docs(roadmap): add #458 — no portable success-detection field across --output-format json envelopes; only kind is universal

ROADMAP.md

@@ -6429,4 +6429,18 @@ Original filing (2026-04-18): the session emitted `SessionStart hook (completed)
 
 450. **`prompt` emits `kind:"missing_credentials"` JSON on STDERR (not stdout), leaving stdout at 0 bytes — automation pattern `output=$(claw prompt hello --output-format json)` captures nothing on auth-absent failure; `doctor` correctly surfaces `auth.status:"warn"` with `api_key_present:false` but exposes no `prompt_ready:false` field that automation can check before invoking `prompt`** — dogfooded 2026-05-16 by Jobdori on `a35ee9a0` in response to Clawhip pinpoint nudge at `1505208225321062521`. Exact reproduction (isolated env, no creds, fresh git repo, HEAD `a35ee9a0`): `timeout 5 env -i HOME=$ISOLATED_HOME PATH=$PATH CLAW_CONFIG_HOME=$PROBE/.claw-cfg claw prompt hello --output-format json > stdout.txt 2> stderr.txt` → stdout = **0 bytes**, stderr = 195 bytes containing `{"error":"missing Anthropic credentials…","exit_code":1,"hint":null,"kind":"missing_credentials","type":"error"}`, exit code 1. Confirms Gaebal's `1505208553793781792` pinpoint that `prompt` timeout + zero bytes was the prior state — HEAD `a35ee9a0` now correctly exits 1 with `kind:"missing_credentials"` **but the envelope is still routed to stderr** (issue #447 class, same class as prior entries #422, #435). **Contrast with `doctor`:** `claw doctor --output-format json 2>/dev/null` succeeds to stdout with `checks[auth].status:"warn"`, `api_key_present:false`, `auth_token_present:false` — but the auth check has no `prompt_ready:false` field. Automation that gates on `doctor` before invoking `prompt` must re-derive readiness from `api_key_present && auth_token_present` — there is no single canonical boolean. **Three compound problems:** (a) **stdout-empty on `--output-format json` failure**: same class as #447; `prompt`'s error envelope goes to stderr, not stdout. The canonical automation idiom `if ! result=$(claw prompt "q" --output-format json); then echo "$result" | jq .kind; fi` sees `$result=""` on failure — the jq call gets nothing. All `--output-format json` error paths must route JSON to stdout per #447 contract; (b) **`doctor` missing `prompt_ready` field**: `doctor --output-format json` already knows auth is absent (`api_key_present:false`) but surfaces no derived `prompt_ready:bool` or `prompt_blocked_reason:string` field. Automation must infer readiness from `api_key_present || auth_token_present || legacy_*_present` — a 5-field OR across legacy fields that is fragile as auth mechanisms evolve. A single `prompt_ready:false` (with `prompt_blocked_reason:"auth_missing"`) inside the `auth` check would give downstream a stable contract; (c) **`claw prompt` with no auth does no preflight and fires straight at the API**: the preflight check that `doctor` runs (auth discovery) is not reused by `prompt` to emit a fast typed error before attempting the network call. Both Gaebal's pinpoint (prompt hanging silently on older HEAD) and the current behavior (prompt hitting auth gate after a brief API attempt) stem from the same root: prompt does not short-circuit at the point where `doctor` already knows auth is absent. If `doctor` can emit `kind:"doctor"` with `auth.status:"warn"` in ~20ms without a network call, `prompt` should emit `kind:"missing_credentials"` in the same window and output it to stdout. **Required fix shape:** (a) `prompt --output-format json` must write the `kind:"missing_credentials"` JSON envelope to **stdout**, not stderr — same fix as #447 for all error envelopes; (b) add `prompt_ready:bool` and `prompt_blocked_reason:string|null` to the `auth` check in `doctor --output-format json`; derive it as `api_key_present || auth_token_present || legacy_saved_oauth_present`; (c) `prompt` must run the credential preflight check (same codepath as doctor's auth check) before attempting any API call and emit `{"kind":"missing_credentials","prompt_blocked_reason":"auth_missing"}` on **stdout** with exit 1 if the check fails; (d) `--output-format json` stdout routing fix must cover: `prompt`, `session list` (cross-ref #449), `skills uninstall` (cross-ref #431), `resume` (cross-ref #435), `acp serve` (cross-ref #443) — the full `kind:"missing_credentials"` class; (e) regression test: `claw prompt hello --output-format json` with no creds writes JSON to stdout (0 bytes stderr), exits 1, `kind:"missing_credentials"`, in under 200ms (no network attempt). **Why this matters:** `prompt` is the primary consumer entry point. Auth-absent failure routing to stderr breaks every automation wrapper that captures `$(claw prompt ... --output-format json)`. The `doctor` preflight metadata gap means auth-readiness checks require parsing 5 legacy fields instead of reading one boolean. Cross-references #447 (all JSON error envelopes on stderr), #449 (session list hits auth gate), #431 (skills uninstall hits auth gate), #357 (auth gate on local ops cluster), #422 (exit-code parity). Source: Jobdori live dogfood, `a35ee9a0`, 2026-05-16.
 
-455. **`missing_credentials` JSON envelope serializes the provider-detection hint as a literal ` — hint: …` prose suffix appended to the `error` field, while the structured `hint` field always renders as `null` — automation that wants to read the adjacent-provider hint must regex the `error` prose string instead of reading `hint`** — dogfooded 2026-05-24 for the 07:00 Clawhip pinpoint nudge at message `1508001633416777778`, reproduced on local `./rust/target/debug/claw` `git_sha 003b739d` (origin/main `f8e1bb72`; the `MissingCredentials` Display impl in `rust/crates/api/src/error.rs:243-275` is unchanged in `63ce483c..f8e1bb72` which are docs-only ROADMAP additions). Repros in a fully clean isolated environment (`HOME=/tmp/iso5/home` with `{}` settings, fresh `/tmp/iso5/proj` git-init'd workspace, `stdin=/dev/null`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` unset, `OPENAI_API_KEY` set): `claw -p 'hi' --output-format json` exits `1` with stderr JSON: `{"error":"missing Anthropic credentials; export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY before calling the Anthropic API — hint: I see OPENAI_API_KEY is set — if you meant to use the OpenAI-compat provider, prefix your model name with `openai/` (e.g. `--model openai/gpt-4.1-mini`) so prefix routing selects the OpenAI-compatible provider, and set `OPENAI_BASE_URL` if you are pointing at OpenRouter/Ollama/a local server.","hint":null,"kind":"missing_credentials","type":"error"}`. Same shape with `XAI_API_KEY` set, suggesting an xAI model alias. With NO adjacent provider env set, `error` is short and `hint` is still `null` (consistent). The structured `hint` field is therefore **always `null`**, and the actual hint payload — which `ApiError::missing_credentials_with_hint` deliberately attaches — is only available via the `Display` impl's ` — hint: {hint}` suffix at `rust/crates/api/src/error.rs:269-272`, never serialized as a structured field. **Root cause (traced):** `MissingCredentials` carries `hint: Option<String>` and the `Display` impl writes ` — hint: {hint}` into the same string the JSON serializer uses as `error`, instead of routing the hint into a dedicated structured field. The existing JSON envelope already has a `hint` slot — but it is wired to a different (null) source, so the structured field never reflects the actual hint that the provider resolver computed. **Why this is distinct from existing items:** #322 (deprecation warnings on stderr breaking JSON parse), #340 (`/session help` JSON `type` vs `kind` vocabulary mismatch), #447 (all JSON error envelopes go to stderr not stdout), #450 (`prompt` missing_credentials JSON on stderr): those track envelope **transport** (stderr vs stdout) and **vocabulary** issues. This pinpoint is the **internal shape** of an existing envelope — even when transport and vocabulary are correct, the `hint` field is structurally dead because the hint is duplicated into the `error` prose. `ApiError`'s `missing_credentials_with_hint` constructor explicitly takes a hint argument, the unit tests at `error.rs:572-599` assert it ends with ` — hint: …`, and the JSON contract still emits `"hint":null`. **Why it matters:** the whole point of structured error envelopes is that automation can branch on `code`/`hint`/`kind` without scraping prose. Today, a claw that wants to detect "Anthropic missing but OpenAI key present → switch to `--model openai/...