F3: add implementation plan (just-in-time from coauthoring-attribution spec §7.2) (#6)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ Registers one command, **`Cowriting: Show Cline SDK Info`**, which loads
 catalog (a pure, key-free SDK call) in a notification and the
 "Cowriting (Cline SDK)" output channel.
 
+Features shipped so far: F2 region-anchored threads (Feature #4), F3 live
+human/Claude attribution (Feature #6).
+
 ## Architecture
 
 - CommonJS extension bundled with esbuild (`src/extension.ts` → `out/extension.cjs`).
@@ -43,10 +46,40 @@ sidecars under `.threads/<doc-path>.json` (plain, diffable JSON — no server).
 Design: `vscode-cowriting-plugin-content/specs/coauthoring-inner-loop.md`. No live
 `@cline/sdk` turn and no credentials are involved in F2.
 
+## F3 — Live human/Claude attribution (Feature #6)
+
+As you and Claude coauthor, every span in the buffer carries an author: human
+edits render with a subtle left border, Claude-authored spans with a background
+tint. Text that predates tracking stays plain — the honest record. Edits that
+touch a boundary (split, merge, partial overwrite) are handled char-precisely.
+
+Attribution is persisted git-natively in the same `.threads/` sidecars
+(`attributions[]`, sharing the same `anchors` fingerprints as F2 threads). On
+reload, fingerprints re-resolve spans against the current document; spans that
+can't be confidently re-found are **orphaned** (status-bar count + "Cowriting
+Attribution" output channel) rather than silently moved or discarded.
+
+**Commands**
+
+- **`Cowriting: Ask Claude to Edit Selection`** — select text → enter an
+  instruction → a live `@cline/sdk` turn runs on the built-in `claude-code`
+  provider (rides your local Claude Code Pro/Max login; the extension stores no
+  credentials). The replacement lands in the buffer as a Claude-attributed span.
+- **`Cowriting: Toggle Attribution`** — show/hide attribution decorations.
+- `cowriting.applyAgentEdit` _(palette-hidden)_ — the single machine-edit
+  ingress seam. Tests drive this directly so CI requires no LLM.
+
+Design: `vscode-cowriting-plugin-content/specs/coauthoring-attribution.md`.
+
 ## Develop
 
 - `npm run watch` — rebuild on change.
-- `npm test` — vitest unit suite (SDK driver, schema, store, anchorer, thread mutations).
+- `npx vitest run` — unit suite (SDK driver, schema, store, anchorer, thread
+  mutations, attribution split/merge).
 - `npm run test:e2e` — `@vscode/test-electron` host E2E
-  (create → reply → resolve → persist → reload → re-anchor → orphan).
+  (create → reply → resolve → persist → reload → re-anchor → orphan; drives
+  `cowriting.applyAgentEdit` directly — no LLM required).
+- `npm run smoke:live` — scripted live-turn smoke test for F3; requires Claude
+  Code installed and signed in. See
+  [`docs/MANUAL-SMOKE-F3.md`](docs/MANUAL-SMOKE-F3.md).
 - `npm run typecheck` — type-check without emit.

docs/MANUAL-SMOKE-F3.md

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# F3 manual smoke — live `claude-code` turn (spec §6.8)
+
+The live turn is deliberately NOT in CI (unit + host E2E drive the seam). It
+gets this documented smoke, run once per machine that has Claude Code
+installed and signed in (Pro/Max). The extension itself holds no credentials
+(INV-8) — auth is entirely the local Claude Code login.
+
+## 1. Scripted smoke (the quick check)
+
+    npm run smoke:live
+
+Expected: prints a `replacement:` line containing "The smoke test passed.",
+the model id, a non-empty `sessionId`, and exits 0.
+
+## 2. In-editor smoke (the real PUC-2)
+
+1. `npm run build`, then F5 (Extension Development Host) opening this repo.
+2. Open any markdown file in the workspace; type a sentence — it renders with
+   the human gutter border (left edge) as you type.
+3. Select the sentence → run **“Cowriting: Ask Claude to Edit Selection”** →
+   instruction: `rewrite this more formally`.
+4. Expected: progress notification; on completion the replacement text lands
+   **tinted** (Claude-attributed), the human border remains on your other
+   edits, and after **save** the sidecar
+   `.threads/<doc>.json` has an `attributions[]` entry with
+   `author.kind: "agent"`, `agent.model`, `agent.sessionId`, and a `turnId`.
+5. **Cowriting: Toggle Attribution** hides/shows both decorations (PUC-5).
+
+## 3. Failure paths (INV-8 — graceful, tracking unaffected)
+
+- Signed out / no Claude Code: hard to simulate on a machine where Claude
+  Code is installed — neither stripping `PATH` nor hiding the
+  `~/.local/bin/claude` symlink works (the SDK discovers the real install
+  under `~/.local/share/claude/versions/…`). The only true trigger is being
+  signed out (or having no installation at all), so exercise this on a
+  signed-out machine when one is available. Expected: the script exits 1
+  with a clear error (`runEditTurn` throws on any non-`completed` run
+  status); in-editor, the command shows an error notification and NO edit is
+  applied.
+- Buffer edited mid-turn: start an edit-selection turn, type elsewhere in the
+  document before it completes → warning notification "document changed", no
+  partial application (stale `expectedVersion`, spec §6.9).
+
+## Smoke log
+
+| Date | Machine | Result |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-06-10 | benstull mac (darwin) | PASS — `replacement: "The smoke test passed."`, model `sonnet`, sessionId `run_g_rYKGYl`, 6.9s, exit 0. Failure-path notes: turn still succeeded with `PATH="/usr/bin:/bin"` (6.2s) AND with `~/.local/bin/claude` renamed away (3.7s, `run_TQwQipJx`) — the SDK discovers the real install under `~/.local/share/claude/versions/…`, so only a genuine sign-out (not attempted from inside a live session) exercises the error path. |

