Files
beads/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
Steve Yegge a9b2f9f553 Fix race condition in auto-flush mechanism (issue bd-52)
Critical fixes to code review findings:

1. Remove global state access from flushToJSONLWithState
   - FlushManager now has true single ownership of flush state
   - No more race conditions from concurrent global state access
   - flushToJSONLWithState trusts only the flushState parameter
   - Legacy wrapper handles success detection via failure count

2. Fix shutdown timeout data loss risk
   - Increased timeout from 5s → 30s to prevent data loss
   - Added detailed comments explaining the timeout rationale
   - Better error message indicates potential data loss scenario

Implementation details:
- New FlushManager uses event-driven single-owner pattern
- Channels eliminate shared mutable state (markDirtyCh, flushNowCh, etc.)
- Comprehensive race detector tests verify concurrency safety
- Backward compatible with existing tests via legacy code path
- ARCHITECTURE.md documents design principles and guarantees

Test results:
- All race detector tests pass (TestFlushManager*)
- Legacy API compatibility verified (TestMarkDirtyAndScheduleFlush*)
- No race conditions detected under concurrent load

Future improvements tracked as beads:
- bd-gdn: Add functional tests for flush correctness verification
- bd-5xt: Log errors from timer-triggered flushes
- bd-i00: Convert magic numbers to named constants