`" must regex the `error` string for ` — hint: I see OPENAI_API_KEY` instead of reading a typed `hint:{adjacent_provider:"openai", suggested_model_prefix:"openai/", suggested_base_url_env:"OPENAI_BASE_URL"}`. That regex is brittle: any future hint wording change silently breaks downstream automation. The prose hint also bloats the human-facing message; a structured field would let the human formatter and the machine consumer diverge cleanly. **Required fix shape:** (a) keep `Display` rendering for text mode (humans need the prose hint), but stop using `Display` as the JSON `error` field source — serialize a base `error` message (the canonical "missing X credentials" line without the appended hint prose) plus a structured `hint` object; (b) structure the hint as a typed enum/object such as `{kind:"adjacent_provider_detected", provider:"openai"|"xai"|"dashscope"|…, suggested_model_prefix, suggested_env_vars[], suggested_base_url_env}` so callers can branch on `hint.kind`; (c) keep `hint:null` only when there is genuinely no hint; (d) add regression coverage proving the JSON envelope has both a base `error` line and a non-null structured `hint` when `missing_credentials_with_hint` is constructed, and that the prose ` — hint: …` suffix does NOT appear inside the JSON `error` field; (e) add a parity test asserting that for every adjacent-provider hint path (OpenAI, xAI, DashScope, …) the structured `hint.kind` is set correctly. **Acceptance check (one-liner):** `claw -p 'hi' --output-format json 2>&1 | jq -e '.hint != null and (.error | test(" — hint: ") | not)'` Line truncated
+458. **There is no portable success-detection field across `claw <subcommand> --output-format json` envelopes — only `kind` is universal; `status`, `action`, `summary`, `message`, and `report` are present on different subsets, so a claw that writes `if response["status"] == "ok"` silently breaks on 7 of the 9 standard subcommands** — dogfooded 2026-05-24 for the 09:00 Clawhip pinpoint nudge at message `1508031832669814834`, reproduced on local `./rust/target/debug/claw` `git_sha 003b739d` (origin/main `f8e1bb72`). Catalog of top-level fields in successful `--output-format json` envelopes for the nine standard subcommands (clean isolated env, no `.claw.json`, fresh git-init workspace):
+
+    | Subcommand | `kind` | `status` | `action` | `summary` | `message` | `report` |
+    |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+    | `status` | ✅ `"status"` | ✅ `"ok"` | – | – | – | – |
+    | `mcp` | ✅ `"mcp"` | ✅ `"ok"` | ✅ `"list"` | – | – | – |
+    | `skills` | ✅ `"skills"` | – | ✅ `"list"` | ✅ | – | – |
+    | `agents` | ✅ `"agents"` | – | ✅ `"list"` | ✅ | – | – |
+    | `doctor` | ✅ `"doctor"` | – | – | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+    | `sandbox` | ✅ `"sandbox"` | – | – | – | – | – |
+    | `init` | ✅ `"init"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
+    | `system-prompt` | ✅ `"system-prompt"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
+    | `version` | ✅ `"version"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
+
