Files
coder/docs
Michael Suchacz df1c0f9710 feat: show what a chat lifecycle hook changed (#27655)
## Stack Context

Follow-up fixes from live UAT of the merged chat lifecycle hooks stack
(#27430). Two PRs:

1. **This PR**: make hook effects visible and correctly attributed in
the transcript.
2. [`mike/chat-hooks-uat/dispatch-capacity`]: reserve dispatch capacity
so an admission burst can't fail running turns.

## Why?

UAT found three ways the transcript misrepresented what a lifecycle hook
did. All three are user-visible and share the same surface
(`chathooks/effects.go`, `codersdk.ChatMessagePart`, the conversation
timeline), so they're reviewed together.

**A prompt `input_override` silently discarded attachments.**
`ComposeUserPromptContent` replaced the entire submitted part list with
one text part, dropping `file` and `file-reference` parts along with
their `chat_file_links`. The user saw their attachments vanish with no
explanation. The override now replaces submitted *text* parts only and
preserves non-text parts in order. A consumer that wants to block
attachments uses `deny`, which is the documented mechanism for refusing
a submission.

**Every user-visible `system` row was labelled "Lifecycle hook".** The
timeline keyed the notice off `role === "system"`. That was correct only
by accident, because the hook `user_message` was the sole client-visible
system row. The backend now emits the notice as a typed `hook-notice`
part and the timeline renders on that, so a future system row can't be
mislabelled as a policy notice.

**Nothing marked a tool call the hook had rewritten.** A consumer could
replace tool input via `input_override` and the transcript showed the
rewritten input as if the model had produced it. `ChatMessagePart` gains
`hook_rewritten`, set from `preflight.Overrides` on the same path that
already carries `ToolCallCreatedAt`, and the tool row renders a
"Modified by policy" badge.

`ToolCall.PolicyProvider` renders the badge itself, at four wrap sites:
the `Tool` dispatch wrapper, the `ReadFilesTool` aggregate and its
per-file rows, and `ReadFileTimelineBlock` (grouped and single
`read_file` rows bypass `Tool`). Renderer props do not include the flag;
descendants consume it through the provider context.

The badge is emitted by the provider rather than by the shared header
because several renderer branches return early without one, including
the auth-required `execute` card, a completed `ask_user_question`, and
an empty question payload. Those branches would drop the attribution
with no type or runtime error, and the gap is not greppable: every
renderer file contains a header somewhere, only individual branches do
not. Emitting at the provider removes the possibility instead of
enumerating the cases.

A rewritten call is wrapped in a group labelled by its badge, so one
rewritten file inside a merged read is attributed on its own rather than
inheriting the group's badge. `HeaderButton` still appends the policy
wording to an explicit `ariaLabel`, since an explicit `aria-label`
replaces the name computed from descendants.

Provider-executed calls are excluded from attribution. Hooks never see
them, and duplicate tool-call ID rejection deliberately skips them, so a
reused ID would otherwise mark a provider-executed call as
policy-rewritten.

## Testing

Go: `coderd/x/chatd/...`, `coderd/x/agenthooks/...`, `codersdk/...`, and
`coderd -run 'Hook|Chat'`. Frontend: `tsc` plus every `AgentsPage`
story; the only failures are `MCP Tool Completed` and `Scroll To Bottom
Button Works With Inverse Scroll`, both of which fail on trunk.

A registry-wide story asserts every registered renderer shows the badge,
verified against three inverted toggles: removing the badge, hiding it
with `display:none`, and skipping the provider for one renderer (which
names that renderer). Storybook also covers the rewritten subagent
spawn, a completed empty question payload, a non-hook system message,
and a failed `read_file` guarding the accessible name.

> Mux opened this PR on Mike's behalf.
2026-08-03 18:27:39 +02:00
..

About

Coder is a self-hosted platform for running AI coding agents and cloud development environments on infrastructure you control. It works with any cloud, IDE, OS, Git provider, and IDP.

Coder platform showing templates and a running workspace

Coder Workspaces

Coder Workspaces are cloud development environments defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard tunnel, and automatically shut down when not in use. Agents and developers share the same workspace infrastructure.

