Normalize watcher bursts into a bounded rescan request
One editor save produces create, rename, and modify events; the agent processes the same file three times and misses changes after queue overflow.
- Focused work estimate
- 4h + prerequisites
- Priority in the scenario
- High
- Engineering practice
- Filesystem watchers · Reconciliation · Portability
Estimated field mix
- Systems programming60%
- Platform engineering40%
Field percentages are editorial estimates of the ticket's engineering focus. They total 100%; they are not measured time, proficiency scores, or ownership evidence.
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Project context
A fictional local agent watches generated inbox files and schedules bounded processing. Direct system calls are scattered across the code, mishandle interrupted operations, and make tests platform-dependent. Build a Rust OS adapter with temporary fixture directories; no kernel module, elevated privilege, or production host modification is required.
Setup prerequisites
- System calls
- File descriptors
- Monotonic clocks
Preceding work
Complete these dependencies, or supply their agreed outputs before taking this ticket.
Acceptance criteria
- Events trigger idempotent directory reconciliation rather than direct truth
- Burst coalescing has a maximum delay
- Overflow schedules a full bounded rescan and remains visible
Implementation constraints
- Do not promise identical watcher events across operating systems.
Verification to include
- Replay create-via-rename and direct-write event sequences with one final reconciliation.
- Overflow the event buffer and confirm a rescan restores the fixture state.
Deliverables
- Watcher reconciliation loop and platform event fixtures
Rollout and recovery
Keep periodic scans as a fallback during watcher rollout.
Value of the work
For the engineer: Practice OS error semantics, partial I/O, portability and deterministic abstraction boundaries.
For the team: Review host-facing code whose retries, resource limits, and platform differences are explicit before packaging it as a local agent.
Evidence boundaries
Outcome Evidence: Tests, patches, and runbooks are requested deliverables. They become Outcome Evidence only through a qualified Mission and immutable Evidence IDs.
Ownership Evidence: Independent adaptation must be observed under a declared verification policy and cite immutable Evidence IDs. Completing a planning ticket establishes no Ownership Evidence.