fix(server): reject unusable user-input answers before the request resolves

[JonasFocus]

Malformed user-input answers could resolve a pending request before the provider discovered that the values were unusable, leaving no way to correct them. Validate supplied answer shapes in the V2 orchestrator before resolution, and unwrap Codex-style { answers: string[] } values before storing or sending them.

The check applies only to user_input. Strings and string arrays remain supported; malformed objects, null, numbers, and mixed arrays are rejected while the request stays pending for a corrected command. MCP/API callers that previously sent raw numeric or boolean values must now send strings, including typed ACP form values; web/mobile already send strings or string lists. Existing message-capability replies still require plain strings. Other runtime-request kinds and secret handling retain their existing paths.

Rebuilds @JonasFocus’s focused fix from #14884, using the existing schema/error boundary and current test fixtures. The original standalone test with the stale layer name was replaced by an extension of the existing request-control scenario (9 → 8 module tests, matching main’s count).

Validation:

• Negative proof against base production: malformed input is accepted and the regression fails. Restoring the fix passes.
• Invalid values leave request/node/chat projections and domain-event sequence unchanged and enqueue no provider response. A valid retry preserves normalized answers in the request, chat item, and provider outbox effect.
• 150 focused tests passed across seven relevant server suites.
• Server typecheck, scoped lint, formatting, and diff checks passed. Two unrelated pre-existing lint warnings remain.

Independent adversarial reviews: Claude claude-opus-5-5 and Codex gpt-6-sol, one clean round with no blocking findings. The historical array-to-message suggestion remains withdrawn because that path already required strings.

This is a server-side behavior change with no visual UI change. Tests use real in-memory persistence and inspect the queued provider payload; they do not exercise a real Claude/Codex session or a live web, desktop, iOS, or Android client. Rejected commands may still record their normal rejection receipt; retry uses a new command ID.

Tests: Codex gpt-6-astra (high). Implementation: Codex gpt-6.1-sol (high). Maintainer coordination: gpt-6.1-sol through the Codex harness in T3 Code.

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved at f2f7798

Macroscope's review found this PR approvable — This is a focused server-side validation fix that rejects malformed user-input answers before they resolve requests and normalizes supported Codex answer shapes. The production change is isolated, preserves other request paths, and is covered by regression tests verifying both unchanged state on rejection and correct outbox/persistence behavior on success.

No code changes detected at a12e980. Prior analysis still applies.

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Dismissing prior approval to re-evaluate b2891f8

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between b2891f8 and a12e980.

📒 Files selected for processing: 2

• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.control-reads.test.ts
• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts

📝 Walkthrough

The orchestration response path now validates supplied user-input answers and normalizes supported values before resolving requests. Tests cover rejection of an unsupported value and successful resolution with an answers array.

Changes: User-input answer validation

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Validate and propagate user-input answers apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts, apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.control-reads.test.ts	The response path accepts strings, string arrays, and objects with an answers string array. It rejects unsupported values and uses normalized answers in the resolved request, turn item, replies, and provider response effect. Tests cover rejection and successful resolution.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Suggested reviewers: juliusmarminge

Merge Risk: 🟡 Moderate · up to b2891

Clients submitting a supported array answer to a message-capable request cannot complete it. Format the answer for the reply before merging.

### Architecture Summary

Architecture risk: 🟡 Medium · up to b2891

The change affects 1 system.

Changed systems: apps/server

Architecture concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Review details

Systems and components

• observed — apps/server (service) was modified; 2 changed files map to changed impact.

Before / after behavior

• observed — Modified behavior in apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.control-reads.test.ts: Adds coverage for live user-input answer validation and resolution. An unusable answer shape must fail without resolving the pending request; a valid answers array resolves it and is stored as the request’s answers.
• observed — Modified behavior in apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts: Added decodeUserInputAnswer to accept strings, string arrays, and Codex-style { answers: string[] } values; other shapes fail decoding.
• observed — Modified behavior in apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts: dispatchRuntimeRequestRespond now decodes each provided answer, rejects invalid values with a question-specific dispatch error, unwraps the object form to its answer array, and uses the normalized record when resolving the request. Omitted answers remain omitted.
• observed — Modified behavior in apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts: The user-input turn item now records the normalized answers value instead of the raw command payload.

Reliability and maintainability

• inferred — Risk-relevant change factors for apps/server: blast_radius_1; direct_dependents_1

Pre-merge checks: 4 · 1

Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 2 functions across 2 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

Passed checks: 4 passed

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check		The PR directly addresses issue [#13398]. dispatchRuntimeRequestRespond accepts strings, string arrays, and { answers: string[] }, then normalizes the object form to its answers array. It reject…
Out of Scope Changes check		The reviewed changes are limited to the V2 orchestrator answer validation and normalization, plus its focused automated test. These changes implement the directly linked issue [#13398]. The available …
Title check		The title is concise, follows the conventional commit format, and clearly describes the main change: rejecting unusable user-input answers before request resolution.
Description check		The description clearly explains the problem, implementation, supported and rejected values, scope, limitations, and focused verification results. It is detailed and directly related to the change.

Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

The PR directly addresses issue [#13398]. dispatchRuntimeRequestRespond accepts strings, string arrays, and { answers: string[] }, then normalizes the object form to its answers array. It rejects other values before the runtime request resolves. The added Orchestrator.control-reads.test.ts test verifies that an invalid answer leaves the request pending and that the normalized object form resolves and stores ["Blue"]. The raw summary also reports passing related server tests and a clean typecheck.

Full details: Out of Scope Changes check

Explanation

The reviewed changes are limited to the V2 orchestrator answer validation and normalization, plus its focused automated test. These changes implement the directly linked issue [#13398]. The available PR summary shows no unrelated product behavior or unrelated files.

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts:
- Line 6750: Update the message-capable request handling after `const answer =
answers?.[question.id]` to accept array answers by formatting their contents as
reply text, while preserving the original array in the stored answer.

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between cc1e634 and b2891f8.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.control-reads.test.ts
• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/Orchestrator.ts

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[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by claude-opus-5-5 on behalf of Maria

Hi! We are cleaning up open PRs, and this one does not say which model or harness was used to create it. If this change is really important, we recommend rebuilding the PR with a newer model and noting the model and harness in the PR description.

[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by claude-opus-5-5 on behalf of Maria

Reopening, this was closed by mistake. Sorry for the noise!

[juliusmarminge]

Taking over this one as maintainer for the composer-chat-09 batch. I will keep the central answer validation, update the regression to current fixtures, and push follow-up commits here. Thanks @JonasFocus for preventing irreversible resolution of malformed input.

Dismissing prior approval to re-evaluate f2f7798