mistri 0.5.0 → 0.6.1

data/docs/reliability.md

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+# Reliability
+
+Mistri makes the execution boundary explicit. It does not turn a model call,
+network, process, database, and external side effect into one transaction.
+
+The core rule is simple: the gem owns mechanism; the host owns policy. Mistri
+validates and records what it can know. The application supplies authorization,
+runner serialization, idempotency, reconciliation, queue guarantees, and UI.
+
+## Result and error model
+
+Every run returns `Mistri::Result` unless a separate host contract must raise:
+
+```ruby
+result.completed?
+result.awaiting_approval?
+result.aborted?
+result.stopped_by_budget?
+result.errored?
+result.handed_off?
+```
+
+`result.text` reads the final assistant message. `result.output` is the parsed,
+validated value from task mode. `result.usage` sums provider attempts and
+compaction calls made during that invocation.
+
+Failures the model can correct stay in band. Unknown tools, invalid arguments,
+policy blocks, expected tool failures, handler exceptions, and timeouts become
+typed tool results. Valid sibling calls may still execute.
+
+Built-in provider failures, including exhausted retries and provider response
+limits, finish as `result.errored?`. Configuration and Session contract failures,
+final task validation, and unknown-cost reconciliation raise a `Mistri::Error`
+subclass. Store and subscriber callbacks can propagate their own exceptions.
+
+Direct MCP Client failures raise. A tool bridged through `Mistri::MCP.tools`
+runs inside the tool executor, so its Client exception, including ambiguous
+delivery, becomes an error-marked tool result. The transport has not replayed
+the call; the model may still choose to issue a new one.
+
+Rescue `Mistri::Error` for the gem's public error family. Do not rescue
+`StandardError` around the entire run and silently convert programming or
+subscriber bugs into model output.
+
+## Side-effect outcomes can be ambiguous
+
+Only one Agent may actively call `run` or `resume` for a Session at a time. The
+store can accept independent approval, steer, and worker-report appends, but
+active runners are a host scheduling concern.
+
+Even with one runner, this gap remains:
+
+1. Mistri records that a call is ready.
+2. The handler commits an external write.
+3. The process, subscriber, or store fails before the result append.
+
+On replay, Mistri can prove that the call has no durable result. It cannot prove
+whether step 2 happened. The Session synthesizes an interrupted error so the
+provider transcript remains pairable and tells the caller to verify effects.
+
+Build write tools around a domain idempotency key or reconciliation handle:
+
+```ruby
+Mistri::Tool.define(
+  "send_gift", "Sends one gift order.",
+  schema: lambda {
+    string :order_id, "Host-issued idempotency key", required: true
+    string :recipient_id, "Recipient ID", required: true
+  },
+) do |args|
+  GiftOrders.create_once!(
+    idempotency_key: args.fetch("order_id"),
+    recipient_id: args.fetch("recipient_id"),
+  )
+end
+```
+
+The exact mechanism belongs to the application and its downstream system. For
+some APIs it is an idempotency header; for a database it may be a unique key and
+transaction; for an irreversible operation it may require a reconciliation
+screen instead of automatic retry.
+
+Approval reduces authorization risk but does not make execution exactly once.
+Mistri guarantees neither exactly-once execution nor eventual at-least-once
+delivery: a call may run once, more than once after host or model retry, or not
+at all. Durable facts tell the host what is known; idempotency and reconciliation
+decide what to do next.
+
+## Provider retries
+
+Transient provider failures retry with jittered exponential backoff by default:
+
+```ruby
+policy = Mistri::RetryPolicy.new(
+  attempts: 3,    # retries; up to four total requests
+  base: 1.0,
+  max_delay: 30.0,
+)
+
+agent = Mistri.agent("claude-opus-4-8", retries: policy)
+```
+
+Set `retries: false` to disable the Agent retry loop.
+
+Rate limits, overload, timeouts, selected server statuses, dropped or truncated
+streams, and empty completions are retryable. Authentication errors, invalid
+requests, content-policy refusals, unsafe configuration, and host bugs fail
+fast. A provider `Retry-After` value is honored within `max_delay`.
+
+Each retry sends unchanged durable history. Failed attempts are not appended as
+conversation messages, but their usage and retry record remain available for
+accounting.
