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Fix max-steps warning timing to appear after final step completes#249

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itomek merged 2 commits intomainfrom
fix/max-steps-warning-timing
Jan 23, 2026
Merged

Fix max-steps warning timing to appear after final step completes#249
itomek merged 2 commits intomainfrom
fix/max-steps-warning-timing

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@itomek itomek commented Jan 23, 2026

Fixes #221

Problem

The max-steps warning appeared BEFORE the final step's work was executed, creating confusing output:

Before this fix (with max_steps=5):

Step 4: [work output]
⚠️ Reached maximum steps limit (5 steps)  ← Warning after Step 4
Step 5: [work output]                       ← Step 5 runs after warning

Root Cause

The while loop checked if steps_taken == steps_limit immediately after incrementing the counter (line 1173), but before the step's actual work was performed. This caused the warning to appear prematurely.

while steps_taken < steps_limit and final_answer is None:
    steps_taken += 1              # Increment to 5
    if steps_taken == steps_limit:  # Check passes → WARNING SHOWN
        show_warning()            # ← Warning BEFORE step 5 work
    
    print_step_header()           # Display "Step 5"
    [... Step 5 work ...]         # Do the actual work

Solution

Move the max-steps check to the end of the while loop, after:

  1. The step's work completes
  2. The final answer check (which exits early if answer is found)

This ensures Step 5 executes completely before any warning appears.

while steps_taken < steps_limit and final_answer is None:
    steps_taken += 1
    print_step_header()
    [... Step 5 work ...]         # Do the work FIRST
    
    if "answer" in parsed:        # Check for answer
        final_answer = parsed["answer"]
        break                     # Exit cleanly if found
    
    if steps_taken == steps_limit:  # Check AFTER work
        show_warning()            # Warning only if no answer

After This Fix

Users now see the correct behavior:

Step 4: [work output]
Step 5: [work output]                       ← Step 5 completes first
⚠️ Reached maximum steps limit (5 steps)  ← Warning AFTER Step 5
Continue with 50 more steps? (y/n):

If a final answer is provided during Step 5, the agent exits cleanly without showing the warning at all.

Testing

  • ✅ All unit tests pass (27 tests in tests/unit/)
  • ✅ Verified control flow with demonstration script
  • ✅ Default max_steps=5 preserved (conservative base class default)

Files Changed

  • src/gaia/agents/base/agent.py: Moved max-steps check from line 1177 to line 1975

@itomek
Fix max-steps warning timing to appear after final step completes
6e8bcce 
Fixes #221 - Off-by-one bug where max-steps warning appeared BEFORE
the final step's work was executed.

## Problem
With max_steps=5, the warning appeared after Step 4 output and before
Step 5 began executing. This created confusion as users saw:
- Step 4 output
- Warning: "Reached maximum steps limit (5 steps)"
- Step 5 output

## Root Cause
The max-steps check occurred immediately after incrementing steps_taken
(line 1173) and before the step's actual work was performed (lines 1182+).

## Solution
Move the max-steps check to the END of the while loop, after:
1. The step's work completes
2. Final answer check (lines 1968-1972)

This ensures Step 5 executes completely before the warning appears.

## After Fix
Users now see:
- Step 4 output
- Step 5 output
- Warning: "Reached maximum steps limit (5 steps)"

The warning only appears if no final answer was provided during Step 5.
If a final answer is found, the agent exits cleanly without showing
the warning.

## Testing
- All unit tests pass (27 tests in tests/unit/)
- Verified control flow with demonstration script
- Default max_steps remains at 5 (conservative)
@itomek itomek self-assigned this Jan 23, 2026
@itomek itomek enabled auto-merge January 23, 2026 20:04
@github-actions github-actions bot added the agents Agent system changes label Jan 23, 2026
@itomek itomek added this pull request to the merge queue Jan 23, 2026
Merged via the queue into main with commit 4ba2bc5 Jan 23, 2026
61 checks passed
@itomek itomek deleted the fix/max-steps-warning-timing branch January 23, 2026 22:47
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@kovtcharov kovtcharov kovtcharov approved these changes

@kovtcharov-amd kovtcharov-amd Awaiting requested review from kovtcharov-amd kovtcharov-amd is a code owner

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Maximum steps limit appears early

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@itomek @kovtcharov