### Middleware Chain

Lead-agent middlewares are assembled in strict order across three functions: the shared base in `packages/harness/deerflow/agents/middlewares/tool_error_handling_middleware.py` (`_build_runtime_middlewares`, exposed via `build_lead_runtime_middlewares`), then the lead-only middlewares appended in `packages/harness/deerflow/agents/lead_agent/agent.py` (`build_middlewares`). Items marked *(optional)* are appended only when their config/runtime condition holds, so the live chain length varies.

**Shared runtime base** (`build_lead_runtime_middlewares`; subagents reuse most of this via `build_subagent_runtime_middlewares`):

1. **InputSanitizationMiddleware** - First, so it is the outermost `wrap_model_call` wrapper; every inner middleware (including LLM retries) sees sanitized messages. `additional_kwargs.original_user_content` is server-owned provenance: Gateway strips caller-supplied values for non-internal run requests, trusted IM calls may carry the string they captured before adding transport/file context, and the middleware replaces any non-string value before wrapping. Uploads and sanitization retain first-writer-wins only for validated strings.
2. **ToolOutputBudgetMiddleware** - Caps tool output size (per app config) before it re-enters the model context. Oversized results are externalized to `tool_output.storage_subdir` (default `.tool-results`, shared constant `TOOL_RESULTS_DIRNAME`) under the thread outputs dir with a typed synopsis + `read_file` reference left in context; those files are process feedback, so the workspace-changes scanner excludes that directory and run delivery verification never counts them as produced artifacts
3. **ToolResultSanitizationMiddleware** - Neutralizes framework/injection tags (e.g. `<system-reminder>`) and boundary markers in *remote-content* tool results (`web_fetch`/`web_search`/`image_search`/`web_capture`) so attacker-controlled fetched pages cannot forge trusted framework context. Mirrors `InputSanitizationMiddleware`'s user-input guardrail for the other untrusted-content entry point; sits inner of `ToolOutputBudgetMiddleware` (neutralizes the raw output, then the budget truncates). Local tool output (bash/read_file) is left untouched. Scope is a name-based allowlist, so MCP remote-content tools registered under other names (e.g. `fetch_url`) are not yet covered — a metadata-tagging follow-up is tracked in the middleware source
4. **ThreadDataMiddleware** - Creates per-thread directories under the user's isolation scope (`backend/.deer-flow/users/{user_id}/threads/{thread_id}/user-data/{workspace,uploads,outputs}`); resolves identity via `resolve_runtime_user_id(runtime)`, including Gateway runtime context and standalone LangGraph Server auth, then falls back to the request ContextVar / `"default"`
5. **UploadsMiddleware** - Tracks and injects newly uploaded files into conversation (lead agent only); upload existence checks use the same runtime-resolved user bucket as thread-data creation
6. **SandboxMiddleware** - Acquires sandbox, stores `sandbox_id` in state
7. **DanglingToolCallMiddleware** - Injects placeholder ToolMessages for AIMessage tool_calls that lack responses (e.g., user interruption), preserving raw provider tool-call payloads in `additional_kwargs["tool_calls"]`; malformed tool-call names and arguments are sanitized in the model-bound request so strict OpenAI-compatible providers do not reject the next request
8. **LLMErrorHandlingMiddleware** - Normalizes provider/model invocation failures into recoverable assistant-facing errors before later stages run
9. **Authorization / GuardrailMiddleware** - Up to two independent pre-tool-call gates run here. When `authorization.enabled`, the `AuthorizationProvider` instance already used for Layer 1 capability filtering is wrapped by `GuardrailAuthorizationAdapter` and reused for Layer 2 execution checks. A generated `tool_search` bypasses the adapter's second provider call only when the current build has a concrete deferred setup; its catalog was already filtered by Layer 1, and an ordinary same-named tool without that deferred setup receives no exemption. When `guardrails.enabled`, the explicitly configured `GuardrailProvider` is appended after authorization and still evaluates every call, including `tool_search`. Authorization therefore runs outermost and can deny before an external guardrail call; both use the existing middleware's fail-closed, audit, sync/async, and error-`ToolMessage` behavior. See the authorization RFC and [docs/GUARDRAILS.md](../../../../../docs/GUARDRAILS.md).
