v1.25.0.0 fix: AskUserQuestion resolves to host MCP variant when native is disallowed (#1287)

* test(harness): plumb extraArgs and auto_decided outcome through PTY runner

runPlanSkillObservation now accepts extraArgs that pass through to
launchClaudePty (which already supported them at the lower level), and
exposes a new 'auto_decided' outcome detected via isAutoDecidedVisible
when the AUTO_DECIDE preamble template fires (Auto-decided ... (your
preference)).

Both pieces are needed for the v1.21+ AskUserQuestion-blocked regression
tests in the next commit. Detection order is deliberate: 'asked' (rendered
numbered list) wins over 'auto_decided' (text only, no list), which wins
over 'plan_ready' so the auto-decide evidence isn't masked by a downstream
plan-mode confirmation.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(e2e): add AskUserQuestion-blocked regression cases for 6 plan-mode skills

Conductor launches Claude Code with --disallowedTools AskUserQuestion
--permission-mode default --permission-prompt-tool stdio (verified by
inspecting the live conductor claude process via ps -p ... -o args=).
Native AskUserQuestion is removed from the model's tool registry; without
fallback guidance the plan-mode skills (plan-ceo-review, plan-eng-review,
plan-design-review, plan-devex-review, autoplan, office-hours) silently
proceed and never surface decisions to the user.

Adds 6 gate-tier real-PTY regression cases:

  - 4 inline test cases inside the existing plan-X-review-plan-mode.test
    files, each exercising the same skill with extraArgs ['--disallowedTools',
    'AskUserQuestion'] and asserting outcome === 'asked'. plan-design-review
    keeps the ['asked', 'plan_ready'] envelope (legitimate short-circuit on
    no-UI-scope) but explicitly fails on 'auto_decided'.
  - 2 standalone test files for autoplan + office-hours (which had no prior
    plan-mode test). autoplan asserts the FIRST non-auto-decided gate fires
    (Phase 1 premise confirmation) — autoplan auto-decides intermediate
    questions BY DESIGN.

Touchfile entries:
  - autoplan-auto-mode + office-hours-auto-mode added to E2E_TOUCHFILES +
    E2E_TIERS (gate)
  - existing plan-X-review-plan-mode entries gain question-tuning.ts and
    generate-ask-user-format.ts touchfile deps so AUTO_DECIDE-related
    resolver changes correctly invalidate the regression tests
  - touchfiles.test.ts count updated 18 -> 19 to cover the autoplan
    touchfile dependency on plan-ceo-review/**

Filenames retain `auto-mode` for branch-history continuity. Auto-mode (the
AUTO_DECIDE preamble path when QUESTION_TUNING=true) is a related but
distinct silencing mechanism; both share the same fix surface in the
preamble.

These tests are expected to FAIL on this branch until the fix lands. The
failure is the receipt for the regression.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(preamble): teach the model to prefer mcp__*__AskUserQuestion when registered

When a host launches Claude Code with --disallowedTools AskUserQuestion
(Conductor does this by default — verified via ps on the live conductor
claude process), the native AskUserQuestion tool is removed from the
model's tool registry. Skill templates that say "call AskUserQuestion"
silently fail in that environment: the model can't ask, the user never
sees the question, the skill auto-proceeds without input.

The fix is preamble guidance, not a skill-template change:

  generate-ask-user-format.ts: new "Tool resolution" section at the top
  of the AskUserQuestion Format block. Tells the model that
  "AskUserQuestion" can resolve to two tools at runtime — the host MCP
  variant (e.g. mcp__conductor__AskUserQuestion, registered when the
  host injects it) and the native tool — and to PREFER any
  mcp__*__AskUserQuestion variant. Same questions/options shape; same
  decision-brief format. If neither variant is callable, fall back to
  writing a "## Decisions to confirm" section into the plan file plus
  ExitPlanMode (the native plan-mode confirmation surfaces it). Never
  silently auto-decide.

  generate-completion-status.ts: the plan-mode-info block (preamble
  position 1) now explicitly notes that AskUserQuestion satisfies plan
  mode's end-of-turn requirement for "any variant" and points at the
  Tool resolution section for the fallback path.

This puts the resolution rule in front of every tier-≥2 skill via the
preamble, so plan-mode review skills (plan-ceo-review, plan-eng-review,
plan-design-review, plan-devex-review, autoplan, office-hours) all gain
the fix without per-template surgery.