  • Defined in Terraform: Templates describe the infrastructure for each workspace, from EC2 VMs and Kubernetes Pods to Docker containers.
  • Any architecture and OS: Support ARM and x86-64 across Windows, Linux, and macOS from a single deployment.
  • Managed by admins: Platform teams create and maintain templates that enforce approved images, resource limits, and security policies.
  • Accessed from any IDE: Connect through VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor, a web terminal, remote desktop, or SSH.
  • Automatic shutdown: Idle workspaces stop automatically to reduce cloud spend, and restart in seconds when needed.

Coder Agents

Coder Agents is a native AI coding agent built into Coder. The agent loop runs in the Coder control plane on your infrastructure, not in the workspace and not in a vendor's cloud. Developers interact with agents through the web UI or the REST API for programmatic and CI-driven workflows.

  • Self-hosted agent loop: The control plane handles planning, model calls, and tool dispatch. Workspaces have zero AI awareness.
  • No API keys in workspaces: LLM credentials stay in the control plane.
  • Any model: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, or self-hosted endpoints. Switching is a configuration change.
  • Governance and cost controls: Centralized model approval, per-user spend limits, and audit logging.
  • Open source and inspectable: The full platform is available to audit and extend.

Coder Agents chat interface with git diff sidebar

IDE support

IDE icons

You can use:

Why remote development

Provisioning consistent development environments for a large engineering team is difficult. Each developer has preferences for operating systems, editors, and toolchains, and ensuring a reliable build environment across all of them is a maintenance burden. A missed step during onboarding or an unsupported local configuration can cost hours of debugging.

Remote development solves this by moving the environment off the developer's machine and into managed infrastructure. The developer's laptop becomes a portal into the actual compute where work happens. If a device is lost or replaced, access is simply revoked; no source code or credentials are stored locally.

This approach provides:

  • Speed: Server-grade hardware accelerates builds, tests, and large workloads without requiring expensive local machines.
  • Consistency: Infrastructure tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker, and Dev Containers produce identical environments for every developer.
  • Security: Source code stays on private servers. Users and groups are managed through SSO and RBAC.
  • Compatibility: Workspaces share infrastructure configurations with staging and production, reducing configuration drift.
  • Accessibility: Browser-based IDEs and remote IDE extensions let developers work from any device, including lightweight laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets.

Read more on the Coder blog, the Slack engineering blog, or from Alex Ellis at OpenFaaS.

Why Coder

The key difference between Coder and other platforms is that the entire system, agent loop, control plane, model routing, and workspace provisioning, runs on infrastructure you control.

For agents, this means platform teams can:

  • Run the entire agent loop on their infrastructure, with no SaaS dependency for orchestration.
  • Define MCP servers, skills, and system prompts centrally so every agent session starts with the same tools, policies, and context.
  • Keep LLM credentials out of workspaces entirely.
  • Tie every agent action to an authenticated user identity.
  • Support air-gapped and restricted-network deployments with self-hosted models.

For workspaces, this means admins can:

  • Support any architecture (ARM, x86-64) and operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS).
  • Modify pod/container specs, such as adding disks, managing network policies, or setting/updating environment variables.
  • Use VM or dedicated workspaces, developing with Kernel features (no container knowledge required).
  • Enable persistent workspaces, which are like local machines, but faster and hosted by a cloud service.

Pricing

Coder is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. All developer productivity features are included in the open source version. A Premium license is available for enhanced support and custom deployments.

How Coder works

Coder workspaces are represented with Terraform, but you do not need to know Terraform to get started. The Coder Registry provides production-ready templates for AWS EC2, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and other providers.

Providers and compute environmentsProviders and compute environments

Workspaces can include more than just compute. Terraform can add storage buckets, secrets, sidecars, and other resources.

See the templates documentation for details.

What Coder is not

  • Coder is not an infrastructure as code (IaC) platform.

    • Terraform is the first IaC provisioner in Coder, allowing Coder admins to define Terraform resources as Coder workspaces.
  • Coder is not a DevOps/CI platform.

    • Coder workspaces can be configured to follow best practices for cloud-service-based workloads, but Coder is not responsible for how you define or deploy the software you write.
  • Coder is not an online IDE.

    • Coder supports common editors, such as VS Code, vim, and JetBrains, all over HTTPS or SSH.
  • Coder is not a collaboration platform.

    • You can use Git with your favorite Git platform and dedicated IDE extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming.
  • Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering.

    • Coder is a self-hosted solution. You must host Coder in a private data center or on a cloud service, such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Learn more