10. **SandboxAuditMiddleware** - Audits sandboxed shell/file operations for security logging before tool execution. Command classification is **defense-in-depth and audit, not a security boundary** — the sandbox itself is the isolation boundary. Command substitution is judged by *position*, not by the presence of `$(`: a substitution in **command position** (`$(curl url)`, `` `curl url` ``, the word after a `|`/`&&`/`;`, or any `eval`/`source` argument) executes fetched or interpreted content and is blocked, while **value position** (`x=$(curl url)`, `echo $(curl url)`, an argument, a `for` word list) only captures output and passes (#4611). `_HIGH_RISK_COMMAND_POSITION_PATTERNS` is therefore matched anchored against each split sub-command, never against the whole compound string, and `_split_compound_command(split_pipes=True)` supplies those sub-commands; rules that span a pipe (`| sh`, `base64 -d | ...`) still rely on `_classify_command`'s whole-command Pass 1. `_COMMAND_POSITION_PREFIX` extends the anchor over leading variable assignments and exec wrappers (`FOO=1 $(curl url)`, `env`/`command`/`builtin`/`exec`/`nohup`/`time`/`sudo`/`doas`), which are still command position; its assignment branch requires whitespace before the substitution, which is exactly what keeps `x=$(curl url)` in value position. Two execution contexts are deliberately **position-blind** and matched against the whole command in Pass 1, because they execute what they receive wherever they appear (including as an argument to something else, e.g. `xargs sh -c "$(curl url)"`): an `eval`/`source` argument, and an interpreter's **code-string flag** — `-c` (shells, `python`), `-e` (`perl`/`ruby`/`node`), `-p` (`perl`/`node`), `-r` (`php`) — plus the here-string (`<<<`) that reaches the same place through stdin. All three substitution spellings (`$(cmd`, `<(cmd`, `` `cmd ``) share one `_RISKY_SUBSTITUTION` opener so a rule cannot cover one spelling and miss another. An unquoted newline splits like `;`, because it separates statements the same way: leaving it joined let `echo hi\n$(curl url)` evade the anchored rules that its `;` spelling triggers. A heredoc body is data rather than statements, so `_split_compound_command` records headers (`<<EOF`, `<<-EOF`, `<<'EOF'`) and consumes their bodies verbatim at the newline that starts them — otherwise a body line beginning with `$(curl url)` would be promoted to a command position the shell never creates. Two things that look like headers must not open one, or a body that never terminates swallows every following statement: `<<<` is a here-string (both a lookahead and a lookbehind are needed, or the trailing `<<` of `<<< "text"` reads as a heredoc with delimiter `text`), and a `<<` inside `$(( ... ))` / `(( ... ))` is a bit shift, so arithmetic depth is tracked alongside the quote flags. That is a heuristic, not shell parsing: it exists only to avoid manufacturing command positions *and* to avoid destroying real ones. An unterminated body consumes the rest of the string; an unclosed `((` only disables heredoc detection, so newlines keep splitting and the failure direction stays towards seeing more command positions rather than fewer. Known, deliberate gaps: process substitution outside `eval`/`source` (`. <(curl u)`) is not detected — closing it would require real shell parsing, which is out of scope for this layer. Two-step forms (`x=$(curl u); eval "$x"`) are inherent rather than incidental: any rule that allows output capture allows the first statement, and connecting it to the later `eval` needs dataflow analysis, not pattern matching. There is currently no config gate: the middleware is appended unconditionally in `_build_runtime_middlewares`, so it applies to both the lead agent and subagents.
