File/knowledge write tool calls fail on arg/path validation (read-only raw/ path; missing file_text)

[Broccolito]

Summary

Two file/knowledge write tool calls failed on argument/path validation. These are file-operation failures worth examining — both the validation behavior and whether the error messages are actionable enough for the agent to self-correct.

Occurrences

#	Session	Tool	Result
1	testing conversation 2	knowledge (kb write, via execute_code)	Tool error: write path must start with knowledge/ or be index.md/schema.md/log.md; raw/ paths are read-only — the macro tried to write to a raw/ path, which is read-only.
2	starsign master conversation	developer/text_editor (write, via execute_code)	Tool error: Missing 'file_text' parameter for write command — a text_editor write/create call was issued without the required file_text/content parameter.

Related minor finding (tool-result semantics)

• starsign master conversation — code_execution__search_modules returned [tool_error kind=tool_failure retryable=false] No matches found for: create skill, make skill, skill maker, draft skill. A no-results search is being surfaced as a hard, non-retryable tool failure rather than an empty result set. Worth deciding whether "no matches" should be an error at all (it reads as a broken tool rather than "nothing matched your query").

Why this matters

• UCSF (and maybe external) token usage mismatch #1 suggests the knowledge macro occasionally targets read-only raw/ paths — either a guardrail the model keeps hitting, or a case where the intended write target should be remapped/explained better.
• GUI/Shell Tool Does Not Maintain Working Directory State Between Commands #2 is a dropped required parameter on text_editor write. Whether the root cause is model behavior or a schema/SDK ergonomics gap, the failure is silent to the user and only visible in the transcript.
• The "No matches found" → tool_failure semantics can make ordinary empty results look like tool breakage.

Suggested investigation

• Confirm the intended contract for knowledge writes and make the "raw/ is read-only" case either impossible to request or self-correcting.
• Ensure text_editor write validation names the missing parameter early and the SDK/typing makes it hard to omit.
• Reconsider surfacing empty search results as tool_failure retryable=false.

Environment

• BioRouter desktop, model gpt-5.5-2026-04-24. Extensions: developer, knowledge, code_execution, skills.
• Evidence: exported testing conversation 2 and starsign master conversation transcripts.