docs(rfc): define and enforce a uniform RFC format; adopt it across the corpus
Define the in-file RFC contract in docs/rfc/README.md § The file format: the header block (`# RFC: <title>` plus a dateless Status enum cross-checked against the lifecycle folder), the per-lifecycle body skeleton (a Problem opener everywhere; Proposal/Alternatives considered/ Acceptance criteria/Risks in proposed/; present-tense Decision/ Consequences with proposal-era headings banned in implemented/; the frozen proposal shape in rejected/), and a mandatory Alternatives considered section with a date-fenced grandfather comment for pre-format RFCs whose alternatives are not reconstructible from the record. Enforce it with a new doc-sync gate, scripts/verify-rfc-format.ts, and normalize all 112 RFCs to it: ~15 Status-line spellings collapse to the enum, 29 Context openers become Problem, the 39 legacy-format XXX debt markers are resolved and banned from reappearing, proposal-era sections in implemented RFCs are rewritten to shipped reality (including the web/fs/subagent seam RFCs' migration plans and test checklists, closing the doc-tiers deferred-work item on the web seam), every RFC gains an Alternatives considered section or the grandfather comment, and the bilingual pair is re-mirrored and re-recorded. Move the generated index tables out of README.md into a fully generated docs/rfc/INDEX.md — gen-rfc-index now writes the whole file, and verify-rfc-classification checks its freshness and rejects index-shaped rows in the curated README — which makes room for the format contract to live in the README front door instead of a separate FORMAT.md. The decision record, and the first RFC written in the new format, is docs/rfc/implemented/process/2026-07-05-uniform-rfc-format.md.
This commit is contained in:
Tianyi Cui
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
|
||||
|
||||
Status: implemented
|
||||
|
||||
> **Implementation status:** shipped across four PRs. PR1 landed this proposal + the `dsh-subagent` interface, the `dsh-subagent-mock` test backend, and the `dsh-tool-subagent` consumer; PR2 the two in-process backends (`dsh-subagent-spawn`, `dsh-subagent-fork`); PR2.5 the nested-agent snapshot infrastructure (see [Per-session snapshot replay for nested agents](../testing/2026-06-22-subagent-snapshot-replay.md)); PR3 the out-of-process `dsh-subagent-acp` backend (see [ACP subagent backend](2026-06-22-acp-subagent-backend.md)). The design below is amended to describe what actually landed.
|
||||
> The full seam is shipped: the `dsh-subagent` interface, the `dsh-subagent-mock` test backend, and the `dsh-tool-subagent` consumer; the two in-process backends (`dsh-subagent-spawn`, `dsh-subagent-fork`); the nested-agent snapshot infrastructure ([per-session snapshot replay](../testing/2026-06-22-subagent-snapshot-replay.md)); and the out-of-process `dsh-subagent-acp` backend ([its RFC](2026-06-22-acp-subagent-backend.md)).
|
||||
|
||||
## Problem
|
||||
|
||||
The harness has a long-deferred seam for **subagents** — an agent delegating work to another agent. The intent was sketched in the `Agent`/`AgentLoop` interfaces ([packages/core/agent/src/types.ts](../../../../packages/core/agent/src/types.ts), [packages/core/agent-loop/src/index.ts](../../../../packages/core/agent-loop/src/index.ts)): a creation option referencing a parent agent (fork = seed the child session with the parent's event log; spawn = fresh session), with the child returned as an `Agent` handle so steering and event subscription work uniformly. This RFC realizes that seam (see the implementation-status banner above for what has landed); the design below is the proposal it was argued from, when no service, vocabulary, or implementation yet existed.
|
||||
The harness has a long-deferred seam for **subagents** — an agent delegating work to another agent. The intent was sketched in the `Agent`/`AgentLoop` interfaces ([packages/core/agent/src/types.ts](../../../../packages/core/agent/src/types.ts), [packages/core/agent-loop/src/index.ts](../../../../packages/core/agent-loop/src/index.ts)): a creation option referencing a parent agent (fork = seed the child session with the parent's event log; spawn = fresh session), with the child returned as an `Agent` handle so steering and event subscription work uniformly. This RFC realizes that seam; the banner above lists what shipped.
