docs: formalize save/restore field-completeness as a standing invariant

Prompted by rediscovering the same bug class in two places this
session: the controller's WAL already has this documented for one
mechanism (persistence.md's APPLY_CLEAN/bug-1678 section, xce-audit-
invariants controller dimension 7) but the scheduler's separate
snapshot save/load mechanism had the identical gap (job->allocs, this
session's scheduler-snapshot-job-allocation brief) with no equivalent
tracking. Closes that gap and makes the invariant self-reinforcing
going forward rather than something that has to be independently
rediscovered per persistence mechanism:

- xce-audit-invariants: new scheduler dimension 4 ("Field-complete
  snapshot save/load parity"), sibling of controller dimension 7,
  scoped to snapshot.c/snapshot_wire.c/snapshot_load.c.
- persistence.md: new "Snapshot Save/Load Field-Completeness
  (Scheduler)" section cross-referencing the WAL-side bug-1678 writeup
  and the new scheduler dimension.
- CLAUDE.md: new top-level Key Rules bullet stating the invariant
  plainly, plus adding persistence.md to the steering-file pointer
  table (it was missing).
- kiro-spec-design's design-review-gate.md (the mandatory pre-write
  gate) and kiro-validate-design's design-review.md (the optional deep
  review): new conditional review sections -- applies only when a
  design touches a save/restore mechanism, requires enumerating every
  persisted field's capture status rather than trusting an aggregate
  "state looks right" check. Catches this class of gap at design time,
  before implementation, rather than only via a later audit.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AgYRU3zDTqNGV5Jk8aiKLg

2026-08-27 08:59:48 +00:00

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Raw Blame History

OpenWolf

This project uses OpenWolf for context management. The always-on rules live in .claude/rules/openwolf.md; the hooks handle bookkeeping (anatomy index, memory log, read tracking) automatically.

For the full operating protocol (session handoff, memory discipline, bug logging), load the openwolf skill, or read .wolf/OPENWOLF.md. Regenerate the session handoff with /handoff.

XCE Cluster Management System

Project Overview

XCE is an HPC cluster management system — Go API/CLI tier fronting C daemons (controller, worker, scheduler). Full context in .kiro/steering/product.md.

Engineering Guide

For details on any topic below, read the corresponding steering file in .kiro/steering/. CLAUDE.md provides pointers, not duplicates.

Topic	Steering File
Project purpose, HA phases, design decisions	`product.md`
Technology stack, build systems, key decisions	`tech.md`
Directory layout, naming conventions, test org	`structure.md`
Build commands, Nix flake, deploy, AppImage	`build-deployment.md`
REST handler pattern, daemon opcodes, Cap'n Proto	`api-standards.md`
HA protocol, async I/O, Raft election, heartbeat	`ha-async-io.md`
TDD rules, C + Go test patterns, coverage targets	`testing.md`
Error handling: Go ReturnError, C errnox, zap logging	`error-handling.md`
RBAC, JWT, auth backends, input validation, secrets	`security.md`
WAL durability, recovery, save/restore field-completeness	`persistence.md`

Key Rules (from steering — summarized for quick reference)

TDD mandatory: red → green → refactor; test in testsuite/ before C changes, _test.go before Go changes
Async I/O: delaymgr is trigger-only and must never block (no connect(), no file I/O) — it drives heartbeats/election timeouts, so blocking there causes spurious failover. Long/unbounded blocking goes on the slow lane; bounded blocking in vtask handlers is permitted only under an admission reservation (COMMIT_WAIT_RESERVED). xce_request/xce_reply are always non-blocking. See ha-async-io.md
Connections are long-lived: closing signals RDHUP failover. Inbound connections are vote-only; outbound carry all state push
Middleware chain (non-negotiable): WhitelistURL → WhitelistIP → RateLimit → JWT → CORS → RBAC
Error pattern: ReturnError(code, msg, nil); return — early return on every error
Build: /xce-build [component] — debug + ASAN + tests. See build-deployment.md for full commands
Save/restore field-completeness: any persistence mechanism (WAL fact, scheduler snapshot, checkpoint) must capture every field of the entity it claims to persist — a state that "recovers correctly" while silently missing a field it depends on (e.g. job.state correct but job.allocs lost) is a bug, not an acceptable simplification, unless the omission is explicitly documented as a scope decision (see persistence.md's "Snapshot Save/Load Field-Completeness" + APPLY_CLEAN/bug-1678 sections). When adding or extending save/restore logic, verify the field round-trips through BOTH the write side and every read/apply seam, and run /xce-audit-invariants (controller dimension 7 / scheduler dimension 4) rather than assuming a passing test suite already proves it — APPLY_CLEAN-style verdicts check row counts and cursor position, not per-field completeness

