From d05a4bbac7f43b457102ecde3fab4a47383c5a54 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jessica Mulein <jessica@digitaldefiance.org>
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2026 16:32:57 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix(tools): lenient UpdateTodoList tasks JSON in
 normalize_json_array

Local models emit glued tool args and unescaped inner quotes on tasks arrays.
Add try_parse_lenient_task_array and wire it through normalize_json_array so
UpdateTodoList survives qwen-style { "tasks": "[{...}]" }{ "path": "..." }.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
---
 cecli/helpers/responses.py         | 38 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 cecli/tools/utils/helpers.py       | 18 ++++++++++----
 tests/tools/test_tool_arguments.py | 12 ++++++++++
 3 files changed, 64 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cecli/helpers/responses.py b/cecli/helpers/responses.py
index 87d10a2daff..be0a43147e0 100644
--- a/cecli/helpers/responses.py
+++ b/cecli/helpers/responses.py
@@ -492,6 +492,44 @@ def _repair_local_model_json_text(text: str) -> str:
     return repaired
 
 
+def try_parse_lenient_task_array(text) -> list[dict] | None:
+    """
+    Parse UpdateTodoList ``tasks`` when the model emits unescaped inner JSON quotes.
+
+    Example::
+        [{"done": true, "task": "Explore crates"}, {"done": false, "task": "Review curl"}]
+    """
+    if isinstance(text, dict):
+        if "tasks" in text:
+            text = text["tasks"]
+        elif "done" in text and "task" in text:
+            return [text]
+        else:
+            return None
+    if not isinstance(text, str):
+        return None
+    raw = text.strip()
+    if not raw:
+        return None
+    if raw.startswith('"') and raw.endswith('"') and "[{" in raw:
+        raw = raw[1:-1]
+    if "}{" in raw:
+        merged = merge_glued_json_objects(utils.split_concatenated_json(raw))
+        if merged and "tasks" in merged:
+            raw = str(merged["tasks"])
+    if not raw.lstrip().startswith("["):
+        return None
+    pattern = re.compile(
+        r'\{\s*"done"\s*:\s*(true|false)\s*,\s*"task"\s*:\s*"((?:\\.|[^"\\])*)"\s*\}',
+        re.IGNORECASE,
+    )
+    rows = [
+        {"done": m.group(1).lower() == "true", "task": m.group(2).replace('\\"', '"')}
+        for m in pattern.finditer(raw)
+    ]
+    return rows if rows else None
+
+
 def _parse_bracket_arguments(payload_str: str) -> dict:
     """Parse multiple arguments from a bracket-style payload.
 
diff --git a/cecli/tools/utils/helpers.py b/cecli/tools/utils/helpers.py
index f05e2eda8f9..dd647d0aa7f 100644
--- a/cecli/tools/utils/helpers.py
+++ b/cecli/tools/utils/helpers.py
@@ -365,10 +365,20 @@ def normalize_json_array(value, *, param_name: str = "items", allow_empty: bool
             raise ToolError(f"{param_name} array cannot be empty")
         parsed = responses.try_parse_json_value(text)
         if parsed is None:
-            try:
-                parsed = json.loads(text)
-            except json.JSONDecodeError as err:
-                raise ToolError(f"Invalid {param_name} parameter JSON: {err}") from err
+            lenient = responses.try_parse_lenient_task_array(text)
+            if lenient is not None:
+                parsed = lenient
+            else:
+                try:
+                    parsed = json.loads(text)
+                except json.JSONDecodeError as err:
+                    raise ToolError(f"Invalid {param_name} parameter JSON: {err}") from err
+        if isinstance(parsed, dict) and "tasks" in parsed and param_name == "tasks":
+            nested = responses.try_parse_lenient_task_array(parsed)
+            if nested is not None:
+                parsed = nested
+            elif isinstance(parsed["tasks"], str):
+                parsed = responses.try_parse_json_value(parsed["tasks"]) or parsed["tasks"]
         value = parsed
 
     if isinstance(value, dict):
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_tool_arguments.py b/tests/tools/test_tool_arguments.py
index c06ff1d5d83..b3277f27c58 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_tool_arguments.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_tool_arguments.py
@@ -223,6 +223,18 @@ def test_normalize_json_array_empty_list_with_allow_empty():
     assert normalize_json_array([], param_name="items", allow_empty=True) == []
 
 
+def test_normalize_json_array_lenient_unescaped_tasks():
+    """UpdateTodoList tasks with unescaped inner JSON quotes (local qwen)."""
+    raw = (
+        '[{"done": true, "task": "Explore project structure"}, '
+        '{"done": false, "task": "Review curl-reference-code"}]'
+    )
+    result = normalize_json_array(raw, param_name="tasks")
+    assert len(result) == 2
+    assert result[0]["done"] is True
+    assert "Explore" in result[0]["task"]
+
+
 def test_extract_tools_from_content_json_with_arguments_key():
     """Standard tool calls with 'arguments' key should be extracted."""
     content = '{"name": "ls", "arguments": {"path": "."}}'