@falai/agent 1.2.8 → 2.0.0

package/docs/concepts/directives.md

@@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
+---
+title: "Directives"
+description: "The flat object shape any tool, hook, or branch returns to write state, redirect the conversation, or speak verbatim."
+type: concept
+order: 3
+---
+
+# Directives
+
+> **Where this is introduced:** [Turn pipeline](./pipeline.md)
+
+A directive is the single language `@falai/agent` speaks for control
+flow. When a tool decides "this user is ineligible," it returns
+`{ goTo: "Denial", reply: "Sorry — you don't qualify." }`. When a
+finalize hook closes a booking, it returns
+`{ complete: true, dataUpdate: { bookingId } }`. When a pre-phase
+signal detects a frustrated user, it dispatches
+`{ appendPrompt: ["Lead with empathy."] }`. Different jobs, different
+emitters, one shape.
+
+This page explains why the shape is flat, what each field does, how
+they merge when more than one handler emits during the same turn, and
+how `Directive`, `PreDirective`, and `SignalDirective` form the
+inheritance chain that lets pre-LLM hooks and signals add capability
+without adding a parallel type system. The page is conceptual — the
+[directive reference](../reference/directive.md) carries the
+field-by-field contract.
+
+## Why a flat shape
+
+An earlier draft of v2 modeled directives as a discriminated union:
+`{ type: 'goto_flow', flow: 'X' }`, `{ type: 'complete', next: ... }`,
+`{ type: 'abort', reason: ... }`, and so on. The shape that ships is
+flat — a single interface with optional fields, no `type`
+discriminator, no builder, no factory functions. Four reasons drove
+the decision, and each one is visible at the call site once you know
+to look for it.
+
+**Single shape.** Every emitter returns the same object literal. A
+finalize hook does not have to choose between `Directive.goto({...})`
+and `Directive.complete({...})` and `Directive.reply({...})` — it
+returns `{}` with whichever fields it needs. Authors learn one shape
+and reach for it from tools, from prepare hooks, from finalize hooks,
+from signal handlers, from branch `then` targets. The framework's
+control-flow vocabulary is one type wide. The same object literal is
+also persistable verbatim as `session.pendingDirective`, so the shape
+that sits in source code is the same shape that crosses the
+persistence boundary.
+
+**Trivially mergeable.** Algorithm 4 — the per-turn merge that the
+pipeline runs over the directive bus — works on a flat object: pick
+the winning position field by precedence, last-wins for `reply`,
+shallow-merge state writes, concatenate the pre-LLM arrays. A nested
+discriminated union would force a per-variant merge case at every
+combinator: how do you merge a `goto_flow` with a `complete`? With a
+`reply`? With a `dataUpdate`? Every cross-variant combination becomes
+its own special case. With a flat object, "merge" is one function
+that does not branch on shape.
+
+**Validates statically.** TypeScript narrowing on field presence is
+clean. `if (d.goTo) { /* d.goTo is string | object */ }` is the
+entire pattern. A discriminated union adds one extra branching level
+at every call site — `if (d.type === 'goto_flow') { /* d is the
+goto_flow variant */ }` — and the variant types repeat the same
+optional-fields prose for state writes and `reply`. The flat shape
+moves "is this a position directive or a state directive or a reply"
+from a type-level question to a runtime question that the merge
+algorithm answers once.
+
+**Composable.** A directive carries up to four orthogonal payloads
+without forcing them into a hierarchy: at most one position field,
+optional state writes (`dataUpdate` / `contextUpdate`), an optional
+verbatim `reply`, and on `PreDirective` an optional set of pre-LLM
+augmentations. `dataUpdate` works alongside `goTo`. `reply` works
+alongside `complete`. A booking tool's success result writes the
+booking id and finishes the flow in one return value:
+`{ complete: true, dataUpdate: { bookingId } }`. A bridge utterance
+at a flow boundary writes nothing and only speaks: `{ reply: "Let me
+transfer you." }`. The same primitive covers both because the fields
+do not exclude each other by shape — only by validation.
+
+The trade-off is that exhaustive `case` checking on a `type`
+discriminator is gone. The pipeline replaces it with structural
+validation (`flow.validate`) — one position field at most, no empty
+`goTo: {}`, no `reply` alongside `abort` — that runs at apply time
+anyway, since flow and step lookups are runtime checks regardless. The
+exchange is one less compile-time check for a far cleaner authoring
+surface and a merge algorithm that does not branch on shape.
