Release v6.8.2: parallel read-only tools, malformed tool-call recovery, and one-shot search

[code-crusher]

Summary

Bumps the extension 6.8.1 -> 6.8.2 and ships the accumulated agent-loop work:

Added

• Parallel execution of independent read-only tools. Independent read/search calls (read_file, search_files, list_files, list_code_definition_names, codebase_search, lsp) returned in one native-JSON assistant message now run concurrently (max 4, MAX_PARALLEL_READ_ONLY_TOOLS in the new src/core/tools/toolExecutionPolicy.ts), with results committed in model order to preserve tool_use/tool_result pairing. Mutating/interactive tools stay serialized; read approvals inside a batch use non-interactive progress rows. parallel_tool_calls is enabled for native tool call providers.

Changed

• search_files one-shot and ripgrep-first. Ripgrep is the default engine (FFF fallback), default/max results 50 -> 100, model-facing cursor removed from XML and native JSON schemas; capped pages direct the model to refine the query instead of paginating.
• System prompt condensed. RULES / tool-use guidelines / objective rewritten: codebase_search recommended (not mandatory-first), smallest sufficient tool preferred, independent reads batched in JSON mode while edits/commands stay sequential. Legacy text-tool guidance only included for XML tool style.
• Native tool schemas tightened for strict mode. execute_command requires cwd/message/isDangerous; file_edit/multi_file_edit require replace_all; generate_file requires path; check_past_chat_memories requires workspace (nullable where optional); lsp description condensed.
• allowedTools metadata respected when empty in addNativeToolCallsToParams (intentional empty list for tool-less modes no longer falls back to the full tool set).
• DEFAULT_WRITE_DELAY_MS 1000ms -> 250ms.
• KiloCode notification polling stubbed to an empty list; native-notification fetch/display path removed.

Fixed

• Malformed tool-call JSON recovery. Calls whose JSON arguments fail to parse at finalization are tracked by AssistantMessageParser and retried with a corrective message (raw-args preview) instead of silently stopping the agent; bounded by the consecutive-mistake limit.
• Tool-repetition auto-retry bounded at 2 attempts (MAX_TOOL_REPETITION_AUTO_RETRIES) so an unchanged model cannot loop forever.

Changelog

• Added the ## [v6.8.2] - 2026-08-28 section and relabeled the previous ## [Unreleased] block to ## [v6.8.1] - 2026-08-21 (that content shipped in v6.8.1), so the publish workflow's [v<version>] extraction finds real release notes.

Verification

• tsc --noEmit (extension) and turbo check-types / lint across the monorepo: clean.
• Specs touched by this release pass: presentAssistantMessage, nativeToolCallHelpers (new), tool-contracts (new), objective, tool-use-guidelines, search-files.
• Note: the extension test suite has pre-existing failures on main. On the specs overlapping this diff the release strictly reduces failures (63 -> 48; system-prompt.spec.ts 13 -> 8) and introduces none. The remaining system-prompt.spec.ts failures are stale expectations from the v6.8.1 prompt changes and are untouched here.

[matterai-app]

Summary By MatterAI ### 🔄 What Changed

Introduces parallel read-only tool execution, malformed tool-call recovery, and one-shot search optimizations alongside system prompt refinements.

🔍 Impact of the Change

Significantly reduces harness latency during agent execution by executing parallel read-only tools and prevents agent lockups on malformed JSON tool arguments.

📁 Total Files Changed

Click to Expand

File	ChangeLog
Global Settings (packages/types/src/global-settings.ts)	Reduced default write delay constant to 250ms.
Native Helpers (src/api/providers/kilocode/nativeToolCallHelpers.ts)	Prioritizes allowedTools from metadata over defaults.
Message Parser (src/core/assistant-message/AssistantMessageParser.ts)	Added tracking for dropped malformed tool calls to allow corrective retries.
Message Presenter (src/core/assistant-message/presentAssistantMessage.ts)	Implemented parallel execution scheduler for read-only tools.
Task Lifecycle (src/core/task/Task.ts)	Added automated recovery and retry injection for malformed tool JSON arguments.
Multi-File Edit (src/core/tools/multiFileEditTool.ts)	Deferred diagnostic runs until the final edit in a batch.
Read File Tool (src/core/tools/readFileTool.ts)	Added non-interactive approval handling for parallel read workers.
Search Files Service (src/services/search-files/index.ts)	Added fallback mechanism from ripgrep to FFF engine.

🧪 Test Added/Recommended

Added

• Added unit tests for native tool call parameter helpers (addNativeToolCallsToParams).
• Added integration tests for parallel read-only tool execution flows.
• Added tool contract validation tests for strict schemas.

🔒Security Vulnerabilities

• N/A