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
2025-11-20 21:24:31 -05:00

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9.2 KiB
Markdown

# Architecture
This document describes the internal architecture of the `bd` issue tracker, with particular focus on concurrency guarantees and data consistency.
## Auto-Flush Architecture
### Problem Statement (Issue bd-52)
The original auto-flush implementation suffered from a critical race condition when multiple concurrent operations accessed shared state:
- **Concurrent access points:**
- Auto-flush timer goroutine (5s debounce)
- Daemon sync goroutine
- Concurrent CLI commands
- Git hook execution
- PersistentPostRun cleanup
- **Shared mutable state:**
- `isDirty` flag
- `needsFullExport` flag
- `flushTimer` instance
- `storeActive` flag
- **Impact:**
- Potential data loss under concurrent load
- Corruption when multiple agents/commands run simultaneously
- Race conditions during rapid commits
- Flush operations could access closed storage
### Solution: Event-Driven FlushManager
The race condition was eliminated by replacing timer-based shared state with an event-driven architecture using a single-owner pattern.
#### Architecture
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Command/Agent │
│ │
│ markDirtyAndScheduleFlush() ─┐ │
│ markDirtyAndScheduleFullExport() ─┐ │
└────────────────────────────────────┼───┼────────────────┘
│ │
v v
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FlushManager │
│ (Single-Owner Pattern) │
│ │
│ Channels (buffered): │
│ - markDirtyCh │
│ - timerFiredCh │
│ - flushNowCh │
│ - shutdownCh │
│ │
│ State (owned by run() goroutine): │
│ - isDirty │
│ - needsFullExport │
│ - debounceTimer │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
v
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ flushToJSONLWithState() │
│ │
│ - Validates store is active │
│ - Checks JSONL integrity │
│ - Performs incremental/full export│
│ - Updates export hashes │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
```
#### Key Design Principles
**1. Single Owner Pattern**
All flush state (`isDirty`, `needsFullExport`, `debounceTimer`) is owned by a single background goroutine (`FlushManager.run()`). This eliminates the need for mutexes to protect this state.
**2. Channel-Based Communication**
External code communicates with FlushManager via buffered channels:
- `markDirtyCh`: Request to mark DB dirty (incremental or full export)
- `timerFiredCh`: Debounce timer expired notification
- `flushNowCh`: Synchronous flush request (returns error)
- `shutdownCh`: Graceful shutdown with final flush
**3. No Shared Mutable State**
The only shared state is accessed via atomic operations (channel sends/receives). The `storeActive` flag and `store` pointer still use a mutex, but only to coordinate with store lifecycle, not flush logic.
**4. Debouncing Without Locks**
The timer callback sends to `timerFiredCh` instead of directly manipulating state. The run() goroutine processes timer events in its select loop, eliminating timer-related races.
#### Concurrency Guarantees
**Thread-Safety:**
- `MarkDirty(fullExport bool)` - Safe from any goroutine, non-blocking
- `FlushNow() error` - Safe from any goroutine, blocks until flush completes
- `Shutdown() error` - Idempotent, safe to call multiple times
**Debouncing Guarantees:**
- Multiple `MarkDirty()` calls within the debounce window → single flush
- Timer resets on each mark, flush occurs after last modification
- FlushNow() bypasses debounce, forces immediate flush
**Shutdown Guarantees:**
- Final flush performed if database is dirty
- Background goroutine cleanly exits
- Idempotent via `sync.Once` - safe for multiple calls
- Subsequent operations after shutdown are no-ops
**Store Lifecycle:**
- FlushManager checks `storeActive` flag before every flush
- Store closure is coordinated via `storeMutex`
- Flush safely aborts if store closes mid-operation
#### Migration Path
The implementation maintains backward compatibility:
1. **Legacy path (tests):** If `flushManager == nil`, falls back to old timer-based logic
2. **New path (production):** Uses FlushManager event-driven architecture
3. **Wrapper functions:** `markDirtyAndScheduleFlush()` and `markDirtyAndScheduleFullExport()` delegate to FlushManager when available
This allows existing tests to pass without modification while fixing the race condition in production.
## Testing
### Race Detection
Comprehensive race detector tests ensure concurrency safety:
- `TestFlushManagerConcurrentMarkDirty` - Many goroutines marking dirty
- `TestFlushManagerConcurrentFlushNow` - Concurrent immediate flushes
- `TestFlushManagerMarkDirtyDuringFlush` - Interleaved mark/flush operations
- `TestFlushManagerShutdownDuringOperation` - Shutdown while operations ongoing
- `TestMarkDirtyAndScheduleFlushConcurrency` - Integration test with legacy API
Run with: `go test -race -run TestFlushManager ./cmd/bd`
### In-Process Test Compatibility
The FlushManager is designed to work correctly when commands run multiple times in the same process (common in tests):
- Each command execution in `PersistentPreRun` creates a new FlushManager
- `PersistentPostRun` shuts down the manager
- `Shutdown()` is idempotent via `sync.Once`
- Old managers are garbage collected when replaced
## Related Subsystems
### Daemon Mode
When running with daemon mode (`--no-daemon=false`), the CLI delegates to an RPC server. The FlushManager is NOT used in daemon mode - the daemon process has its own flush coordination.
The `daemonClient != nil` check in `PersistentPostRun` ensures FlushManager shutdown only occurs in direct mode.
### Auto-Import
Auto-import runs in `PersistentPreRun` before FlushManager is used. It may call `markDirtyAndScheduleFlush()` or `markDirtyAndScheduleFullExport()` if JSONL changes are detected.
Hash-based comparison (not mtime) prevents git pull false positives (issue bd-84).
### JSONL Integrity
`flushToJSONLWithState()` validates JSONL file hash before flush:
- Compares stored hash with actual file hash
- If mismatch detected, clears export_hashes and forces full re-export (issue bd-160)
- Prevents staleness when JSONL is modified outside bd
### Export Modes
**Incremental export (default):**
- Exports only dirty issues (tracked in `dirty_issues` table)
- Merges with existing JSONL file
- Faster for small changesets
**Full export (after ID changes):**
- Exports all issues from database
- Rebuilds JSONL from scratch
- Required after operations like `rename-prefix` that change issue IDs
- Triggered by `markDirtyAndScheduleFullExport()`
## Performance Characteristics
- **Debounce window:** Configurable via `getDebounceDuration()` (default 5s)
- **Channel buffer sizes:**
- markDirtyCh: 10 events (prevents blocking during bursts)
- timerFiredCh: 1 event (timer notifications coalesce naturally)
- flushNowCh: 1 request (synchronous, one at a time)
- shutdownCh: 1 request (one-shot operation)
- **Memory overhead:** One goroutine + minimal channel buffers per command execution
- **Flush latency:** Debounce duration + JSONL write time (typically <100ms for incremental)
## Future Improvements
Potential enhancements for multi-agent scenarios:
1. **Flush coordination across agents:**
- Shared lock file to prevent concurrent JSONL writes
- Detection of external JSONL modifications during flush
2. **Adaptive debounce window:**
- Shorter debounce during interactive sessions
- Longer debounce during batch operations
3. **Flush progress tracking:**
- Expose flush queue depth via status API
- Allow clients to wait for flush completion
4. **Per-issue dirty tracking optimization:**
- Currently tracks full vs. incremental
- Could track specific issue IDs for surgical updates