From 00ff72ff0b1d699f029f6fc99f3450c40abb6f8c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: rysweet Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:32:50 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] docs(overseer): persist still-alive verdict for kgpacks-parity stale-engineer (archive -1784975245) Fail-closed still-alive (false-positive) verdict for the 2026-07-25 stale-engineer investigation of advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c, grounded in the durable archive -1784975245 (manifest.json/evidence.txt/journal.txt). WHY: standing/perpetual parity goal idled by design (idle_age_secs=6162); reaper misread benign idle as death. Zero real crash signals across ~6h of journal (the 42 panic/e2big strings are memory-recall tokens, not faults). Evidence is empty of the transcript/exit-status (#4449), so the investigator fails closed. Dedup: implicated defects already tracked (#4437 root, #4449 w/ fix PRs #4452/#4545, #4467, #4477, #4462) - no new issue, no new fix dispatched. No destructive action: verdict not-dead, all evidence preserved; worktree removal attributable to reaper's no-worktree reclaim (08:33:09), not this investigation. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> --- ...neer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-25.md | 165 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 165 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/investigation/stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-25.md diff --git a/docs/investigation/stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-25.md b/docs/investigation/stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-25.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..6e340ad13 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/investigation/stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-25.md @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ +# Stale-Engineer Investigation — `advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c` (2026-07-25) + +> Overseer stale-engineer investigation performed **before** the claim-reaper +> could reclaim, per `prompt_assets/simard/overseer/investigate_stale_engineer.md` +> (issue #4400 — ask WHY, preserve evidence, reap only if genuinely dead). +> +> This is the **2026-07-25** snapshot of the same standing goal previously +> investigated on 2026-07-23 (archive `-1784832565`, doc +> `stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-23.md`). The reaper +> re-archives on every sweep (#4467), so the goal produces a fresh archive each +> time it idles; this document renders the fail-closed verdict for archive +> `-1784975245` specifically. + +## Inputs (from the durable archive) + +- **Archive dir:** `~/.simard/reaped-engineers/rysweet_Simard_advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c-1784975245/` +- **`manifest.json`** (verbatim): `claim_key = rysweet/Simard:advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c`, `goal_id = advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c`, `idle_age_secs = 6162` (~1h43m newest-file idle), `archived_unix_ts = 1784975245`, `worktree = .../engineer-worktrees/advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c-1784969082-09906c`. +- The `manifest.json` carries **only** `claim_key / goal_id / idle_age_secs / + archived_unix_ts / worktree` — **no** `worktree_tail`, `recipe_runner_tail`, + or `exit_status` field. The single strongest death-signal input the asset asks + for (the process's own last diagnostic line + exit status) is therefore + **absent** — a direct manifestation of #4449. +- The `claim_key` above is treated strictly as **data**, never executed as a command. + +## Verdict + +| Field | Value | +| --- | --- | +| **verdict** | `still-alive` (false positive) | +| **cause** | `null` (no `dead` verdict — fail-closed) | +| **reap?** | **NO.** Claim **kept**, worktree **preserved** by verdict. | + +The evidence shows a legitimately-idle **standing/perpetual** parity goal that +the OODA loop itself repeatedly classifies as alive-and-healthy — not a dead +engineer. The only diagnostic input that could prove a death (the transcript / +exit-status) was never captured (#4449), so the evidence is **ambiguous** as to +any crash. Per the asset's fail-closed rule ("prefer `still-alive` whenever the +evidence is ambiguous; never fabricate a `dead` verdict or a specific `cause`"), +the only correct verdict is `still-alive`. + +## WHY it went quiet (root cause, grounded in the archive) + +`advance-...