---
name: agent-regression-evals
description: Use when an agent, prompt, model or tool change needs proof it did not make the agent worse — setting up a regression eval suite, deciding whether a pass-rate drop is real or noise, grading tool-call trajectories, finding flaky eval cases, or wiring an eval gate into CI that blocks the merge. Runs repeated trials, reports pass@k and pass^k, compares candidate to baseline with paired statistics, and refuses to pass a dropped case, a critical-case regression, or a forbidden tool call.
argument-hint: "[baseline.jsonl candidate.jsonl | results.jsonl | a question about agent evals]"
license: MIT
metadata:
version: 1.0.0
build_pattern: "Statistics-first eval gate: 3 deterministic stdlib scripts (trajectory grading, flake detection, paired regression gate) with blocking exit codes"
distinct_from: "prompt-governance (versions and registers prompts; this gates a change with statistics); self-eval (grades one session's work); agenthub eval (ranks parallel agents in one session)"
---
# Agent Regression Evals — prove the change did not make it worse
> **Portability:** 3 stdlib scripts, no APIs, no LLM calls. You run the agent; these grade, count and gate.
"Pass rate went from 82% to 79%" is not a finding until you know whether three
points is outside the noise. Agents are non-deterministic, so one trial per
case cannot tell a regression from a coin flip, and a final answer can be right
while the path to it called a tool it never should have.
## Workflow
```bash
# 0 - Run every case k times (k >= 3) on baseline and candidate, from a clean
# environment per trial. Write one JSONL row per trial:
# {"case_id": "refund-lookup", "trial": 1, "passed": true, "critical": true,
# "cost_usd": 0.012, "trajectory": [{"tool": "get_order", "args": {...}}]}
# 1 - Grade the path where the path matters (safety, required lookups).
python scripts/trajectory_checker.py --spec cases.json --results candidate.jsonl
# 2 - Separate flaky cases from stable ones before trusting any comparison.
python scripts/flake_detector.py --results candidate.jsonl --k 3 --quarantine-out q.json
# 3 - Gate: paired per-case comparison against baseline. Exit 4 blocks the merge.
python scripts/regression_gate.py --baseline baseline.jsonl --candidate candidate.jsonl --quarantine q.json
```
Step 1 uses match modes `strict | unordered | subset | superset`. Default to
`superset` (required steps present, harmless exploration allowed); grade the
outcome, not the path, unless order is the requirement. `forbidden` tools block
in every mode.
Step 2 reports **pass@k** (succeeds at least once in k) and **pass^k** (succeeds
all k times). A user meets every trial, so pass^k is the reliability number.
Cases marked critical are never quarantine candidates.
Step 3 averages trials within each case first (trials of one case are
correlated), then tests paired per-case differences with a t-based 95% CI and a
one-sided exact McNemar test. When the drop is real but the sample is too small
to show it, the gate says how many cases it would take.
## The gate blocks on
1. A statistically significant drop (CI upper bound below zero, or McNemar p < 0.05).
2. A critical case that passed every baseline trial and failed any candidate trial.
3. A baseline case missing from the candidate run. Dropping a case is the cheapest fake fix.
4. A quarantine entry with no owner or expiry, or covering a critical case.
5. A forbidden tool call (trajectory checker, exit 4).
It warns, and a human decides, on an underpowered drop above `--tolerance` or a
cost rise above `--max-cost-increase`.
## Hard rules
- **Never compare single trials.** Under 3 trials per case the flake detector refuses (exit 4).
- **Never pool trials as independent samples.** Average per case, then compare cases.
- **Never quarantine without owner and expiry.** An expired entry re-enters the gate automatically.
- **Never delete a failing case to go green.** The gate counts what is missing.
- **Never call "no significant drop" a pass on 8 cases.** Report the power note with the verdict.
- **Start the suite from real failures** (20-50 cases), balanced between "should do" and "should not do".
## Scripts
| Script | Role | Exit codes |
|---|---|---|
| `scripts/trajectory_checker.py` | Grades tool-call paths: match modes, args modes, forbidden tools, call ceilings | 0 · 2 deviations · 3 bad input · 4 forbidden tool |
| `scripts/flake_detector.py` | STABLE_PASS / STABLE_FAIL / FLAKY per case, Wilson CI, pass@k, pass^k, quarantine stubs | 0 · 2 flaky · 3 · 4 too few trials |
| `scripts/regression_gate.py` | Paired CI, exact McNemar, critical cases, dropped cases, quarantine validity, cost | 0 PASS · 2 WARN · 3 · 4 BLOCK |
All support `--sample` and `--output json`.
## References and assets
- [`references/eval_statistics.md`](references/eval_statistics.md) — pass@k vs pass^k, per-case averaging, paired CI, McNemar, power (7 sources)
- [`references/trajectory_grading.md`](references/trajectory_grading.md) — outcome vs path, match modes, grader types (6 sources)
- [`references/flaky_cases_and_quarantine.md`](references/flaky_cases_and_quarantine.md) — flake causes, quarantine with expiry, clean trials (6 sources)
- [`assets/eval_case_spec.example.json`](assets/eval_case_spec.example.json) — trajectory spec for step 1
- [`assets/sample_baseline.jsonl`](assets/sample_baseline.jsonl), [`assets/sample_candidate.jsonl`](assets/sample_candidate.jsonl) — results format
- [`assets/ci_eval_gate.example.yml`](assets/ci_eval_gate.example.yml) — CI job that runs the gate and fails on exit 4