From eb60d03f4b472e528c2e0cffb495da324720708f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Himanshu Dongre <himanshudongre1991@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 18 May 2026 00:02:07 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] Render list-valued blocked_by consistently in state --compact
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`smriti current` already normalizes a list-valued blocked_by to a clean
comma-separated string via the backend CurrentTask validator, but `smriti
state` rendered it through an f-string and leaked the raw Python list repr
(['a', 'b']) into the state brief — the surface agents read at session start.

Add a `_coerce_blocked_by` helper in the CLI formatters mirroring that
validator, and apply it in `_normalize_task_item` so every `smriti state`
task line renders blocked_by the same way `smriti current` does. Adds
regression tests.
---
 cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py         | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++
 cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+)

diff --git a/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py b/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
index cb59585..03a89c7 100644
--- a/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
+++ b/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
@@ -120,6 +120,25 @@ def _list_section(heading: str, items: list[str]) -> str:
     return "\n".join(lines) + "\n"
 
 
+def _coerce_blocked_by(value: object) -> str | None:
+    """Normalize blocked_by — string, list of dependency labels, or null —
+    to a single display string.
+
+    Real task payloads carry blocked_by as a plain string or as a list (a
+    task blocked by several others). Mirrors the backend CurrentTask
+    validator so `smriti state` and `smriti current` render it identically
+    instead of leaking a raw Python list repr into the state brief.
+    """
+    if value is None:
+        return None
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        return value.strip() or None
+    if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):
+        labels = [str(item).strip() for item in value if str(item).strip()]
+        return ", ".join(labels) or None
+    return str(value).strip() or None
+
+
 def _normalize_task_item(item) -> dict:
     """Normalize a task to a dict with at least a 'text' key.
 
@@ -131,6 +150,8 @@ def _normalize_task_item(item) -> dict:
         task = dict(item)
         if not task.get("intent_hint") and task.get("intent_type"):
             task["intent_hint"] = task["intent_type"]
+        if "blocked_by" in task:
+            task["blocked_by"] = _coerce_blocked_by(task["blocked_by"])
         return task
     # Fallback: coerce to string
     return {"text": str(item)}
diff --git a/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py b/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
index 303daf6..6cfb23a 100644
--- a/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
+++ b/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
@@ -504,6 +504,13 @@ def test_normalize_task_item_dict():
     assert result == task
 
 
+def test_normalize_task_item_coerces_list_blocked_by():
+    """A list-valued blocked_by is normalized to a comma-separated string."""
+    task = {"text": "Wire the limiter", "blocked_by": ["middleware", "load-test"]}
+    result = _normalize_task_item(task)
+    assert result["blocked_by"] == "middleware, load-test"
+
+
 def test_task_section_empty():
     """Empty task list produces empty string."""
     assert _task_section([]) == ""
@@ -547,6 +554,17 @@ def test_task_section_structured_with_blocked_by():
     assert "→ blocked by: freshness-impl" in out
 
 
+def test_task_section_renders_list_valued_blocked_by():
+    """A list-valued blocked_by renders as a clean comma-separated string,
+    not a raw Python list repr — consistent with `smriti current`."""
+    tasks = [
+        {"text": "Wire the limiter", "blocked_by": ["middleware", "load-test"]},
+    ]
+    out = _task_section(tasks)
+    assert "→ blocked by: middleware, load-test" in out
+    assert "['" not in out  # not the raw Python list repr
+
+
 def test_task_section_structured_with_done_status():
     """Task with status=done renders inline marker."""
     tasks = [