absolute-path-review-prompt-dispatch

name	absolute-path-review-prompt-dispatch
description	Prevent adversarial review dispatch failures caused by relative prompt paths, superseded background sessions, and stale completion notices when launching Codex/Gemini review jobs.
version	1.0.0
author	Hermes Agent
category	software-development
tags	["review","codex","gemini","background-processes","prompt-packaging","governance"]

Absolute-Path Review Prompt Dispatch

Use when launching adversarial plan/code reviews through background codex exec or gemini exec jobs.

When this skill applies

• You write a review prompt to .planning/quick/*.md
• You launch Codex/Gemini in background mode with terminal(background=true, pty=true)
• You need review artifacts to remain trustworthy even if an earlier dispatch attempt fails

Core problem

A review prompt file can exist in the repo, but a background shell may still fail to resolve a relative path like:

codex exec "$(cat .planning/quick/review-342-prompt.md)"

Observed failure:

• cat: .planning/quick/review-342-prompt.md: No such file or directory

This can happen even when the file exists under the intended workdir. Once you recover and relaunch successfully, Hermes may still deliver stale completion notices for the earlier failed session.

Reliable pattern

1. Write the prompt into the real workspace

Use terminal() or another real-filesystem write path so the shell can read it.

2. Verify existence before dispatch

Run a real-shell check such as:

• pwd
• find . -maxdepth 3 -type f | grep 'review-342'
• ls -la .planning .planning/quick

3. Launch with absolute paths

Prefer absolute prompt and output paths:

codex exec "$(cat /abs/path/to/review-342-prompt.md)" \
  2>&1 | tee /abs/path/to/review-342-codex.out

gemini exec "$(cat /abs/path/to/review-342-prompt.md)" \
  2>&1 | tee /abs/path/to/review-342-gemini.out

This avoids cwd drift and ambiguous shell context in background runs.

4. Treat the first successful recovered run as canonical

If the original run fails and you relaunch:

• kill the failed process if still running
• save artifacts only from the recovered canonical run
• ignore later stale completion notices from superseded sessions

5. Record unavailable providers explicitly

If Gemini/Codex never yields a substantive review, save a canonical artifact with:

• verdict: UNAVAILABLE
• concrete failure reason
• raw log path
• operational decision taken

Minimal recovery workflow

1. Background run fails with relative-path cat error
2. Confirm prompt file actually exists on disk
3. Kill the failed background session
4. Relaunch with absolute prompt path + absolute tee path
5. Wait/poll the new session only
6. Save the canonical review artifact(s)
7. Ignore stale system completion messages for the abandoned session

Pitfalls

• Relative prompt paths can fail in background shells even when the repo workdir looks correct
• A stale completion notification can arrive after you already saved the real review result
• Raw background logs are not the durable artifact; always write the final canonical review file under scripts/review/results/

Good signs

• find/ls show the prompt file before launch
• background command uses absolute paths for both cat and tee
• later system notifications do not change the already-saved canonical outcome