docs(roadmap): add #686 — doctor help json lacks check schema

ROADMAP.md

@@ -6429,18 +6429,46 @@ Original filing (2026-04-18): the session emitted `SessionStart hook (completed)
 
 450. **`prompt` emits `kind:"missing_credentials"` JSON on STDERR (not stdout), leaving stdout at 0 bytes — automation pattern `output=$(claw prompt hello --output-format json)` captures nothing on auth-absent failure; `doctor` correctly surfaces `auth.status:"warn"` with `api_key_present:false` but exposes no `prompt_ready:false` field that automation can check before invoking `prompt`** — dogfooded 2026-05-16 by Jobdori on `a35ee9a0` in response to Clawhip pinpoint nudge at `1505208225321062521`. Exact reproduction (isolated env, no creds, fresh git repo, HEAD `a35ee9a0`): `timeout 5 env -i HOME=$ISOLATED_HOME PATH=$PATH CLAW_CONFIG_HOME=$PROBE/.claw-cfg claw prompt hello --output-format json > stdout.txt 2> stderr.txt` → stdout = **0 bytes**, stderr = 195 bytes containing `{"error":"missing Anthropic credentials…","exit_code":1,"hint":null,"kind":"missing_credentials","type":"error"}`, exit code 1. Confirms Gaebal's `1505208553793781792` pinpoint that `prompt` timeout + zero bytes was the prior state — HEAD `a35ee9a0` now correctly exits 1 with `kind:"missing_credentials"` **but the envelope is still routed to stderr** (issue #447 class, same class as prior entries #422, #435). **Contrast with `doctor`:** `claw doctor --output-format json 2>/dev/null` succeeds to stdout with `checks[auth].status:"warn"`, `api_key_present:false`, `auth_token_present:false` — but the auth check has no `prompt_ready:false` field. Automation that gates on `doctor` before invoking `prompt` must re-derive readiness from `api_key_present && auth_token_present` — there is no single canonical boolean. **Three compound problems:** (a) **stdout-empty on `--output-format json` failure**: same class as #447; `prompt`'s error envelope goes to stderr, not stdout. The canonical automation idiom `if ! result=$(claw prompt "q" --output-format json); then echo "$result" | jq .kind; fi` sees `$result=""` on failure — the jq call gets nothing. All `--output-format json` error paths must route JSON to stdout per #447 contract; (b) **`doctor` missing `prompt_ready` field**: `doctor --output-format json` already knows auth is absent (`api_key_present:false`) but surfaces no derived `prompt_ready:bool` or `prompt_blocked_reason:string` field. Automation must infer readiness from `api_key_present || auth_token_present || legacy_*_present` — a 5-field OR across legacy fields that is fragile as auth mechanisms evolve. A single `prompt_ready:false` (with `prompt_blocked_reason:"auth_missing"`) inside the `auth` check would give downstream a stable contract; (c) **`claw prompt` with no auth does no preflight and fires straight at the API**: the preflight check that `doctor` runs (auth discovery) is not reused by `prompt` to emit a fast typed error before attempting the network call. Both Gaebal's pinpoint (prompt hanging silently on older HEAD) and the current behavior (prompt hitting auth gate after a brief API attempt) stem from the same root: prompt does not short-circuit at the point where `doctor` already knows auth is absent. If `doctor` can emit `kind:"doctor"` with `auth.status:"warn"` in ~20ms without a network call, `prompt` should emit `kind:"missing_credentials"` in the same window and output it to stdout. **Required fix shape:** (a) `prompt --output-format json` must write the `kind:"missing_credentials"` JSON envelope to **stdout**, not stderr — same fix as #447 for all error envelopes; (b) add `prompt_ready:bool` and `prompt_blocked_reason:string|null` to the `auth` check in `doctor --output-format json`; derive it as `api_key_present || auth_token_present || legacy_saved_oauth_present`; (c) `prompt` must run the credential preflight check (same codepath as doctor's auth check) before attempting any API call and emit `{"kind":"missing_credentials","prompt_blocked_reason":"auth_missing"}` on **stdout** with exit 1 if the check fails; (d) `--output-format json` stdout routing fix must cover: `prompt`, `session list` (cross-ref #449), `skills uninstall` (cross-ref #431), `resume` (cross-ref #435), `acp serve` (cross-ref #443) — the full `kind:"missing_credentials"` class; (e) regression test: `claw prompt hello --output-format json` with no creds writes JSON to stdout (0 bytes stderr), exits 1, `kind:"missing_credentials"`, in under 200ms (no network attempt). **Why this matters:** `prompt` is the primary consumer entry point. Auth-absent failure routing to stderr breaks every automation wrapper that captures `$(claw prompt ... --output-format json)`. The `doctor` preflight metadata gap means auth-readiness checks require parsing 5 legacy fields instead of reading one boolean. Cross-references #447 (all JSON error envelopes on stderr), #449 (session list hits auth gate), #431 (skills uninstall hits auth gate), #357 (auth gate on local ops cluster), #422 (exit-code parity). Source: Jobdori live dogfood, `a35ee9a0`, 2026-05-16.
 
-458. **There is no portable success-detection field across `claw <subcommand> --output-format json` envelopes — only `kind` is universal; `status`, `action`, `summary`, `message`, and `report` are present on different subsets, so a claw that writes `if response["status"] == "ok"` silently breaks on 7 of the 9 standard subcommands** — dogfooded 2026-05-24 for the 09:00 Clawhip pinpoint nudge at message `1508031832669814834`, reproduced on local `./rust/target/debug/claw` `git_sha 003b739d` (origin/main `f8e1bb72`). Catalog of top-level fields in successful `--output-format json` envelopes for the nine standard subcommands (clean isolated env, no `.claw.json`, fresh git-init workspace):
+686. **`doctor --help --output-format json` now returns parseable JSON on current main, but it is still message-only (`{kind, command, topic, message}`) and does not expose the diagnostic check schema, local-only/no-provider contract, or expected output fields (`checks[]`, check names, levels/statuses), so wrappers cannot discover how to consume the primary preflight surface without scraping prose or running the command first** — dogfooded 2026-05-24 for the 22:30 Clawhip nudge at message `1508235675546419210`, reproduced on a freshly rebuilt current `origin/main` binary (`git_sha f8e1bb726`) from `/tmp/cc-probe-main-2130`. Active claw-code sessions: none.
 
-    | Subcommand | `kind` | `status` | `action` | `summary` | `message` | `report` |
+    Reproduction:
-    |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-    | `status` | ✅ `"status"` | ✅ `"ok"` | – | – | – | – |
-    | `mcp` | ✅ `"mcp"` | ✅ `"ok"` | ✅ `"list"` | – | – | – |
-    | `skills` | ✅ `"skills"` | – | ✅ `"list"` | ✅ | – | – |
-    | `agents` | ✅ `"agents"` | – | ✅ `"list"` | ✅ | – | – |
-    | `doctor` | ✅ `"doctor"` | – | – | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
-    | `sandbox` | ✅ `"sandbox"` | – | – | – | – | – |
-    | `init` | ✅ `"init"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
-    | `system-prompt` | ✅ `"system-prompt"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
-    | `version` | ✅ `"version"` | – | – | – | ✅ | – |
 
-    **Only `kind` is universal.** Every other top-level discriminator is present on some envelopes and missing on others. A claw orchestrator that does `if json.status == "ok"` works for exactly 2 of 9 subcommands (`status`, `mcp`) and **silently returns `false`/`None` for the other 7 because the field doesn't exist**. A claw that does `if json.action == "list"` works for 3 of 9 (`mcp`, `skills`, `agents`) and breaks for the rest. There is **no single field a claw can read to determine "did this subcommand succeed?"