---
issue: 51
issue_title: "Generalize session approvals to all permission surfaces with wildcard patterns"
---

# Retro: #51 — Generalize session approvals to all permission surfaces with wildcard patterns

## Final Retrospective (2026-05-04T23:36Z)

### Session summary

Implemented generalized session approvals across all permission surfaces (bash, mcp, skill, tools) in 6 commits released as v4.3.0.
The work added a `pattern-suggest` module, extended `checkPermission` session evaluation to all surface branches, wired the gate with `sessionApproval` pass-through, made the dialog label dynamic, and threaded `sessionLabel` through the full prompt chain. 44 new tests (754 → 798), all green, no breaking changes.

### Observations

#### What went well

- TDD cycle was clean across all 5 steps — every step went red→green on first implementation attempt with no rework.
- The existing `evaluate()` engine handled cross-surface session rules without modification; the work was purely additive at the `checkPermission` and handler layers.
- The `suggestSessionPattern` design as pure functions with no IO made step 1 trivially testable.

#### What caused friction (agent side)

- `missing-context` — The plan's "Module-Level Changes" listed `tool-call.ts`, `permission-gate.ts`, `permission-dialog.ts`, and `permission-prompts.ts` for step 5, but the actual `sessionLabel` threading required changes to `src/handlers/types.ts`, `src/forwarded-permissions/polling.ts`, and `src/runtime.ts` (the full callback chain).
  I had to trace the chain at implementation time: `deps.promptPermission` → `runtime.promptPermission` → `confirmPermission` → `requestPermissionDecisionFromUi`.
  Impact: ~5 extra read/grep calls to map the chain before writing code.
  No rework, but added friction.
- `missing-context` — First `Edit` attempt on `tests/handlers/tool-call.test.ts` failed with "Found 2 occurrences" because the file had two identical closing sequences (`expect(result).toEqual({});\n  });\n});\n`).
  Impact: one failed tool call, immediate retry with wider context.
  Self-identified.

#### What caused friction (user side)

- No significant friction from the user side.
  The plan was well-specified and the session flow was smooth.

### Changes made

1. Added planning guidance to `AGENTS.md` (Testing section): plans must list every file in callback/threading chains, not just entry and exit points.