|
||||
|
||||
The distinctive requirement — the one that shapes the whole design — is that **multiple subagent implementations must coexist at runtime**. A parent may want a cheap in-process child for a scoped subtask AND an isolated out-of-process child (over ACP) in the same session. The transports we foresee:
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -14,11 +14,13 @@ The distinctive requirement — the one that shapes the whole design — is that
|
||||
- **ACP** — act as an ACP *client* driving another agent process (which can be another instance of ourselves);
|
||||
- later: **A2A**, the **Codex app-server**, and the **Claude Code Agent SDK** — each the same out-of-process "start a child, prompt it, stream updates, cancel" shape as the ACP backend.
|
||||
|
||||
## Why not the bash seam shape
|
||||
## Alternatives considered
|
||||
|
||||
### Why not the bash seam shape
|
||||
|
||||
The bash seam ([capability seams](../../implemented/architecture/2026-06-13-capability-seams.md)) registers exactly one `BashExecutor` per context; loading a second throws. That is correct for bash (one machine, one way to run a command) but wrong here: coexistence is the requirement. So the subagent service is a **named-provider registry** — each implementation registers under a unique name and a caller picks one by name — mirroring the **LLM adapter registry** (`LlmService.registerAdapter`), not the single-service bash executor. The seam is still three-package (interface / implementation / consumer); only the "one vs. many implementations" axis differs.
|
||||
|
||||
## Proposal
|
||||
## Decision
|
||||
|
||||
### The three-package seam
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -27,11 +29,11 @@ A new package group `packages/subagent/`:
|
||||
| Package | Role |
|
||||
|---|---|
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent` | interface: `SubagentService` (`ctx.subagents`), `SubagentProvider`, `SubagentRun`, the request/result/capability vocabulary, the `subagent/*` events |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-spawn` | implementation: a fresh in-process child via `ctx.agents.create` (PR2) |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-fork` | implementation: an in-process child seeded with a snapshot of the parent's log (PR2) |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-acp` | implementation: an ACP client driving a configured child process (PR3) |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-mock` | support: a scripted provider for testing the seam through the real load path (PR1) |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-tool-subagent` | consumer: the model-facing `subagent` tool over `ctx.subagents` (PR1) |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-spawn` | implementation: a fresh in-process child via `ctx.agents.create` |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-fork` | implementation: an in-process child seeded with a snapshot of the parent's log |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-acp` | implementation: an ACP client driving a configured child process |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-subagent-mock` | support: a scripted provider for testing the seam through the real load path |
|
||||
| `@deepseek-ai/dsh-tool-subagent` | consumer: the model-facing `subagent` tool over `ctx.subagents` |
|
||||
|
||||
### The primitive: `start → SubagentRun`
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ A provider exposes `start(request) → SubagentRun`. The run carries a `result`
|
||||
|
||||
### Fork vs. fresh are separate backends, not a flag
|
||||
|
||||
Rather than a `context: 'fresh' | 'fork'` request field, the distinction is the provider's identity: `dsh-subagent-spawn` (fresh, isolated, own system prompt) and `dsh-subagent-fork` (seeded from the parent's log) are two registered providers. You pick behavior by picking a provider — consistent with the registry being the selection mechanism.
|
||||
Rather than a `context: 'fresh' | 'fork'` request field, the distinction is the provider's identity: `dsh-subagent-spawn` (fresh, isolated, own system prompt) and `dsh-subagent-fork` (seeded from the parent's log) are two registered providers. You pick behavior by picking a provider — consistent with the registry being the selection mechanism. The fork backend seeds only a **balanced, completed-turn prefix** of the parent log: at tool-execute time the parent's turn is open (it holds the `assistant/message` and the dangling spawn `tool/call` with no `tool/result`), and seeding that raw prefix would give the child an unbalanced turn the [invariants](../../../../packages/support/invariants/src/index.ts) freeze-check rejects.
