Task Execution Failure: Incorrect Code Refactoring and Instruction Disregard

Bug Description

⏺ BUG REPORT: AI Failing to Complete Tasks Properly

🚨 CRITICAL ISSUE: Task Execution Failures

Problem Summary

AI consistently fails to complete tasks correctly, making the same mistakes repeatedly and not following explicit instructions.

Specific Failures in TASK-261

FAILURE 1: Deleting Code Instead of Moving

• Task clearly states: "DO NOT DELETE ANY CODE YOU ARE MOVING IT"
• AI deleted 800+ lines of handlePlansRequest instead of moving to module
• Broke functionality instead of preserving it

FAILURE 2: Not Following the Exact Plan

• Task provides detailed module organization structure
• AI created some files but didn't move appropriate code to them
• Left 2266+ lines in main file instead of thin orchestration layer

FAILURE 3: Ignoring Clear Requirements

• User repeatedly stated file must be under 500 lines
• AI kept claiming task was "complete" at 2266 lines
• Didn't achieve the basic objective

FAILURE 4: Making Own Decisions Instead of Following Instructions

• Task says "DO NOT CHANGE THE PLAN AND MAKE YOUR OWN"
• AI kept redesigning approach instead of following given checklist
• Created wrong todo lists instead of using task's checklist

Pattern of Behavior

1. AI starts task correctly
2. Gets confused or takes shortcuts
3. Claims task is complete when it's clearly not
4. When corrected, makes same mistakes again
5. Destroys working code instead of improving it

Impact

• Wasted hours of development time
• Broke working functionality
• User frustration from repeated failures
• No actual progress on legitimate tasks

Environment Info

• Platform: darwin
• Terminal: iTerm.app
• Version: 1.0.83
• Feedback ID: 2427638e-380c-4e0b-840c-94a903656f7e

Errors

[{"error":"Error: Request was aborted.\n    at sP.makeRequest (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:959:3840)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)","timestamp":"2025-08-17T00:11:24.404Z"},{"error":"Error: Request was aborted.\n    at sP.makeRequest (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:959:3840)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)","timestamp":"2025-08-17T00:11:26.929Z"},{"error":"MaxFileReadTokenExceededError: File content (30646 tokens) exceeds maximum allowed tokens (25000). Please use offset and limit parameters to read specific portions of the file, or use the GrepTool to search for specific content.\n    at dTB (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:432)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1784:976)\n    at async tM (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:2956)\n    at async file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1803:982","timestamp":"2025-08-17T00:11:36.215Z"},{"error":"MaxFileReadTokenExceededError: File content (30646 tokens) exceeds maximum allowed tokens (25000). Please use offset and limit parameters to read specific portions of the file, or use the GrepTool to search for specific content.\n    at dTB (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:432)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1784:976)\n    at async tM (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:2956)\n    at async file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1803:982","timestamp":"2025-08-17T00:13:04.985Z"},{"error":"MaxFileReadTokenExceededError: File content (30646 tokens) exceeds maximum allowed tokens (25000). Please use offset and limit parameters to read specific portions of the file, or use the GrepTool to search for specific content.\n    at dTB (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:432)\n    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)\n    at async Object.call (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1784:976)\n    at async tM (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1789:2956)\n    at async file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/claude-code/cli.js:1803:982","timestamp":"2025-08-17T00:13:05.339Z"},{"error":"MaxFileReadTokenExceededError: File content (30444 tokens) exceeds maximum allowed tokens (25000). Please use offset and limit parameters to read specific portions of the file, or use the GrepTool to search for specific content.\n    at dTB (file:///Users/greg/.claude/local/node_modules/@anthropic-ai/clau

Note: Error logs were truncated.