[PR #196] fix(core): record default_publishes topics in seen_topics for chain validation #191

New issue

Open

opened 2026-02-27 10:22:39 +03:00 by kerem · 0 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-27 10:22:39 +03:00

Owner

📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/pull/196
Author: @arjhun-personal
Created: 2/25/2026
Status: 🔄 Open

Base: main ← Head: fix/default-publishes-seen-topics

📝 Commits (6)

159821d feat(core): add hat scope enforcement, event chain validation, and human timeout routing
63111d9 docs: add upstream PR draft for hat scope enforcement
479e6cb feat(core): make hat enforcement opt-in via config flags
dd46589 style: fix rustfmt formatting in hat enforcement code
31c55ef spec: add context window utilization tracking design
adce9bc fix(core): record default_publishes topics in seen_topics for chain validation

📊 Changes

12 files changed (+1150 additions, -4 deletions)

View changed files

📝 crates/ralph-bench/src/main.rs (+1 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-cli/src/display.rs (+1 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-cli/src/loop_runner.rs (+27 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/config.rs (+21 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/loop_state.rs (+21 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/mod.rs (+126 -4)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/tests.rs (+535 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/hat_registry.rs (+79 -0)
📝 crates/ralph-core/src/summary_writer.rs (+3 -0)
➕ docs/specs/context-window-utilization.md (+151 -0)
➕ upstream-PRs/hat-scope-enforcement-body.md (+58 -0)
➕ upstream-PRs/hat-scope-enforcement.md (+127 -0)

📄 Description

Fixes #187

Summary

Fixes an infinite loop caused by check_default_publishes not recording injected topics in seen_topics, making required_events chain validation permanently unsatisfiable.

Bug

When a hat writes no events to JSONL and the orchestrator injects a fallback via default_publishes, the event is published on the bus (triggering downstream hats correctly) but never recorded in seen_topics. If that topic is listed in required_events, LOOP_COMPLETE is rejected every iteration because the topic appears permanently missing — even though the event was successfully delivered and acted upon.

This creates an unrecoverable infinite loop: the work is done, all tests pass, but the loop can never terminate.

Steps to Reproduce

Configure a preset with required_events that includes a topic delivered via default_publishes:

event_loop:
  required_events:
    - "plan.draft"
    - "plan.approved"
    - "all.built"

hats:
  planner:
    triggers: ["research.complete"]
    publishes: ["plan.draft"]
    default_publishes: "plan.draft"
  review_gate:
    triggers: ["plan.draft"]
    publishes: ["plan.approved"]

Run a loop where the planner hat completes its work but does not explicitly emit plan.draft in its JSONL output (the agent writes the plan file but doesn't emit the event tag).
The orchestrator injects plan.draft via check_default_publishes — the ReviewGate triggers correctly and the workflow proceeds through all remaining phases.

When the final hat emits LOOP_COMPLETE, the event loop rejects it:

WARN ralph_core::event_loop: Rejecting LOOP_COMPLETE: required events not seen during loop lifetime missing=["plan.draft"]

A task.resume event is injected, but no hat can retroactively produce plan.draft. The loop repeats indefinitely until max_iterations is exhausted.

Root Cause

check_default_publishes (event_loop/mod.rs:1403) calls self.bus.publish() but does not call self.state.record_topic(). Topic recording only happens in process_events_from_jsonl (line 2157) for events parsed from the agent's JSONL output. The default_publishes code path bypasses this entirely.

// BEFORE (bug): publishes on bus but not tracked in seen_topics
pub fn check_default_publishes(&mut self, hat_id: &HatId) {
    if let Some(config) = self.registry.get_config(hat_id)
        && let Some(default_topic) = &config.default_publishes
    {
        let default_event = Event::new(default_topic.as_str(), "")
            .with_source(hat_id.clone());
        self.bus.publish(default_event);  // <-- topic never recorded
    }
}

Fix

One line added to check_default_publishes to record the topic before publishing:

self.state.record_topic(default_topic.as_str());
self.bus.publish(default_event);

Changes

File	Change
`crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/mod.rs`	+1 line: `record_topic()` call in `check_default_publishes`
`crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/tests.rs`	+1 assertion in existing test, +1 new regression test

Tests

Updated test (test_default_publishes_injects_when_no_events):

Added assertion that seen_topics contains the default topic after check_default_publishes

New regression test (test_default_publishes_satisfies_required_events_for_completion):

Configures required_events: ["plan.draft", "all.built"] with a planner hat that has default_publishes: "plan.draft"
Simulates the exact failure scenario: planner writes no events, default_publishes injects plan.draft, then all.built arrives via JSONL
Verifies LOOP_COMPLETE is accepted (previously would have been rejected indefinitely)

Test Plan

cargo test -p ralph-core test_default_publishes — 4 tests pass (including new regression test)
cargo test -p ralph-core test_chain_validation — 5 tests pass (no regressions)
cargo test — full suite passes