11. **ReadBeforeWriteMiddleware** - *(optional, if `read_before_write.enabled`, default on)* Outermost write gate (issue #3857): `read_file` stamps a content hash onto its ToolMessage; `write_file` (append/overwrite-existing) and `str_replace` are blocked unless the newest mark for that path matches the file's current hash. Sits outside ToolProgressMiddleware and ToolErrorHandlingMiddleware so a blocked write returns immediately without consuming a ToolProgress slot. Blocked results call `normalize_tool_result` directly to stamp `deerflow_tool_meta` (`recoverable_by_model=True`) before returning, keeping the result well-formed for any outer consumer. Marks live on messages, so summarization dropping the read result invalidates the gate automatically; writes never refresh marks, forcing a re-read between consecutive edits. Gate check + tool execution are serialized per (thread, path) so same-turn parallel writes cannot reuse one stale mark; on sandboxes whose `read_file` reports failures as `"Error: ..."` strings instead of raising (AIO/E2B), uninspectable targets fail open (creation proceeds, no mark stamped)
12. **ToolProgressMiddleware** - *(optional, if `tool_progress.enabled`)* State-machine-based stagnation guard (RFC #3177). Outer wrapper around ToolErrorHandlingMiddleware so its `wrap_tool_call` receives results already stamped with `deerflow_tool_meta`. Tracks per-(thread, tool) consecutive "no-new-info" calls across three error categories: (a) `recoverable_by_model=True` (no_results, not_found, permission, Jaccard-duplicate success): ACTIVE → WARNED (terminal — hint re-injected on each subsequent problem); (b) `recoverable_by_model=False, action≠stop` (rate_limited, transient): ACTIVE → WARNED → BLOCKED after `warn_escalation_count` more problems; (c) `recoverable_by_model=False, action=stop` (auth, config, internal): immediately BLOCKED on first occurrence. **Division of labor with LoopDetectionMiddleware:** ToolProgressMiddleware is a result-quality guard — fires after tool execution and blocks specific tools that stop producing new information; LoopDetectionMiddleware is a call-pattern guard — fires after the model responds and hard-stops the whole turn when the model repeatedly issues identical tool_calls. Both can inject HumanMessage hints in the same model call without conflict; neither reads the other's internal state.
13. **ToolErrorHandlingMiddleware** - Receives `AppConfig`, converts tool exceptions into error `ToolMessage`s so the run can continue instead of aborting, stamps every result with `deerflow_tool_meta` (status / error_type / recoverable_by_model / recommended_next_action / source) via `tool_result_meta.normalize_tool_result`, stamps structured metadata for task exception wrappers, and stamps skill-read metadata for downstream durable-context capture. Task tool result text is generated from the same status/result/error inputs as the structured metadata so callers do not hand-write a second protocol string.

Authorization identity plumbing is independent of whether authorization enforcement is enabled. Gateway removes client-supplied `is_internal` / `authz_attributes` / `channel_user_id`, derives `is_internal` only from the server-owned `request.state.auth_source`, and accepts `channel_user_id` only from an internally authenticated IM caller's top-level `body.context`; free-form `body.config` can never supply it. `build_principal_from_context` is the shared Principal builder for assembly-time authorization and `GuardrailAuthorizationAdapter`; it applies `default_role`, strict-boolean internal provenance, and copy-on-read `authz_attributes`. The built-in RBAC provider validates `authorization.default_role` during provider resolution so an unknown fallback role fails agent construction instead of degrading into an empty tool set. Task delegation carries `is_internal` plus copied attributes through `SubagentExecutor`, while `GuardrailMiddleware` maps the same runtime fields into `GuardrailRequest`. Phase 1B applies Layer 1 before deferred-tool assembly on the lead, native-subagent, and embedded-client paths, then passes the same provider instance into Layer 2. Framework-provided `describe_skill` and memory tools are included in Layer 1 but restored to their legacy post-`tool_search` ordering afterward. `DeerFlowClient.stream()` treats its in-process caller as trusted and accepts the same identity fields as keyword overrides; it includes the complete Principal in its agent cache key and deep-copies nested attributes so caller mutation cannot make a stale tool set look current.

Gateway route authorization uses `authz.py::resolve_route_permissions()` as the single provider integration point for both `AuthMiddleware` and decorator-only authentication. When enabled, it evaluates the six registered `threads:*` / `runs:*` permissions as `resource="route"` requests whose targets are the full `resource:action` strings. Decisions use the async provider API and are cached for the request in `AuthContext`; decorators do not call the provider again. Provider resolution or decision errors follow `authorization.fail_closed`, scoped per permission for decision errors. When authorization is disabled, the legacy complete permission set is returned without resolving a provider. Existing `owner_check` enforcement and `require_admin_user()` management gates remain independent and unchanged. Tests: `tests/test_authorization_route_permissions.py`, `tests/test_auth.py`, and `tests/test_auth_middleware.py`.

