fix(topic): stop writing 'Error: Reached max turns 1' as the topic when MCPs are configured

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [5.3.2] — 2026-06-06
+
+### Fixed
+- Topic no longer shows the literal `Error: Reached max turns 1` when MCP servers are configured. The async `claude -p` refinement now runs with `--strict-mcp-config` and no tools, so the single allowed turn can't be consumed by a tool call. The call also uses `--output-format json` and only accepts `.result` when `is_error` is false, with a guard that discards any leftover CLI error string so the heuristic topic is kept instead.
+
 ## [5.2.4] — 2026-06-01
 
 ### Docs

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@alexismunozdev/claude-session-topics",
-  "version": "5.3.1",
+  "version": "5.3.2",
   "description": "Session topics for Claude Code — auto-set and display a topic in the statusline, change anytime with /set-topic",
   "bin": {
     "claude-session-topics": "bin/install.js"

scripts/user-prompt-hook.sh

@@ -279,11 +279,27 @@ refine_topic() {
   full_prompt=$(printf '%s\n\nConversación:\n%s' "$instruction" "$context")
 
   local refined out_file="${TOPIC_FILE}.refine.$$"
+  # --strict-mcp-config + --allowedTools "" load zero MCP servers and no tools,
+  # so the model can't burn the single turn on a tool call (which would make the
+  # CLI emit "Error: Reached max turns 1" to stdout and get written as the topic).
+  # --output-format json lets us accept the result only when is_error is false.
   printf '%s' "$full_prompt" | CLAUDE_SESSION_TOPICS_SKIP=1 \
-    run_with_timeout 30 claude -p --model haiku --max-turns 1 >"$out_file" 2>/dev/null || true
-  refined=$(tr -d '\r' < "$out_file" 2>/dev/null | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$' | head -n 1 || true)
+    run_with_timeout 30 claude -p --model haiku --max-turns 1 \
+      --strict-mcp-config --allowedTools "" --output-format json >"$out_file" 2>/dev/null || true
+  if command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    refined=$(jq -r 'select(.is_error == false) | .result // empty' "$out_file" 2>/dev/null \
+              | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$' | head -n 1 || true)
+  else
+    refined=$(tr -d '\r' < "$out_file" 2>/dev/null | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$' | head -n 1 || true)
+  fi
   rm -f "$out_file"
 
+  # Guard: never let a CLI error string become the topic (belt-and-suspenders for
+  # the jq-less path or unexpected error formats).
+  case "$refined" in
+    Error:*|*"Reached max turns"*|*"Execution error"*) refined="" ;;
+  esac
+
   # Sanitize: strip quotes, trim, whitelist chars, truncate
   refined=$(printf '%s' "$refined" \
             | sed -E 's/^[[:space:]"'"'"'`]+//;s/[[:space:]"'"'"'`.,:;!?]+$//' \

skills/set-topic/SKILL.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: set-topic
 description: Set or change the session topic displayed in the statusline
 argument-hint: <topic text>
 allowed-tools: [Bash]
-version: "5.3.1"
+version: "5.3.2"
 ---
 
 Set the session topic to: $ARGUMENTS