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PR #1279 — Eliminating Grok Headless Execution Cancellation via --always-approve

Where we left off

Across issues #714, #880, #1038, and #1166 (LIVE-8), headless dispatches to Grok repeatedly aborted right before executing terminal actions (e.g. running pytest suites or executing `gh pr review`) with: ```json "stopReason": "cancelled" ``` Previous root-cause investigations concluded that this was an inscrutable upstream black-box cancellation by xAI or an external session timeout, and Grok was downgraded out of the `review` fallback policy in PR #1177.

Earlier today, when Grok was assigned to review PR #1271 in `job-b3492d49`, it hit this exact cancellation on turn 4 while attempting to run its test suite.

The Root Cause: The `dontAsk` Trap

Deep forensic inspection of Grok session event logs (`events.jsonl`, `updates.jsonl`) and binary reverse-engineering (`crates/codegen/xai-grok-workspace/src/permission/`) uncovered the exact root cause:

  1. Tool Schema Mismatch: Grok's internal terminal execution tool is named `run_terminal_command`, whereas `synlynk/dispatch.py:_grok_permission_flags()` was attempting to map Claude tool names (`Bash`, `Edit`, `Write`).

  2. The `dontAsk` Cancellation Trap: When a dispatch lacked all 5 full repo permissions (the standard for `review`, `qa`, or scoped `dev`), `dispatch.py` emitted `--permission-mode dontAsk`. Grok incorporates an internal shell AST splitter (`bash_command_splitting.rs`) and risk classifier (`exec_risk.rs`). When Grok generated compound commands (e.g. `python3 -m pytest ... ; echo "FILTER_EXIT=$?"`), the classifier required confirmation (`permission_requested`). Because `dontAsk` mode suppresses operator prompts, the resolver immediately issued `decision: "cancelled"` (~1ms wait time), which terminated the turn with `stopReason: "cancelled"` and `cancellationCategory: "PermissionCancelled"`.

  3. Empirical Proof: We tested this against the Grok CLI: running compound commands under `--permission-mode dontAsk` reproduced `stopReason: "cancelled"` in a single turn. Running the exact same commands under `--always-approve` or `--permission-mode bypassPermissions` succeeded with `stopReason: "end_turn"` and exit code 0.

What this PR shipped

Following the Design Spec (`docs/superpowers/specs/2026-08-30-grok-headless-permission-mode-design.md`) and Implementation Plan (`docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-30-grok-headless-permission-mode.md`), PR #1279 was dispatched to Grok itself (`job-4ba2fb42`) to fix its own execution mode:

  • `synlynk/dispatch.py`: Updated `_grok_permission_flags()`: when `run:shell` or `run:tests` is present in the granted permission set, emit `["--always-approve"]`, eliminating the fatal `dontAsk` auto-cancellation path.
  • `synlynk/_constants.py`: Added `--permission-mode` to Grok's `valid_flags`, and added `--always-approve` to `required_flags` for Grok headless dispatches.
  • Test Suite Updates:
    • Added `test_grok_permission_flags_emits_always_approve_when_shell_or_tests_granted` in `tests/test_dispatch.py`.
    • Reconciled existing tests in `tests/test_synlynk.py` and `tests/test_agent_quota_tracking.py` to align with the new flag contract.
  • Documentation: Updated `docs/harness-capability-baseline.md` to document the resolution of the historical cancellation pattern.

Review and Merge Flow

  • Authorship: Implemented by Grok via `synlynk dispatch` (`job-4ba2fb42`, commit `41c8070`).
  • Review: Reviewed by Agy (`synlynk pr check` passed, all GitHub Actions CI checks passed green across Python 3.8, 3.10, 3.12, and `qa-gate`, formal review checklist posted).
  • Merge: Merged to `main` as `68a7bd4d311bb2ca9ff370cac92f33c6eedf2633`.

Where this leaves the fleet

Grok headless dispatch is now stabilized against the multi-command permission cancellation bug. With Codex unblocked and operating with full harness parity (PR #1275), and Grok headless cancellation resolved, synlynk now possesses robust multi-harness redundancy across all execution tracks.

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