|
||||
|
||||
### Child isolation and the parent log
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -58,13 +60,11 @@ The `dsh-tool-subagent` consumer awaits `run.result` and returns the child's fin
|
||||
|
||||
`dsh-tool-subagent` binds to exactly one provider name (`Config.provider`); the model sees only `{ description, prompt }`. To expose more than one transport, load the tool plugin more than once, each bound to a different provider and a distinct `toolName` (the tool registry rejects a duplicate name). The *service* holds the multi-provider registry; the *tool* picks one — no provider/type parameter in the schema this cut.
|
||||
|
||||
## Plan (three PRs, each converged with Codex separately)
|
||||
## Testing
|
||||
|
||||
1. **PR1 — interface + tool + mock.** This RFC, `dsh-subagent` (service, registry, vocabulary, `subagent/*` events), `dsh-subagent-mock` (scripted provider), `dsh-tool-subagent`. Wire the new `packages/subagent/` group into the tsconfigs, the build references, the package hierarchy docs, and the module graph. Tests: registry HMR-safety, duplicate-name rejection, start-time capability rejection, and at least one test driving the tool through the **real cordis Loader / export path** (a hand-built `ctx.plugin` mount bypasses `unwrapExports` and cannot catch a broken export shape — see [postmortem 0001](../../../postmortem/0001-acp-default-export-drops-inject.md)).
|
||||
2. **PR2 — in-process backends.** `dsh-subagent-spawn` and `dsh-subagent-fork` over `ctx.agents.create` + `AgentHandle.dispose`. The fork backend must seed only a **balanced, completed-turn prefix** of the parent log: at tool-execute time the parent's turn is open (it holds the `assistant/message` and the dangling spawn `tool/call` with no `tool/result`), and seeding that raw prefix gives the child an unbalanced turn the [invariants](../../../../packages/support/invariants/src/index.ts) freeze-check rejects. Depth tracking (parent depth + 1, refused past `maxDepth`) and its exact storage are settled in PR2.
|
||||
3. **PR3 — ACP backend.** `dsh-subagent-acp` as an ACP client over a configured spawn command (stdio); point it at our own `acp-agent` example to "talk to our own process". Minimal client stub: advertise no optional client capabilities, auto-resolve `session/request_permission` via a configured default, consume `session/update` without surfacing it this cut. Decide the `@agentclientprotocol/sdk` version (recommended: bump to 0.28.x for the fluent client API; the bump is shared with the existing `dsh-acp` bridge, so re-run its snapshot + e2e).
|
||||
The seam is tested through the real cordis Loader / export path, not a hand-built `ctx.plugin` mount (which bypasses `unwrapExports` and cannot catch a broken export shape — [postmortem 0001](../../../postmortem/0001-acp-default-export-drops-inject.md)); the registry pins HMR-safety, duplicate-name rejection, and start-time capability rejection; the nested-agent snapshot scenarios replay keyless in the default gate ([per-session snapshot replay](../testing/2026-06-22-subagent-snapshot-replay.md)); in-process backends carry real-loop unit tests plus a with-key e2e.
|
||||
|
||||
## Risks and deferrals
|
||||
## Consequences
|
||||
|
||||
- **Recursion.** Without a guard, an in-process child inherits the spawn tool and can spawn unboundedly. Depth-limit is an optional capability (the in-process backends enforce it; ACP advertises it off and rejects a `maxDepth` request); tool-filtering is likewise optional. Tool-filtering, when implemented, needs a `tools/pre-execute` deny in the child context — schema filtering alone is insufficient because a model can hallucinate a denied tool name.
|
||||
- **Blocking the parent turn.** Synchronous collect holds the parent's `runStep` open for the child's full duration. This is acceptable for the first cut; **background / poll / spill semantics are deferred to a future redesign that unifies long-running-tool handling across subagents AND bash** (a sub-agent and a long `bash` background task pose the same "the model started something slow, how does it collect later" problem, and should share one mechanism rather than each inventing its own).
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user