feat: make edit flag-only and clarify body replacement semantics

Author: cailmdaley

README.md

@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ felt tree                         # dependency tree
 ### Editing
 
 ```bash
-felt edit <id>                    # open in $EDITOR
+felt edit <id> --body "text"      # replace full body (destructive overwrite)
 felt edit <id> --title "new"      # set title
 felt edit <id> -s active          # set status
 felt edit <id> -o "outcome"       # set outcome

cmd/edit.go

@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ package cmd
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"os"
-	"os/exec"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/cailmdaley/felt/internal/felt"
@@ -25,13 +23,13 @@ var linkLabel string
 
 var editCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "edit <id>",
-	Short: "Modify a felt's properties or open in $EDITOR",
-	Long: `Modifies a felt's properties via flags, or opens in $EDITOR if no flags given.
+	Short: "Modify a felt's properties via flags",
+	Long: `Modifies a felt's properties via flags.
 
 Examples:
   felt edit abc123 --title "New title" -s active
   felt edit abc123 --depends-on other-fiber-id
-  felt edit abc123                  # opens in $EDITOR`,
+  felt edit abc123 --body "Full replacement body text"  # overwrites body`,
 	Args: cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		root, err := felt.FindProjectRoot()
@@ -54,21 +52,12 @@ Examples:
 			cmd.Flags().Changed("outcome")
 
 		if !hasFlags {
-			// No flags: open in editor
-			editor := os.Getenv("EDITOR")
-			if editor == "" {
-				editor = "vim"
-			}
-
-			path := storage.Path(f.ID)
-			editorCmd := exec.Command(editor, path)
-			editorCmd.Stdin = os.Stdin
-			editorCmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
-			editorCmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
-
-			return editorCmd.Run()
+			return fmt.Errorf("no changes requested: use edit flags (use --body only when you intend to overwrite the full body)")
 		}
 
+		bodyOverwritten := false
+		bodyCleared := false
+
 		// Apply flag modifications
 		if cmd.Flags().Changed("title") {
 			f.Title = editTitle
@@ -96,6 +85,12 @@ Examples:
 			}
 		}
 		if cmd.Flags().Changed("body") {
+			if f.Body != "" && editBody != f.Body {
+				bodyOverwritten = true
+			}
+			if f.Body != "" && editBody == "" {
+				bodyCleared = true
+			}
 			f.Body = editBody
 		}
 		if cmd.Flags().Changed("outcome") {
@@ -148,7 +143,14 @@ Examples:
 			return err
 		}
 
-		fmt.Printf("Updated %s\n", f.ID)
+		switch {
+		case bodyCleared:
+			fmt.Printf("Updated %s (body cleared; previous content removed)\n", f.ID)
+		case bodyOverwritten:
+			fmt.Printf("Updated %s (body overwritten)\n", f.ID)
+		default:
+			fmt.Printf("Updated %s\n", f.ID)
+		}
 		return nil
 	},
 }
@@ -311,7 +313,7 @@ func init() {
 	// Edit command flags
 	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editTitle, "title", "t", "", "Set title")
 	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editStatus, "status", "s", "", "Set status (open, active, closed)")
-	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editBody, "body", "b", "", "Set body text")
+	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editBody, "body", "b", "", "Replace full body text (destructive overwrite)")
 	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editOutcome, "outcome", "o", "", "Set outcome")
 	editCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editDue, "due", "D", "", "Set due date (YYYY-MM-DD, empty to clear)")
 	editCmd.Flags().StringArrayVarP(&editDeps, "depends-on", "a", nil, "Add dependency (repeatable)")

cmd/hook.go

@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ func minimalOutput() string {
 ` + cliReference() + `## Core Rules
 - **Use felt for everything** — tasks, decisions, questions, detours, bugs you can't chase now. If it might matter, it's a fiber.
 - Outcome (` + "`-o`" + `) is the documentation: the conclusion, the reasoning, what was learned
+- ` + "`felt edit`" + ` is non-interactive (flags only); for patch edits, modify ` + "`.felt/<id>.md`" + ` directly
 - **Leave a wake** — file as you go
 - **Titles are DAG node labels: 2-3 words.** Body and outcome carry full content.
 `
@@ -149,6 +150,7 @@ func formatSessionOutput(felts []*felt.Felt, g *felt.Graph) string {
 	sb.WriteString("## Core Rules\n")
 	sb.WriteString("- **Use felt for everything** — tasks, decisions, questions, detours, bugs you can't chase now. If it might matter, it's a fiber.\n")
 	sb.WriteString("- Outcome (`-o`) is the documentation: the conclusion, the reasoning, what was learned\n")
+	sb.WriteString("- `felt edit` is non-interactive (flags only); for patch edits, modify `.felt/<id>.md` directly\n")
 	sb.WriteString("- **Leave a wake** — file as you go\n")
 	sb.WriteString("- **Titles are DAG node labels: 2-3 words.** Body and outcome carry full content.\n")
 
@@ -213,6 +215,7 @@ felt "title"                    # create fiber
 felt add "title" -s open -t tag -a <dep-id> -o "outcome"
 felt edit <id> -s active        # enter tracking / mark active
 felt edit <id> -s closed -o "outcome"  # close with outcome
+felt edit <id> --body "text"    # full body replacement (overwrite)
 felt comment <id> "note"        # add comment
 felt show <id>                  # full details
 felt ls                         # tracked fibers (open/active)
@@ -227,4 +230,3 @@ To patch body text (not replace), edit .felt/<id>.md directly.
 
 `
 }
-

cmd/integration_test.go

@@ -98,6 +98,31 @@ func TestIntegration(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("edit: expected active status, got: %s", out)
 	}
 
+	// edit with no flags should fail (agent-first, non-interactive)
+	out, err := felt(dir, "edit", fiberID)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("edit without flags: expected error")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "no changes requested") {
+		t.Fatalf("edit without flags: expected helpful error, got: %s", out)
+	}
+
+	// initial body set on empty body should be a normal update (not overwrite warning)
+	out = mustFelt(t, dir, "edit", fiberID, "--body", "initial body")
+	if strings.Contains(out, "body overwritten") {
+		t.Fatalf("edit --body first set: should not warn overwrite, got: %s", out)
+	}
+
+	// replacing non-empty body should be called out as overwrite
+	out = mustFelt(t, dir, "edit", fiberID, "--body", "replacement body")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "body overwritten") {
+		t.Fatalf("edit --body replace: expected overwrite message, got: %s", out)
+	}
+	out = mustFelt(t, dir, "show", fiberID, "--body")
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "replacement body") {
+		t.Fatalf("edit --body: expected replacement content, got: %s", out)
+	}
+
 	// comment
 	mustFelt(t, dir, "comment", fiberID, "a test comment")
 

docs/README.md

@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ felt tree                         # dependency tree
 ### Editing
 
 ```bash
-felt edit <id>                    # open in $EDITOR
+felt edit <id> --body "text"      # replace full body (destructive overwrite)
 felt edit <id> --title "new"      # set title
 felt edit <id> -s active          # set status
 felt edit <id> -o "outcome"       # set outcome