Fix newline escape characters in GitHub messages (Issue #83)

Author: bhouston

packages/agent/src/core/toolAgent/config.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { execSync } from 'child_process';
-
 import { anthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';
 import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
+import { getPlatformNewline } from '../../utils/github.js';
 
 /**
  * Available model providers
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ export function getDefaultSystemPrompt(toolContext: ToolContext): string {
     githubMode: toolContext.githubMode,
   };
 
+  // Use the platform-specific newline handling for GitHub CLI commands
+
   const githubModeInstructions = context.githubMode
     ? [
         '',
@@ -76,6 +78,8 @@ export function getDefaultSystemPrompt(toolContext: ToolContext): string {
         '- Create additional GitHub issues for follow-up tasks or ideas',
         '',
         'You can use the GitHub CLI (`gh`) for all GitHub interactions.',
+        '',
+        `When creating GitHub issues or PRs, use "${getPlatformNewline()}" for newlines in your text.`,
       ].join('\n')
     : '';
 

packages/agent/src/tools/system/shellStart.test.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 import { TokenTracker } from '../../core/tokens.js';
 import { ToolContext } from '../../core/types.js';
+import * as githubUtils from '../../utils/github.js';
 import { MockLogger } from '../../utils/mockLogger.js';
 import { sleep } from '../../utils/sleep.js';
 
@@ -158,4 +159,46 @@ describe('shellStartTool', () => {
 
     expect(result.mode).toBe('sync');
   });
+
+  it('should format GitHub CLI commands correctly in GitHub mode', async () => {
+    // Create a GitHub mode context
+    const githubModeContext: ToolContext = {
+      ...toolContext,
+      githubMode: true,
+    };
+
+    // Spy on formatGitHubText function
+    const formatSpy = vi.spyOn(githubUtils, 'formatGitHubText');
+    formatSpy.mockImplementation((text) => `FORMATTED:${text}`);
+
+    // Test with a GitHub CLI command that has a body
+    await shellStartTool.execute(
+      {
+        command: 'gh issue create --title "Test Issue" --body "Line 1\\nLine 2"',
+        description: 'GitHub CLI test',
+        timeout: 100,
+      },
+      githubModeContext,
+    );
+
+    // Verify formatGitHubText was called
+    expect(formatSpy).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    
+    // Test with a non-GitHub command (should not format)
+    formatSpy.mockClear();
+    await shellStartTool.execute(
+      {
+        command: 'echo "Not a GitHub command"',
+        description: 'Non-GitHub command test',
+        timeout: 100,
+      },
+      githubModeContext,
+    );
+
+    // Verify formatGitHubText was not called for non-GitHub commands
+    expect(formatSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    
+    // Restore the original implementation
+    formatSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
 });

packages/agent/src/tools/system/shellStart.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 import { zodToJsonSchema } from 'zod-to-json-schema';
 
 import { Tool } from '../../core/types.js';
+import { formatGitHubText } from '../../utils/github.js';
 import { errorToString } from '../../utils/errorToString.js';
 
 import type { ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
@@ -79,24 +80,35 @@ export const shellStartTool: Tool<Parameters, ReturnType> = {
 
   execute: async (
     { command, timeout = DEFAULT_TIMEOUT },
-    { logger, workingDirectory },
+    { logger, workingDirectory, githubMode },
   ): Promise<ReturnType> => {
     logger.verbose(`Starting shell command: ${command}`);
 
+    // If GitHub mode is enabled and this is a GitHub CLI command,
+    // ensure newlines are properly escaped for the platform
+    let processedCommand = command;
+    if (githubMode && command.startsWith('gh ')) {
+      // Only process commands that might contain content with newlines
+      if (command.includes('--body') || command.includes('--title') || command.includes('--comment')) {
+        processedCommand = formatGitHubText(command);
+        logger.verbose(`Processed GitHub command with platform-specific newlines`);
+      }
+    }
+
     return new Promise((resolve) => {
       try {
         const instanceId = uuidv4();
         let hasResolved = false;
 
         // Split command into command and args
         // Use command directly with shell: true
-        const process = spawn(command, [], {
+        const process = spawn(processedCommand, [], {
           shell: true,
           cwd: workingDirectory,
         });
 
         const processState: ProcessState = {
-          command,
+          command: processedCommand,
           process,
           stdout: [],
           stderr: [],

packages/agent/src/utils/github.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+import { getPlatformNewline, formatGitHubText } from './github.js';
+
+describe('GitHub utilities', () => {
+  describe('getPlatformNewline', () => {
+    it('should return \\n for non-Windows platforms', () => {
+      // Mock process.platform to be 'darwin'
+      vi.stubGlobal('process', { ...process, platform: 'darwin' });
+      expect(getPlatformNewline()).toBe('\\n');
+      
+      // Mock process.platform to be 'linux'
+      vi.stubGlobal('process', { ...process, platform: 'linux' });
+      expect(getPlatformNewline()).toBe('\\n');
+    });
+
+    it('should return \\r\\n for Windows platform', () => {
+      // Mock process.platform to be 'win32'
+      vi.stubGlobal('process', { ...process, platform: 'win32' });
+      expect(getPlatformNewline()).toBe('\\r\\n');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('formatGitHubText', () => {
+    it('should replace newlines with platform-specific escape sequences', () => {
+      // Mock process.platform to be 'darwin'
+      vi.stubGlobal('process', { ...process, platform: 'darwin' });
+      
+      const input = 'Hello\nWorld\nThis is a test';
+      const expected = 'Hello\\nWorld\\nThis is a test';
+      
+      expect(formatGitHubText(input)).toBe(expected);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle Windows newlines correctly', () => {
+      // Mock process.platform to be 'win32'
+      vi.stubGlobal('process', { ...process, platform: 'win32' });
+      
+      const input = 'Hello\nWorld\nThis is a test';
+      const expected = 'Hello\\r\\nWorld\\r\\nThis is a test';
+      
+      expect(formatGitHubText(input)).toBe(expected);
+    });
+  });
+});

packages/agent/src/utils/github.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/**
+ * Utility functions for GitHub CLI integration
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Returns the appropriate newline character sequence for the current platform
+ * when used in GitHub CLI commands
+ * 
+ * @returns The platform-specific newline escape sequence
+ */
+export function getPlatformNewline(): string {
+  // Check if we're on Windows
+  if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+    return '\\r\\n'; // Windows uses CRLF
+  }
+  return '\\n'; // Unix-based systems (Linux, macOS) use LF
+}
+
+/**
+ * Formats text for use in GitHub CLI commands by ensuring
+ * newlines are properly escaped for the current platform
+ * 
+ * @param text The text to format
+ * @returns Formatted text with proper newline escaping
+ */
+export function formatGitHubText(text: string): string {
+  const platformNewline = getPlatformNewline();
+  
+  // Replace any literal newlines with platform-specific escape sequences
+  return text.replace(/\n/g, platformNewline);
+}