Preserve all fetched search sources before transport truncation

src/agent_tools/web_tools.py

@@ -304,6 +304,10 @@ class WebSearchTool:
                 "elapsed_s": 30,
                 "tail": "Search completed; preparing sources.",
             })
+        # Compact the complete report before the transport cap. Otherwise
+        # repeated summaries from early sources permanently erase later pages.
+        from src.search_passages import bounded_search_observation
+        text = bounded_search_observation(text, MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS)
         output = text[:MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS] if len(text) > MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS else text
         if sources:
             output += "\n\n<!-- SOURCES:" + json.dumps(sources) + " -->"

src/clean_agent_preview.py

@@ -182,37 +182,8 @@ def search_tool_choice_request(request):
 
 
 def bounded_search_observation(output, budget=8000):
-    """Share the observation budget across fetched sources, not prefix order.
-
-    Search's full report repeats bodies in summaries/quotes/statistics. Retain
-    source attribution and an excerpt of every fetched page before truncating.
-    This is evidence selection, never answer generation.
-    """
-    if len(output) <= budget:
-        return output
-    pattern = re.compile(r'\n(\[CONTENT(?: \d+)?\] From: [^\n]+\nTitle: [^\n]*\n-+\n)')
-    matches = list(pattern.finditer(output))
-    if not matches:
-        return output
-    source_match = re.search(r'```sources\n.*?```', output, re.DOTALL)
-    query_match = re.search(r'^Query: .*$', output, re.MULTILINE)
-    prefix = '\n'.join(match.group(0) for match in (source_match, query_match) if match)
-    suffix = '\n[Excerpts shortened across sources; use web_fetch on a source URL for full details.]'
-    headers = [match.group(1) for match in matches]
-    room = budget - len(prefix) - len(suffix) - sum(len(h) + 2 for h in headers)
-    if room < 100 * len(matches):
-        return output  # Unusually large metadata: preserve existing hard cap.
-    per_page = room // len(matches)
-    blocks = []
-    for index, match in enumerate(matches):
-        end = matches[index + 1].start() if index + 1 < len(matches) else len(output)
-        body = output[match.end():end]
-        body = re.split(r'\n(?:Key Points:|TL;DR:|Important Quotes:|Data / Statistics:|={20,}|<!-- SOURCES:)', body, maxsplit=1)[0].strip()
-        if len(body) > per_page:
-            from src.search_passages import search_excerpt
-            body = search_excerpt(body, query_match.group(0) if query_match else '', per_page)
-        blocks.append(headers[index] + body)
-    return prefix + '\n\n' + '\n\n'.join(blocks) + suffix
+    from src.search_passages import bounded_search_observation as compact
+    return compact(output, budget)
 
 
 def preview_tool_result_text(result, tool, args):

src/search_passages.py

@@ -5,6 +5,34 @@ import re
 _FILLER = frozenset('the and for with from this that what which how find search compare explain latest current recent official source sources documentation document please about'.split())
 
 
+def bounded_search_observation(output, budget=8000):
+    """Budget all fetched sources before any transport-level prefix truncation."""
+    if len(output) <= budget:
+        return output
+    pattern = re.compile(r'\n(\[CONTENT(?: \d+)?\] From: [^\n]+\nTitle: [^\n]*\n-+\n)')
+    matches = list(pattern.finditer(output))
+    if not matches:
+        return output
+    source_match = re.search(r'```sources\n.*?```', output, re.DOTALL)
+    query_match = re.search(r'^Query: .*$', output, re.MULTILINE)
+    prefix = '\n'.join(match.group(0) for match in (source_match, query_match) if match)
+    suffix = '\n[Excerpts shortened across sources; use web_fetch on a source URL for full details.]'
+    headers = [match.group(1) for match in matches]
+    room = budget - len(prefix) - len(suffix) - sum(len(h) + 2 for h in headers) - 2
+    if room < 100 * len(matches):
+        return output  # Caller retains its hard cap for exceptional metadata.
+    per_page = room // len(matches)
+    blocks = []
+    for index, match in enumerate(matches):
+        end = matches[index + 1].start() if index + 1 < len(matches) else len(output)
+        body = output[match.end():end]
+        body = re.split(r'\n(?:Key Points:|TL;DR:|Important Quotes:|Data / Statistics:|={20,}|<!-- SOURCES:)', body, maxsplit=1)[0].strip()
+        if len(body) > per_page:
+            body = search_excerpt(body, query_match.group(0) if query_match else '', per_page)
+        blocks.append(headers[index] + body)
+    return prefix + '\n\n' + '\n\n'.join(blocks) + suffix
+
+
 def search_excerpt(text: str, query: str, max_chars: int) -> str:
     """Keep the opening plus relevant, non-overlapping literal page excerpts.
 

tests/test_web_search_metadata_mode.py

@@ -10,6 +10,27 @@ from src.agent_tools.web_tools import (
 )
 
 
+def test_long_report_preserves_late_source_through_tool_and_runtime(monkeypatch):
+    from src.clean_agent_preview import preview_tool_result_text
+    sources = [{'title': f'Page {i}', 'url': f'https://example.org/{i}'} for i in range(1, 6)]
+    report = '```sources\n' + '\n'.join(
+        f'[{i}] {s["title"]}\n    {s["url"]}' for i, s in enumerate(sources, 1)
+    ) + '\n```\nQuery: measured battery evidence\n'
+    for i, source in enumerate(sources, 1):
+        report += (f'\n[CONTENT {i}] From: {source["url"]}\nTitle: {source["title"]}\n------------------------------\n'
+                   + f'Unique evidence for page {i}. ' * 100
+                   + '\nTL;DR:\n' + 'Repeated body summary. ' * 200)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(search, 'comprehensive_web_search', lambda *a, **kw: (report, sources))
+    result = asyncio.run(WebSearchTool().execute(json.dumps({'query': 'measured battery evidence'}), {}))
+    observation = preview_tool_result_text(result, 'web_search', {})
+    assert len(observation) <= 8000
+    for i in range(1, 6):
+        assert f'[CONTENT {i}] From:' in observation
+        assert f'Unique evidence for page {i}.' in observation
+    assert 'Repeated body summary' not in observation
+    assert json.loads(result['output'].split('<!-- SOURCES:')[1].split(' -->')[0]) == sources
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('sources,status', [([], 'empty'),
     ([{'title': 'Example', 'url': 'https://example.org'}], 'available')])
 def test_search_reports_evidence_availability_independently_of_execution(monkeypatch, sources, status):