esbuild.mjs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const options = {
   bundle: true,
   platform: "node",
   format: "cjs",
-  target: "node20",
+  target: "node22",
   sourcemap: true,
   // vscode is provided by the host; @cline/sdk is ESM-only and is loaded at
   // runtime via dynamic import() from node_modules, so keep both external.
@@ -17,11 +17,26 @@ const options = {
   logLevel: "info",
 };
 
+/** @type {import('esbuild').BuildOptions} */
+const liveTurnOptions = {
+  entryPoints: ["src/liveTurn.ts"],
+  outfile: "out/liveTurn.mjs",
+  bundle: true,
+  platform: "node",
+  format: "esm",
+  target: "node22",
+  sourcemap: true,
+  external: ["vscode", "@cline/sdk"],
+  logLevel: "info",
+};
+
 if (watch) {
   const ctx = await context(options);
-  await ctx.watch();
+  const ctxLive = await context(liveTurnOptions);
+  await Promise.all([ctx.watch(), ctxLive.watch()]);
   console.log("esbuild: watching…");
 } else {
   await build(options);
-  console.log("esbuild: build complete → out/extension.cjs");
+  await build(liveTurnOptions);
+  console.log("esbuild: build complete → out/extension.cjs + out/liveTurn.mjs");
 }

package.json

@@ -28,8 +28,9 @@
       { "command": "cowriting.reply", "title": "Reply", "category": "Cowriting" },
       { "command": "cowriting.resolveThread", "title": "Resolve Thread", "category": "Cowriting" },
       { "command": "cowriting.reopenThread", "title": "Reopen Thread", "category": "Cowriting" },
-      { "command": "cowriting.toggleAttribution", "title": "Cowriting: Toggle Attribution", "category": "Cowriting" },
-      { "command": "cowriting.applyAgentEdit", "title": "Apply Agent Edit (internal seam)", "category": "Cowriting" }
+      { "command": "cowriting.toggleAttribution", "title": "Toggle Attribution", "category": "Cowriting" },
+      { "command": "cowriting.applyAgentEdit", "title": "Apply Agent Edit (internal seam)", "category": "Cowriting" },
+      { "command": "cowriting.editSelection", "title": "Ask Claude to Edit Selection", "category": "Cowriting" }
     ],
     "menus": {
       "commandPalette": [
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@
     "test": "vitest run",
     "pretest:e2e": "npm run build && tsc -p tsconfig.e2e.json",
     "test:e2e": "node ./out/test/e2e/runTest.js",
+    "smoke:live": "npm run build && node scripts/smoke-live-turn.mjs",
     "vscode:prepublish": "node esbuild.mjs"
   },
   "dependencies": {

scripts/smoke-live-turn.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Scripted half of the F3 manual smoke (docs/MANUAL-SMOKE-F3.md). Drives the
+// REAL LiveTurn module against the local Claude Code login. Not run in CI.
+import { runEditTurn } from "../out/liveTurn.mjs";
+
+const instruction = process.argv[2] ?? "Replace this sentence with exactly: The smoke test passed.";
+const text = process.argv[3] ?? "This sentence is the smoke-test input.";
+
+console.log(`instruction: ${instruction}`);
+console.log(`text:        ${text}`);
+try {
+  const t0 = Date.now();
+  const result = await runEditTurn(instruction, text);
+  console.log(`replacement: ${JSON.stringify(result.replacement)}`);
+  console.log(`model:       ${result.model}`);
+  console.log(`sessionId:   ${result.sessionId}`);
+  console.log(`elapsed:     ${((Date.now() - t0) / 1000).toFixed(1)}s`);
+  process.exit(0);
+} catch (err) {
+  console.error(`live turn failed (expected when Claude Code is absent/signed out): ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+  process.exit(1);
+}

src/attributionController.ts

@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@
  * FileSystemWatcher live in CoauthorStore / extension.ts (the sidecar is
  * co-owned with ThreadController).
  */
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as vscode from "vscode";
 import { CoauthorStore } from "./store";
 import { newId, type AttributionRecord, type Provenance } from "./model";
 import { buildFingerprint, resolve, type OffsetRange } from "./anchorer";
 import { applyChange, coalesce, type LiveSpan } from "./attributionTracker";
-import { PendingEditRegistry } from "./pendingEdits";
+import { minimizeReplace, PendingEditRegistry } from "./pendingEdits";
 