Key Files

src/frontend/Makefile — primary build/test orchestration
src/frontend/apiserver/cmd/main.go — server startup, init sequence
src/frontend/apiserver/router/routers.go — all routes and middleware chain
src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/rbac_check.go — RBAC loading and enforcement
src/frontend/apiserver/config/rbac.yaml — role/permission definitions
src/frontend/apiserver/config/auth.yaml — auth provider selection

Subdirectory Guidelines

src/frontend/ — See src/frontend/CLAUDE.md
src/controller/ — See src/controller/CLAUDE.md
src/worker/ — See src/worker/CLAUDE.md
src/scheduler/ — See src/scheduler/CLAUDE.md
src/lib/ — See src/lib/CLAUDE.md

Agentic SDLC and Spec-Driven Development

Kiro-style Spec-Driven Development on an agentic SDLC

Project Context

Paths

Steering: .kiro/steering/
Specs: .kiro/specs/

Steering vs Specification

Steering (.kiro/steering/) - Guide AI with project-wide rules and context Specs (.kiro/specs/) - Formalize development process for individual features

Active Specifications

Check .kiro/specs/ for active specifications
Use /kiro-spec-status [feature-name] to check progress

Development Guidelines

Think in English, generate responses in English. All Markdown content written to project files (e.g., requirements.md, design.md, tasks.md, research.md, validation reports) MUST be written in the target language configured for this specification (see spec.json.language).

Minimal Workflow

Phase 0 (optional): /kiro-steering, /kiro-steering-custom
Phase 1 (Specification):
- /kiro-spec-init "description" — initialize spec scaffold
- /kiro-spec-quick "description" — fast single-pass spec (requirements + design + tasks, no approval gates)
- /kiro-spec-batch — generate specs for all features in a roadmap in parallel
- /kiro-spec-requirements {feature}
- /kiro-validate-gap {feature} (optional: for existing codebase)
- /kiro-spec-design {feature} [-y]
- /kiro-validate-design {feature} (optional: design review)
- /kiro-spec-tasks {feature} [-y]
Phase 2 (Implementation): /kiro-impl {feature} [tasks]
- /kiro-validate-impl {feature} (optional: after implementation)
- /kiro-verify-completion {feature} — validate all acceptance criteria are met
Debugging: /kiro-debug {feature} — systematic debugging with spec context
Code review: /kiro-review — review implementation against spec requirements
Progress check: /kiro-spec-status {feature} (use anytime)

Development Rules

3-phase approval workflow: Requirements → Design → Tasks → Implementation
Human review required each phase; use -y only for intentional fast-track
Use /kiro-spec-quick for small, well-understood features; full workflow for anything touching HA/persistence/RBAC
Keep steering current and verify alignment with /kiro-spec-status
Follow the user's instructions precisely, and within that scope act autonomously: gather the necessary context and complete the requested work end-to-end in this run, asking questions only when essential information is missing or the instructions are critically ambiguous.

Steering Configuration

Load entire .kiro/steering/ as project memory — all .md files are authoritative
Core: product.md, tech.md, structure.md
Custom: testing.md, error-handling.md, security.md, ha-async-io.md, api-standards.md, build-deployment.md, config-design.md, persistence.md, roadmap.md
Add new custom files via /kiro-steering-custom; sync existing via /kiro-steering

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