+
+## Position fields and their precedence
+
+A directive carries at most one **position field**. Position fields
+answer the question "where does the conversation go next?" The five
+options span every form of position control the framework offers:
+
+| Field | What it means |
+|-------|---------------|
+| `goTo` | Jump to another flow. |
+| `goToStep` | Jump to a step (within the current flow, or — in the object form — within another flow). |
+| `complete` | Mark the current flow done. The flow's completion logic runs. |
+| `abort` | End the conversation. Optionally clear the session. |
+| `reset` | Restart the current flow. Optionally clear its declared fields. |
+
+Each of `goTo`, `goToStep`, `complete`, `abort`, and `reset` accepts
+both a shorthand and an object form. The shorthand expresses the
+common case (`goTo: "Booking"`, `complete: true`, `abort: "denied"`).
+The object form exposes the optional knobs — `reason` strings for
+observability, `data` for pre-entry state writes, `clearSession` /
+`clearData` flags for the destructive variants. The fields are
+mutually exclusive: setting two at once throws
+`FlowConfigurationError` at validation. There is no "go to *and*
+abort" — only one position can win per directive.
+
+When more than one emitter writes a position field during the same
+turn — a tool returns `goTo` and a finalize hook returns `complete` —
+the merge algorithm picks one winner by precedence:
+
+```
+abort > complete > goTo / goToStep > reset
+```
+
+The order encodes intent. **`abort` always wins.** A handler that
+ended the conversation cannot be overridden by a later "go somewhere
+else" — there is no somewhere else. **`complete` beats `goTo` and
+`goToStep`.** The flow is ending; any follow-up jump belongs in
+`complete.next` (which chains another directive after completion),
+not as a competing position field. **`goTo` and `goToStep` share a
+tier.** Both express "next position is here" — the difference is
+flow-level vs step-level granularity, and within the tier last
+emission wins. **`reset` is lowest.** Any explicit jump out of the
+current flow beats a "restart this flow" emitted earlier in the
+phase.
+
+Within the same tier, the most recent emission wins, with a debug
+log naming all losers so a noisy turn is diagnosable from the trace.
+The precedence ordering does not change between phases: it applies to
+the pre-LLM bus, the post-LLM bus, and the signal phases identically.
+
+## State writes
+
+Two fields — `dataUpdate` and `contextUpdate` — write to session
+state. Both are `Partial<>` slices of their respective surfaces:
+`dataUpdate?: Partial<TData>` writes into `session.data`,
+`contextUpdate?: Partial<TContext>` writes into `session.context`.
+Both fire their respective hooks (`flow.hooks.onDataUpdate`,
+`flow.hooks.onContextUpdate`) after the merge applies, and both run
+through schema validation atomically — every field across every
+emitter on this turn is checked together, and the session is not
+mutated unless the whole set passes.
+
+State writes are **additive** and shallow-merged across emitters in
+emission order. If a flow-level `onEnter` writes
+`{ dataUpdate: { tier: "vip" } }` and a step-level `prepare` writes
+`{ dataUpdate: { lastSeen: now } }`, the merged result is
+`{ tier: "vip", lastSeen: now }` — neither hook needs to know about
+the other. On key collision, last write wins. The merge is shallow —
+top-level keys are replaced wholesale, nested objects are not
+deep-merged. To update a nested object, read it from `data`, merge
+in code, write back the full sub-object. Deep merge is intentionally
+absent because it would silently disagree with TypeScript's
+`Partial<>` shape: the type says "I'm overwriting this key," and the
+runtime should agree.
+
+State writes always apply, regardless of what the position fields do.
+A directive with `{ goTo: "Denial", dataUpdate: { reason: "expired" }
+}` jumps flows *and* writes the reason. A directive with only
+`{ dataUpdate: {...} }` writes state and stays where it is. Position
+fields and state writes are orthogonal payloads; they don't compete
+for the same slot.
+
+## Reply as a verbatim utterance
+
+The `reply: string` field is the framework's way of letting code
+speak. When a directive sets `reply`, the LLM call for the entered
+step is skipped this turn and the literal string becomes the
+assistant's message. The text is taken verbatim — no templating, no
+post-processing, no "the model rephrased it" surprise.
+
+`reply` is the right tool for utterances that should be exact:
+confirmations ("Booking confirmed."), bridges ("Connecting you with a
+specialist now."), refusals ("Sorry — you don't qualify."), and
+boilerplate at flow boundaries. It is the wrong tool for anything
+that should adapt to context — that's what the model is for. The two
+shapes coexist on the same step boundary: `reply` for the line, the
+LLM for the conversation.
+
+`reply` co-validates with two other fields. With **`abort`**, it is
+rejected at validation — an aborted conversation cannot deliver a
+reply. With **`halt: true`** (a `PreDirective` field, see below), it
+is the assistant message and the turn ends with
+`stoppedReason: 'reply'`; if `halt` is set without `reply`, the turn
+ends with `stoppedReason: 'halt'` and an empty body. Across multiple
+emitters in the same turn, `reply` is **last-wins** — the most
+recent emission overrides earlier ones, with a debug log so the
+override is visible in the trace.
