feat(reconcile): add a Preference kind

[rohilsurana]

Stacked on #1737; will rebase onto main once #1731 and #1737 squash-merge.

What

A Preference kind for frontier reconcile and frontier export, for platform settings
like disable_orgs_on_create and the invite mail template.

kind: Preference
spec:
  - name: disable_orgs_on_create
    value: "true"

How it behaves (per the RFC's rules)

• Missing entry resets to default (rule 4, the settings option). The file is the full
  desired state. A preference you list is set to your value; a preference you leave out is
  written back to its trait default. This is the first kind to use reset-to-default.
• No delete flag (rule 5). There is no delete RPC, and setting a preference back to
  its default is what removal means here.
• Export (rule 9). Export writes only the preferences whose value differs from the
  default, sorted by name, so reconciling an export plans no changes.

Values are strings end to end, so a yes/no setting compares as "true" or "false".
Unknown names and duplicate names fail the plan. A stored value whose trait no longer
exists is left alone — the file cannot name it, so nothing manages it.

API use

• ListPreferences (AdminService) reads the stored platform preferences.
• DescribePreferences (FrontierService) gives the valid platform traits and their
  defaults — both the source of defaults and the set of valid names.
• CreatePreferences (AdminService) upserts a value; a reset writes the default back.

Values are read from the DB on every call, so a write reaches all pods. There is a
standing TODO in core/preference/service.go to cache platform preferences; if that lands
as a boot-lifetime map, pods would serve stale values after a write. It needs a TTL or
read-through. Flagging it here so the cache is not added without that.

Tests

• Diff: set, reset, converged, a value equal to the default is a no-op, sets before
  resets, unknown trait, duplicate name, empty name, and a stored value whose trait is
  gone.
• Reconciler with a fake API: apply a set and a reset, dry run, unknown trait fails before
  applying, export returns only overrides and round-trips, and an all-default export is
  empty.

[vercel]

The latest updates on your projects. Learn more about Vercel for GitHub.

Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
frontier	Ready	Preview, Comment	Jul 16, 2026 8:30am

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[coveralls]

Coverage Report for CI Build 29475048848

Coverage increased (+0.1%) to 45.593%

Details

• Coverage increased (+0.1%) from the base build.
• Patch coverage: 18 uncovered changes across 2 files (108 of 126 lines covered, 85.71%).
• 1 coverage regression across 1 file.

Uncovered Changes

File	Changed	Covered	%
internal/reconcile/preference_reconciler.go	78	61	78.21%
cmd/reconcile.go	6	5	83.33%
Total (3 files)	126	108	85.71%

Coverage Regressions

1 previously-covered line in 1 file lost coverage.

File	Lines Losing Coverage	Coverage
cmd/reconcile.go	1	43.37%

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Coverage Stats

Relevant Lines:	38311
Covered Lines:	17467
Line Coverage:	45.59%
Coverage Strength:	13.07 hits per line

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💛 - Coveralls