+
+The subscriber receives `:retry` with `attempt`, `max_attempts`, and `delay`.
+Only the accepted provider attempt's `:done` or `:error` event is released, so a
+recovered retry does not flash a terminal failure and then retract it.
+
+MCP `tools/call` is intentionally different. Once sent, a missing response is
+an ambiguous side effect and is not replayed by the Client. The Agent bridge
+returns that exception as an error-marked tool result. See
+[Ambiguous tool delivery](mcp.md#ambiguous-tool-delivery).
+
+## Events and sinks
+
+Every built-in provider attempt emits:
+
+1. `:start` with an empty immutable assistant snapshot;
+2. matched start and end events for each recognized text, thinking, or tool-call
+   block, with zero or more delta events as content arrives.
+
+A retried attempt's terminal event is suppressed and `:retry` is its visible
+boundary. Only the accepted attempt releases exactly one `:done` or `:error`.
+Block deltas from the failed attempt may already have reached the subscriber;
+on `:retry` or the next `:start`, a UI must reset or replace that ephemeral
+attempt instead of appending it to the next one. Only the accepted Message is
+persisted.
+
+A custom provider must emit the same lifecycle when host subscribers depend on
+streaming; the Agent does not synthesize provider events around `stream`.
+
+Those terminal events end one provider turn, not necessarily the Agent run. If
+the turn calls tools, the Agent emits tool lifecycle events, appends results,
+and starts another provider turn.
+
+Loop-level events are:
+
+- `:tool_started` when a resolved call commits to handler invocation;
+- `:tool_result` after settlement, with a required `tool_error` boolean;
+- `:approval_needed` when a prepared call parks;
+- `:compacting` before summary work and `:compaction` with the committed
+  summary in `content`;
+- `:retry` before provider backoff;
+- `:subagent_report` when a running background child reaches a terminal state;
+  an inactive `Child#stop` persists the report without this callback because it
+  has no event sink.
+
+Event types form an extensible union. Handle the types the application uses and
+ignore the rest:
+
+```ruby
+agent.run(input) do |event|
+  case event.type
+  when :text_delta
+    stream_text(event.delta)
+  when :retry
+    show_retry(event.attempt, event.max_attempts, event.delay)
+  when :tool_started
+    mark_tool_running(event.tool_call)
+  when :tool_result
+    settle_tool(event.tool_call, failed: event.tool_error)
+  when :approval_needed
+    request_human_decision(event.tool_call)
+  when :done, :error
+    settle_provider_turn(event.message)
+  end
+end
+```
+
+`:tool_started` and handler progress originate on tool worker threads. Calls
+within one Agent are serialized before reaching the subscriber, but background
+children can emit alongside the parent. A custom sink must be thread-safe.
+
+`Mistri::Sinks::Coalesced` is origin-aware and thread-safe. It merges bursts of
+text, thinking, and tool-argument deltas by event type, content index, and
+origin, then flushes before any other event:
+
+```ruby
+raw = Mistri::Sinks::SSE.new(io)
+sink = Mistri::Sinks::Coalesced.new(raw, interval: 0.05)
+
+agent.run(input, &sink)
+```
+
+`Mistri::Sinks::SSE` accepts any object with `write` and optionally `flush`.
+`Mistri::Sinks::ActionCable` resolves Action Cable lazily or accepts an explicit
+broadcaster. None of these require a Railtie.
+
+Subscriber callbacks are not an error-isolation boundary. An exception can
+abort an operation and, after a handler starts, create the same unknown-outcome
+gap as a process crash. Do not raise intentionally from a sink; keep it small,
+observable, thread-safe, and independently retryable where possible.
+
+Across Mistri's synchronous delivery boundaries, the exact subscriber exception
+object propagates to the caller. The gem does not retry it or reinterpret it as
+a provider, transport, hook, tool, parse, or compaction failure, even when its
+class belongs to one of those error families. This applies through nested
+inline sub-agents as well as the top-level Agent. A custom provider must likewise
+let its event callback escape rather than folding it into a provider result. A
+background child emitting after its spawn call returned has no synchronous
+caller to raise into. A callback that aborts its execution records the original
+failure class in the failed child terminal and dispatcher diagnostic. If only
+the post-terminal `:subagent_report` callback fails, the completed child and
+already-delivered parent inbox report remain durable; the dispatcher diagnoses
+the callback failure.
