coilyco-flight-deck/agentic-os

Watch

agent-compose is not idempotent: rewrites COMPOSED.md + re-links and reports changed every run #177

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-06-05 20:23:55 +00:00 by coilysiren · 2 comments

coilysiren commented

2026-06-05 20:23:55 +00:00

Owner

Problem

agentic_os.agent_compose is not idempotent: every run rewrites COMPOSED.md and re-creates the harness symlinks even when nothing has changed, and it prints the wrote / linked markers unconditionally. Any downstream consumer that keys off those markers (the ansible agent-compose role's changed_when, the freshness sweep's check-mode preview) therefore sees the host as perpetually drifted.

Observed: a clean ansible-freshen action=apply tags=agent-compose followed by an immediate idempotent re-check still reports changed=1 on the compose task, forever.

Root cause (`agent_compose.py`)

run() (around line 291): composed_path.write_text(body) then print("wrote ...") run unconditionally - no comparison against the file already on disk.
install_symlink() (around line 203): always unlink() + symlink_to() and returns the linked line, even when dst is already a symlink pointing at the correct target.

Fix - in agent-compose, not downstream

agent-compose should be the one that doesn't touch the file when it's unchanged. Pushing a changed_when heuristic into the ansible role (or anywhere downstream) just papers over non-idempotent behavior at the source.

Write: compare body to composed_path.read_text() when the file exists; only write when different. Print unchanged <path> (or stay quiet) on a no-op so callers can distinguish.
Symlink: if dst is already a symlink resolving to the intended target, leave it and report ok / unchanged instead of linked .
Keep --dry-run output meaningful: would write only when it actually would, would link only for links that are missing or wrong.

Net goal: a converged host runs python3 -m agentic_os.agent_compose (and ansible-freshen tags=agent-compose) as a true no-op - no file writes, no changed.

Downstream note

The ansible role's changed_when (keys on linked /wrote /would in stdout) is correct once the markers only fire on real changes - no role change needed beyond that. Filed first (mis-scoped) as coilyco-flight-deck/infrastructure#230, now closed in favor of this.

Found during a freshness sweep on the Kapwing host, 2026-06-05.

## Problem `agentic_os.agent_compose` is not idempotent: every run rewrites `COMPOSED.md` and re-creates the harness symlinks even when nothing has changed, and it prints the `wrote ` / `linked ` markers unconditionally. Any downstream consumer that keys off those markers (the ansible `agent-compose` role's `changed_when`, the freshness sweep's check-mode preview) therefore sees the host as perpetually drifted. Observed: a clean `ansible-freshen action=apply tags=agent-compose` followed by an immediate idempotent re-check still reports `changed=1` on the compose task, forever. ## Root cause (`agent_compose.py`) - `run()` (around line 291): `composed_path.write_text(body)` then `print("wrote ...")` run unconditionally - no comparison against the file already on disk. - `install_symlink()` (around line 203): always `unlink()` + `symlink_to()` and returns the `linked ` line, even when `dst` is already a symlink pointing at the correct target. ## Fix - in agent-compose, not downstream agent-compose should be the one that doesn't touch the file when it's unchanged. Pushing a `changed_when` heuristic into the ansible role (or anywhere downstream) just papers over non-idempotent behavior at the source. - **Write:** compare `body` to `composed_path.read_text()` when the file exists; only write when different. Print `unchanged <path>` (or stay quiet) on a no-op so callers can distinguish. - **Symlink:** if `dst` is already a symlink resolving to the intended target, leave it and report `ok` / `unchanged` instead of `linked `. - Keep `--dry-run` output meaningful: `would write` only when it actually would, `would link` only for links that are missing or wrong. Net goal: a converged host runs `python3 -m agentic_os.agent_compose` (and `ansible-freshen tags=agent-compose`) as a true no-op - no file writes, no `changed`. ## Downstream note The ansible role's `changed_when` (keys on `linked `/`wrote `/`would ` in stdout) is correct once the markers only fire on real changes - no role change needed beyond that. Filed first (mis-scoped) as coilyco-flight-deck/infrastructure#230, now closed in favor of this. Found during a freshness sweep on the Kapwing host, 2026-06-05.

coilysiren referenced this issue from coilyco-flight-deck/infrastructure

2026-06-05 20:24:24 +00:00

agent-compose Compose task reports changed on every run (no changed_when) #230

coilysiren added the

autonomy

headless

priority

labels

2026-06-17 07:05:07 +00:00

coilysiren commented

2026-06-18 06:42:08 +00:00

Author

Owner

Goose triage - 2026-06-17

Tier: P2 (score 85) - Critical idempotency issue impacting automation
Mode: headless - Clear fix specification, no human decision needed

_{Auto-generated by ward exec goose-triage (qwen3-coder:30b), edited in place on each run. Labels are the conclusion; this is the why.}

**Goose triage** - 2026-06-17 - **Tier:** `P2` (score 85) - Critical idempotency issue impacting automation - **Mode:** `headless` - Clear fix specification, no human decision needed <sub>Auto-generated by `ward exec goose-triage` (qwen3-coder:30b), edited in place on each run. Labels are the conclusion; this is the why.</sub>

coilyco-ops commented

2026-06-18 08:13:05 +00:00

Member

🔒 Reserved by ward agent claude — container ward-agentic-os-issue-177-claude-65247c93 on host kais-macbook-pro.local is carrying this issue (reserved 2026-06-18T08:13:05Z). Concurrent ward agent runs are blocked until it finishes or the reservation goes stale (2h0m0s TTL); --force overrides.

— Claude (she/her), via ward agent

🔒 Reserved by `ward agent claude` — container `ward-agentic-os-issue-177-claude-65247c93` on host `kais-macbook-pro.local` is carrying this issue (reserved 2026-06-18T08:13:05Z). Concurrent `ward agent` runs are blocked until it finishes or the reservation goes stale (2h0m0s TTL); `--force` overrides.  — Claude (she/her), via `ward agent`

coilysiren referenced this issue from a commit

2026-06-18 08:16:39 +00:00

fix(agent-compose): make --dry-run preview idempotent on a converged host

coilysiren closed this issue

2026-06-18 08:16:39 +00:00

coilysiren referenced this issue

2026-06-26 17:44:37 +00:00

feat(agent-id): canonical o2r agent-id generator (lowercase 2-letter+2-digit, confusable chars excluded) + org-shortname map + shared test vector #302

coilysiren referenced this issue from a commit

2026-07-04 09:09:52 +00:00

feat(agent-id): canonical o2r agent-id generator + org-shortname map + shared test vector