 /** Test-facing snapshot of live attribution state for a document. */
 export interface RenderedSpan {
@@ -31,6 +32,12 @@ interface DocAttribution {
   orphans: AttributionRecord[];
   /** record metadata per live span id (updatedAt bookkeeping). */
   records: Map<string, AttributionRecord>;
+  /**
+   * true once this doc has had any span/record this session — lets save persist
+   * deliberate deletion to empty (so stale records don't come back as phantom
+   * orphans on reload).
+   */
+  hadAttributions: boolean;
 }
 
 const AGENT_DECO: vscode.DecorationRenderOptions = {
@@ -77,7 +84,7 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
   private state(docPath: string): DocAttribution {
     let s = this.docs.get(docPath);
     if (!s) {
-      s = { docPath, spans: [], orphans: [], records: new Map() };
+      s = { docPath, spans: [], orphans: [], records: new Map(), hadAttributions: false };
       this.docs.set(docPath, s);
     }
     return s;
@@ -110,6 +117,7 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
         }
       }
       s.spans = coalesce(s.spans);
+      if (artifact.attributions.length > 0) s.hadAttributions = true;
     }
     this.render(document);
   }
@@ -129,13 +137,18 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
   private onDidChange(e: vscode.TextDocumentChangeEvent): void {
     if (!this.isTracked(e.document) || e.contentChanges.length === 0) return;
     const docPath = this.docPathOf(e.document.uri);
-    if (!e.document.isDirty) {
-      // Disk sync (revert / reload): re-resolve, never attribute (PUC-4).
+    if (!e.document.isDirty && this.matchesDisk(e.document)) {
+      // Disk sync (revert / external reload): buffer now equals the file on
+      // disk — re-resolve, never attribute (PUC-4). A real edit can also
+      // arrive with isDirty still false (VS Code flips the flag after the
+      // change event), but then the buffer no longer matches the disk.
       this.loadAll(e.document);
       return;
     }
     const s = this.state(docPath);
-    for (const change of e.contentChanges) {
+    // Sort descending by offset so earlier changes don't invalidate later offsets
+    // (VS Code's order is undocumented; defensive sort is the safe guarantee).
+    for (const change of [...e.contentChanges].sort((a, b) => b.rangeOffset - a.rangeOffset)) {
       const edit = {
         start: change.rangeOffset,
         end: change.rangeOffset + change.rangeLength,
@@ -143,15 +156,44 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
       };
       const hit = this.pending.match(docPath, { start: edit.start, end: edit.end, text: change.text });
       const author = hit ? hit.provenance : this.currentAuthor();
-      s.spans = applyChange(s.spans, edit, author, {
+      // On a seam hit, attribute the agent's FULL intended replacement (the
+      // registered edit is diff-minimized for transport only): same delta,
+      // wider span — the agent owns every char it asserted (INV-9).
+      s.spans = applyChange(s.spans, hit?.full ?? edit, author, {
         newId: () => newId("at"),
         now: () => new Date().toISOString(),
         turnId: hit?.turnId,
       });
     }
+    if (s.spans.length > 0) s.hadAttributions = true;
     this.render(e.document);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * True when the document buffer is byte-identical to the file on disk.
+   * Fires only on `!isDirty` change events — first change after every clean
+   * state (frequent under `files.autoSave: afterDelay`) and reverts/reloads;
+   * O(file size) sync read. A size pre-check avoids the full read in the
+   * common case: if the byte lengths differ (accounting for a possible 3-byte
+   * UTF-8 BOM that `document.getText()` never includes) we return early. When
+   * a BOM is present the disk read is stripped before comparing so a genuine
+   * revert does not clobber attribution.
+   */
+  private matchesDisk(document: vscode.TextDocument): boolean {
+    try {
+      const bufLen = Buffer.byteLength(document.getText(), "utf8");
+      const stat = fs.statSync(document.uri.fsPath);
+      // Allow size === bufLen (no BOM) OR size === bufLen + 3 (UTF-8 BOM).
+      if (stat.size !== bufLen && stat.size !== bufLen + 3) return false;
+      const disk = fs.readFileSync(document.uri.fsPath, "utf8").replace(/^/, "");
+      return disk === document.getText();
+    } catch {
+      // Unreadable/missing file: treat as a real edit (attribute), per
+      // fail-open honesty — misclassifying a sync as an edit is recoverable.
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
   // ---- the seam (INV-9) ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
   /**
@@ -160,6 +202,10 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
    * document version or a rejected edit — never partial-applies (spec §6.9).
    * The pending edit is unregistered unconditionally afterwards (a no-op when
    * `match` already consumed it), so a no-op edit never leaks a registration.
+   * The replace is self-minimized (common prefix/suffix trimmed) to mirror the
+   * host's WorkspaceEdit diff-minimization, so registered == applied == delivered.
+   * Callers issuing concurrent edits on the same document must serialize them or
+   * pass `expectedVersion` (offsets are computed against the call-time snapshot).
    */
   async applyAgentEdit(
     document: vscode.TextDocument,
@@ -171,19 +217,42 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
     if (!this.isTracked(document)) return false;
     if (opts?.expectedVersion !== undefined && document.version !== opts.expectedVersion) return false;
     const docPath = this.docPathOf(document.uri);
+    const startOffset = document.offsetAt(range.start);
+    const endOffset = document.offsetAt(range.end);
+    const oldText = document.getText(range);
+    const { prefix, suffix } = minimizeReplace(oldText, newText);
+    const minStart = startOffset + prefix;
+    const minEnd = endOffset - suffix;
+    const minText = newText.slice(prefix, newText.length - suffix);
+    if (minStart === minEnd && minText.length === 0) {
+      // Replacement equals the existing text — a no-op; nothing to attribute.
+      return true;
+    }
     const pendingEdit = {
       docPath,
-      start: document.offsetAt(range.start),
-      end: document.offsetAt(range.end),
-      newText,
+      start: minStart,
+      end: minEnd,
+      newText: minText,
       provenance,
       turnId: opts?.turnId,
+      full: { start: startOffset, end: endOffset, newLength: newText.length },
     };
     this.pending.register(pendingEdit);
     const we = new vscode.WorkspaceEdit();
-    we.replace(document.uri, range, newText);
+    we.replace(document.uri, new vscode.Range(document.positionAt(minStart), document.positionAt(minEnd)), minText);
     const ok = await vscode.workspace.applyEdit(we);
-    this.pending.unregister(pendingEdit);
+    const removed = this.pending.unregister(pendingEdit);
+    if (ok && removed) {
+      // workspace.applyEdit resolves AFTER onDidChangeTextDocument is dispatched
+      // synchronously to listeners, so a matching change event should have already
+      // consumed the registration before we reach here. If it is still present,
+      // the host minimized the diff differently than we predicted — attribution
+      // may be wrong for this edit (INV-9).
+      this.output.appendLine(
+        "WARN: seam edit applied but its change event never matched the registration " +
+        "(host minimized differently?) — the edit may be mis-attributed (INV-9).",
+      );
+    }
     return ok;
   }
 
