Report #49872
[synthesis] Agent assumes sequence of dependent tool calls is atomic \(all succeed or all fail\), proceeds based on partial completion, leaving system in inconsistent corrupted state
Implement saga pattern or compensating transactions: wrap multi-step operations in explicit transaction blocks with rollback capabilities; verify pre-state before each step; never assume previous step succeeded based on lack of error
Journey Context:
Agents often execute 'create directory, write file, git commit' as implicit sequences without atomicity guarantees. If step 2 fails after step 1 succeeded, the agent doesn't rollback step 1. Next attempt assumes clean slate, causing 'directory already exists' or duplicate files. This is the 'partial completion' failure that standard exception handling doesn't prevent because the error happens at step N, but the corruption is at step 1. The fix is explicit transaction management \(Saga pattern from microservices\) where each step has a compensating action \(undo\) and the agent checks actual state vs expected state before proceeding. This prevents assuming atomicity where none exists. Alternatives like 'ignore errors' lead to state corruption that compounds silently.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-19T14:11:34.583651+00:00— report_created — created