Includes regenerated SKILL.md files for all 41 skills + the 3 host-ship
golden fixtures used by test/host-config.test.ts.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(periodic): AUTO_DECIDE opt-in preserved under Conductor flags

Periodic-tier eval that exercises the legitimate /plan-tune AUTO_DECIDE
path under the same flags Conductor uses (--disallowedTools
AskUserQuestion). Confirms the new Tool resolution preamble doesn't trip
opt-in users: when the user has set a never-ask preference for a
question, the model should auto-pick (outcome 'auto_decided' or
'plan_ready') rather than surface the prompt.

Setup runs in an isolated GSTACK_HOME tmpdir — never touches the user's
real ~/.gstack state. Writes question_tuning=true + a never-ask
preference for plan-ceo-review-mode (source: 'plan-tune', which bypasses
the inline-user origin gate). Spawns claude with
--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion in plan mode, runs /plan-ceo-review,
asserts outcome is NOT 'asked' (i.e., the model honored the preference).

Periodic tier because AUTO_DECIDE behavior depends on the model adhering
to the QUESTION_TUNING preamble injection — non-deterministic, weekly
cron is the right cadence rather than CI gating.

Touchfiles cover the AUTO_DECIDE-bearing resolvers + the question-tuning
binaries the test setup invokes. touchfiles.test.ts count updates 19 ->
20 because auto-decide-preserved also depends on plan-ceo-review/**.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* v1.21.0.0: AskUserQuestion resolves to host MCP variant when native is disallowed

MINOR scale per scale-aware bumps in CLAUDE.md: substantial coordinated
multi-file change (preamble fix + new test infrastructure + 6 gate-tier
regression cases + 1 periodic eval) and a user-visible regression fix
that affects every plan-mode review skill running under Conductor's
default flag set.

User originally targeted v1.21.2.0; landing as v1.21.0.0 since this is
the first 1.21.x release on main and there's no prior 1.21.0.0/1.21.1.0
to skip past. Adjust at /ship time if a different number is preferred.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(harness): fix detection order + whitespace-tolerant pattern matching

Two bugs surfaced when validating the v1.21 fix end-to-end:

1. PlanSkillObservation outcome detection ran 'asked' (any numbered
   options list) BEFORE 'plan_ready'. Plan-mode's "Ready to execute?"
   confirmation IS a numbered options list (1=auto, 2=manual, ...), so
   any skill that successfully reached the native confirmation got
   misclassified as 'asked'. Reorder: 'auto_decided' (most specific,
   requires AUTO_DECIDE annotation) > 'plan_ready' (next, requires the
   "ready to execute" stem) > 'asked' (any remaining numbered list).

2. isPlanReadyVisible and isAutoDecidedVisible regexes only matched
   spaced forms ("ready to execute", "(your preference)"). stripAnsi
   removes cursor-positioning escapes (`\x1b[40C`) entirely instead of
   replacing them with spaces, so the same text can render as
   "readytoexecute" or "(yourpreference)". Both detectors now test the
   spaced form first, fall through to a whitespace-collapsed comparison.
   Inline unit smoke confirms both forms match.

Updates to the 5 strict 'asked' regression test cases (plan-ceo,
plan-eng, plan-devex, autoplan, office-hours): with the detection order
corrected, the model's plan-file fallback flow legitimately lands at
'plan_ready' instead of 'asked'. Pass envelope expanded to ['asked',
'plan_ready'] (matching plan-design-review's existing pattern). Failure
signals tightened to include 'auto_decided' (catches AUTO_DECIDE without
opt-in) plus the standard silent_write/exited/timeout. plan-design was
already on this contract from v1.21's first commit, no change needed.

The expanded envelope is correct: under --disallowedTools AskUserQuestion
the Tool resolution preamble routes the question through plan-mode's
native "Ready to execute?" surface — the user still sees the decision,
just via the plan-file flow rather than a numbered prompt.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(harness): require ## Decisions section under --disallowedTools plan_ready

Adversarial review (during /ship Step 11) found that the previous gate-test
envelope ['asked', 'plan_ready'] for the AskUserQuestion-blocked regression
cases accepted the bug they exist to catch: a model that silently skips
Step 0 entirely (writes a plan with no questions, no `## Decisions to
confirm` section, just ExitPlanModes) reaches plan_ready and passes.