+
+Propagation does not roll back durable facts. `:tool_result` and
+`:approval_needed` run after their Session entries append, and `:compaction`
+runs after its checkpoint appends. Provider terminal events run before the
+assistant Message append. `:tool_started` runs before handler invocation, while
+a handler progress failure may leave an external side effect with no durable
+result. Reconcile from the Session and the tool's domain idempotency key rather
+than retrying solely because the sink failed.
+
+## Stopping
+
+`Mistri::AbortSignal` is an in-process, thread-safe, one-way latch:
+
+```ruby
+signal = Mistri::AbortSignal.new
+
+runner = Thread.new do
+  agent.run("Draft a long report.", signal: signal)
+end
+
+signal.abort!("user cancelled")
+runner.join
+```
+
+The provider transport registers a callback that closes an in-flight socket,
+so abort does not wait for the read timeout. The Agent checks the signal at safe
+boundaries and persists a replay-valid partial turn.
+
+Tool handlers are application code. A handler doing long work should inspect
+`context.signal&.aborted?` at safe points or arrange its own cancellable I/O.
+Cancellation is cooperative; Mistri does not kill arbitrary handler code.
+
+The signal object cannot be shared across processes. Cross-process child stop
+uses a shared lock adapter and a cooperative flag, as described in
+[Sub-agent lock adapters](sub-agents.md#lock-adapters). Top-level session runner
+coordination remains host policy.
+
+## Budgets
+
+Budgets are opt-in:
+
+```ruby
+budget = Mistri::Budget.new(
+  turns: 20,
+  tokens: 500_000,
+  cost_usd: 5.00,
+  wall_clock: 300,
+)
+```
+
+Limits are checked between model-visible turns. A turn already in progress,
+including its retry attempts, completes before the next check. Every budget is
+therefore a soft ceiling and may exceed its configured value by one turn.
+
+### Cost budgets
+
+Unknown price is not zero. Constructing a cost-budgeted Agent requires a
+catalogued model, a list-priced origin, and deterministic standard-tier policy.
+
+Anthropic and OpenAI require the tier explicitly:
+
+```ruby
+anthropic = Mistri.agent(
+  "claude-opus-4-8",
+  budget: Mistri::Budget.new(cost_usd: 5.00),
+  provider_options: { service_tier: "standard_only" },
+)
+
+openai = Mistri.agent(
+  "gpt-5.6-terra",
+  budget: Mistri::Budget.new(cost_usd: 5.00),
+  provider_options: { service_tier: "default" },
+)
+```
+
+Gemini's omitted tier is standard by contract. A reported Flex or Priority
+tier remains unpriced by the standard catalog.
+
+If a cost-budgeted request returns usage that cannot be priced, Mistri raises
+`Mistri::BudgetError` and does not retry under false certainty. The exception
+exposes `usage` and `provider_message`; the Session also records an
+`unpriced_attempt` entry for reconciliation.
+
+`result.usage.cost.known?` distinguishes known accounting from an unavailable
+estimate. Dollar values use published standard paid direct-API list prices
+embedded and versioned with the installed gem; they are not fetched live.
+Contracted pricing, regional uplifts, taxes, and separately billed provider
+tools are outside the estimate. Gemini free-tier usage is conservatively valued
+at the paid rate.
+
+Custom provider origins disable catalog pricing by default. Pass
+`catalog_pricing: true` only when that route bills exactly the same published
+rates. This flag never changes service-tier policy.
+
+## Inbound response limits
+
+Provider and MCP JSON bodies, individual SSE lines, and stdio records default
+to 8 MiB per record. A stream can exceed 8 MiB in total while every atomic
+record remains within the boundary.
+
+Successful bodies are counted while reading. Declared oversized bodies fail
+before their body is read. Error responses retain at most a 500-byte valid UTF-8
+preview. Requests use identity encoding so compressed expansion cannot evade
+the limit.
+
+Completed SSE JSON records receive a bounded structural scan before parsing.