@@ -193,7 +262,10 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
     if (!this.isTracked(document)) return;
     const docPath = this.docPathOf(document.uri);
     const s = this.docs.get(docPath);
-    if (!s || (s.spans.length === 0 && s.orphans.length === 0)) return;
+    // Allow save when hadAttributions is true even if spans/orphans are now empty:
+    // that means the user deliberately deleted all attributed text, and we must
+    // persist a.attributions=[] so stale records don't return as phantom orphans.
+    if (!s || (!s.hadAttributions && s.spans.length === 0 && s.orphans.length === 0)) return;
     const text = document.getText();
     const now = new Date().toISOString();
     const records: AttributionRecord[] = [];
@@ -239,16 +311,25 @@ export class AttributionController implements vscode.Disposable {
   }
 
   private render(document: vscode.TextDocument): void {
-    const editor = vscode.window.visibleTextEditors.find((e) => e.document === document);
-    if (!editor || !this.isTracked(document)) return;
+    if (!this.isTracked(document)) return;
     const s = this.docs.get(this.docPathOf(document.uri));
     const spans = this.visible && s ? s.spans : [];
     const toRange = (sp: LiveSpan) =>
       new vscode.Range(document.positionAt(sp.start), document.positionAt(sp.end));
-    editor.setDecorations(this.agentType, spans.filter((x) => x.author.kind === "agent").map(toRange));
-    editor.setDecorations(this.humanType, spans.filter((x) => x.author.kind === "human").map(toRange));
+    const agentRanges = spans.filter((x) => x.author.kind === "agent").map(toRange);
+    const humanRanges = spans.filter((x) => x.author.kind === "human").map(toRange);
+    // Apply decorations to ALL visible split-editors showing this document, not
+    // just the first match — each editor pane has its own decoration layer.
+    for (const editor of vscode.window.visibleTextEditors) {
+      if (editor.document === document) {
+        editor.setDecorations(this.agentType, agentRanges);
+        editor.setDecorations(this.humanType, humanRanges);
+      }
+    }
+    if (document === vscode.window.activeTextEditor?.document) {
       this.renderStatus(s);
     }
+  }
 
   private renderStatus(s: DocAttribution | undefined): void {
     const n = s?.orphans.length ?? 0;

src/extension.ts

@@ -81,6 +81,71 @@ export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): CowritingApi | undef
     ),
   );
 
+  // F3 SLICE-5: the live turn (PUC-2) — selection + instruction → one
+  // claude-code SDK turn (liveTurn.ts, INV-8) → the applyAgentEdit seam (INV-9).
+  context.subscriptions.push(
+    vscode.commands.registerCommand("cowriting.editSelection", async () => {
+      const editor = vscode.window.activeTextEditor;
+      if (
+        !editor ||
+        editor.selection.isEmpty ||
+        editor.document.uri.scheme !== "file" ||
+        !editor.document.uri.fsPath.startsWith(root)
+      ) {
+        void vscode.window.showWarningMessage("Cowriting: select some text in a workspace document first.");
+        return;
+      }
+      const instruction = await vscode.window.showInputBox({
+        prompt: "What should Claude do with the selection?",
+        placeHolder: "e.g. tighten this paragraph",
+      });
+      if (!instruction) return;
+      if (editor.selection.isEmpty) {
+        void vscode.window.showWarningMessage("Cowriting: select some text in a workspace document first.");
+        return;
+      }
+      const document = editor.document;
+      const selection = editor.selection;
+      const expectedVersion = document.version;
+      const selectedText = document.getText(selection);
+      const turnId = `turn-${Date.now().toString(36)}`;
+      try {
+        await vscode.window.withProgress(
+          { location: vscode.ProgressLocation.Notification, title: "Cowriting: asking Claude…" },
+          async () => {
+            const { runEditTurn } = await import("./liveTurn");
+            const turn = await runEditTurn(instruction, selectedText);
+            if (turn.replacement === "") {
+              void vscode.window.showWarningMessage(
+                "Cowriting: Claude returned an empty replacement — nothing was applied.",
+              );
+              return;
+            }
+            const ok = await attributionController.applyAgentEdit(
+              document,
+              new vscode.Range(selection.start, selection.end),
+              turn.replacement,
+              {
+                kind: "agent",
+                id: "claude",
+                agent: { sdk: "@cline/sdk", model: turn.model, sessionId: turn.sessionId },
+              },
+              { expectedVersion, turnId },
+            );
+            if (!ok) {
+              void vscode.window.showWarningMessage(
+                "Cowriting: the edit could not be applied (the document changed during the turn, or the editor rejected the edit) — nothing was changed.",
+              );
+            }
+          },
+        );
+      } catch (err) {
+        const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+        void vscode.window.showErrorMessage(`Cowriting: Claude edit failed — ${message}`);
+      }
+    }),
+  );
+
   // Render threads + attributions for already-open editors, and on future opens.
   const renderIfOpen = (doc: vscode.TextDocument) => {
     if (doc.uri.scheme === "file" && doc.uri.fsPath.startsWith(root)) {