The fix tightens the contract in two layers:

1. Harness: PlanSkillObservation gains a `planFile?: string` field
   populated when outcome is plan_ready. extractPlanFilePath() walks the
   visible TTY buffer for "Plan saved to:", "Plan file:", or
   ".claude/plans/<name>.md" patterns and resolves tilde to absolute.
   planFileHasDecisionsSection() reads the resolved file and returns true
   if it contains a `## Decisions` heading (any form: "to confirm",
   "needed", etc.).

2. Tests: 5 of 6 regression cases now require, when outcome is plan_ready,
   that obs.planFile is set AND planFileHasDecisionsSection returns true.
   Otherwise the test fails with a "Step 0 was silently skipped" diagnosis.
   plan-design-review remains the sole exception — it legitimately
   short-circuits to plan_ready on no-UI-scope branches and we have no
   deterministic way to distinguish that from a silent skip.

This closes the loophole the adversarial review identified. The fix
preamble flow already tells the model to write `## Decisions to confirm`
when neither AUQ variant is callable — now the test verifies the model
actually did it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(harness): anchor extractPlanFilePath path captures on /Users|~|/home|/var|/tmp

Adversarial-tightened gate sweep surfaced a real bug in the path
extraction: stripAnsi collapses whitespace via cursor-positioning escape
removal, so "yet at /Users/..." in the visible buffer becomes
"yetat/Users/..." with no space between. The previous fallback pattern
`(~?\/?\S*\.claude\/plans\/[\w-]+\.md)` greedily matched non-whitespace
characters BEFORE the path, producing `yetat/Users/garrytan/.claude/...`
which then fails fs.readFileSync.

Fix: every regex now requires the path to START at a known path-anchor:
`~/`, `/Users/`, `/home/`, `/var/`, `/tmp/`, or `./`. Earlier
non-whitespace runs can't be glommed in.

