Repeated failure to apply changes to files

[szermatt]

Description

Context:

• Version: Kilo Code 4.34.1 (db5a309), Vscode: 1.100.3
• OS: Linux (Debian Sid), though accessed through SSH from macos
• Provider: Claude 3.7 Sonnet (the default)
• "Enable editing through diffs" is enabled with precision 100% (I think this is the default. I don't remember changing this. I have not tried switching it off, since I didn't realize there was such an option.)

Kilocode regularly gets into a loop trying and failing again and again to make a change to a file. The changes don't appear to be anything special or big. It usually recovers on its own, but it takes quite some attempts and wastes resources.

Below is one example:

I will now apply the fix.



The apply_diff failed because my view of crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real.rs is out of sync. I will read the file again to get its current content and then re-apply the fix to the subscribe function call.

I will now read the file.


Kilo Code wants to read this file:


I have read the latest version of crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real.rs. I will now re-apply the fix to the subscribe function call, adding the catchup parameter. After this, I will address the remaining error in crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real/history.rs.

I will now apply the fix.


Kilo Code wants to edit this file:

Edit Unsuccessful



The apply_diff failed again. It seems my view of crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real.rs is still not up-to-date. I will read the file one last time to ensure I have the correct content before applying the fix.

I will now read the file.


Kilo Code wants to read this file:


I have read the latest version of crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real.rs. It appears my previous change was not applied correctly. I will now re-apply the fix to the subscribe function, ensuring the catchup parameter is correctly passed to the history::subscribe function.

I will now apply the fix.


Kilo Code wants to edit this file:

Edit Unsuccessful


Kilo Code is having trouble...
This may indicate a failure in the model's thought process or inability to use a tool properly, which can be mitigated with some user guidance (e.g. "Try breaking down the task into smaller steps").



It appears my view of the files is still out of sync, causing the apply_diff operations to fail. To resolve this, I will read both crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real.rs and crate/realize-lib/src/storage/real/history.rs again to get their current content. Once I have the correct content, I will proceed with applying the necessary changes to implement the "catch up" feature.

I will now read the files.

Please let me know if you'd like more details or whether there are log files that it would be useful to include.

[devlux76]

When that happens I tell it to try rewriting the entire file rather than using a diff and if that fails, I tell it to use command line to echo it directly into the file. Then I end task because what's happened here is the tool usage information has fallen out of the context and you need a new clean context. This is why telling it never to mode switch but instead to delegate using subtasks is vital. Then have it use ISSUE, PLAN and TODO files to track it's progress.

[markijbema]

@szermatt do you have any thing running on save, for instance prettier or something similar which changes the code?

(trying to pinpoint what's happening so we can try to reproduce)

[szermatt]

Thanks for getting back to me!

I don't have anything like that running as far as I know. This is on a fresh install of vscode with just kilocode and rust-analyzer installed as plugins. I configured kilocode but otherwise left everything as default.

[markijbema]

Ok, I accidentally reproduced this (with sonnet 4). I can see this is really annoying.

I always use sonnet 3.7 though, and haven't seen this that often. Wonder what's the trigger

[chrarnoldus]

Seems like the diff tool can be quite unreliable (see internal link: https://us.posthog.com/project/141915/insights/5xby0XjW)

[hassoncs]

I finally found a reproducible case for this! It's the Git: Changes diff view being open-

1. Start with a clean branch
2. Make a change to a file
3. Open the Git: Changes diff view
4. Tell kilo to make a change
5. Notice the change does not happen

This also explains why sometimes I see this bug all the time and sometimes things work fine– It depends on if I randomly have that diff view open or not!