src/liveTurn.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/**
+ * LiveTurn — the minimal machine-edit ingress (spec §6.2): one @cline/sdk
+ * Agent turn on the built-in `claude-code` provider, which rides the
+ * operator's local Claude Code Pro/Max login — the extension holds NO
+ * credentials of any kind (INV-8). vscode-free; the editSelection command
+ * (extension.ts) feeds the result into the applyAgentEdit seam (INV-9).
+ *
+ * Like src/cline.ts: @cline/sdk is ESM-only, loaded via dynamic import(),
+ * never bundled (esbuild keeps it external).
+ */
+
+export interface EditTurnResult {
+  replacement: string;
+  model: string;
+  /** the SDK run id — recorded as provenance sessionId. */
+  sessionId: string;
+}
+
+const SYSTEM_PROMPT = [
+  "You are a precise text editor embedded in VS Code.",
+  "You will be given a piece of text and an instruction.",
+  "Respond with ONLY the edited replacement text — no explanation, no preamble,",
+  "no markdown code fences. Preserve the original's leading/trailing whitespace",
+  "unless the instruction says otherwise.",
+].join(" ");
+
+/**
+ * Strip a wrapping markdown code fence if the model added one anyway.
+ * If `selectedText` itself was fence-wrapped (i.e. the user's selection was a
+ * fenced block), the model mirroring that format is correct — return
+ * `outputText` unchanged so the fence is preserved.
+ */
+export function extractReplacement(outputText: string, selectedText: string): string {
+  const fencePattern = /^\s*```[^\n]*\n[\s\S]*?\n?```\s*$/;
+  if (fencePattern.test(selectedText)) return outputText;
+  const m = outputText.match(/^\s*```[^\n]*\n([\s\S]*?)\n?```\s*$/);
+  return m ? m[1] : outputText;
+}
+
+export async function runEditTurn(
+  instruction: string,
+  selectedText: string,
+  opts?: { modelId?: string },
+): Promise<EditTurnResult> {
+  const sdk = await import("@cline/sdk");
+  const modelId = opts?.modelId ?? "sonnet";
+  const agent = new sdk.Agent({
+    providerId: "claude-code",
+    modelId,
+    systemPrompt: SYSTEM_PROMPT,
+  });
+  const result = await agent.run(
+    `<instruction>\n${instruction}\n</instruction>\n<text>\n${selectedText}\n</text>`,
+  );
+  // The SDK's AgentRunResult.status union is "completed" | "aborted" | "failed"
+  // (@cline/shared agent.d.ts) — "completed" is the success status.
+  if (result.status !== "completed") {
+    throw new Error(
+      `claude-code turn ${result.status}: ${result.error?.message ?? "unknown error"} ` +
+        "(is Claude Code installed and signed in?)",
+    );
+  }
+  return { replacement: extractReplacement(result.outputText, selectedText), model: modelId, sessionId: result.runId };
+}

src/pendingEdits.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,27 @@
  */
 import type { Provenance } from "./model";
 
+/**
+ * Greedily trim the common prefix then common suffix between the replaced
+ * text and its replacement (non-overlapping), mirroring the host's own
+ * WorkspaceEdit diff-minimization so a registered seam edit matches the
+ * change event VS Code actually delivers (INV-9).
+ */
+export function minimizeReplace(
+  oldText: string,
+  newText: string,
+): { prefix: number; suffix: number } {
+  const max = Math.min(oldText.length, newText.length);
+  let prefix = 0;
+  while (prefix < max && oldText[prefix] === newText[prefix]) prefix++;
+  let suffix = 0;
+  while (
+    suffix < max - prefix &&
+    oldText[oldText.length - 1 - suffix] === newText[newText.length - 1 - suffix]
+  ) suffix++;
+  return { prefix, suffix };
+}
+
 export interface PendingEdit {
   docPath: string;
   /** half-open [start, end) offsets of the replaced range. */
@@ -15,6 +36,14 @@ export interface PendingEdit {
   newText: string;
   provenance: Provenance;
   turnId?: string;
+  /**
+   * The agent's full intended replacement before self-minimization (pre-edit
+   * half-open range + replacement length). The minimized start/end/newText are
+   * transport-only (so the registration matches the host-delivered change);
+   * attribution uses this extent — the agent owns every char it asserted,
+   * including chars the minimized diff left unchanged.
+   */
+  full?: { start: number; end: number; newLength: number };
 }
 
 export class PendingEditRegistry {
@@ -26,11 +55,15 @@ export class PendingEditRegistry {
 
