my-pal-mcp-server/pr_template_filled.md

PR Title Format

fix: Fix o3-pro empty response issue by using output_text field

Description

This PR fixes a critical bug where o3-pro API calls were returning empty responses. The root cause was incorrect response parsing - the code was trying to manually parse response.output.content[] array structure, but o3-pro provides a simpler output_text convenience field directly on the response object. This PR also introduces a secure HTTP recording system for testing expensive o3-pro calls.

Changes Made

• Fixed o3-pro response parsing by using the output_text convenience field instead of manual parsing
• Added _safe_extract_output_text method with proper validation to handle o3-pro's response format
• Implemented custom HTTP transport recorder to replace respx for more reliable test recordings
• Added comprehensive PII sanitization to prevent accidental API key exposure in test cassettes
• Sanitized all existing test cassettes to remove any exposed secrets
• Updated documentation for the new testing infrastructure
• Added test suite to validate the fix and ensure PII sanitization works correctly

No breaking changes - The fix only affects o3-pro model parsing internally.

Dependencies added:

• None (uses existing httpx and standard library modules)

Testing

Run all linting and tests (required):

# Activate virtual environment first
source venv/bin/activate

# Run comprehensive code quality checks (recommended)
./code_quality_checks.sh

# If you made tool changes, also run simulator tests
python communication_simulator_test.py

• All linting passes (ruff, black, isort)
• All unit tests pass
• For bug fixes: Tests added to prevent regression
  • test_o3_pro_output_text_fix.py - Validates o3-pro response parsing works correctly
  • test_o3_pro_http_recording.py - Tests HTTP recording functionality
  • test_pii_sanitizer.py - Ensures PII sanitization works properly
• Manual testing completed with realistic scenarios
  • Verified o3-pro calls return actual content instead of empty responses
  • Validated that recorded cassettes contain no exposed API keys

Related Issues

Fixes o3-pro API calls returning empty responses on master branch.

Checklist

• PR title follows the format guidelines above
• Activated venv and ran code quality checks: source venv/bin/activate && ./code_quality_checks.sh
• Self-review completed
• Tests added for ALL changes (see Testing section above)
• Documentation updated as needed
  • Updated docs/testing.md with new testing approach
  • Added docs/vcr-testing.md for HTTP recording documentation
• All unit tests passing
• Ready for review

Additional Notes

The Bug:

On master branch, o3-pro API calls were returning empty responses because the code was trying to parse the response incorrectly:

# Master branch - incorrect parsing
if hasattr(response.output, "content") and response.output.content:
    for content_item in response.output.content:
        if hasattr(content_item, "type") and content_item.type == "output_text":
            content = content_item.text
            break

The o3-pro response object actually provides an output_text convenience field directly:

# Fixed version - correct parsing
content = response.output_text

The Fix:

1. Added _safe_extract_output_text method that properly validates and extracts the output_text field
2. Updated the response parsing logic in _generate_with_responses_endpoint to use this new method
3. Added proper error handling and validation to catch future response format issues

Additional Improvements:

• Testing Infrastructure: Implemented HTTP transport recorder to enable testing without repeated expensive API calls
• Security: Added automatic PII sanitization to prevent API keys from being accidentally committed in test recordings

Development Notes:

• During development, we encountered timeout issues with the initial respx-based approach which led to implementing the custom HTTP transport recorder
• The transport recorder solution properly handles streaming responses and gzip compression

For Reviewers:

• The core fix is in providers/openai_compatible.py lines 307-335 and line 396
• The HTTP transport recorder is test infrastructure only and doesn't affect production code
• All test cassettes have been sanitized and verified to contain no secrets