coilyco-flight-deck/ward

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Make brokered --print a real no-launch preview #1593

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opened 2026-07-28 08:43:13 +00:00 by coilyco-ops · 2 comments

coilyco-ops commented

2026-07-28 08:43:13 +00:00

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Problem

Operators use --print to answer what Ward would launch before consuming capacity or changing state.

From a read-only director, Ward currently forwards --print through the normal asynchronous launch path. The broker creates a launch request, journal, and dispatch artifact, starts a launch worker, then relies on the child Ward process to notice --print before creating the container.

The command may avoid the final container launch, but everything before that looks and behaves like a real dispatch. Its output even says broker Ward launch started. An operator cannot safely distinguish a preview from work entering the fleet.

Core invariant

A print request is a read-only plan calculation, not a launch request.

It must never consume capacity, reserve work, enter dispatch lifecycle state, or require later inspection to prove that nothing launched.

Required behavior

Detect --print before broker launch admission.
Send a distinct synchronous plan request to the broker.
Resolve the plan using the same host-side configuration and defaults as a real launch.
Return the resolved plan directly to the requesting terminal.
Create no launch journal, dispatch artifact, peer admission, reservation, issue comment, container, or staged launch assets.
Skip launch-only capacity, backpressure, preflight, and recovery machinery.
Label the output clearly as PLAN ONLY and state that no launch was accepted.
Never use accepted, launch-started, pending, or log-following language for a preview.
Keep ordinary non-print dispatch behavior unchanged.

Acceptance criteria

Brokered and local --print render the same resolved launch plan.
A brokered preview leaves the issue, broker queue, dispatch artifacts, reservations, capacity, Docker state, and asset staging unchanged.
Preview errors return synchronously as plan-resolution errors.
Tests prove the launch path is never entered.
Removing --print from the same command still performs the normal brokered launch.
Repository validation passes.

Headless execution boundary

Use an in-process synthetic broker, temporary state roots, fake tracker responses, and fake launch hooks. Do not launch a real container or mutate a live issue for acceptance.

## Problem Operators use `--print` to answer what Ward would launch before consuming capacity or changing state. From a read-only director, Ward currently forwards `--print` through the normal asynchronous launch path. The broker creates a launch request, journal, and dispatch artifact, starts a launch worker, then relies on the child Ward process to notice `--print` before creating the container. The command may avoid the final container launch, but everything before that looks and behaves like a real dispatch. Its output even says `broker Ward launch started`. An operator cannot safely distinguish a preview from work entering the fleet. ## Core invariant **A print request is a read-only plan calculation, not a launch request.** It must never consume capacity, reserve work, enter dispatch lifecycle state, or require later inspection to prove that nothing launched. ## Required behavior * Detect `--print` before broker launch admission. * Send a distinct synchronous plan request to the broker. * Resolve the plan using the same host-side configuration and defaults as a real launch. * Return the resolved plan directly to the requesting terminal. * Create no launch journal, dispatch artifact, peer admission, reservation, issue comment, container, or staged launch assets. * Skip launch-only capacity, backpressure, preflight, and recovery machinery. * Label the output clearly as `PLAN ONLY` and state that no launch was accepted. * Never use accepted, launch-started, pending, or log-following language for a preview. * Keep ordinary non-print dispatch behavior unchanged. ## Acceptance criteria * Brokered and local `--print` render the same resolved launch plan. * A brokered preview leaves the issue, broker queue, dispatch artifacts, reservations, capacity, Docker state, and asset staging unchanged. * Preview errors return synchronously as plan-resolution errors. * Tests prove the launch path is never entered. * Removing `--print` from the same command still performs the normal brokered launch. * Repository validation passes. ## Headless execution boundary Use an in-process synthetic broker, temporary state roots, fake tracker responses, and fake launch hooks. Do not launch a real container or mutate a live issue for acceptance.

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2026-07-28 08:43:13 +00:00

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2026-07-29 06:19:14 +00:00

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2026-08-05 18:10:43 +00:00

coilyco-ops changed title from ~~Make brokered --print render a true launch plan without launch-start wording~~ to Make brokered --print a real no-launch preview

2026-08-05 18:10:43 +00:00

coilyco-ops commented

2026-08-05 18:10:52 +00:00

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Decision resolved by Kai on 2026-08-05.

The core contract is that --print is a read-only plan calculation, not a launch request. Brokered previews must use a distinct synchronous plan path and leave no launch journal, dispatch artifact, reservation, capacity record, issue mutation, container, or staged launch asset.

The broker returns the host-resolved plan directly with PLAN ONLY wording. Ordinary non-print dispatch remains unchanged.

Priority is P2 because a dry-run flag is a safety boundary.

Decision resolved by Kai on 2026-08-05. The core contract is that --print is a read-only plan calculation, not a launch request. Brokered previews must use a distinct synchronous plan path and leave no launch journal, dispatch artifact, reservation, capacity record, issue mutation, container, or staged launch asset. The broker returns the host-resolved plan directly with PLAN ONLY wording. Ordinary non-print dispatch remains unchanged. Priority is P2 because a dry-run flag is a safety boundary.

coilyco-ops referenced this issue from a commit

2026-08-06 02:23:39 +00:00

fix: make brokered print plan-only

coilyco-ops closed this issue

2026-08-06 02:23:39 +00:00

coilyco-ops commented

2026-08-06 02:24:37 +00:00

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Landed on canonical main in 60c078a0.

Evidence:

Brokered --print now uses a distinct synchronous plan action with no request id.
Plan handling bypasses launch admission, workers, peer admission, journals, artifacts, staging, reservation, capacity, Docker readiness, preflight, and recovery.
Local and brokered output starts with PLAN ONLY - no launch was accepted.
Launch requests carrying --print are rejected, while the ordinary non-print launch path remains durable and unchanged.
Synthetic broker, launch-hook, artifact-root, staging-root, and protocol regression fixtures pass.
Full tests, build, vet, lint, policy boundary, release contract, pre-commit, and ward doctor pass.

Landed on canonical `main` in `60c078a0`. Evidence: * Brokered `--print` now uses a distinct synchronous `plan` action with no request id. * Plan handling bypasses launch admission, workers, peer admission, journals, artifacts, staging, reservation, capacity, Docker readiness, preflight, and recovery. * Local and brokered output starts with `PLAN ONLY - no launch was accepted`. * Launch requests carrying `--print` are rejected, while the ordinary non-print launch path remains durable and unchanged. * Synthetic broker, launch-hook, artifact-root, staging-root, and protocol regression fixtures pass. * Full tests, build, vet, lint, policy boundary, release contract, pre-commit, and `ward doctor` pass.

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coilyco-flight-deck/ward#1593

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