopConnected: this.session?.hasDesktopConnected ?? false,
+              hasReachableClient,
               sessionPermissionMode,
             });
             return this.relayPermissionToClient(params);
           }
+
+          // A question that cannot be relayed must never fall through to
+          // auto-approve: the auto-selected option carries no answers, so the
+          // tool would fail with "User did not provide answers" and the model
+          // would answer on the user's behalf. Park it for the user instead.
+          if (isQuestion) {
+            return {
+              outcome: { outcome: "cancelled" as const },
+              _meta: {
+                message:
+                  "No user is available to answer this question right now. " +
+                  "Do NOT pick an answer yourself and do NOT re-ask via this tool. " +
+                  "Restate the question and its options in your response, then end " +
+                  "your turn so the user can answer when they are back.",
+              },
+            };
+          }
         }
 
         if (this.shouldBlockPublishPermission(params)) {

packages/agent/src/server/question-relay.test.ts

@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ interface TestableAgentServer {
       options: unknown[];
       toolCall: unknown;
     }) => Promise<{
-      outcome: { outcome: string };
-      _meta?: { message?: string };
+      outcome: { outcome: string; optionId?: string };
+      _meta?: { message?: string; answers?: Record<string, string> };
     }>;
   };
   questionRelayedToSlack: boolean;
@@ -281,15 +281,84 @@ describe("Question relay", () => {
         delete process.env.POSTHOG_CODE_INTERACTION_ORIGIN;
       });
 
-      it("auto-approves question tools (no Slack relay)", async () => {
-        const client = server.createCloudClient(TEST_PAYLOAD);
+      it.each([
+        [
+          "no client can receive them",
+          { eventStreamActive: false, mode: "interactive" },
+        ],
+        [
+          "the run is in background mode even with the event stream active",
+          { eventStreamActive: true, mode: "background" },
+        ],
+      ])("parks question tools when %s", async (_label, config) => {
+        const srv = server as TestableAgentServer & {
+          eventStreamSender: { enqueue: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> } | null;
+        };
+        if (config.eventStreamActive) {
+          srv.eventStreamSender = { enqueue: vi.fn() };
+        }
 
+        const client = srv.createCloudClient({
+          ...TEST_PAYLOAD,
+          mode: config.mode,
+        });
         const result = await client.requestPermission({
           options: ALLOW_OPTIONS,
           toolCall: { _meta: QUESTION_META },
         });
 
+        expect(result.outcome.outcome).toBe("cancelled");
+        expect(result._meta?.message).toContain(
+          "Do NOT pick an answer yourself",
+        );
+      });
+
+      it("relays question tools when the durable event stream is active", async () => {
+        const appendRawLine = vi.fn();
+        const enqueue = vi.fn();
+        const srv = server as TestableAgentServer & {
+          eventStreamSender: { enqueue: typeof enqueue } | null;
+          resolvePermission: (
+            requestId: string,
+            optionId: string,
+            customInput?: string,
+            answers?: Record<string, string>,
+          ) => boolean;
+        };
+        srv.session = {
+          payload: TEST_PAYLOAD,
+          sseController: null,
+          hasDesktopConnected: false,
+          logWriter: { appendRawLine },
+        };
+        srv.eventStreamSender = { enqueue };
+
+        const client = srv.createCloudClient(TEST_PAYLOAD);
+        const pending = client.requestPermission({
+          options: ALLOW_OPTIONS,
+          toolCall: { toolCallId: "question-1", _meta: QUESTION_META },
+        });
+
+        const request = appendRawLine.mock.calls
+          .map(([, line]) => JSON.parse(line))
+          .find((n) => n?.method === "_posthog/permission_request");
+        expect(request).toBeDefined();
+        expect(enqueue).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+          expect.objectContaining({ type: "permission_request" }),
+        );
+
+        srv.resolvePermission(
+          request.params.requestId as string,
+          "option_0",
+          undefined,
+          { "Which license should I use?": "MIT" },
+        );
+
+        const result = await pending;
         expect(result.outcome.outcome).toBe("selected");
+        expect(result._meta?.answers).toEqual({
+          "Which license should I use?": "MIT",
+        });
       });
 
       it("keeps auto-approving permissions after SSE send failures", async () => {