   /**
    * Remove a registration that failed to apply. Identity-based (`===`), so
-   * callers must keep the exact registered object; it is a no-op when `match`
-   * already consumed the registration.
+   * callers must keep the exact registered object. Returns `true` if the
+   * registration was still pending and was removed, `false` if it was already
+   * consumed by `match` (or was never registered). This lets callers detect
+   * seam misses for diagnosability (INV-9).
    */
-  unregister(edit: PendingEdit): void {
+  unregister(edit: PendingEdit): boolean {
+    const before = this.pending.length;
     this.pending = this.pending.filter((p) => p !== edit);
+    return this.pending.length < before;
   }
 
   /**

src/store.ts

@@ -11,19 +11,33 @@ import * as path from "node:path";
 import { emptyArtifact, serializeArtifact, type Artifact } from "./model";
 
 export class CoauthorStore {
-  /** sidecar paths this store just wrote, so the shared watcher can ignore them. */
-  private readonly selfWrites = new Set<string>();
+  /**
+   * Pending-write counts keyed by absolute sidecar path. A Map (not Set) because
+   * one doc save can trigger TWO store.update() calls (ThreadController then
+   * AttributionController), both writing the same sidecar — a Set would let the
+   * second watcher event leak through as "external" (comment-UI flicker).
+   */
+  private readonly selfWrites = new Map<string, number>();
 
   /** @param rootDir absolute workspace-folder root that owns the `.threads/` tree. */
   constructor(private readonly rootDir: string) {}
 
   /**
-   * Delete-and-report: true iff `fsPath` was a sidecar we just wrote via
-   * `update`. The shared watcher (extension.ts) calls this to suppress
-   * self-write events before fanning out to the controllers.
+   * Decrement-and-report: true iff `fsPath` was a sidecar this store just
+   * wrote via `update`. Each successful `update` increments the counter once;
+   * each call here decrements it (deleting the key at zero). The shared watcher
+   * (extension.ts) calls this to suppress self-write events before fanning out
+   * to the controllers.
    */
   consumeSelfWrite(fsPath: string): boolean {
-    return this.selfWrites.delete(fsPath);
+    const count = this.selfWrites.get(fsPath);
+    if (!count) return false;
+    if (count === 1) {
+      this.selfWrites.delete(fsPath);
+    } else {
+      this.selfWrites.set(fsPath, count - 1);
+    }
+    return true;
   }
 
   /** `.threads/<repo-relative-docPath>.json` (spec §6.3). */
@@ -61,8 +75,12 @@ export class CoauthorStore {
     for (const id of Object.keys(artifact.anchors)) {
       if (!referenced.has(id)) delete artifact.anchors[id];
     }
-    this.selfWrites.add(this.sidecarPath(docPath));
     this.save(docPath, artifact);
+    // Increment AFTER the synchronous write: fs.writeFileSync completes before
+    // this line executes, and watcher events are delivered async, so marking
+    // post-write is race-free for suppression purposes.
+    const p = this.sidecarPath(docPath);
+    this.selfWrites.set(p, (this.selfWrites.get(p) ?? 0) + 1);
     return artifact;
   }
 }

test/e2e/fixtures/workspace/docs/attrib.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Attribution fixture
+
+A stable first paragraph that predates tracking.
+
+The target sentence lives here for seam edits.

