From 90e32923ef77d094e758a7140eb8f3e41d755098 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hayt
 <41ea58f1e64c243627e8acde7c89be667052ee6e17d8f021c1195be4324ebf04@buzz.block.builderlab.xyz>
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2026 16:38:47 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(desktop): control_result is delivery confirmation, not
 terminal outcome
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Per interface note from Paul (2026-08-06): control_result statuses
(sent | no_active_turn | channel_full | channel_closed | no_channel)
confirm whether the permission_decision click was delivered to the
harness, not whether the permission was applied/denied.

Terminal outcomes arrive as enveloped acp_write frames correlated by
requestNonce. The card retirement matrix will be wired once Thufir's
review of Duncan's buzz-acp contract lands and NIP-AO is pinned.

Updated the control_result handler to preserve card actionability on
delivery — the PermissionDecisionButtons component already handles
button-level pending-state reset via its own catch handler if the
fire-and-forget send fails.

Co-authored-by: Will Pfleger <pfleger.will@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Will Pfleger <pfleger.will@gmail.com>
---
 .../agents/ui/agentSessionTranscript.ts       | 41 +++++++------------
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 26 deletions(-)

diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentSessionTranscript.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentSessionTranscript.ts
index e3c7f4f9c..1a352ed4e 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentSessionTranscript.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentSessionTranscript.ts
@@ -1177,35 +1177,24 @@ export function processTranscriptEvent(
       }
     }
   } else if (event.kind === "control_result") {
-    // Retire any pending actionable permission card on a `permission_decision`
-    // control result. All terminal statuses (applied, denied, timed_out,
-    // cancelled, uncertain) close the card. "uncertain" gets the pinned copy:
-    // the agent process stopped before the harness could continue, so the
-    // outcome is genuinely unknown — never "denied", never "failed closed".
+    // `control_result` for `permission_decision` is a **delivery confirmation**,
+    // not a terminal outcome. Status values are: sent | no_active_turn |
+    // channel_full | channel_closed | no_channel.
+    //
+    // A non-"sent" status means the click did not reach the harness — the card
+    // stays actionable so the user can retry. Terminal outcomes (applied,
+    // denied, timed_out, cancelled, uncertain) arrive as enveloped acp_write
+    // frames correlated by requestNonce (see the acp_write branch above).
+    // That path will be wired once Thufir's review of Duncan's contract lands.
     const payload = asRecord(event.payload);
     const frameType = asString(payload.type);
     if (frameType === "permission_decision") {
-      const nonce = asString(payload.requestNonce);
-      const terminalStatus = asString(payload.status);
-      const itemId = nonce ? d.pendingPermissionsByNonce.get(nonce) : null;
-      if (itemId && terminalStatus) {
-        const existing = d.itemsById.get(itemId);
-        if (existing?.type === "lifecycle") {
-          const outcomeText =
-            terminalStatus === "uncertain"
-              ? "Approval outcome unknown; agent process stopped before it could continue."
-              : describePermissionOutcome(terminalStatus, null, new Map());
-          replaceItem(d, itemId, {
-            ...existing,
-            outcome: outcomeText,
-            actionable: false,
-          });
-        }
-        if (nonce) {
-          d.pendingPermissionsByNonce = new Map(d.pendingPermissionsByNonce);
-          d.pendingPermissionsByNonce.delete(nonce);
-        }
-      }
+      const deliveryStatus = asString(payload.status);
+      // If delivery failed, the PermissionDecisionButtons component handles
+      // button-level pending-state reset via its own catch handler. No card
+      // retirement here — the card stays actionable until a terminal acp_write
+      // frame confirms the outcome.
+      void deliveryStatus; // acknowledged; no card mutation on delivery results
     }
   }