** other than parsing stdout-vs-stderr routing (broken by #447/#450/#340/#341) or checking process exit code (broken by #435/#444). **Why distinct from existing items:** #90/#91/#92/#110/#115/#116/#130 cover **error envelope** shape asymmetry (the `{error, type}` shape vs `{kind, error}` shape); #340/#341/#347/#349/#350 cover specific subcommand envelopes where a not-found/unsupported state is shaped wrong; #121 covers the `doctor` `message`/`report` byte-duplication. **This pinpoint is the cross-subcommand catalog of success envelopes** — the structural fact that no single top-level field is present on every success envelope means **no portable success detection is possible** across the catalog without per-subcommand special-casing. It is the meta-pattern that the per-subcommand bugs above are individual instances of. **Trace:** every envelope is emitted from a separate code path with no shared envelope constructor. `status` JSON at `rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs:5738` emits `"status": "ok"` directly. `mcp` JSON elsewhere emits both `status:"ok"` and `action:"list"`. `skills`/`agents` emit `action:"list"` and `summary` but no `status`. `doctor` JSON at `main.rs:1905-1923` emits `kind`/`message`/`report`/`has_failures`/`summary{ok,warn,fail,total}`/`checks[]` — no `status` field at all, while every `checks[i]` has its own `status`. `sandbox`/`init`/`system-prompt`/`version` each emit different ad-hoc shapes. There is no `EnvelopeBuilder` / `BaseEnvelope` shared struct that guarantees a uniform success/error discriminator across subcommands. **Why it matters:** structured JSON output exists precisely so claws can write generic dispatch logic. With the current catalog: (a) a claw that wants a single "is this OK?" predicate has to memorize 9 different rules — `status == "ok"` for two, `has_failures == false` for `doctor`, no field at all for `sandbox`/`init`/`system-prompt`/`version`. (b) A claw that wants to lift the human-readable summary has to check `message` for 4 commands, `report` for 1 (`doctor`, where `message == report` byte-for-byte per #121), `summary` for 3, and "no human summary at all" for 2. (c) A generic "render any claw JSON response" UI cannot exist — the consumer must implement a per-`kind` template. (d) New subcommands inherit the chaos: when a contributor adds `claw foo --output-format json`, there is no shared envelope they must conform to, so they invent another shape. The 458 entry locks in the cross-envelope catalog before more subcommands ship. **Required fix shape:** (a) **define a single shared `BaseEnvelope` for all `--output-format json` success responses**: `{kind: "<subcommand>", status: "ok"|"warn"|"error", action: "<verb>"|null, summary: "<one-line>", details: <command-specific-payload>}`. The two universal fields are `kind` + `status`; `action` and `summary` are optional-but-encouraged. (b) **Drop ad-hoc `message`/`report` fields** in favor of putting prose in a documented `summary` (one line) + optional `text_render` (full prose, only if a human-text rendering is genuinely needed in JSON mode, with a clear note that machines should not parse it). (c) **`doctor` rollup**: top-level `status` derived from `has_failures` and `summary.warnings` (`"ok"` when both zero, `"warn"` when warnings>0 and failures=0, `"error"` when failures>0); de-duplicate `message`/`report` (per #121). (d) **Regression coverage**: a single contract test that parses every `claw <subcommand> --output-format json` output, asserts `kind` is the subcommand name and `status ∈ {"ok","warn","error"}`, and rejects any envelope that omits either. (e) **Doc the envelope** in a new `docs/json-envelope-contract.md` so new subcommands have a single template to copy from. **Acceptance check (one-liner):** `for c in status mcp skills agents doctor sandbox init system-prompt version; do claw $c --output-format json 2>&1 | jq -e '.kind and (.status | IN("ok","warn","error"))' || echo "FAIL: $c"; done` should print no FAILs. Source: gaebal-gajae dogfood follow-up for the 2026-05-24 09:00 Clawhip pinpoint nudge at message `1508031832669814834`.
