# What exactly the agent did

> The action inspector in a development session: kinds of actions and what each shows, statuses, “Raw call and result”, the “Files” tab.

The **inspector** is the right-hand column of an open session (on a phone — a bottom sheet). It has two tabs:
**“Action”** — the selected action in full, in the form that suits it: terminal,
file, diff, code; **“Files (N)”** — all the files the session read and changed. How to select
an action — on the [Read a session](/en/docs/buff-code/sessions/view) page.

_Illustration: The inspector: exactly how the model called the tool and what it answered — verbatim._

## The action header

- the icon of the kind and the **verb with the object** — the same as in the feed line: “Read” and a path,
  “Ran” and a command;
- the line **hh:mm · model · turn N s · tool name** — when the turn started, which model
  answered, how long the turn took and the tool’s technical name (`bash`, `edit`,
  `knowledge_read_entry`, `jira__get_issue`);
- the **status** on the right — see the table below. An action with an error has the error text under its header.

## Kinds of actions

The kind is determined by the tool name; it sets the icon, the colour on the session timeline, the verb and
how the inspector shows the body of the action.

| Kind | Tools | Verb · object | What the inspector shows |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Terminal** | `bash`, `shell` | **Ran** · the first line of the command; a background command — **Ran in the background** | A terminal window: folder, command, output. With a non-zero exit code the output is red. |
| **File read** | `read` and tools ending in `_read` | **Read** · path | The file with line numbers — exactly the fragment the model got, from the line it read from. A folder listing — as text. |
| **File edit** | `write`, `edit`, `multiedit`, `apply_patch`, `patch` | **Wrote** (`write`) or **Edited** · path | A diff with a caption saying what it was computed against (see below), the **+N −N** count, below — “Tool result”. |
| **Search** | `glob`, `grep`, `search`, `list`, `ls` and similar | **Searched** · pattern or query | “Call” — the arguments, “Result” — what was found. |
| **Code** | `execute` (Code Mode) | **Ran code** · the first line of the code | “Model’s code” with line numbers and the “Result” of running it. |
| **Knowledge** | `knowledge_*` | **Recorded knowledge** · title — the developer added the entry; **Proposed knowledge — not added** — they declined; **Proposes knowledge** — the request is still awaiting an answer; **Looked at knowledge** · entry name or query | “Call” and “Result”. This is the organisation’s [knowledge base](/en/docs/buff-code/knowledge). |
| **Handbook** | tools with `handbook` in the name | **Searched the handbook** · query | “Call” and “Result”. |
| **Question to the developer** | `question` | **Asked the developer** · the first question | The questions with answer options and “Developer’s answer”. |
| **Web** | `webfetch`, `websearch`, `fetch` | **Opened** · address or query | “Call” and “Result”. |
| **Subtask** | `task`, `subagent` | **Delegated a subtask** · description | “Call” and “Result”. |
| **Skill** | `skill` | **Applied a skill** · skill name | “Call” and “Result”. |
| **Plan** | `plan_exit` | **Proposed a plan** · plan title | The plan as text, as the person saw it when approving. |
| **To-do list** | `todo_update` | **Updated the to-do list** · “N of M done” | The list items with done marks. |
| **Workflow** | `workflow_*` | **Started a workflow**, **Amended a workflow run**, **Saved a workflow**, **Asked the person** and others · name | “Call” and “Result”. See [Workflows](/en/docs/buff-code/work/workflows). |
| **Automation** | `automation_*` | **Proposed an automation** · name | “Call” and “Result”. See [Automations](/en/docs/buff-code/work/automations). |
| **Tool** | everything else — [connection tools](/en/docs/buff-code/tools), [project repositories](/en/docs/buff-code/repositories), your own MCP | the tool name as is | “Call” — the arguments as JSON, “Result” — the answer as JSON or text. |

**What the diff is computed against.** The record keeps calls, not the file system, so the diff
of an edit is built from what the session saw earlier:

- **“the replaced fragment”** — for `edit`: the old text against the new one, as the model passed them;
- **“against the version written earlier in this session”** — for `write`, if this file was already
  written in the session;
- **“against the version read earlier in this session”** — for `write`, if the file was read earlier
  from the first line;
- **“A new file — or its earlier version isn’t visible in this session”** — the session did not read or write
  it before: the whole text is shown as added. This also happens with an existing
  file if the model wrote it without reading it.

_Illustration: A terminal in the inspector: the command, the output and the exit code — in red if the command ended with an error._

_Illustration: A file edit: the diff against the replaced fragment, a line counter and the tool’s answer._

## Statuses

| Status | When |
| --- | --- |
| **awaiting reply** | there is no result yet — a live session, or a break after which the answer never came |
| **exit code 0** / **done** | the command ended with zero; for other tools — the answer came without an error |
| **exit code N** (red) | the command ended with a non-zero code |
| **error** (red) | the tool answered with an error: JSON with an `error` field, “Unknown tool”, “Error:” |

The status is taken from the tool’s answer, not from the model’s words: if the model wrote “done” but
the command failed, the session timeline and the inspector show an error.

## “Raw call and result”

The button under the action body shows two texts unparsed: the call arguments as
the model wrote them, and the tool’s answer as it came. This is for cases when the inspector’s
view did not show something — a truncated stream, a non-standard answer — or when you need to
copy the bytes for analysis.

## The “Files” tab

All the files the session **read or changed through separate calls**, in the order of first
access — across the whole loaded session, not one turn. Each has:

- an icon: created, modified or only read;
- a caption: **“created”**, **“modified N times”** (for a created one — “created, then modified N times”),
  **“read N times”**;
- **+N −N** — the sum of added and removed lines across all edits of the file in the session.

Clicking a file opens the last action with it on the “Action” tab. Folder listings
are not included. If the session did not touch files — “The session did not read or change files through
separate calls”.

**What isn’t listed here.** Edits the model made from Code Mode code (the
“Ran code” action) are not recorded as separate calls — you can see them in the code itself and its result.
Edits the developer made by hand go nowhere: they did not pass through the model.

_Illustration: “Files” — all files of the session: what was read, what was changed and how many lines; a click opens the last action with the file._