aether-code 0.23.0 → 0.24.0

package/bin/aether-code.js

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import {
 import readline from "node:readline";
 import { c, errorLine, divider, setTerminalTitle } from "../src/render.js";
 
-const VERSION = "0.23.0";
+const VERSION = "0.24.0";
 
 /**
  * Try to start MCP servers from ~/.aether/mcp.json. Returns a started

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "aether-code",
-  "version": "0.23.0",
+  "version": "0.24.0",
   "description": "Uncensored AI coding agent for your terminal — Claude Code alternative with MCP support. Reads code, writes files, runs commands. Drives IDA Pro, Roblox Studio, Wireshark, Blender, and any MCP server. No refusal layer.",
   "homepage": "https://trynoguard.com",
   "repository": {

package/src/agent.js

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { agentTurnStream, AetherError } from "./api.js";
 import { TOOL_DEFINITIONS, executeTool } from "./tools.js";
 import { unnamespaceToolName } from "./mcp.js";
 import { loadAllSkills, selectSkills, renderSkillsBlock } from "./skills.js";
-import { c, divider, turn, toolLabel, toolSummary, makeTokenStripper, errorLine } from "./render.js";
+import { c, divider, turn, toolLabel, toolSummary, makeTokenStripper, errorLine, startSpinner } from "./render.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS = 25;
 
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ export async function runAgent({
   let totalIn = 0;
   let totalOut = 0;
   let lastBalance = null;
+  // Loop guard: count identical (name+args) tool calls across the whole run so a
+  // confused model can't burn turns re-running the same call (e.g. glob *.md x9).
+  const callCounts = new Map();
 
   for (let i = 0; i < maxTurns; i++) {
     // No turn header and no leading blank here — each step (assistant text and
@@ -98,6 +101,11 @@ export async function runAgent({
     const turnMessages = buildTurnMessages(messages, allSkills, referencedPaths);
 
     let res;
+    // "Thinking" spinner: shown from request-send until the first token or tool
+    // call arrives, so the wait doesn't look dead. Stopped exactly once.
+    const spinner = startSpinner("thinking");
+    let spinStopped = false;
+    const stopSpin = () => { if (!spinStopped) { spinStopped = true; spinner.stop(); } };
     try {
       res = await agentTurnStream({
         messages: turnMessages,
@@ -107,6 +115,7 @@ export async function runAgent({
           // be split across stream chunks) before display.
           const clean = stripper.push(text);
           if (!clean) return;
+          stopSpin();
           if (!lastWasText) {
             process.stdout.write("\n" + c.cyan("● "));
             lastWasText = true;
@@ -118,6 +127,7 @@ export async function runAgent({
           // call — the clean label is printed at execution time, so no noisy
           // "preparing args" placeholder here.
           if (delta.name && !announced.has(delta.index)) {
+            stopSpin();
             announced.add(delta.index);
             if (lastWasText) process.stdout.write("\n");
             lastWasText = false;
@@ -125,11 +135,13 @@ export async function runAgent({
         },
       });
     } catch (err) {
+      stopSpin();
       if (err instanceof AetherError) {
         return { ok: false, error: err, totalCredits, totalIn, totalOut, balance: lastBalance, messages };
       }
       throw err;
     }
+    stopSpin(); // ensure it's cleared even if the turn produced no output
 
     // Flush any held-back partial token, then close the line.
     const tail = stripper.flush();
@@ -167,14 +179,37 @@ export async function runAgent({
       const label = toolLabel(call.function.name, args);
       if (label) console.log("\n" + c.cyan("●") + " " + label);
 