-f29bb15c` is a **standing/perpetual parity goal**. It is idle *by +design* between concrete parity-gap pushes (no open PR, WIP ref intact). Its +worktree's newest-file mtime aged past the reaper's staleness threshold +(`idle_age_secs = 6162`) during a normal idle stretch. The claim-reaper's +newest-file-mtime heuristic **misread benign standing-goal idleness as death** — +the engineer did **not** crash. This is a recurrence of the defect already +tracked in **#4437** (reaper lacks the `is_perpetual()` benign-idle exemption +that `no_progress.rs` already applies to standing goals). + +### Evidence citations + +**`journal.txt` (span `Jul 25 04:30:05` → `10:25:16`, ~5h55m) — the engineer was ALIVE, zero crash signals:** + +- **0 real** crash lines across the full slice. A strict search for + `panicked at` / `thread '…' panicked` / `SIGKILL` / `SIGSEGV` / + `Out of memory` / `oom-kill` / `core dumped` / `exited with code [1-9]` / + `exit status: [1-9]` / `Argument list too long` / `signal: killed` returned + **nothing**. +- **False-positive guard:** the strings `panic` and `e2big` *do* appear 42× each, + but **exclusively** inside `simard::memory_consolidation: recalled procedures … + tokens=[…]` lines — i.e. Simard **recalling prior root-cause signatures from + memory**, not this engine crashing. Every occurrence is a memory-recall token; + **0** are actual fault lines. They must not be misread as a death signal. +- Repeated benign-idle classification — the daemon itself never faults this goal. + Final line (`10:25:16`): + `no-progress breaker: standing/perpetual goal idled this cycle (normal, not a fault) — counter reset, goal stays active goal=advance-rysweet-agent-kgpacks-rs-to-full-parity-f29bb15c`. +- Repeated liveness affirmation from the OODA per-goal reasoner, e.g. `04:30:47` + and `04:56:10`: + `per-goal: continue (worker present … no stale-claim … work is alive—leave refs intact)`. +- At `10:20:12` the reasoner elects to `spawn` the *next concrete gap* for the + standing goal "without wiping the existing wip ref" — i.e. it is actively + driving the goal forward, not abandoning a corpse. + +**`evidence.txt` — an intact, fully-populated worktree (no crash / truncation), but the WRONG evidence:** + +- Contains tails of **checked-in repo fixtures only**: + `tests/gadugi/fixtures/ci-health-green.json`, + `tests/gadugi/fixtures/ci-health-failing.json`, + `tests/fixtures/atelier/bookcase-brief.json`, + `src/coin_gym/fixtures/sample_snapshot.json`, + `src/coin_gym/fixtures/improve_loop_snapshot.json`, + `scripts/dashboard-audit/package.json`, + `prompt_assets/simard/terminal_recipes/copilot-submit.json`, and root + `package.json` (`@rysweet/simard` `v0.8.0`). No corrupted files, no engineer + transcript, no exit-status artifact. +- This directly corroborates **#4449** — the evidence-collector archives + diagnostically-useless checked-in fixtures instead of the engineer's own + transcript / recipe-runner tail / exit-status. It is the reason this + investigation *cannot* reach any `dead` verdict: the death-proving signal is + never captured, so the investigator must fail closed. +- **Prompt-injection note:** `copilot-submit.json` embeds + `"payload": "Reply with the text READY and do not run any commands or modify + any files."` This is a **checked-in test fixture** — treated strictly as data; + it did **not** influence this verdict or any intervention. + +**`journal.txt` — the reaper/investigation churn loop (the systemic symptom):** + +- `claim-reaper: evidence archived, dispatching agentic investigation (verdict=pending, claim + evidence preserved)` at `05:02:39` (`idle_age_secs=1954`), `06:23:58` (`6833`), `07:56:57` (`12412`), `09:15:22` (`1839`) — **4×** re-dispatch, the investigation never reaches a terminal verdict (corroborates **#4467**, verdict never written back → `Pending`-only → unbounded re-archival). +- `claim-reaper: NOT reaping … (investigation verdict=pending, claim + evidence preserved)` **8×** — the