+    ```bash
+    $ env -i HOME=/tmp/iso41/home PATH=/usr/bin:/bin TERM=dumb \
+        claw doctor --help --output-format json
+    {
+      "command": "doctor",
+      "kind": "help",
+      "message": "Doctor\n  Usage            claw doctor [--output-format <format>]\n  Purpose          diagnose local auth, config, workspace, sandbox, and build metadata\n  Output           local-only health report; no provider request or session resume required\n  Formats          text (default), json\n  Related          /doctor · claw --resume latest /doctor",
+      "topic": "doctor"
+    }
+    ```
+
+    The help object is valid JSON, but all actionable metadata is trapped in `message`. There are no structured `usage`, `purpose`, `formats`, `related`, `local_only`, `requires_credentials:false`, `requires_provider_request:false`, `output_fields`, `check_names`, `status_values`, or `failure_contract` fields.
+
+    Contrast with the actual doctor JSON surface (same command family):
+
+    ```bash
+    $ claw doctor --output-format json
+    {
+      "kind": "doctor",
+      "status": "...",
+      "checks": [
+        {"name":"auth", ...},
+        {"name":"config", ...},
+        {"name":"install_source", ...},
+        {"name":"workspace", ...},
+        {"name":"sandbox", ...},
+        {"name":"system", ...}
+      ],
+      ...
+    }
+    ```
+
+    And contrast with `export --help --output-format json` on the same rebuilt binary, which already exposes structured `usage`, `purpose`, `formats`, `related`, `defaults`, and `options[]`. The doctor help surface therefore satisfies JSON validity but not schema discoverability for the most important local preflight command.
+
+    **Why distinct from existing items:** #357 originally covered `doctor --help --output-format json` returning plain text. Current main no longer reproduces that exact failure: it returns JSON. #686 covers the next-layer contract gap: JSON is message-only and does not describe the doctor schema. #325 is the broad top-level help prose-wrapper problem; #684 and #685 are command-specific schema-depth gaps for `init` and `version`. This entry is doctor-specific because `doctor` is the primary automation preflight and its check schema is what claws branch on before running work. It also complements #100/#102/#107 style doctor-coverage gaps: before adding checks, help should expose which checks and status vocabulary are available.
+
+    **Why this matters:** `doctor` is the command operators and claws run when setup is broken. A wrapper should be able to learn from help, without running health checks yet, that `doctor` is local-only, credential-free, produces `checks[]`, and uses check/status levels suitable for gating. Today it must scrape prose or run `doctor` and reverse-engineer the response. That makes preflight adapters brittle and hides schema changes from automation.
+
+    **Required fix shape:** (a) Extend `doctor --help --output-format json` with structured fields such as `usage:"claw doctor [--output-format <format>]"`, `purpose`, `formats:["text","json"]`, `related:["/doctor","claw --resume latest /doctor"]`, `local_only:true`, `requires_credentials:false`, `requires_provider_request:false`, `mutates_workspace:false`, `output_fields:["kind","status","checks","message"]`, `check_names:["auth","config","install_source","workspace","sandbox","system"]` (or a versioned stable/default list), `status_values:["ok","warn","fail"]`, and optional `schema_version`. (b) Keep `message` as human summary only. (c) Add regression coverage proving `claw doctor --help --output-format json | jq '.output_fields'` includes `checks`, and that `.requires_credentials == false`. (d) When new doctor checks land, update the help schema from the same registry/source used to build the report so help/check output cannot drift. **Acceptance check:** `claw doctor --help --output-format json | jq -e '.command=="doctor" and .local_only==true and .requires_credentials==false and ([.output_fields[]] | index("checks")) and ([.status_values[]] | index("warn"))'` should pass; currently those structured fields are absent. Source: gaebal-gajae dogfood for the 2026-05-24 22:30 Clawhip nudge.