What To Do When a Non-Existent Function Is Cited

The most expensive class of agent error is recommending a function that

doesn't exist. Users follow the recommendation, hit the wall, and

distrust the tool for the rest of the session. The defence is simple:

verify before recommending.

When to use this runbook

Whenever you're about to type a function name and your confidence isn't

backed by a recent grep.

Context

LLM training data is a snapshot. Real codebases drift. Memory is

ephemeral. The only authoritative source for "does this symbol exist"

is the working tree (and, for recently-removed symbols, git history).

Walkthrough

The frontmatter `steps` are the canonical verification ladder: grep,

then git log -S, then suspect rename, then admit defeat. Each rung

adds confidence; reaching the bottom rung without a hit is itself the

answer.

Pitfalls

The frontmatter `pitfalls` are the recurring failure modes. The

"rephrasing to sound more authoritative" antipattern is especially

damaging — it converts a low-confidence guess into high-confidence

output without adding any evidence.