Side Quest 09-01b: Pattern

:dart: What You'll Do

You will diagnose empty tool responses and decide whether the root cause is missing read scope, over-filtering, or truly empty repository data.

:clipboard: Before You Start

• Complete Side Quest: Diagnosing Common Agent Output Patterns

An empty result does not always mean failure. The call may succeed but return zero records. Start by checking whether your tool needs a read scope that is missing from permissions:. Then test whether your query is too narrow. For example, labels: bug returns nothing if no issue currently has that label. Your goal is to isolate one variable at a time so you can see whether the problem is authorization, query logic, or data state.

Use this sequence:

1. Confirm the required read scope in workflow frontmatter (for example, issues: read).
2. Re-run with broader filters (or no optional filters).
3. Compare with repository reality in the GitHub UI.

If the call still returns empty and data exists, ask the agentic-workflows skill to review your tool arguments, or keep gh aw compile --watch running while you adjust inputs.

Hands-On Exercise

Identify the pattern before opening the answer.

🔧 [tool] github.list_issues → {state: open, labels: "bug"}
📥 [result] 0 issues returned
🤔 [plan] No matching records; nothing to post
✅ [done] Task complete

Show answer

Pattern: [tool] call returns empty results. Check required read permissions and broaden filters to confirm data availability.

✅ Checkpoint

• I can distinguish an empty result from a failed tool call
• I can verify required read scopes in permissions:
• I can test a broader query to isolate filter problems
• I can validate whether matching repository data actually exists