Verified against the failing fixture (`yetat/Users/...`) plus the four
canonical render forms ("Plan saved to:", "Plan file:", `·`-decorated
ctrl-g hint, and the bare fallback).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,77 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.25.0.0] - 2026-05-01
+
+## **Plan-mode skills surface every decision again, even when the host disallows AskUserQuestion.**
+
+Conductor launches Claude Code with `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion --permission-mode default --permission-prompt-tool stdio` (verified by inspecting the live conductor claude process via `ps`). The native AskUserQuestion tool is removed from the model's tool registry, so when a plan-mode skill instructs the model to "call AskUserQuestion," the call silently fails: the model can't ask, the user never sees the question, and the skill auto-proceeds without input. The whole interactive premise of `/plan-ceo-review`, `/plan-eng-review`, `/plan-design-review`, `/plan-devex-review`, `/autoplan`, and `/office-hours` was broken in any Conductor session.
+
+The fix is preamble guidance, not skill-template surgery. A new `Tool resolution` section in `scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts` tells the model to check its tool list and prefer any `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` variant (e.g. `mcp__conductor__AskUserQuestion`) over the native tool. Hosts that disable native AskUserQuestion register their own MCP variant; the variant takes the same questions/options shape and the host renders the prompt through its own UI surface. If neither variant is callable, the model falls back to writing a `## Decisions to confirm` section into the plan file and calling ExitPlanMode — plan-mode's native "Ready to execute?" confirmation surfaces the decisions through TTY UI. **Never silently auto-decide.**
+
+Six gate-tier real-PTY regression tests reproduce the exact Conductor flag set (`extraArgs: ['--disallowedTools', 'AskUserQuestion']`) for every plan-mode skill, plus a periodic-tier eval that protects the legitimate `/plan-tune` AUTO_DECIDE opt-in path from being broken by the fix. The harness gains a new `'auto_decided'` outcome and whitespace-tolerant detectors that survive TTY cursor-positioning escape sequences (which `stripAnsi` removes without leaving spaces, collapsing "ready to execute" to "readytoexecute").
+
+### What you can now do
+
+- **Use plan-mode review skills in Conductor.** Open a Conductor workspace, run `/plan-ceo-review` against a plan, and the scope-mode question actually appears for you to answer. Same for `/plan-eng-review`, `/plan-design-review`, `/plan-devex-review`, `/autoplan`'s premise gate, and `/office-hours`.
+- **Stay in control under `--disallowedTools` without writing template overrides.** The Tool resolution section sits at preamble position 1 in every tier-≥2 skill; new hosts that disable native AUQ via the same pattern get the fix transparently as long as they register an MCP variant.
+- **Opt-in to AUTO_DECIDE without losing the regression guard.** `/plan-tune` users who set `never-ask` for specific questions keep auto-pick under Conductor flags; the periodic-tier `auto-decide-preserved` eval protects this path.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+Source: `ps -p <conductor-claude-pid> -o args=` for the regression mechanism (verified primary source). 6 new gate-tier regression cases + 1 periodic-tier AUTO_DECIDE eval; coverage in `test/skill-e2e-plan-{ceo,eng,design,devex}-plan-mode.test.ts` (parameterized inline) + `test/skill-e2e-{autoplan,office-hours}-auto-mode.test.ts` (standalone) + `test/skill-e2e-auto-decide-preserved.test.ts` (periodic).
+
+| Surface | Shape |
+|---|---|
+| Skills that regain interactivity in Conductor | 6 (`/plan-ceo-review`, `/plan-eng-review`, `/plan-design-review`, `/plan-devex-review`, `/autoplan`, `/office-hours`) |
+| New gate-tier regression test cases | 6 (one per skill; `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion` parameterized) |
+| New periodic-tier eval | 1 (`auto-decide-preserved`, protects `/plan-tune` opt-in path) |
+| New `ClassifyResult` outcome | `auto_decided` — TTY shows "Auto-decided … (your preference)" |
+| New `runPlanSkillObservation` parameter | `extraArgs?: string[]` — plumbs raw flags to spawned `claude` |
+| Preamble resolvers touched | 2 (`generate-ask-user-format.ts`, `generate-completion-status.ts`) |
+| SKILL.md files regenerated | 41 |
+| `classifyVisible` branch order | `silent_write` → `auto_decided` → `plan_ready` → `asked` (each more specific than the next) |
+| Whitespace-tolerant detectors | `isPlanReadyVisible`, `isAutoDecidedVisible` (defeats stripAnsi cursor-positioning collapse) |
+| Verified by | `ps -p <conductor-claude-pid> -o args=` showing `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion --permission-mode default` |
+
+### What this means for builders
+
+If you ran `/plan-ceo-review` or any plan-mode review skill in Conductor before this release, the skill silently produced a plan you didn't shape — the scope-mode question, expansion proposals, and per-section STOPs never reached you. After upgrading, the skill stops for every gate the template defines. The fix is in the preamble, so you don't update skill templates yourself — just upgrade gstack and the next plan review you run honors your input.
+
+If you opted into auto-deciding specific questions via `/plan-tune`, the periodic eval guards that path. The fix is "prefer MCP variant when registered," not "force every question to surface" — your `never-ask` preferences still auto-pick, the AUTO_DECIDE annotation still renders, nothing changes for opt-in users.
+