+    **Only `kind` is universal.** Every other top-level discriminator is present on some envelopes and missing on others. A claw orchestrator that does `if json.status == "ok"` works for exactly 2 of 9 subcommands (`status`, `mcp`) and **silently returns `false`/`None` for the other 7 because the field doesn't exist**. A claw that does `if json.action == "list"` works for 3 of 9 (`mcp`, `skills`, `agents`) and breaks for the rest. There is **no single field a claw can read to determine "did this subcommand succeed?"** other than parsing stdout-vs-stderr routing (broken by #447/#450/#340/#341) or checking process exit code (broken by #435/#444). **Why distinct from existing items:** #90/#91/#92/#110/#115/#116/#130 cover **error envelope** shape asymmetry (the `{error, type}` shape vs `{kind, error}` shape); #340/#341/#347/#349/#350 cover specific subcommand envelopes where a not-found/unsupported state is shaped wrong; #121 covers the `doctor` `message`/`report` byte-duplication. **This pinpoint is the cross-subcommand catalog of success envelopes** — the structural fact that no single top-level field is present on every success envelope means **no portable success detection is possible** across the catalog without per-subcommand special-casing. It is the meta-pattern that the per-subcommand bugs above are individual instances of. **Trace:** every envelope is emitted from a separate code path with no shared envelope constructor. `status` JSON at `rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs:5738` emits `"status": "ok"` directly. `mcp` JSON elsewhere emits both `status:"ok"` and `action:"list"`. `skills`/`agents` emit `action:"list"` and `summary` but no `status`. `doctor` JSON at `main.rs:1905-1923` emits `kind`/`message`/`report`/`has_failures`/`summary{ok,warn,fail,total}`/`checks[]` — no `status` field at all, while every `checks[i]` has its own `status`. `sandbox`/`init`/`system-prompt`/`version` each emit different ad-hoc shapes. There is no `EnvelopeBuilder` / `BaseEnvelope` shared struct that guarantees a uniform success/error discriminator across subcommands. **Why it matters:** structured JSON output exists precisely so claws can write generic dispatch logic. With the current catalog: (a) a claw that wants a single "is this OK?" predicate has to memorize 9 different rules — `status == "ok"` for two, `has_failures == false` for `doctor`, no field at all for `sandbox`/`init`/`system-prompt`/`version`. (b) A claw that wants to lift the human-readable summary has to check `message` for 4 commands, `report` for 1 (`doctor`, where `message == report` byte-for-byte per #121), `summary` for 3, and "no human summary at all" for 2. (c) A generic "render any claw JSON response" UI cannot exist — the consumer must implement a per-`kind` template. (d) New subcommands inherit the chaos: when a contributor adds `claw foo --output-format json`, there is no shared envelope they must conform to, so they invent another shape. The 458 entry locks in the cross-envelope catalog before more subcommands ship. **Required fix shape:** (a) **define a single shared `BaseEnvelope` for all `--output-format json` success responses**: `{kind: "<subcommand>", status: "ok"|"warn"|"error", action: "<verb>"|null, summary: "<one-line>", details: <command-specific-payload>}`. The two universal fields are `kind` + `status`; `action` and `summary` are optional-but-encouraged. (b) **Drop ad-hoc `message`/`report` fields** in favor of putting prose in a documented `summary` (one line) + optional `text_render` (full prose, only if a human-text rendering is genuinely needed in JSON mode, with a clear note that machines should not parse it). (c) **`doctor` rollup**: top-level `status` derived from `has_failures` and `summary.warnings` (`"ok"` when both zero, `"warn"` when warnings>0 and failures=0, `"error"` when failures>0); de-duplicate `message`/`report` (per #121). (d) **Regression coverage**: a single contract test that parses every `claw <subcommand> --output-format json` output, asserts `kind` is the subcommand name and `status ∈ {"ok","warn","error"}`, and rejects any envelope that omits either. (e) **Doc the envelope** in a new `docs/json-envelope-contract.md` so new subcommands have a single template to copy from. **Acceptance check (one-liner):** `for c in status mcp skills agents doctor sandbox init system-prompt version; do claw $c --output-format json 2>&1 | jq -e '.kind and (.status | IN("ok","warn","error"))' || echo "FAIL: $c"; done` should print no FAILs. Source: gaebal-gajae dogfood follow-up for the 2026-05-24 09:00 Clawhip pinpoint nudge at message `1508031832669814834`.