Before changing a later authorization phase, read the [authorization RFC](../../../../../../docs/plans/2026-07-10-pluggable-authorization-rfc.md) and its [implementation notes](../../../../../../docs/plans/2026-07-10-pluggable-authorization-implementation-notes.md). The notes are the cumulative handoff record for merged PR behavior, reviewer feedback, trust-boundary decisions, deferred scope, and required regression coverage.

**Lead-only middlewares** (`build_middlewares`, appended after the base):

14. **DynamicContextMiddleware** - Injects the current date (and optionally memory) as a `<system-reminder>` into the first HumanMessage, keeping the base system prompt fully static for prefix-cache reuse
15. **SkillActivationMiddleware** - Detects strict `/skill-name task` syntax on the latest real user message, resolves only enabled and runtime-allowed skills, injects the `SKILL.md` body as hidden current-turn context, and records a `middleware:skill_activation` audit event
16. **SkillToolPolicyMiddleware** - Applies `allowed-tools` only after real activation; passive enabled skills and a custom agent's configured skill allowlist do not clamp the lead toolset. A run-scoped slash activation is authoritative and suppresses `skill_context` as a policy source, so reading another skill cannot widen the explicit skill's tools; without slash activation, skills captured after configured `read_file` loads retain the existing union semantics. The middleware filters model-visible schemas and blocks unauthorized execution, resolving canonical paths against the live enabled/agent-allowed registry on every model call, then stores a versioned, JSON-safe, middleware-token-bound decision signed by policy source plus active paths in run context for the resulting tool calls to reuse. The next model call always refreshes it, and malformed, foreign, stale, or unmatched decisions fall back to live resolution. `tool_search` and `describe_skill` remain framework-safe discovery tools under a restrictive policy; they may reveal or promote metadata, but a deferred business tool must still be declared by the active policy before its schema or execution can survive the policy middleware. The decision's owner token is authorization-sensitive, so its reserved context key is owned by `runtime.secret_context` and included in `REDACTED_CONTEXT_KEYS` for observable and persisted context copies. Registry load failures and a non-empty active set with no authorized skill fail closed to framework-safe tools; an individual stale path is skipped only when at least one valid active skill remains. This is best-effort behavioral scoping rather than a hard security boundary: alternate loads such as `bash cat` are not captured, and bounded autonomous `skill_context` can evict old entries. `task` is not framework-exempt, so a restricted skill cannot delegate around its policy. The middleware must remain immediately after `SkillActivationMiddleware` (which publishes the slash source through `runtime.secret_context`'s public path helpers authenticated by a required token shared only within the assembled middleware chain) and immediately before `DurableContextMiddleware`; assembly and compiled-graph tests pin ordering, token sharing, schema filtering, and execution blocking.
17. **DurableContextMiddleware** - Captures `task` delegations into `ThreadState.delegations` (including in-progress dispatches and terminal result summaries) and loaded skill-file references (name/path/description, parsed in-memory - not the body) into `ThreadState.skill_context` before summarization can compact the paired tool-call/result messages, then projects durable context into each model request. Static authority rules are injected as a `SystemMessage`; untrusted field values (`summary_text`, delegation results, skill descriptions) are injected separately as a hidden `HumanMessage` data block so compressed history, delegated work, and which skills are active stay visible without being stored as `messages` or promoted to system-role instructions. `build_subagent_runtime_middlewares` also attaches this middleware immediately before subagent summarization so a compacted `summary_text` is projected ahead of a preserved assistant/tool tail instead of leaving strict providers with an assistant-first request.
18. **SummarizationMiddleware** - *(optional, if enabled)* Context reduction when approaching token limits
19. **TodoListMiddleware** - *(optional, if `is_plan_mode`)* Task tracking with the `write_todos` tool
20. **TokenUsageMiddleware** - *(optional, if `token_usage.enabled`)* Records token usage metrics; subagent usage is read from terminal `ToolMessage.additional_kwargs` in the current run and merged back into the dispatching AIMessage by message position. The same state update marks the ToolMessage with `subagent_token_usage_attributed=true`, so checkpoint replay or middleware re-entry cannot add the cumulative snapshot twice; missing/malformed usage or a result with no matching dispatch remains unmarked and retryable.