+The gstack-side regression test surface now mirrors what real users hit. Each plan-mode test file gained a second `test()` block that sets `extraArgs: ['--disallowedTools', 'AskUserQuestion']` and asserts the AskUserQuestion still surfaces. Builds on v1.21.1.0's `classifyVisible()` extraction — the new auto-decided branch slots in cleanly between silent_write and plan_ready.
+
+### Itemized changes
+
+#### Added — Tool resolution preamble
+
+- `scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts` gets a new `### Tool resolution (read first)` section at the top of the AskUserQuestion Format block. Tells the model: AskUserQuestion can resolve to two tools at runtime (host MCP variant or native); prefer any `mcp__*__AskUserQuestion` variant in the tool list over native; hosts may disable native via `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion` (Conductor does this by default); same questions/options shape and decision-brief format applies to the MCP variant. Includes a fallback path when neither variant is callable: write the decision into the plan file as `## Decisions to confirm` + ExitPlanMode.
+- `scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts` (the plan-mode-info block at preamble position 1) updated to point at the Tool resolution section: AskUserQuestion satisfies plan mode's end-of-turn requirement for "any variant," with the plan-file fallback for the no-variant case.
+
+#### Added — regression tests
+
+- 4 inline `test()` blocks added to `test/skill-e2e-plan-{ceo,eng,design,devex}-plan-mode.test.ts`. Each spawns claude with `extraArgs: ['--disallowedTools', 'AskUserQuestion']` and asserts the skill still surfaces the question — pass envelope `['asked', 'plan_ready']` (the latter covers the plan-file fallback flow), failure signals are `'auto_decided'` (caught explicitly) plus the standard silent_write/exited/timeout.
+- `test/skill-e2e-autoplan-auto-mode.test.ts` (new). Asserts autoplan's first non-auto-decided gate (Phase 1 premise confirmation) still surfaces. Autoplan auto-decides intermediate questions BY DESIGN, so the test scopes to gates the user MUST see.
+- `test/skill-e2e-office-hours-auto-mode.test.ts` (new). Asserts office-hours' startup-vs-builder mode AskUserQuestion still surfaces.
+- `test/skill-e2e-auto-decide-preserved.test.ts` (new, periodic-tier). Sets up an isolated `GSTACK_HOME` tmpdir, writes `question_tuning=true` + a `never-ask` preference for `plan-ceo-review-mode` (source `'plan-tune'`), runs `/plan-ceo-review` under `--disallowedTools AskUserQuestion`, asserts outcome is NOT `'asked'` (the model honored the opt-in).
+
+#### Changed — PTY harness
+
+- `test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts`: `runPlanSkillObservation` accepts new optional `extraArgs?: string[]` (plumbs straight through to `launchClaudePty`, which already supported the field). `ClassifyResult` gains `'auto_decided'` outcome plus `isAutoDecidedVisible(visible)` detector that matches the AUTO_DECIDE preamble template (`Auto-decided … (your preference)`). `classifyVisible` branch order extended to `silent_write → auto_decided → plan_ready → asked` so an upstream auto-decide isn't masked by a downstream plan-mode confirmation.
+- Whitespace-tolerant detection: `isPlanReadyVisible` and `isAutoDecidedVisible` now test both spaced and whitespace-collapsed forms of their target phrases. `stripAnsi` removes cursor-positioning escapes (`\x1b[40C`) without replacing them with spaces, so "ready to execute" can come through as "readytoexecute" — the spaced regex would miss it.
+
+#### Changed — touchfiles
+
+- `test/helpers/touchfiles.ts`: existing `plan-X-review-plan-mode` entries gain `scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts` and `scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts` as touchfile dependencies, so AUTO_DECIDE-bearing resolver changes correctly invalidate the regression cases.
+- New entries: `autoplan-auto-mode` (gate), `office-hours-auto-mode` (gate), `auto-decide-preserved` (periodic).
+- `test/touchfiles.test.ts`: count of tests selected by `plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md` updates from 19 to 21 to cover the new entries that depend on `plan-ceo-review/**`.
+
+#### For contributors
+
+- The PTY harness's `auto_decided` outcome is a defense-in-depth signal: it fires on the AUTO_DECIDE preamble template wording, which is non-deterministic. Treat it as evidence of a regression, not a hard contract.
+- The Tool resolution section is the surgical fix site for any future host that disables native AUQ similarly. The pattern: register a `mcp__<host>__AskUserQuestion` MCP tool; the gstack preamble already tells the model to prefer it. No skill-template changes needed per-host.
+- `auto-decide-preserved` runs in an isolated `GSTACK_HOME` tmpdir to avoid mutating the developer's real `~/.gstack` state. When debugging, set `GSTACK_HOME` manually to a scratch dir and run the same setup the test does (`gstack-config set question_tuning true`, then `gstack-question-preference --write`).
+
 ## [1.24.0.0] - 2026-04-30
 
 ## **Cross-platform hardening. Mac + Linux full, curated Windows lane added.**
@@ -168,7 +240,6 @@ For `/plan-ceo-review` specifically: any future preamble slim-down or template e
 - The runner change is additive and the existing sibling smokes (`plan-eng`, `plan-design`, `plan-devex`, `plan-mode-no-op`) keep their loose `['asked', 'plan_ready']` assertion. Their behavior is unchanged.
 - Post-merge follow-ups captured in `TODOS.md`: per-finding AskUserQuestion count assertion (V2), env-driven gstack-config overrides (so `QUESTION_TUNING=false` actually isolates the test), path-confusion hardening on `SANCTIONED_WRITE_SUBSTRINGS`.
 
-
 ## [1.20.0.0] - 2026-04-28
 
 ## **Browser-skills land. `/scrape <intent>` first call drives the page; second call runs the codified script in 200ms.**