test/e2e/suite/attribution.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+import * as assert from "assert";
+import * as fs from "fs";
+import * as path from "path";
+import * as vscode from "vscode";
+import type { CowritingApi } from "../../../src/extension";
+import type { Artifact } from "../../../src/model";
+
+const WS = process.env.E2E_WORKSPACE!;
+const DOC_REL = "docs/attrib.md";
+
+function sidecarPath(): string {
+  return path.join(WS, ".threads", "docs", "attrib.md.json");
+}
+function readSidecar(): Artifact {
+  return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(sidecarPath(), "utf8")) as Artifact;
+}
+async function openDoc(): Promise<vscode.TextDocument> {
+  const uri = vscode.Uri.file(path.join(WS, DOC_REL));
+  const doc = await vscode.workspace.openTextDocument(uri);
+  await vscode.window.showTextDocument(doc);
+  return doc;
+}
+async function getApi(): Promise<CowritingApi> {
+  const ext = vscode.extensions.getExtension("benstull.vscode-cowriting-plugin")!;
+  const api = (await ext.activate()) as CowritingApi;
+  assert.ok(api?.attributionController, "extension exports attributionController");
+  return api;
+}
+async function externalWriteAndReload(uri: vscode.Uri, content: string): Promise<vscode.TextDocument> {
+  fs.writeFileSync(uri.fsPath, content, "utf8");
+  const doc = await vscode.workspace.openTextDocument(uri);
+  await vscode.window.showTextDocument(doc);
+  await vscode.commands.executeCommand("workbench.action.files.revert");
+  return doc;
+}
+const settle = () => new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 300));
+
+// Tests are ORDER-DEPENDENT: later tests consume earlier tests' document/sidecar
+// state by design, mirroring the F2 suite. This suite owns docs/attrib.md;
+// the threads suite owns docs/sample.md — keep fixtures disjoint.
+suite("F3 live attribution (host E2E — seam-driven, no LLM)", () => {
+  const TYPED = "A human-typed sentence. ";
+
+  test("typing produces a live human span", async () => {
+    const doc = await openDoc();
+    const api = await getApi();
+    const editor = vscode.window.activeTextEditor!;
+    const insertAt = doc.getText().length;
+    await editor.edit((eb) => eb.insert(doc.positionAt(insertAt), TYPED));
+    await settle();
+    const spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    assert.strictEqual(spans.length, 1);
+    assert.strictEqual(spans[0].authorKind, "human");
+    assert.strictEqual(doc.getText().slice(spans[0].range.start, spans[0].range.end), TYPED);
+  });
+
+  test("a seam edit produces an agent span; mixed edits stay char-honest (INV-7/INV-9)", async () => {
+    const doc = await openDoc();
+    const api = await getApi();
+    const target = "target sentence";
+    const start = doc.getText().indexOf(target);
+    const ok = await api.attributionController.applyAgentEdit(
+      doc,
+      new vscode.Range(doc.positionAt(start), doc.positionAt(start + target.length)),
+      "REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence",
+      { kind: "agent", id: "claude", agent: { sdk: "@cline/sdk", model: "sonnet", sessionId: "e2e-run" } },
+      { turnId: "turn-e2e-1" },
+    );
+    assert.strictEqual(ok, true, "seam edit applies");
+    await settle();
+    const spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    const agent = spans.find((s) => s.authorKind === "agent");
+    assert.ok(agent, "agent span exists");
+    assert.strictEqual(agent!.turnId, "turn-e2e-1");
+    assert.strictEqual(
+      doc.getText().slice(agent!.range.start, agent!.range.end),
+      "REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence",
+    );
+    assert.ok(spans.some((s) => s.authorKind === "human"), "human span still tracked");
+  });
+
+  test("stale expectedVersion refuses to apply (spec §6.9)", async () => {
+    const doc = await openDoc();
+    const api = await getApi();
+    const ok = await api.attributionController.applyAgentEdit(
+      doc,
+      new vscode.Range(doc.positionAt(0), doc.positionAt(1)),
+      "X",
+      { kind: "agent", id: "claude", agent: { sdk: "@cline/sdk", model: "sonnet", sessionId: "e2e" } },
+      { expectedVersion: doc.version - 1 },
+    );
+    assert.strictEqual(ok, false);
+  });
+
+  test("save persists attributions[]; reload restores spans at re-resolved anchors (PUC-4)", async () => {
+    const doc = await openDoc();
+    const api = await getApi();
+    await doc.save();
+    await settle();
+    const art = readSidecar();
+    assert.ok(art.attributions.length >= 2, "human + agent records persisted");
+    const agentRec = art.attributions.find((a) => a.author.kind === "agent")!;
+    assert.strictEqual(art.anchors[agentRec.anchorId].fingerprint.text, "REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence");
+    assert.strictEqual(agentRec.turnId, "turn-e2e-1");
+
+    api.attributionController.loadAll(doc);
+    const spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    assert.ok(spans.some((s) => s.authorKind === "agent"), "agent span restored from sidecar");
+    assert.strictEqual(api.attributionController.getOrphanCount(DOC_REL), 0);
+  });
+
+  test("external move re-anchors; mangling the text orphans (INV-1/INV-6)", async () => {
+    const uri = vscode.Uri.file(path.join(WS, DOC_REL));
+    const original = fs.readFileSync(uri.fsPath, "utf8");
+    const api = await getApi();
+
+    let doc = await externalWriteAndReload(uri, "PREPENDED LINE\n\n" + original);
+    await settle();
+    api.attributionController.loadAll(doc);
+    let spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    const agent = spans.find((s) => s.authorKind === "agent")!;
+    const moved = doc.getText().indexOf("REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence");
+    assert.strictEqual(agent.range.start, moved, "agent span re-anchored after move");
+    assert.strictEqual(api.attributionController.getOrphanCount(DOC_REL), 0);
+
+    const mangled = doc.getText().replace("REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence", "now something else entirely");
+    doc = await externalWriteAndReload(uri, mangled);
+    await settle();
+    api.attributionController.loadAll(doc);
+    spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    assert.ok(!spans.some((s) => s.authorKind === "agent"), "mangled agent span not rendered");
+    assert.ok(api.attributionController.getOrphanCount(DOC_REL) >= 1, "…it is orphaned instead (INV-1)");
+  });
+
+  test("the applyAgentEdit command wrapper and the toggle command work end-to-end", async () => {
+    const doc = await openDoc();
+    const api = await getApi();
+    const anchor = "stable first paragraph";
+    const start = doc.getText().indexOf(anchor);
+    const ok = await vscode.commands.executeCommand<boolean>("cowriting.applyAgentEdit", {
+      uri: doc.uri.toString(),
+      start,
+      end: start + anchor.length,
+      newText: "stable COMMAND-EDITED paragraph",
+      model: "sonnet",
+      sessionId: "e2e-cmd",
+      turnId: "turn-e2e-cmd",
+    });
+    assert.strictEqual(ok, true, "command wrapper applies via the seam");
+    await settle();
+    const spans = api.attributionController.getSpans(DOC_REL);
+    const agent = spans.find((s) => s.turnId === "turn-e2e-cmd");
+    assert.ok(agent, "command-driven agent span exists");
+    assert.strictEqual(agent!.authorKind, "agent");
+
+    assert.strictEqual(api.attributionController.isVisible(), true);
+    await vscode.commands.executeCommand("cowriting.toggleAttribution");
+    assert.strictEqual(api.attributionController.isVisible(), false, "toggle hides (PUC-5)");
+    await vscode.commands.executeCommand("cowriting.toggleAttribution");
+    assert.strictEqual(api.attributionController.isVisible(), true, "toggle restores");
+  });
+});

