added some guards

bantam.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # Bantam agent: tiny, powerful, DIY
 # Created by Luxferre in 2026, released into the public domain
 
-import sys, os, json, time, subprocess, urllib.request
+import sys, os, json, re, time, subprocess, urllib.request
 try: import readline
 except ImportError: readline = None
 
@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ def sanitize_msgs(msgs):
           except Exception:
             fn["arguments"] = json.dumps({"invalid_raw": astr} if astr else {})
 
+def is_invalid_assistant_err(e):
+  return bool(re.search(r"Invalid assistant message|content or tool_calls must be set", str(e)))
+
 fib = [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34]
 
 def llm(cfg, msgs, tools):
@@ -155,7 +158,20 @@ MAX_DEPTH = 5
 def AL(cfg, msgs, sp, depth=0):
   stime, mx, st = num(cfg, "shell_timeout", 120), num(cfg, "max_al_iterations", 1000), cfg.get("stream", "true").lower() in ("true", "1", "yes")
   for _ in range(mx):
-    m = llm(cfg, msgs, TOOLS); msgs.append(m)
+    try:
+      m = llm(cfg, msgs, TOOLS)
+    except RuntimeError as e:
+      if is_invalid_assistant_err(e):
+        for i in range(len(msgs) - 1, -1, -1):
+          if msgs[i].get("role") == "assistant":
+            print(c("[stripped malformed assistant message]", 33))
+            del msgs[i]
+            break
+        else:
+          raise
+        continue
+      raise
+    msgs.append(m)
     if not st:
       reas = m.get("reasoning_content") or m.get("reasoning")
       if reas: print(c("--- reasoning start ---", 36) + "\n" + c(reas, 2) + "\n" + c("--- reasoning end ---", 36) + "\n")