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/pull/196 **Author:** [@arjhun-personal](https://github.com/arjhun-personal) **Created:** 2/25/2026 **Status:** 🔄 Open **Base:** `main` ← **Head:** `fix/default-publishes-seen-topics` --- ### 📝 Commits (6) - [`159821d`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/159821ddb1b5bb3dd8aff358a1b3d7d8cedcbdb3) feat(core): add hat scope enforcement, event chain validation, and human timeout routing - [`63111d9`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/63111d9e8007ee3e49158d6b1d5c5a1d8a693c4d) docs: add upstream PR draft for hat scope enforcement - [`479e6cb`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/479e6cbc5e7e8ccb3bea47c1bb1cc914a37080d4) feat(core): make hat enforcement opt-in via config flags - [`dd46589`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/dd46589d6a05cbd1aded82c651d93beb359ab23b) style: fix rustfmt formatting in hat enforcement code - [`31c55ef`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/31c55efc8348025302491932f910ee4a3d365572) spec: add context window utilization tracking design - [`adce9bc`](https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/commit/adce9bcd46a364af4aea5f7a710bab5b86d2e062) fix(core): record default_publishes topics in seen_topics for chain validation ### 📊 Changes **12 files changed** (+1150 additions, -4 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `crates/ralph-bench/src/main.rs` (+1 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-cli/src/display.rs` (+1 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-cli/src/loop_runner.rs` (+27 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/config.rs` (+21 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/loop_state.rs` (+21 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/mod.rs` (+126 -4) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/tests.rs` (+535 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/hat_registry.rs` (+79 -0) 📝 `crates/ralph-core/src/summary_writer.rs` (+3 -0) ➕ `docs/specs/context-window-utilization.md` (+151 -0) ➕ `upstream-PRs/hat-scope-enforcement-body.md` (+58 -0) ➕ `upstream-PRs/hat-scope-enforcement.md` (+127 -0) </details> ### 📄 Description Fixes #187 ## Summary Fixes an infinite loop caused by `check_default_publishes` not recording injected topics in `seen_topics`, making `required_events` chain validation permanently unsatisfiable. ## Bug When a hat writes no events to JSONL and the orchestrator injects a fallback via `default_publishes`, the event is published on the bus (triggering downstream hats correctly) but **never recorded in `seen_topics`**. If that topic is listed in `required_events`, `LOOP_COMPLETE` is rejected every iteration because the topic appears permanently missing — even though the event was successfully delivered and acted upon. This creates an **unrecoverable infinite loop**: the work is done, all tests pass, but the loop can never terminate. ## Steps to Reproduce 1. Configure a preset with `required_events` that includes a topic delivered via `default_publishes`: ```yaml event_loop: required_events: - "plan.draft" - "plan.approved" - "all.built" hats: planner: triggers: ["research.complete"] publishes: ["plan.draft"] default_publishes: "plan.draft" review_gate: triggers: ["plan.draft"] publishes: ["plan.approved"] ``` 2. Run a loop where the planner hat completes its work but does not explicitly emit `plan.draft` in its JSONL output (the agent writes the plan file but doesn't emit the event tag). 3. The orchestrator injects `plan.draft` via `check_default_publishes` — the ReviewGate triggers correctly and the workflow proceeds through all remaining phases. 4. When the final hat emits `LOOP_COMPLETE`, the event loop rejects it: ``` WARN ralph_core::event_loop: Rejecting LOOP_COMPLETE: required events not seen during loop lifetime missing=["plan.draft"] ``` 5. A `task.resume` event is injected, but no hat can retroactively produce `plan.draft`. The loop repeats indefinitely until `max_iterations` is exhausted. ## Root Cause `check_default_publishes` (`event_loop/mod.rs:1403`) calls `self.bus.publish()` but does not call `self.state.record_topic()`. Topic recording only happens in `process_events_from_jsonl` (line 2157) for events parsed from the agent's JSONL output. The `default_publishes` code path bypasses this entirely. ```rust // BEFORE (bug): publishes on bus but not tracked in seen_topics pub fn check_default_publishes(&mut self, hat_id: &HatId) { if let Some(config) = self.registry.get_config(hat_id) && let Some(default_topic) = &config.default_publishes { let default_event = Event::new(default_topic.as_str(), "") .with_source(hat_id.clone()); self.bus.publish(default_event); // <-- topic never recorded } } ``` ## Fix One line added to `check_default_publishes` to record the topic before publishing: ```rust self.state.record_topic(default_topic.as_str()); self.bus.publish(default_event); ``` ## Changes | File | Change | |------|--------| | `crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/mod.rs` | +1 line: `record_topic()` call in `check_default_publishes` | | `crates/ralph-core/src/event_loop/tests.rs` | +1 assertion in existing test, +1 new regression test | ## Tests **Updated test** (`test_default_publishes_injects_when_no_events`): - Added assertion that `seen_topics` contains the default topic after `check_default_publishes` **New regression test** (`test_default_publishes_satisfies_required_events_for_completion`): - Configures `required_events: ["plan.draft", "all.built"]` with a planner hat that has `default_publishes: "plan.draft"` - Simulates the exact failure scenario: planner writes no events, `default_publishes` injects `plan.draft`, then `all.built` arrives via JSONL - Verifies `LOOP_COMPLETE` is accepted (previously would have been rejected indefinitely) ## Test Plan - [x] `cargo test -p ralph-core test_default_publishes` — 4 tests pass (including new regression test) - [x] `cargo test -p ralph-core test_chain_validation` — 5 tests pass (no regressions) - [x] `cargo test` — full suite passes --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>