Description
Summary
The edit tool silently deleted approximately 50% of a LaTeX document (~190 lines) when attempting a simple string replacement. The oldString parameter matched a much larger block than intended, replacing it with a 10-character snippet and destroying everything in between.
What happened
I was making a targeted spacing adjustment to a .tex file. I issued an edit command with an oldString intended to match a single figure/table boundary (e.g., \end{figure} followed by a section header). Instead, the tool matched a spanning boundary that started at the end of Table 1 and ended somewhere before the Conclusion section. The replacement deleted:
- Table 1 content and caption
- All Taxonomy subsections (3.1–3.6)
- Section 4 (Training and Adaptation) + Table 2
- Section 5 (Applications to PdM) + Table 3
- Section 6 (Challenges and Future Directions)
File dropped from 453 lines → 266 lines without any warning.
Root cause
The edit tool performs exact string replacement using the first match found. When the oldString is constructed from multi-line context, it can accidentally match a boundary that spans much more content than the user intended. There is:
- No preview/diff before applying
- No "match too large" safeguard
- No confirmation prompt for multi-line replacements exceeding a threshold
Plugins
No response
OpenCode version
1.3.17
Steps to reproduce
- Open any multi-section .tex or .md file with repeating patterns (e.g., multiple \end{table} blocks)
- Issue an edit with an oldString that includes context lines before and after a target
- If that context happens to appear earlier in the file with a wider span, the tool replaces the first and largest match
- Result: everything between the matched start and end is deleted
Screenshot and/or share link
No response
Operating System
Windows 11
Terminal
WSL
Description
Summary
The edit tool silently deleted approximately 50% of a LaTeX document (~190 lines) when attempting a simple string replacement. The oldString parameter matched a much larger block than intended, replacing it with a 10-character snippet and destroying everything in between.
What happened
I was making a targeted spacing adjustment to a .tex file. I issued an edit command with an oldString intended to match a single figure/table boundary (e.g., \end{figure} followed by a section header). Instead, the tool matched a spanning boundary that started at the end of Table 1 and ended somewhere before the Conclusion section. The replacement deleted:
File dropped from 453 lines → 266 lines without any warning.
Root cause
The edit tool performs exact string replacement using the first match found. When the oldString is constructed from multi-line context, it can accidentally match a boundary that spans much more content than the user intended. There is:
Plugins
No response
OpenCode version
1.3.17
Steps to reproduce
Screenshot and/or share link
No response
Operating System
Windows 11
Terminal
WSL