bug(ask): first-party ask_user_question conflicts with @juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question and hard-fails Pi load

[gabrielc00]

Before submitting

• I searched open and closed issues and did not find a report of this problem.

Problem

After #1274, extensions/ask-user-question.ts registers the tool name ask_user_question. Pi treats tool names as exclusive across extensions, so a previously valid install that still has npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question fails at extension load and never starts a session.

This is the same class as closed #607 (todo vs @juicesharp/rpiv-todo). #833 asked for a first-party questionnaire so Gentle would not depend on that external tool. #1274 shipped that replacement, but the package-side migration did not.

Two docs still tell people to install the colliding companion:

• README.md optional companions table: @juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question for "Interactive choice support"
• docs/readme-reference.md recommended install list: pi install npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question

The extension comment already names juicesharp, states that a duplicate name is a hard load error, and says removal from Pi settings is the migration path. That path is not user-facing: no changelog gate, no startup diagnostic with the exact pi remove command. pi update --extensions on git:github.com/Gentleman-Programming/gentle-pi@main therefore turns a working stack into a dead session.

Steps to reproduce

1. Keep both packages in Pi settings: npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question and git:github.com/Gentleman-Programming/gentle-pi@main (or any install that loads both extensions).
2. Update or restart so extensions/ask-user-question.ts from feat(ask): native ask_user_question with a scrollable dock-swap dialog #1274 loads.
3. Start Pi (interactive or -p).

Expected and actual behavior

Expected:

• Sessions stay bootable after the first-party questionnaire ships.
• Either the old package is removed/disabled, or load fails with one diagnostic that names the conflict and pi remove npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question.
• README / docs/readme-reference.md stop recommending the companion once Gentle owns ask_user_question.
• Same migration gap as bug(todo): Gentle Todo tool name conflicts with the installed @juicesharp/rpiv-todo — session startup hard-fails #607, closed before the next cut that carries feat(ask): native ask_user_question with a scrollable dock-swap dialog #1274.

Actual:

• Extension load hard-fails. Pi's hint is pi -ne, which disables every extension and is not a usable workaround.

gentle-pi version

3.3.0 (f2d9d073, #1274 on main)

Pi version

0.86.1

Operating system

macOS

Relevant logs or error output (optional)

Error: Failed to load extension "<agent-home>/git/github.com/Gentleman-Programming/gentle-pi/extensions/ask-user-question.ts": Tool "ask_user_question" conflicts with <agent-home>/npm/node_modules/@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question/index.ts
Hint: Start without extensions using "pi -ne".

[QuBiit0]

Occurrence report: this still reproduces on the published npm release gentle-pi@3.5.1, not only on git:main, and on Windows.

Environment

• gentle-pi 3.5.1 (npm, published release — not a git or source install)
• Pi 0.87.0
• Windows 11 Pro, x64
• Package-local runtime .gentle-ai/v3.5.0/gentle-ai.exe

What happened

The stack had npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question@2.11.0 in ~/.pi/agent/settings.json from back when gentle-pi 3.3.0 did not own ask_user_question. Upgrading gentle-pi to 3.5.1 made every session unbootable:

Error: Failed to load extension "<agent-home>/npm/node_modules/@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question/index.ts": Tool "ask_user_question" conflicts with <agent-home>/npm/node_modules/gentle-pi/extensions/ask-user-question.ts
Hint: Start without extensions using "pi -ne".

pi remove npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question fixes it, exactly as the extension comment says.

What is already fixed in 3.5.1

The docs half of this report is done. rg -i juicesharp over the whole installed 3.5.1 package returns zero hits — README.md and everything under docs/ no longer recommend the colliding companion. Thanks for that.

What is still missing in 3.5.1

The migration gate / startup diagnostic. A user upgrading from a version where the companion was recommended still gets the raw conflict plus the pi -ne hint, which disables every extension and is not a usable workaround. Nothing names pi remove npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question.

Two details that may widen the blast radius:

1. pi update alone does not trip it; pi update --extensions does. Plain pi update prints Extensions are skipped. Run pi update --extensions to update extensions. So the failure lands on users the moment they run the documented extension-update command, with no prior warning.
2. The todo variant (bug(todo): Gentle Todo tool name conflicts with the installed @juicesharp/rpiv-todo — session startup hard-fails #607) is still latent. 3.5.1 registers todo from extensions/gentle-todo.ts and ask_user_choice from extensions/ask-user-choice.ts. @juicesharp/rpiv-todo was still installed on this machine — it only avoided the same hard failure because it was absent from packages[] in settings and therefore never loaded. Anyone who still has it registered hits bug(todo): Gentle Todo tool name conflicts with the installed @juicesharp/rpiv-todo — session startup hard-fails #607 again on this upgrade path.

A one-line startup diagnostic naming the exact pi remove command would cover all three tool names at once.

[Txus-Gran-GH]

Occurrence report: reproduces on Linux with the published npm release gentle-pi@3.5.1 (not only Windows — confirms cross-platform).

Environment

• gentle-pi 3.5.1 (npm published release)
• pi 0.87.1
• OS: Linux
• Settings packages contained both npm:gentle-pi and npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question

Observed

Error: Failed to load extension ".../node_modules/@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question/index.ts": Tool "ask_user_question" conflicts with .../node_modules/gentle-pi/extensions/ask-user-question.ts
Hint: Start without extensions using "pi -ne".

Hard-fail at extension load; session never starts. pi -ne works as hinted but drops the entire harness.

Workaround applied

pi remove npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-ask-user-question — removes the standalone package from settings and node_modules. After removal, pi -p starts cleanly and answers. Both registrations provide the same tool name; only one can stay until the load path resolves the conflict (skip/deduplicate instead of hard-fail).