+
+`reply` is the same shape on `Directive` and on `PreDirective` —
+there is no separate "speak before the LLM" vs "speak after the
+LLM" type. The phase the directive runs in determines whether the
+reply replaces a message that would have been generated (pre-LLM) or
+replaces one that just was (post-LLM). The field stays the same.
+
+## PreDirective fields
+
+`PreDirective` is the `Directive` variant that pre-LLM hooks return.
+It inherits every base field — position writes, state writes,
+`reply` — and adds three more that only make sense before this turn's
+LLM call: `appendPrompt`, `injectTools`, and `halt`.
+
+**`appendPrompt: string[]`** is the prompt nudge slot. Each string is
+a sentence the prompt composer appends to the system prompt for this
+turn only. A flow-level `onEnter` that detects a VIP caller can add
+"This caller is a VIP — confirm preferences before suggesting
+options." A step-level `prepare` that detects a returning customer
+can add "The user is a returning customer; skip introductions." Both
+fire on the same turn, and both sentences land in the prompt's
+per-turn appendage slot in emission order. The slot is never cached
+(the prompt section cache memoizes static sections only) and never
+persisted — `appendPrompt` lives for one turn and is gone.
+
+**`injectTools: Tool[]`** is the per-turn tool slot. Tools listed
+here are added to the available tool list for this turn only,
+stacked on top of the agent → flow → step → transient resolution
+chain. A `prepare` hook that detects an ambiguous request can inject
+a `lookup_account` tool for a single LLM call without registering it
+on the step or the flow. The slot is never persisted — tool
+references are functions, and functions are not JSON-serializable —
+so the field is structurally one-turn-only.
+
+**`halt: boolean`** is the kill switch. When any pre-phase emitter
+sets `halt: true`, the LLM call is skipped entirely. If `reply` is
+also set, the verbatim string becomes the assistant message. If not,
+the turn ends with `stoppedReason: 'halt'` and an empty body. `halt`
+merges by **logical-OR** — a single emitter setting it is enough to
+halt the turn. The field is the framework's circuit breaker: a hook
+that detects an unresolvable state can stop the turn outright
+without competing with other emitters.
+
+The three `PreDirective`-only fields are stripped from
+`session.pendingDirective` before persistence — `pendingDirective`
+holds a plain `Directive`, and the augmentation fields cannot survive
+across turns by design. If a post-LLM hook returns a `PreDirective`
+with these fields set, they are dropped with a debug warning: an
+`appendPrompt` after the fact has no prompt to append to, an
+`injectTools` after the fact has no LLM call to inject into, and a
+`halt` after the fact has no LLM call to halt. The remaining base
+`Directive` portion is honored.
+
+`appendPrompt` is concatenated across emitters in emission order
+without deduplication — duplicate sentences from different sources
+are preserved (a flow-level "be polite" plus a step-level "be polite"
+is acceptable redundancy). `injectTools` is concatenated and then
+deduped by `Tool.id`, with the later definition winning — typically a
+step-level injection overriding a flow-level default. `halt` is
+logical-OR. The merge rules for the inherited base fields stay
+identical: position fields by precedence, `reply` last-wins, state
+writes shallow-merged.
+
+## The inheritance chain
+
+`Directive` is the base. `PreDirective` extends it with the three
+pre-LLM-only fields. `SignalDirective` extends `PreDirective` further
+with two signal-specific fields. The chain is one direction —
+capabilities accumulate as you go down — and each level is the return
+type of a specific class of emitter:
+
+```mermaid
+classDiagram
+    Directive <|-- PreDirective
+    PreDirective <|-- SignalDirective
+
+    class Directive {
+        +goTo? string | object
+        +goToStep? string | object
+        +complete? true | object
+        +abort? string | object
+        +reset? true | object
+        +reply? string
+        +dataUpdate? Partial~TData~
+        +contextUpdate? Partial~TContext~
+    }
+
+    class PreDirective {
+        +appendPrompt? string[]
+        +injectTools? Tool[]
+        +halt? boolean
+    }
+
+    class SignalDirective {
+        +stopOtherSignals? boolean
+        +replyWith? string | function
+    }
+
+    note for Directive "Returned by tools, finalize hooks, branches.\nPersistable as session.pendingDirective."
+    note for PreDirective "Returned by prepare hooks, onEnter hooks.\nTransient — one-turn lifetime."
+    note for SignalDirective "Returned by signals (pre / post / both phases)."
+```
+
+`Directive` is what tools (return value or `ctx.dispatch`), `finalize`
+hooks, `flow.hooks.onComplete`, and branch `then` targets return. It
+is plain JSON-serializable data — the same shape that sits on the
+session as `pendingDirective` and crosses the persistence boundary.