test/liveTurn.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { extractReplacement } from "../src/liveTurn";
+
+describe("extractReplacement", () => {
+  it("returns plain text untouched", () => {
+    expect(extractReplacement("Hello world.", "x")).toBe("Hello world.");
+  });
+  it("strips a wrapping fence", () => {
+    expect(extractReplacement("```\nHello world.\n```", "x")).toBe("Hello world.");
+  });
+  it("strips a language-tagged fence", () => {
+    expect(extractReplacement("```markdown\nHello.\n```\n", "x")).toBe("Hello.");
+  });
+  it("leaves inner fences alone", () => {
+    const inner = "before\n```js\ncode\n```\nafter";
+    expect(extractReplacement(inner, "x")).toBe(inner);
+  });
+  it("keeps the fence when the original selection was itself fence-wrapped", () => {
+    const sel = "```python\nold()\n```";
+    const out = "```python\nnew()\n```";
+    expect(extractReplacement(out, sel)).toBe(out);
+  });
+  it("still strips when the selection was plain but the model added a fence", () => {
+    expect(extractReplacement("```\nplain\n```", "plain old text")).toBe("plain");
+  });
+});

test/pendingEdits.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
-import { PendingEditRegistry } from "../src/pendingEdits";
+import { minimizeReplace, PendingEditRegistry } from "../src/pendingEdits";
 import type { Provenance } from "../src/model";
 
 const AGENT: Provenance = {
@@ -29,4 +29,32 @@ describe("PendingEditRegistry (INV-9)", () => {
     reg.unregister(p);
     expect(reg.match("d.md", { start: 0, end: 0, text: "x" })).toBeNull();
   });
+  it("unregister reports whether the registration was still pending", () => {
+    const reg = new PendingEditRegistry();
+    const p = { docPath: "d.md", start: 0, end: 0, newText: "x", provenance: AGENT };
+    reg.register(p);
+    expect(reg.unregister(p)).toBe(true);
+    reg.register(p);
+    reg.match("d.md", { start: 0, end: 0, text: "x" });
+    expect(reg.unregister(p)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("minimizeReplace (host diff-minimization mirror)", () => {
+  it("trims a common suffix (the E2E-observed case)", () => {
+    expect(minimizeReplace("target sentence", "REWRITTEN-BY-CLAUDE sentence")).toEqual({ prefix: 0, suffix: 9 });
+  });
+  it("trims a common prefix", () => {
+    expect(minimizeReplace("Hello world", "Hello there")).toEqual({ prefix: 6, suffix: 0 });
+  });
+  it("trims both, never overlapping", () => {
+    expect(minimizeReplace("aba", "aa")).toEqual({ prefix: 1, suffix: 1 });
+    expect(minimizeReplace("aaaa", "aa")).toEqual({ prefix: 2, suffix: 0 });
+  });
+  it("identical texts minimize to nothing", () => {
+    expect(minimizeReplace("same", "same")).toEqual({ prefix: 4, suffix: 0 });
+  });
+  it("disjoint texts trim nothing", () => {
+    expect(minimizeReplace("abc", "xyz")).toEqual({ prefix: 0, suffix: 0 });
+  });
 });

test/store.test.ts

@@ -88,4 +88,22 @@ describe("CoauthorStore", () => {
     });
     expect(Object.keys(store.load("d.md")!.anchors)).toEqual([]);
   });
+
+  it("consumeSelfWrite counts multiple writes to the same sidecar (double-save suppression)", () => {
+    const store = new CoauthorStore(root);
+    store.update("d.md", (a) => {
+      a.anchors["a_t"] = { fingerprint: { text: "t", before: "", after: "", lineHint: 0 } };
+      a.threads.push({ id: "t1", anchorId: "a_t", status: "open", messages: [] });
+    });
+    store.update("d.md", (a) => {
+      a.attributions.push({
+        id: "at1", anchorId: "a_t", author: { kind: "human", id: "ben" },
+        createdAt: "2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z", updatedAt: "2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z",
+      });
+    });
+    const p = store.sidecarPath("d.md");
+    expect(store.consumeSelfWrite(p)).toBe(true);
+    expect(store.consumeSelfWrite(p)).toBe(true);
+    expect(store.consumeSelfWrite(p)).toBe(false);
+  });
 });