Summary
As of Claude Code v2.1.169/v2.1.170, the per-turn <!-- buddy: ... --> comment is now rendered visibly in the chat transcript instead of being hidden. The plugin's whole design assumes Claude Code hides HTML comments in rendered markdown (hooks/buddy-comment.sh even documents this: "The HTML comment is invisible in rendered markdown output."). That assumption no longer holds, so every turn leaks a raw <!-- buddy: ... --> line into the conversation.
The status line itself still works — the Stop hook scrapes the comment correctly. Only the source comment, which used to be invisible, is now shown.
Repro
- Install claude-buddy
v0.5.2, run on Claude Code v2.1.170.
- Have any normal exchange.
- Each assistant turn ends with a visible line like:
<!-- buddy: *slow blink* the void was never meant to be seen in plain text -->
It also appears under /buddy skill calls, so it's not tied to a specific message type.
Root cause
Two pieces, neither broken individually:
server/index.ts (lines ~113–118 and ~1304–1324) instructs the model to append <!-- buddy: [reaction] --> at the end of every response.- Claude Code's transcript renderer used to strip HTML comments and now prints them literally.
The Stop hook (hooks/buddy-comment.sh) runs after the message is already on screen, so it can't strip anything — it can only read the comment for the status line.
Suggested fix
Stop relying on the renderer hiding a model-authored comment. The Stop hook already receives last_assistant_message, and the plugin already has a reaction/context system. Move reaction selection into the hook (derive it from the message content / existing reaction contexts) and drop the "append an invisible HTML comment" instruction from server/index.ts entirely. No comment authored → nothing to leak → per-turn status-line reactions keep working independent of how Claude Code renders comments.
If keeping model-authored reactions is preferred, an interim option is gating the instruction behind a config flag (default off) so users can opt out without losing the buddy.
Workaround for now
/buddy mute (or buddy_mute) stops the leak but also drops per-turn reactions, since the comment is the only thing feeding them.
Env
- claude-buddy
v0.5.2
- Claude Code
v2.1.170 (also seen on v2.1.169)
Summary
As of Claude Code
v2.1.169/v2.1.170, the per-turn<!-- buddy: ... -->comment is now rendered visibly in the chat transcript instead of being hidden. The plugin's whole design assumes Claude Code hides HTML comments in rendered markdown (hooks/buddy-comment.sheven documents this: "The HTML comment is invisible in rendered markdown output."). That assumption no longer holds, so every turn leaks a raw<!-- buddy: ... -->line into the conversation.The status line itself still works — the Stop hook scrapes the comment correctly. Only the source comment, which used to be invisible, is now shown.
Repro
v0.5.2, run on Claude Codev2.1.170.It also appears under
/buddyskill calls, so it's not tied to a specific message type.Root cause
Two pieces, neither broken individually:
server/index.ts(lines ~113–118 and ~1304–1324) instructs the model to append<!-- buddy: [reaction] -->at the end of every response.The Stop hook (
hooks/buddy-comment.sh) runs after the message is already on screen, so it can't strip anything — it can only read the comment for the status line.Suggested fix
Stop relying on the renderer hiding a model-authored comment. The Stop hook already receives
last_assistant_message, and the plugin already has a reaction/context system. Move reaction selection into the hook (derive it from the message content / existing reaction contexts) and drop the "append an invisible HTML comment" instruction fromserver/index.tsentirely. No comment authored → nothing to leak → per-turn status-line reactions keep working independent of how Claude Code renders comments.If keeping model-authored reactions is preferred, an interim option is gating the instruction behind a config flag (default off) so users can opt out without losing the buddy.
Workaround for now
/buddy mute(orbuddy_mute) stops the leak but also drops per-turn reactions, since the comment is the only thing feeding them.Env
v0.5.2v2.1.170(also seen onv2.1.169)