+
+`PreDirective` is what `flow.hooks.onEnter`, `step.hooks.onEnter`,
+and `step.hooks.prepare` return. The three augmentation fields and a
+live `Tool[]` reference make it non-serializable; the type system
+encodes the one-turn lifetime by being a structurally separate type
+that the engine strips before persistence.
+
+`SignalDirective` is what signal handlers return — pre-phase
+handlers, post-phase handlers, and `both`-phase handlers all use the
+same type. The two added fields are signal-pipeline-specific:
+`stopOtherSignals` skips remaining handlers in the same phase (it is
+consumed inside the signal pipeline, not the directive bus), and
+`replyWith` is a late-binding `reply` that accepts a function form
+evaluated at emit time. Phase semantics still apply: when a
+`SignalDirective` runs in the post-phase, the inherited `appendPrompt`
+/ `injectTools` / `halt` fields are dropped (they have no meaning
+after the LLM call) and inherited position fields set
+`pendingDirective` for the *next* turn rather than redirecting this
+one.
+
+The three types share one merge algorithm and one validation pass.
+A pre-phase signal can dispatch a `SignalDirective`, a `prepare` hook
+can return a `PreDirective`, and the engine merges them through the
+same `flow.merge` that handles tool directives — the inheritance
+chain exists to widen the type at the call site without splitting the
+runtime.
+
+## The `flow` namespace
+
+There are no constructor builders for directives. Directives are
+plain object literals — that is the whole point of the flat shape.
+What the framework does export is a small runtime helper namespace
+for working with directives in code: validating shapes that arrived
+from outside the framework, merging two directives by hand, and
+narrowing `unknown` values in type guards.
+
+```typescript
+import { flow } from "@falai/agent";
+
+flow.isDirective(x);   // structural type guard
+flow.merge(a, b);      // Algorithm 4 merge of two directives
+flow.validate(d);      // throws FlowConfigurationError on invalid shape
+```
+
+`flow.isDirective(x)` is a structural type guard. It returns `true`
+for any non-null, non-array object — primitives, `null`, `undefined`,
+arrays, and functions are filtered out. Use it to narrow an `unknown`
+value coming off an RPC payload or a queue message before passing it
+to `applyDirective` or `agent.dispatch`.
+
+`flow.merge(a, b)` is the same Algorithm 4 the engine runs internally
+on the per-turn directive bus, exposed for callers that need to
+compose results before dispatching them. Position fields merge by
+precedence (`abort > complete > goTo / goToStep > reset`, last-wins
+within the same tier), `reply` is last-wins, `dataUpdate` and
+`contextUpdate` shallow-merge in emission order, `appendPrompt`
+concatenates without deduplication, `injectTools` concatenates and
+then dedupes by `Tool.id` (later definition wins), and `halt` is
+logical-OR. The function is generic in the shared subtype: merging
+two `PreDirective`s yields a `PreDirective`, merging two plain
+`Directive`s yields a `Directive`.
+
+`flow.validate(d)` enforces three structural invariants and throws
+`FlowConfigurationError` when any fails: at most one position field
+per directive, no empty `goTo: {}` (the object form requires a flow
+id), no `reply` alongside `abort`. The pipeline calls it eagerly on
+every emitted directive, so downstream code can rely on shape. It
+does **not** validate that referenced flows or steps exist — that
+check happens at apply time, against the agent's flow registry, which
+the validator does not have a handle on.
+
+The namespace's design intent is "runtime helpers, not authoring
+sugar." If you're constructing a directive in source, write the
+object literal. If you're handling a directive that came from
+elsewhere, narrow it with `flow.isDirective`, validate it with
+`flow.validate`, and merge it with `flow.merge`. The seam between
+"control flow as code" and "control flow as data" is exactly that
+small.
+
+## Where to go next
+
+The directive's mental model is in this page; the field-by-field
+contract — every position field's shorthand and object form, every
+state-write rule, every typed error the validator can throw — is in
+the [Directive reference](../reference/directive.md). The pre-LLM
+extras have their own [PreDirective reference](../reference/pre-directive.md).
+The signal-specific additions live in [Signals](../reference/signals.md).
+
+When the goal is to *use* directives in handlers, the
+[Flow control guide](../guides/flow-control.md) walks through the
+recipes: redirecting from a tool, completing a flow with a chained
+follow-up, aborting on a permission failure, replying verbatim from a
+finalize hook, dispatching a directive from outside a turn. When the
+goal is to *understand* where directives sit in the per-turn
+sequence, [Turn pipeline](./pipeline.md) covers the bus, the merge
+phases, and the resolution precedence around the directive surface.
+
+**Next:** [createAgent reference](../reference/create-agent.md)