+Fragmented Anthropic and OpenAI tool arguments also carry an aggregate 8 MiB
+limit across deltas; their partial preview refreshes on a bounded schedule while
+raw delta events continue.
+
+Set `max_record_bytes:` through `provider_options:` only after deciding the
+larger trusted boundary is acceptable:
+
+```ruby
+agent = Mistri.agent(
+  "gemini-3.1-pro-preview",
+  provider_options: { max_record_bytes: 16 * 1024 * 1024 },
+)
+```
+
+The byte boundary is configurable. Fixed structural ceilings protect the JSON
+allocation shape and are not raised by that option.
+
+## Provider input and options
+
+Images are immutable content blocks:
+
+```ruby
+photo = Mistri::Content::Image.from_bytes(
+  File.binread("chart.png"),
+  mime_type: "image/png",
+)
+
+agent.run("What trend does this chart show?", images: [photo])
+```
+
+`from_data_uri` accepts the `data:<mime>;base64,<data>` shape commonly produced
+by a canvas or upload. The host still owns media allowlists, decoded-size
+limits, and content inspection.
+
+Provider constructor settings go through `provider_options:`:
+
+```ruby
+Mistri.agent(
+  "gpt-5.6",
+  provider_options: { reasoning: { summary: "auto" } },
+)
+
+Mistri.agent(
+  "claude-opus-4-8",
+  provider_options: { cache: false },
+)
+```
+
+Provider-specific per-turn overrides belong on a directly constructed
+provider's `stream` contract. The Agent intentionally exposes a stable common
+loop rather than mirroring every provider option as a top-level keyword.
+
+## Custom providers
+
+A provider used by `Mistri::Agent` exposes a model ID and responds to `stream`:
+
+```ruby
+message = provider.stream(
+  messages: messages,
+  system: system,
+  tools: tool_specs,
+  signal: signal,
+  **overrides,
+) do |event|
+  # Mistri::Event instances
+end
+```
+
+`provider.model` is required by default compaction and cost-policy checks.
+Disable compaction explicitly only when a custom provider cannot describe a
+model context window.
+
+It returns an assistant `Mistri::Message`. A completed tool call must be a
+`Mistri::ToolCall` with:
+
+- a non-empty UTF-8 String ID unique for new calls in the Session;
+- a non-empty UTF-8 String name;
+- an owned JSON object for valid arguments, or `arguments_error` for malformed
+  encoded input;
+- non-empty UTF-8 signature and provider call ID strings when present.
+
+A malformed completed envelope rejects the whole provider attempt before the
+assistant message persists or any sibling tool runs. Do not invent missing IDs
+inside the Agent; the provider owns its wire correlation.
+
+Custom providers may return `native_output_schema(schema)` when they can enforce
+the requested task contract. Returning nil leaves the prompt and local
+validation path intact.
+
+To support cost budgets, return true from `prices_usage?` and attach a known
+cost to every response, commonly with `Mistri::Usage#with_cost`. Missing or
+partial pricing then fails closed at runtime.
+
+Study `Mistri::Providers::Fake` for a hermetic implementation and the built-in
+assemblers for strict streaming lifecycle behavior.
+
+## Testing strategy
+
+The default suite uses the Fake provider, recorded wire fixtures, local stub
+servers, and no network:
+
+```console
+$ bundle exec rake test
+$ bundle exec rubocop
+```
+
+Gated live tests exercise exact provider regressions when keys are present:
+
+```console
+$ MISTRI_LIVE=1 bundle exec rake test
+```
+
+The integration harness runs critical end-to-end scenarios across an Anthropic,
+OpenAI, and Gemini model by default:
+
+```console
+$ bundle exec rake integration
+$ MISTRI_INTEGRATION_MODELS=claude-opus-4-8 bundle exec rake integration
+```
+
+Keys load from the gitignored `.env.development.local`. A missing key skips that
+provider; inspect the test output before claiming a full three-provider run.
+
+## Related guides
+
+- [Tool contracts](tool-contracts.md)
+- [Sessions and control](sessions.md)
+- [Sub-agents](sub-agents.md)
+- [MCP](mcp.md)
+- [Upgrading](../UPGRADING.md)