fix: approval prompt misleading text for one-shot commands

supyinjie-max · supyinjie-max · commit d89258d2c488 · 2026-07-09T11:04:30.000+08:00
- Add unavailableReasons field to ExecApprovalRequestParams schema - Pass unavailableReasons through gateway server-methods - Parse unavailableReasons in UI app and component layers - Display reason-specific messaging for no-reusable-pattern case - Add i18n string allowAlwaysUnavailableOneShot Fixes issue #97069 where commands with shell redirection (e.g., openclaw --version 2>&1) showed misleading text claiming 'effective policy requires approval every time' when the real reason was the command being non-persistable.
diff --git a/packages/gateway-protocol/src/schema/exec-approvals.ts b/packages/gateway-protocol/src/schema/exec-approvals.ts
@@ -267,6 +267,17 @@ export const ExecApprovalRequestParamsSchema = Type.Object(
         maxItems: 1,
       }),
     ),
+    unavailableReasons: Type.Optional(
+      Type.Array(
+        Type.String({
+          enum: ["no-reusable-pattern", "prompt-only", "runtime-payload", "unplanned"],
+        }),
+        {
+          description:
+            "Reasons why allow-always is unavailable. 'no-reusable-pattern' indicates shell redirection or runtime payloads prevent safe persistence.",
+        },
+      ),
+    ),
     commandSpans: Type.Optional(
       Type.Array(
         Type.Object(
diff --git a/src/gateway/server-methods/exec-approval.ts b/src/gateway/server-methods/exec-approval.ts
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ export function createExecApprovalHandlers(
         ask?: string;
         warningText?: string | null;
         unavailableDecisions?: string[];
+        unavailableReasons?: ("no-reusable-pattern" | "prompt-only" | "runtime-payload" | "unplanned")[];
         commandSpans?: {
           startIndex: number;
           endIndex: number;
@@ -324,6 +325,7 @@ export function createExecApprovalHandlers(
         commandAnalysis,
         commandSpans,
         unavailableDecisions: unavailableDecisions.length > 0 ? unavailableDecisions : undefined,
+        unavailableReasons: p.unavailableReasons?.length ? p.unavailableReasons : undefined,
         allowedDecisions: resolveExecApprovalRequestAllowedDecisions({
           ask: p.ask ?? null,
           unavailableDecisions,
diff --git a/src/infra/exec-approval-reply.ts b/src/infra/exec-approval-reply.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ export type ExecApprovalPendingReplyParams = {
   ask?: string | null;
   agentId?: string | null;
   allowedDecisions?: readonly ExecApprovalReplyDecision[];
+  unavailableReasons?: readonly ("no-reusable-pattern" | "prompt-only" | "runtime-payload" | "unplanned")[];
   command: string;
   cwd?: string;
   host: ExecHost;
@@ -371,9 +372,17 @@ export function buildExecApprovalPendingReplyPayload(
     lines.push(secondaryFence);
   }
   if (!allowedDecisions.includes("allow-always")) {
-    lines.push(
-      "The effective approval policy requires approval every time, so Allow Always is unavailable.",
-    );
+    // Check if we have unavailable reasons to provide more specific messaging
+    const isOneShot = params.unavailableReasons?.includes("no-reusable-pattern");
+    if (isOneShot) {
+      lines.push(
+        "Allow Always is unavailable for commands with shell redirection or runtime payloads that cannot be safely persisted.",
+      );
+    } else {
+      lines.push(
+        "The effective approval policy requires approval every time, so Allow Always is unavailable.",
+      );
+    }
   }
   const info: string[] = [];
   info.push(`Host: ${params.host}`);
diff --git a/ui/src/app/exec-approval.ts b/ui/src/app/exec-approval.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ export type ExecApprovalRequestPayload = {
     endIndex: number;
   }[];
   allowedDecisions?: readonly ExecApprovalDecision[];
+  unavailableReasons?: readonly ("no-reusable-pattern" | "prompt-only" | "runtime-payload" | "unplanned")[];
 };
 
 export type ExecApprovalDecision = "allow-once" | "allow-always" | "deny";
@@ -137,6 +138,13 @@ export function parseExecApprovalRequested(payload: unknown): ExecApprovalReques
       sessionKey: typeof request.sessionKey === "string" ? request.sessionKey : null,
       commandSpans: parseCommandSpans(request.commandSpans, command.length),
       allowedDecisions: parseAllowedDecisions(request.allowedDecisions),
+      unavailableReasons: Array.isArray(request.unavailableReasons)
+        ? request.unavailableReasons.filter(
+            (r): r is "no-reusable-pattern" | "prompt-only" | "runtime-payload" | "unplanned" =>
+              typeof r === "string" &&
+              ["no-reusable-pattern", "prompt-only", "runtime-payload", "unplanned"].includes(r),
+          )
+        : undefined,
     },
     createdAtMs,
     expiresAtMs,
diff --git a/ui/src/components/exec-approval.ts b/ui/src/components/exec-approval.ts
@@ -160,9 +160,16 @@ function renderUnavailableDecisionWarning(
   active: ExecApprovalRequest,
   decisions: readonly ExecApprovalDecision[],
 ) {
-  return active.kind !== "exec" || decisions.includes("allow-always")
-    ? nothing
-    : html`<div class="exec-approval-warning">${t("execApproval.allowAlwaysUnavailable")}</div>`;
+  if (active.kind !== "exec" || decisions.includes("allow-always")) {
+    return nothing;
+  }
+  // Check if we have unavailable reasons to provide more specific messaging
+  const unavailableReasons = active.request.unavailableReasons;
+  const isOneShot = unavailableReasons?.includes("no-reusable-pattern");
+  const messageKey = isOneShot
+    ? "allowAlwaysUnavailableOneShot"
+    : "allowAlwaysUnavailable";
+  return html`<div class="exec-approval-warning">${t("execApproval." + messageKey)}</div>`;
 }
 
 function renderExecApprovalPrompt(props: ExecApprovalProps) {
diff --git a/ui/src/i18n/locales/en.ts b/ui/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
@@ -445,6 +445,8 @@ export const en: TranslationMap = {
     alwaysAllow: "Always allow",
     allowAlwaysUnavailable:
       "The effective approval policy requires approval every time, so Allow Always is unavailable.",
+    allowAlwaysUnavailableOneShot:
+      "Allow Always is unavailable for commands with shell redirection or runtime payloads that cannot be safely persisted.",
     deny: "Deny",
     labels: {
       host: "Host",