+      // Loop guard — short-circuit a tool call we've already run 3+ times with
+      // the same args, and tell the model to change approach instead of looping.
+      const sig = `${call.function.name}:${call.function.arguments || ""}`;
+      const seen = (callCounts.get(sig) || 0) + 1;
+      callCounts.set(sig, seen);
+      if (seen > 3) {
+        console.log("  " + c.red("└─") + " " + c.gray("skipped (repeated call)"));
+        messages.push({
+          role: "tool",
+          tool_call_id: call.id,
+          content:
+            "STOP: you have already run this exact tool call 3 times and the result will not change. Do NOT call it again. " +
+            "If you were looking for a file that doesn't exist, create it with write_file. Otherwise change approach or finish and summarize.",
+        });
+        continue;
+      }
+
       // Route to MCP if the tool name is namespaced (mcp__server__tool);
       // otherwise execute the built-in tool. unnamespaceToolName returns
       // null for non-MCP names, which is our cheap dispatch test.
+      const slow = call.function.name === "web_search" || call.function.name === "web_fetch";
+      const tspin = slow ? startSpinner(call.function.name === "web_search" ? "searching the web" : "fetching page") : null;
       let result;
-      if (mcpManager && unnamespaceToolName(call.function.name)) {
-        result = await mcpManager.callTool(call.function.name, args);
-      } else {
-        result = await executeTool(call, { cwd, autoYes, unsafePaths });
+      try {
+        if (mcpManager && unnamespaceToolName(call.function.name)) {
+          result = await mcpManager.callTool(call.function.name, args);
+        } else {
+          result = await executeTool(call, { cwd, autoYes, unsafePaths });
+        }
+      } finally {
+        if (tspin) tspin.stop();
       }
 
       // Track paths the model has touched. Skills with path-pattern triggers

package/src/render.js

@@ -80,6 +80,33 @@ export function setTerminalTitle(title) {
   if (process.stdout.isTTY) process.stdout.write(`\x1b]0;${title}\x07`);
 }
 
+// Live "working…" spinner. Rewrites a single line in place (\r) with a rotating
+// half-circle (Geometric Shapes — same block as ●, so cmd.exe-safe) + elapsed
+// seconds, so the user sees the agent is alive while the model thinks or a slow
+// tool runs. stop() clears the line and restores the cursor. No-op in non-TTY.
+export function startSpinner(label) {
+  if (!process.stdout.isTTY) return { stop: () => {} };
+  const frames = ["◐", "◓", "◑", "◒"];
+  const t0 = Date.now();
+  let i = 0;
+  process.stdout.write("\x1b[?25l"); // hide cursor
+  const render = () => {
+    const s = Math.floor((Date.now() - t0) / 1000);
+    const tail = s > 0 ? c.gray(`  ${s}s`) : "";
+    process.stdout.write(`\r\x1b[K${c.cyan(frames[i % frames.length])} ${c.gray(label + "…")}${tail}`);
+    i++;
+  };
+  render();
+  const timer = setInterval(render, 120);
+  if (typeof timer.unref === "function") timer.unref(); // don't keep the process alive
+  return {
+    stop: () => {
+      clearInterval(timer);
+      process.stdout.write("\r\x1b[K\x1b[?25h"); // clear line + show cursor
+    },
+  };
+}
+
 // Terse one-line result summary instead of dumping raw JSON / file contents.
 // Tools whose handlers already render rich output (diffs, the shell stream, the
 // plan) just get a check — the detail was already printed.

package/src/repl.js

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import { c, errorLine, box } from "./render.js";
 import { checkForUpdate } from "./update-check.js";
 import { promptBox, EXIT_SIGNAL } from "./box-input.js";
 
-const VERSION = "0.23.0";
+const VERSION = "0.24.0";
 const MODEL_NAME = "Aether Core";
 
 const SHORTCUTS = `

package/src/tools.js

@@ -574,7 +574,12 @@ async function editFile(args, opts) {
     return { ok: false, output: "path, find, replace are required" };
   }
   const abs = resolveSafe(args.path, opts);
-  if (!fs.existsSync(abs)) return { ok: false, output: `File not found: ${args.path}` };
+  if (!fs.existsSync(abs)) {
+    return {
+      ok: false,
+      output: `File not found: ${args.path}. It doesn't exist yet — use write_file to CREATE it (edit_file only modifies existing files). Do not retry edit_file on this path.`,
+    };
+  }
   const oldContent = fs.readFileSync(abs, "utf8");
   const occurrences = oldContent.split(args.find).length - 1;
   if (occurrences === 0) {