21. **TitleMiddleware** - Auto-generates the thread title after the first complete exchange and normalizes structured message content before prompting the title model. If a first-turn run is interrupted before this middleware can write a title, `runtime/runs/worker.py` keeps the run in a finalizing state, persists a local fallback title from the latest checkpoint or original run input, and then syncs it to `threads_meta.display_name`. Replacement runs admitted by `multitask_strategy="interrupt"` / `"rollback"` wait for older same-thread finalization before entering the graph; the interrupted run only skips the fallback title write once a later run has started and may have advanced the checkpoint.
22. **MemoryMiddleware** - Queues conversations for async memory update (filters to user + final AI responses); captures the runtime-resolved user so standalone LangGraph Server reads and writes stay in the same bucket
23. **ViewImageMiddleware** - *(optional, if the model supports vision)* Injects a hidden HumanMessage with base64 image data, identified by a reserved ID prefix plus a server-owned metadata marker, before the LLM call. Because `before_model`, `model`, and `after_model` are separate graph nodes, the `before_model` and `model` node checkpoints for that call still contain the payload; `after_model` / `aafter_model` then emits `RemoveMessage`, so subsequent checkpoints do not retain it
24. **McpRoutingMiddleware** - *(optional, if `tool_search.enabled` and PR1 MCP routing metadata produce a routing index)* Auto-promotes matching deferred MCP tool schemas before the model call by writing a minimal `promoted` state update. It matches only the latest real `HumanMessage`, uses the global `tool_search.auto_promote_top_k` limit (default 3, clamped to 1..5), never executes tools, and must be installed before `DeferredToolFilterMiddleware`
25. **DeferredToolFilterMiddleware** - *(optional, if `tool_search.enabled`)* Hides deferred (MCP) tool schemas from the bound model until `tool_search` or `McpRoutingMiddleware` promotes them (reads per-thread promotions from `ThreadState.promoted`, hash-scoped)
26. **SystemMessageCoalescingMiddleware** - Merges every SystemMessage into a single leading SystemMessage per request; provider-agnostic fix for strict backends (vLLM/SGLang/Qwen/Anthropic) that reject non-leading system messages. Touches the per-request payload only (checkpoint state unchanged); on midnight crossings only the latest `dynamic_context_reminder` SystemMessage survives. The subagent builder places its date-only context middleware immediately before this coalescer, so the built-in subagent prompt and hidden date reminder still reach providers as one leading system block
27. **SubagentLimitMiddleware** - *(optional, if `subagent_enabled`)* Truncates excess `task` tool calls to enforce both the per-response concurrency limit (`max_concurrent_subagents`, clamped to 1-4) and the per-run total delegation cap (`max_total_subagents` runtime override or `subagents.max_total_per_run`, default 6, clamped to 1-50). The total cap counts current-run entries in the durable delegation ledger (entries are tagged with `run_id` when captured), so repeated planning checkpoints in one run cannot keep launching legal-sized batches indefinitely, while later user turns in the same thread get a fresh run budget. If the cap is exhausted, the middleware strips remaining `task` calls, forces `finish_reason="stop"`, and appends a visible limit note so the run can synthesize existing results instead of ending with an empty tool-call response.
