# Session Analysis: rollout-2026-01-28T15-51-17-019c054d-499a-7f32-bee4-5a701f1ce557.jsonl

**Date**: 2026-01-28 | **Duration**: 108s | **Turns**: 6 | **Model**: gpt-5
**Type**: bug-fix | **Outcome**: resolved | **Specificity**: 5/5 | **Struggle**: 4/10

---

## Journey

The developer was trying to install the `wandb` Python package on a GPU-enabled Ubuntu VM for their `cold-ranker` ML project. The `pip install wandb` command failed because it pulled a source distribution (sdist) that required the Go compiler to build `wandb-core`, but Go was not installed on the machine. The developer pasted the full error output into Codex CLI and asked for help.

The AI assistant scanned the repo for wandb usage, discovered that wandb was optional and disabled by default in `col/src/utils/wandb_utils.py` and `col/src/config/config.py`, and provided multiple resolution paths: using `--only-binary`, conda, installing Go, or simply skipping wandb since it was optional.

## Prompting Assessment (5/5)

**What worked:**
The developer pasted the complete terminal output including the exact error message, which gave the assistant full context to diagnose the issue immediately. This is excellent "show don't tell" prompting.

> "pip install wandb\nCollecting wandb\n  Downloading wandb-0.24.0.tar.gz (44.2 MB)\n     ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 44.2/44.2 MB 192.0 MB/s  0:00:00\n  Installing build dependencies ... done\n  Getting requirements to build wheel ... done\n  Preparing metadata (pyproject.toml) ... error\n  error: subprocess-exited-with-error\n  \n  × Preparing metadata (pyproject.toml) did not run successfully.\n  │ exit code: 1\n  ╰─> [2 lines of output]\n      Building wandb-core Go binary...\n      Did not find the 'go' binary. You need Go to build wandb from source."

**What was vague or could improve:**
Nothing significant — the developer provided exactly the right level of detail. The only enhancement would have been specifying whether they needed wandb or if it was optional for their current task.

## Outcome: resolved

**Evidence:**
> "I'm going to scan the repo for any wandb usage or pinned versions to recommend a compatible install path."

> "Quick Fix (prefer binary wheel) — Upgrade packaging tools: python -m pip install -U pip setuptools wheel — Force a binary wheel (avoids building Go): pip install --only-binary=:all: wandb"

The assistant provided a comprehensive multi-path solution covering the exact install issue.

## Struggle Points

The assistant hit sandbox permission issues (`LandlockRestrict` errors) on the first attempt to run `rg` and `sed`, requiring escalated permissions. This added friction but was resolved by retrying with `require_escalated`.

> "thread 'main' (15032) panicked at linux-sandbox/src/linux_run_main.rs:30:9:\nerror running landlock: Sandbox(LandlockRestrict)"

This is a Codex CLI sandbox issue, not a developer struggle — the developer's prompting was clean and direct.

## Aha Insight

The assistant discovered that wandb was actually **optional and disabled by default** in this codebase. The developer may not have needed to install it at all for their current task. The code in `wandb_utils.py` gracefully handles the missing import with a try/except, and `WANDB_ENABLED` defaults to off in `config.py`.

**Evidence:**
> "In this repo, wandb is optional and safely disabled by default: see col/src/utils/wandb_utils.py:1 and col/src/config/config.py:1."

## Coach Tip

Before debugging a package installation failure, check whether the package is actually required for your current workflow. Running `grep -r "wandb" col/src/` first would have revealed it's optional, potentially saving the entire debugging session.
