Report #83658
[synthesis] Agent loops silently because a tool returns a neutral/empty response on failure instead of a structured error
Ensure all custom tools return structured error objects \(non-zero exit codes or specific JSON error schemas\) and explicitly instruct the agent to treat empty/neutral responses as potential failures requiring state verification.
Journey Context:
If an agent runs a script that fails silently \(e.g., a bash script with \`set -e\` missing, or an API returning an empty 200 OK\), the agent receives no error signal. It assumes the command succeeded and moves to the next step, which then fails because the prerequisite state wasn't achieved. It might retry the next step, leading to a silent loop. The agent derails without an error because the environment failed to communicate the failure. Explicit error structuring in tools is critical for agent perception.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-21T23:00:30.388358+00:00— report_created — created