[FergusArgyll]

I get what you're saying but to be slightly pedantic etc.

Why can't an llm tool call `delete(index: int)` or `replace(from_index: int, to_index: int, string: str)` and then it can go back and edit just the way we can?

We also first made the mistake and only afterwards noticed we actually want to change something

[podocarp]

It can, that's why things like planning and reasoning are so effective. Planning effectively gives them a scratchpad they can keep modifying till they're satisfied without being constrained into the "only go forward" output they usually produce. Reasoning is also the same idea. Although I have on rare occasions seen in plans models saying "blabla above is wrong, I should instead do …" instead of actually fixing the plan, but that's another problem