deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness · error

sandbox escalation to "${mode}" is not strictly wider than t

Error message

sandbox escalation to "${mode}" is not strictly wider than this call's current "${effectiveMode}" mode

What it means

Error "sandbox escalation to "${mode}" is not strictly wider than this call's current "${effectiveMode}" mode" thrown in deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness.

Source

Thrown at packages/sandbox/sandbox/src/escalation.ts:163

 * widening against the call's effective mode, then resolve the approval
 * channel, then map every outcome — the ordered fail-closed sequence both
 * enforcing families share. Returns the granted mode to stamp onto exactly
 * this call; throws the distinct verbatim text for every other path (a
 * non-widening request, a missing approval service, an agent-less execution,
 * a rejection, a cancellation, an unanswerable ask) — the tool registry turns
 * the throw into the call's isError result, and nothing has run. A
 * non-widening request never prompts a human.
 * @param request - the escalation to judge (see {@link EscalationRequest}).
 * @param approval - the approval ingredients the tool holds (see {@link EscalationApproval}).
 * @returns the granted mode, consumed by the one call that asked.
 */
export async function approveEscalation<A, C>(request: EscalationRequest, approval: EscalationApproval<A, C>): Promise<SandboxMode> {
  const { requestedMode: mode, effectiveMode, justification, subject } = request
  // Strict widening is an EXECUTION check against the call's effective mode —
  // deliberately not a schema constraint (the enum is the closed target
  // vocabulary; the effective mode is per-call truth).
  if (!(WIDER_MODES[effectiveMode] ?? []).includes(mode as SandboxMode)) {
    throw new Error(`sandbox escalation to "${mode}" is not strictly wider than this call's current "${effectiveMode}" mode`)
  }
  if (approval.approver === undefined) {
    throw new Error(`sandbox escalation to "${mode}" requires approval, but no approval service is composed`)
  }
  if (approval.agent === undefined) {
    throw new Error(`sandbox escalation to "${mode}" requires approval, but the call has no agent to route it through`)
  }
  // Self-contained for the audit trail: approval/asked stores this reason,
  // and the target mode is part of the grant's identity.
  const outcome = await approval.approver.request({
    agent: approval.agent,
    toolName: approval.toolName,
    callId: approval.callId,
    reason: `escalate sandbox to ${mode}: ${justification}`,
    ...approval.signal ? { signal: approval.signal } : {},
  })
  switch (outcome) {
    // The schema enum already pinned `mode` to the closed target vocabulary;

View on GitHub (pinned to b150a551b8)

Solutions

1. Request a mode strictly wider than the current effective mode, or drop the escalation if the current mode already suffices.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/sandbox/sandbox/src/escalation.ts:163 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness@b150a551b8 (2026-08-24). Data as JSON: /api/errors/27d6b60b0defb5c5. Report an issue: GitHub.