28. **LoopDetectionMiddleware** - *(optional, if `loop_detection.enabled`)* Detects repeated tool-call loops; hard-stop clears both structured `tool_calls` and raw provider tool-call metadata before forcing a final text answer; stamps `loop_capped` via `consume_stop_reason` (#3875 Phase 2), symmetric to `TokenBudgetMiddleware`
29. **TokenBudgetMiddleware** - *(optional, if `token_budget.enabled`)* Enforces per-run token limits
30. **Custom middlewares** - *(optional)* Any `custom_middlewares` passed to `build_middlewares` are injected here, before config-declared extensions and the terminal-response/safety/clarification tail
31. **Configured extension middlewares** - *(optional, if `extensions.middlewares` is set in `config.yaml` or `extensions_config.json`)* Zero-argument `AgentMiddleware` classes loaded from `module.path:ClassName` entries via `deerflow.reflection.resolve_class`. Missing packages, invalid classes, and broken modules fail loudly at agent creation. These run after built-ins/programmatic custom middleware and after the lead/subagent loop/token guards, but before the terminal-response/safety/clarification tail; subagents receive the same configured extension middleware class list before their safety tail. Treat these files as trusted operator config because middleware paths instantiate arbitrary code. Gateway skill/MCP toggle endpoints preserve this field through `to_file_dict()` but must not add a write path for `extensions.middlewares` without an explicit trust-boundary review. Lead-only vs subagent-only middleware lists and per-context constructor parameters are not expressible in this MVP.
32. **TerminalResponseMiddleware** - When a provider returns an empty terminal `AIMessage` after tool execution, injects a hidden recovery prompt and retries the model once; a second empty response is replaced in checkpoint state by a visible error fallback marked for the run worker, so the run finishes as an error instead of a silent success
33. **ModelLengthFinishReasonMiddleware** - Records `stop_reason=model_length_capped` when provider-specific length detectors match a terminal `AIMessage` without tool-call intent (`finish_reason=length` / `MAX_TOKENS`, or `stop_reason=max_tokens`), preserving the original assistant content and never reparsing textual tool-call-like envelopes
34. **SafetyFinishReasonMiddleware** - *(optional, if `safety_finish_reason.enabled`)* Suppresses tool execution when the provider safety-terminated the response (e.g. `finish_reason=content_filter`); registered after terminal-response/custom/configured middlewares so LangChain's reverse-order `after_model` dispatch runs it first
35. **ClarificationMiddleware** - Intercepts `ask_clarification` tool calls, writes a readable `ToolMessage.content` fallback plus structured `ToolMessage.artifact.human_input` request payload, and interrupts via `Command(goto=END)` (must be last). Payloads are versioned: legacy modes (`free_text` / `choice_with_other`) keep `version: 1` unchanged, while the v2 `form` mode (from `fields`) carries `version: 2` so older frontends reject the payload and degrade to the plain-text fallback. Field normalization is deterministic and lives in the middleware, not the tool schema — the middleware short-circuits before tool execution, so tool-arg typing alone provides no runtime validation. Validation is atomic: any structurally broken entry (non-dict, bad/duplicate name, a name colliding with a JS `Object.prototype` member like `__proto__`/`constructor`, exceeding the caps of 16 fields / 24 options per field / 200 chars per text, or the whole normalized definition exceeding `MAX_FORM_SERIALIZED_BYTES` = 16KB UTF-8 — the per-item caps alone admit forms whose IM text fallback would blow channel delivery limits and truncate away trailing fields) degrades the whole form to the legacy option/free-text modes, so a card can never render "complete" while silently missing a business field; benign issues keep local degradation (unknown types — including unhashable JSON like `type: []`, which must never raise from the membership probe — and option-less selects become `text`), and options are trimmed/deduped with blanks dropped (both form-level and top-level) because the frontend parser rejects blank option labels. Model-produced XML-to-dict option payloads are recursively flattened from dict/list containers in source order, scalar string/number leaves are retained, and residual XML tags are removed before the same trimming and deduplication. Checkbox fields are booleans that default to an explicit "no"; `required` on a checkbox means must-agree/consent semantics. The response protocol is deliberately unchanged (v1 `text`/`option` only): form cards submit a readable text summary as `response_kind: "text"`, so journal persistence and answered-card recovery need no new allowlist entries. Because this middleware can short-circuit tool execution before LangChain emits `on_tool_end`, `RunJournal` performs a root-run final reconciliation for allowlisted clarification `ToolMessage`s whose `tool_call_id` was produced by the current run, so human-input request cards remain recoverable from `run_events` after checkpoint compaction. Human Input Card replies are submitted as `hide_from_ui` `HumanMessage`s with `additional_kwargs.human_input_response`; `RunJournal` persists only allowlisted hidden response sources (currently `ask_clarification`) as `llm.human.input`, which preserves answered-card state after compaction without exposing generic internal hidden context.