prompt the accept-edits switch when the operator owns deploys

[bborbe]

Why

work-on-task-assistant Phase 5 already extracts the deploy workflow and reports who runs the mutations. On 2026-08-16 that block fired correctly for a cluster TLS migration and said:

the operator runs the cluster mutations

…and the session then spent roughly 40 minutes handing back make/kubectl command blocks for the owner to paste, until they interrupted:

"As always, I don't want to run any commands. You should suggest switching to the edit mode and then you can run the commands yourself. What should I do?"

"As always" marks it as habitual, not a one-off.

The global CLAUDE.md rule Permission Mode Precheck already says to surface this at task start, and it did not help — a rule restating what an artifact should emit is a symptom patch. Phase 5 is the artifact loaded at exactly the right moment, and it was one line short of enforcing it.

What

When the extracted workflow assigns cluster/deploy mutations to the operator (make apply, make buca, kubectl writes, helm install/upgrade, ssh deploys, prod runbook steps), Phase 5 now appends a verbatim line prompting the accept edits switch.

The distinction the change rests on: the existing split describes who may run the command; the new line makes the switch that lets the agent actually run it in-session.

Scoped, not unconditional — non-ops tasks are unaffected.

Verification

make precommit passes (formatting, mocking, tests, linting, vulnerability scans, CHANGELOG, license headers — 27.3s).

Behavioural check belongs to the next ops-shaped work-on-task run: the Development Workflow section should carry the 🔐 line, and a task with no operator-run deploy steps should not.

[ben-s-pull-request-reviewer]

Now I have a complete picture. Let me compile the review.

Summary of Changes:

1. CHANGELOG.md — Added ## Unreleased section with a feat entry describing the change.
2. agents/work-on-task-assistant.md — Added a "Permission-mode precheck" bullet in Phase 5 that detects when extracted workflows assign cluster/deploy mutations to the operator and appends a verbatim line instructing the user to switch permission mode via Shift+Tab.

---

Review Report

Must Fix

None. No security vulnerabilities, no correctness bugs, no data issues.

Should Fix

None.

Nice to Have

• agents/work-on-task-assistant.md:161 — The Shift+Tab instruction is UI-specific. If the Claude Code UI changes this mechanism, the instruction becomes stale without any code change to flag it. Consider adding a brief note that this instruction reflects the UI at time of writing (2026-08-16), or structuring the line so the UI mechanism is parameterized rather than hardcoded. (Not a bug — the rationale paragraph correctly explains why this specific instruction was added based on the 2026-08-16 observation.)

Toolchain Gap

• ast-grep-runner.sh unavailable — The runner script at $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/ast-grep-runner.sh could not be accessed due to sandbox restrictions blocking paths outside the working directory. The ast-grep binary itself is present (/usr/bin/ast-grep) but the aggregated runner (which also handles script-tier rule checks) is unreachable. Mechanical funnel was skipped per Step 4.0 fail-fast.

Plan Concerns — Addressed

Concern	Status
Phase 5 conditional logic correctly identifies all mutation types	✅ Addressed — make apply, make buca, kubectl writes, helm install/upgrade, ssh deploys, prod runbook steps are all explicitly listed and the condition correctly gates on "operator rather than the agent"
Shift+Tab instruction may become stale with UI changes	⚠️ Acknowledged — inherent to any UI-specific instruction; rationale paragraph documents the observed failure this was meant to fix
Appends cleanly when no deploy steps exist	✅ Addressed — the precheck is inside the "If code task" block and gated on the workflow assigning mutations to the operator; if either condition is false, nothing is appended

---

{
  "verdict": "approve",
  "summary": "PR adds a permission-mode precheck to Phase 5 of work-on-task-assistant that detects when the extracted workflow assigns cluster/deploy mutations to the operator and appends a verbatim line instructing the user to switch to accept-edits mode via Shift+Tab. The change is well-reasoned (documenting a real 40-minute failure observed 2026-08-16), the conditional logic covers all listed mutation types, and the append integrates cleanly within the existing Phase 5 structure. No correctness or security issues found.",
  "comments": [
    {
      "file": "agents/work-on-task-assistant.md",
      "line": 166,
      "severity": "nit",
      "message": "Shift+Tab is UI-specific. If Claude Code's UI changes this mechanism, the instruction becomes stale without any code change to flag it. Consider a note that this reflects the UI at 2026-08-16, or parameterizing the UI mechanism."
    }
  ],
  "concerns_addressed": [
    "correctness: Phase 5 conditional logic correctly identifies all mutation types (make apply, make buca, kubectl writes, helm install/upgrade, ssh deploys, prod runbook steps) — addressed",
    "correctness: Shift+Tab instruction may become stale with UI changes — acknowledged as inherent risk, rationale paragraph documents the observed failure",
    "correctness: appends cleanly when no deploy steps exist — addressed, precheck is gated inside 'If code task' block and only triggers when workflow assigns mutations to operator"
  ]
}