fix plan check catch-22

crates/g3-cli/src/agent_mode.rs

@@ -207,6 +207,9 @@ pub async fn run_agent_mode(
     if flags.acd {
         agent.set_acd_enabled(true);
     }
+    if flags.skip_plan_tool_check {
+        agent.set_skip_plan_tool_check(true);
+    }
 
     // If resuming a session, restore context and TODO
     let initial_task = if let Some(ref incomplete_session) = resuming_session {

crates/g3-cli/src/cli_args.rs

@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ pub struct CommonFlags {
     pub project: Option<PathBuf>,
     /// Resume a specific session by ID
     pub resume: Option<String>,
+    /// Skip the plan approval gate for plan tools
+    pub skip_plan_tool_check: bool,
 }
 
 #[derive(Parser, Clone)]
@@ -161,6 +163,11 @@ pub struct Cli {
     /// Load a project from the given path at startup (like /project but without auto-prompt)
     #[arg(long, value_name = "PATH")]
     pub project: Option<PathBuf>,
+
+    /// Skip the plan approval gate check for plan tools (plan_read, plan_write, plan_approve).
+    /// Without this flag, plan tools are subject to the same approval gate as other tools.
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub skip_plan_tool_check: bool,
 }
 
 impl Cli {
@@ -179,6 +186,7 @@ impl Cli {
             acd: self.acd,
             project: self.project.clone(),
             resume: self.resume.clone(),
+            skip_plan_tool_check: self.skip_plan_tool_check,
         }
     }
 }

crates/g3-cli/src/lib.rs

@@ -193,6 +193,9 @@ async fn run_console_mode(
     if cli.acd {
         agent.set_acd_enabled(true);
     }
+    if cli.skip_plan_tool_check {
+        agent.set_skip_plan_tool_check(true);
+    }
 
     // Load CLI project if --project flag was specified
     let initial_project: Option<project::Project> = if let Some(ref project_path) = cli.project {

crates/g3-core/src/lib.rs

@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ pub struct Agent<W: UiWriter> {
     acd_enabled: bool,
     /// Whether plan mode is active (gate blocks file changes without approved plan)
     in_plan_mode: bool,
+    /// When true, plan tools (plan_read/write/approve) skip the approval gate.
+    /// Controlled by --skip-plan-tool-check CLI flag.
+    skip_plan_tool_check: bool,
     /// Files that were already dirty when plan mode started (excluded from approval gate)
     baseline_dirty_files: std::collections::HashSet<String>,
     /// Manager for async research tasks
@@ -226,6 +229,7 @@ impl<W: UiWriter> Agent<W> {
             auto_memory: false,
             acd_enabled: false,
             in_plan_mode: false,
+            skip_plan_tool_check: false,
             baseline_dirty_files: std::collections::HashSet::new(),
             pending_research_manager: pending_research::PendingResearchManager::new(),
             loaded_toolsets: std::collections::HashSet::new(),
@@ -1688,6 +1692,11 @@ impl<W: UiWriter> Agent<W> {
         self.in_plan_mode
     }
 
+    /// Set whether plan tools skip the approval gate.
+    pub fn set_skip_plan_tool_check(&mut self, skip: bool) {
+        self.skip_plan_tool_check = skip;
+    }
+
     /// Check if the current plan is in a terminal state (all items done or blocked).
     ///
     /// Returns true if:
@@ -3022,7 +3031,12 @@ Skip if nothing new. Be brief."#;
         let result = self.execute_tool_inner_in_dir(tool_call, working_dir).await;
 
         // Check plan approval gate after tool execution (only in plan mode)
-        if self.in_plan_mode {
+        // Plan tools (plan_read/write/approve) only skip the gate when
+        // --skip-plan-tool-check is passed; otherwise they are gated like
+        // every other tool.
+        let is_plan_tool = matches!(tool_call.tool.as_str(), "plan_write" | "plan_read" | "plan_approve");
+        let dominated_by_gate = if is_plan_tool { !self.skip_plan_tool_check } else { true };
+        if self.in_plan_mode && dominated_by_gate {
             if let Some(session_id) = &self.session_id {
             if let ApprovalGateResult::Blocked { message } =
                 check_plan_approval_gate(session_id, working_dir, &self.baseline_dirty_files)

crates/g3-core/src/tools/plan.rs

@@ -815,7 +815,7 @@ pub async fn execute_plan_read<W: UiWriter>(
         }
         None => {
             ctx.ui_writer.print_plan_compact(None, None, false);
-            Ok(String::new())
+            Ok("No plan exists yet. Use plan_write to create one.".to_string())
         }
     }
 }

crates/g3-providers/src/openai.rs

@@ -415,19 +415,57 @@ impl LLMProvider for OpenAIProvider {
 }
 
 fn convert_messages(messages: &[Message]) -> Vec<serde_json::Value> {
-    messages
-        .iter()
-        .map(|msg| {
-            json!({
-                "role": match msg.role {
+    let mut result = Vec::new();
+    for msg in messages {
+        // Tool result messages: OpenAI expects role "tool" with tool_call_id
+        if let Some(ref tool_call_id) = msg.tool_result_id {
+            result.push(json!({
+                "role": "tool",
+                "tool_call_id": tool_call_id,
+                "content": msg.content,
+            }));
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let role = match msg.role {
             MessageRole::System => "system",
             MessageRole::User => "user",
             MessageRole::Assistant => "assistant",
-                },
+        };
+
+        // Assistant messages with tool calls
+        if !msg.tool_calls.is_empty() {
+            let tool_calls: Vec<serde_json::Value> = msg.tool_calls.iter().map(|tc| {
+                json!({
+                    "id": tc.id,
+                    "type": "function",
+                    "function": {
+                        "name": tc.name,
+                        "arguments": tc.input.to_string(),
+                    }
+                })
+            }).collect();
+
+            let mut m = json!({
+                "role": role,
+                "tool_calls": tool_calls,
+            });
+            // Include content only if non-empty (OpenAI allows null/absent content
+            // on assistant messages that have tool_calls)
+            if !msg.content.is_empty() {
+                m["content"] = json!(msg.content);
+            }
+            result.push(m);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // Regular messages
+        result.push(json!({
+            "role": role,
             "content": msg.content,
-            })
-        })
-        .collect()
+        }));
+    }
+    result
 }
 
 fn convert_tools(tools: &[Tool]) -> Vec<serde_json::Value> {