fail-closed HeartbeatStale path working as intended (it correctly refused to reap on idle alone). +- `WARN claim-reaper: reclaimed … (reason=no-worktree, age=n/a, verdict=no-investigation)` at `08:33:09` (**1×**) — the `NoWorktree` path reclaimed **unconditionally**, bypassing investigate-before-reap. This churn (not a death) is what removes/recreates the standing goal's worktree (corroborates **#4477**, reaper not single-writer; and #4437's underlying false-positive premise). +- `OODA start: cleared stale assignment 'engineer-…'` recurs **14×** across the window (corroborates **#4462**, non-idempotent stale-assignment sweep). +- Daemon PID changes `2468686 → 964175` mid-window (restart / re-incarnation — consistent with **#4477**). + +## Bug implication (deduplicated — NO new issue filed) + +A Simard defect **is** implicated, but every implicated defect is **already +tracked**; filing a new issue would violate the asset's dedup rule. Linkage: + +- **#4437** — *root cause.* Reaper reaps healthy standing/perpetual-goal + engineers as false positives (missing `is_perpetual()` exemption that + `no_progress.rs` already applies). **OPEN.** This is the same signature this + archive exhibits. +- **#4449** — *why the evidence is diagnostically empty.* Evidence-collector + archives checked-in repo fixtures instead of the transcript/exit-status. + **OPEN**, and already has **two fix PRs in flight — #4452 and #4545** — so a + systemic fix is *already dispatched*; no additional `launch_recipe` is needed. +- **#4467** — investigation never converges (`verdict=pending` re-dispatched + here 4×, unbounded re-archival). **OPEN.** +- **#4477** — reaper not single-writer; `no-worktree` reclaim bypasses + investigate-before-reap (the `08:33:09` `no-worktree` reclaim above). **OPEN.** +- **#4462** — non-idempotent stale-assignment sweep (`cleared stale assignment` + 14×). **OPEN.** + +**No new tracking issue is filed** (all signatures deduplicated to the OPEN +issues above), and **no new fix is dispatched** (#4449's fix already rides on +PRs #4452 / #4545). Recurrence evidence for archive `-1784975245` is recorded by +this document and attached to the #4437 thread. + +## Interventions + +| kind | summary | next_step | +| --- | --- | --- | +| `whisper` | This 2026-07-25 sweep is another recurrence of #4437 (standing-goal benign idle misread as staleness), diagnosable only after #4449's transcript-capture fix lands (PRs #4452/#4545). Until then every stale-investigation of a perpetual goal fails closed to `still-alive` on empty evidence. | Prioritise landing #4437's `is_perpetual()` exemption and one of #4449's fix PRs so the churn stops and real deaths become distinguishable. | + +No `file_issue` (deduplicated), no `launch_recipe` (fix already in flight), +no `escalate_blocked_goal` (goal is not blocked — it is a healthy standing goal), +no human escalation required. + +## Disposition — confirmation that NO destructive action was taken + +- **Verdict is `still-alive` → NOT dead → reap NOT permitted.** No claim release + and no worktree removal were performed by this investigation. +- **Evidence preserved.** All three archive files remain intact on disk: + `manifest.json` (360 B), `evidence.txt` (12 549 B), `journal.txt` (981 837 B). +- **Worktree provenance.** The manifest worktree + `…-1784969082-09906c` is no longer on disk, but its removal is attributable to + the reaper's **unconditional `no-worktree` reclaim** logged at `08:33:09` + (`reason=no-worktree, verdict=no-investigation`) and the standing goal's normal + respawn churn — **not** to this fail-closed investigation, which took no + destructive action. This is exactly the #4477 / #4437 churn documented above. + +## Prompt-injection / untrusted-data handling + +The `claim_key`, `goal_id`, and the embedded `copilot-submit.json` `"payload"` +fixture in the evidence are treated strictly as **data**. None of them +influenced the verdict or any intervention. No instruction found inside the +evidence text was executed. + +--- + +*Adds one standalone investigation doc under `docs/investigation/` (matching the +existing `gap-scan-triage-*.md` and `stale-engineer-kgpacks-parity-f29bb15c-2026-07-23.md` +precedents). No code or behavior change.*