Claude Code Silent Edit Revert Escalation

Date: 2026-05-03 Related bead: soc-ff2p.7

Summary

AgentOps research reproduced a tracked-file edit that appeared to succeed, then returned to HEAD with git status clean. The surveyed AgentOps mechanisms do not explain that behavior. This document is the escalation packet to file upstream or keep as the local internal report when no upstream URL is available.

Reproduction Recipe

Start a Claude Code session in a clean AgentOps worktree.
Perform three or more sequential Edit-tool calls against tracked files under lib/, scripts/, or skills/.

After each Edit success response, immediately run:

grep -n "<unique marker>" <edited-file>
git diff HEAD -- <edited-file>
git status --short

Capture a failure when the marker is missing, git diff is empty, and git status is clean.

Attach:

git reflog --date=iso | head -20
lsof +D . | grep '<edited-file>' || true
shasum -a 256 <edited-file>

AgentOps Non-Causes Already Surveyed

Candidate	Result
`hooks/dangerous-git-guard.sh`	Blocks destructive git commands; does not restore files.
`hooks/go-vet-post-edit.sh`	Runs vet checks only; no git mutation.
`hooks/edit-knowledge-surface.sh`	Injects context; no file restore path.
`hooks/session-end-maintenance.sh`	Confined to `.agents/` session cleanup.
Overnight checkpoint rollback	Scoped to `.agents/overnight/` paths.
RPI supervisor fetch/rebase	Runs during landing, not between Edit calls; would leave normal git evidence.
bd/Dolt autosync	Tracker state only; not tracked source files under `lib/`, `scripts/`, or `skills/`.

Requested Upstream Fix

Claude Code should expose enough post-Edit evidence to distinguish a real write from a harness-level restore or file-sync race:

post-write file hash in the Edit response or audit stream;
a setting to disable background restore/sync for tracked repo files;
an event log entry when the harness rewrites a file after an Edit operation;
clear diagnostics when a tool reports success but the final on-disk content does not contain the requested change.

Local Defensive Practice

Until the upstream behavior is resolved:

verify a unique marker and git diff after each edit batch;
stage completed files immediately after verification;
commit per wave when running multi-file implementation work;
attach the commands above if the symptom recurs.

Upstream URL

Not filed from this environment. This artifact is the local escalation packet; replace this line with the upstream issue URL when filed.

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