fix: use incremental diff per iteration instead of cumulative base diff

After each iteration's _commit_iteration, record the new HEAD SHA and use
it as the diff anchor for the next iteration. Previously capture_diff
always diffed against the initial base commit, causing every iteration to
return the same full cumulative diff — reviewers couldn't see what changed
between iterations, leading to repeated feedback and stuck FAIL loops.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

cross_eval/pipeline.py

@@ -62,18 +62,20 @@ def _commit_iteration(
     label: str,
     iteration: int,
     verdict: str | None,
-) -> None:
+) -> str:
     """Intermediate commit after each agentic iteration.
 
     This resets the diff baseline so the next iteration only captures new changes.
+    Returns the new HEAD SHA to use as the base_commit for the next iteration.
     """
-    from cross_eval.worktree import commit_worktree
+    from cross_eval.worktree import commit_worktree, get_current_head
     committed = commit_worktree(
         worktree_path,
         f"cross-eval: {label} v{iteration} ({verdict or 'no-verdict'})",
     )
     if committed:
         logger.debug("  Intermediate commit: v%d (%s)", iteration, verdict)
+    return get_current_head(worktree_path)
 
 
 def _has_agentic_steps(config: PipelineConfig, steps: list[StepConfig]) -> bool:
@@ -388,7 +390,7 @@ def _run_simple_pipeline(
 
             # Intermediate commit so next iteration's diff only shows new changes
             if worktree_path is not None:
-                _commit_iteration(worktree_path, config.preset_name, i, verdict)
+                agentic_base_commit = _commit_iteration(worktree_path, config.preset_name, i, verdict)
 
             iter_result = IterationResult(
                 iteration=i,
@@ -588,7 +590,7 @@ def _run_phased_pipeline(
 
                 # Intermediate commit so next iteration's diff only shows new changes
                 if worktree_path is not None:
-                    _commit_iteration(
+                    agentic_base_commit = _commit_iteration(
                         worktree_path, f"{config.preset_name}/{phase.name}",
                         global_iter, verdict,
                     )

cross_eval/worktree.py

@@ -101,19 +101,18 @@ def create_worktree(base_cwd: Path, work_dir: Path, branch_name: str) -> tuple[P
 
 
 def capture_diff(worktree_path: Path, base_commit: str | None = None) -> str:
-    """Capture all changes made in the worktree as a unified diff.
+    """Capture all changes made in the worktree since ``base_commit``.
 
-    Includes both tracked modifications, new untracked files, and changes
+    Handles two scenarios:
-    that the agent may have committed on its own.
+    1. Agent left changes uncommitted → ``git add -A && git diff base HEAD``
+    2. Agent committed its own changes → HEAD advanced, diff base..HEAD captures them
 
     Args:
-        base_commit: The commit SHA from when the worktree was created.
+        base_commit: The diff anchor — typically the worktree HEAD *before* this
-                     If provided, diffs against this fixed base instead of HEAD.
+                     iteration started (set by ``get_current_head`` after each
-                     This is critical because agents (e.g. Claude in interactive
+                     ``_commit_iteration``). Falls back to ``HEAD`` if not given.
-                     mode) may create their own commits, advancing HEAD and
-                     making ``git diff --cached HEAD`` return empty.
     """
-    # Stage any uncommitted changes so they're included in the diff
+    # Stage any uncommitted changes
     subprocess.run(
         ["git", "add", "-A"],
         cwd=worktree_path,
@@ -121,36 +120,34 @@ def capture_diff(worktree_path: Path, base_commit: str | None = None) -> str:
         check=True,
     )
 
-    if base_commit:
+    # Commit staged changes so everything is reachable via HEAD
-        # Diff everything (committed + staged) against the original base.
+    # (this is a no-op if nothing is staged)
-        # This captures changes regardless of whether the agent committed them.
+    subprocess.run(
-        result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "commit", "-m", "cross-eval: capture-diff snapshot", "--allow-empty-message"],
-            ["git", "diff", base_commit, "--cached"],
-            cwd=worktree_path,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-        )
-        diff = result.stdout.strip()
-        if diff:
-            return diff
-
-        # Also check committed changes (agent may have committed and left
-        # nothing staged)
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "diff", base_commit, "HEAD"],
-            cwd=worktree_path,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-        )
-        return result.stdout.strip()
-
-    # Fallback: no base_commit, use original behavior
-    result = subprocess.run(
-        ["git", "diff", "--cached", "HEAD"],
         cwd=worktree_path,
         capture_output=True,
         text=True,
     )
+
+    ref = base_commit or "HEAD~1"
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "diff", ref, "HEAD"],
+        cwd=worktree_path,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    return result.stdout.strip()
+
+
+def get_current_head(worktree_path: Path) -> str:
+    """Return the current HEAD SHA of the worktree."""
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "rev-parse", "HEAD"],
+        cwd=worktree_path,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        check=True,
+    )
     return result.stdout.strip()
 
 

tests/test_runtime_misc.py

@@ -413,11 +413,13 @@ class TestInvokeAgenticRuntime(unittest.TestCase):
 
 
 class TestPipelineHelpers(unittest.TestCase):
+    @patch("cross_eval.worktree.get_current_head", return_value="a" * 40)
     @patch("cross_eval.worktree.commit_worktree", return_value=True)
-    def test_commit_iteration_logs_only_when_committed(self, mock_commit: MagicMock) -> None:
+    def test_commit_iteration_logs_only_when_committed(self, mock_commit: MagicMock, mock_head: MagicMock) -> None:
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
-            _commit_iteration(Path(tmpdir), "review-fix", 2, "PASS")
+            new_head = _commit_iteration(Path(tmpdir), "review-fix", 2, "PASS")
         mock_commit.assert_called_once()
+        self.assertEqual(new_head, "a" * 40)
 
     def test_snapshot_repo_state_includes_untracked_digest(self) -> None:
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir: