Post-merge cleanup: Judge subprocess routing and provider config gaps

[electronicBlacksmith]

Context

During the upstream sync merge (ghostwright/phantom -> electronicBlacksmith/phantom), code reviews from Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GitHub Copilot GPT-5.4 identified several issues that don't block the merge but should be addressed in follow-up work.

Issues Identified

1. maxTokens silently ignored in judge subprocess (Medium)

File: src/agent/judge-query.ts

JudgeQueryOptions.maxTokens is accepted as a field but never passed to the SDK query() call. The prior implementation honored options.maxTokens ?? JUDGE_MAX_TOKENS via max_tokens on the Anthropic SDK call. With the subprocess design, effort: "low" controls token budget indirectly, but the intent to cap at 4096 is now silently dropped.

Action: Either wire maxTokens through to the SDK or remove the field from JudgeQueryOptions and document that effort: "low" replaces explicit token limits.

2. judge_model config is effectively dead (Medium)

File: src/agent/judge-query.ts

The resolution chain is options.model ?? config.judge_model ?? config.model, but every evolution/loop judge caller passes options.model (typically JUDGE_MODEL_SONNET), so judge_model config never wins.

Action: Either update judge callers to omit model when they want the config default, or remove judge_model from the schema to avoid misleading operators.

3. Provider model mapping only works for aliases (Low)

File: src/config/providers.ts

buildProviderEnv() sets ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_{OPUS,SONNET,HAIKU}_MODEL, but Phantom passes concrete Claude IDs like claude-sonnet-4-6 in judge calls, not aliases like sonnet. The CLI only remaps aliases, so multi-backend routing is only partially correct for judges.

Action: This is an upstream design limitation. Either switch to using aliases in judge calls, or document that provider model mapping only affects alias-based model references.

4. Dead exports in types.ts (Low)

File: src/evolution/judges/types.ts

JUDGE_MAX_TOKENS and JUDGE_TEMPERATURE are exported but no longer imported anywhere after the subprocess migration.

Action: Remove dead exports.

5. process.env spread needs justification comment (Low)

Files: src/agent/judge-query.ts, src/agent/runtime.ts

Both files use env: { ...process.env, ...providerEnv } which passes the entire parent environment to subprocesses. CLAUDE.md warns "Don't leak process.env to subprocesses" but doesn't carve out the SDK subprocess case.

Action: Add a comment explaining this is intentional for the SDK subprocess (needs PATH, HOME, credential files).

6. Lost partial cost tracking (Info)

File: src/memory/consolidation.ts

JudgeParseError cost tracking is gone - failed judge calls where tokens were consumed go untracked. This is a known tradeoff documented in the code, but affects precise daily_cost_usd evolution gate enforcement.

Action: Document this limitation. No code change needed unless precise cost tracking becomes critical.

Test Coverage Gap

No test exercises the real SDK subprocess model-resolution path or proves judge_model affects any live judge call. Consider adding integration tests if these features become important.

Related

• Upstream sync merge: chore/sync-upstream branch
• Commits merged: Phase 1 (judge subprocess), Phase 2 (provider config), Phase 2.5 (scheduler hardening)