local_repository() pointing into workspace is not invalidated when external repo file checking is disabled.
- Dominant language
- Java
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Description
### Description of the bug:
Hi!
I noticed that our warm Bazel implementation started complaining about inconsistent file sizes in `@@+local_repository+blah//`, when someone edited `//third_party/blah/BUILD`. It turns out that this repo was configured as
```
local_repository(
name = "blah",
path = "third_party/blah",
)
```
We are running with `--watchfs --experimental_check_external_repository_files=false`.
I am 99% sure that this problem is caused by `--noexperimental_check_output_files` not specially treating external repositories that point back into the source tree.
My gut feeling is that making this work will be hard, and I wonder if we could instead forbid this?
### Which category does this issue belong to?
_No response_
### What's the simplest, easiest way to reproduce this bug? Please provide a minimal example if possible.
_No response_
### Which operating system are you running Bazel on?
_No response_
### What is the output of `bazel info release`?
_No response_
### If `bazel info release` returns `development version` or `(@non-git)`, tell us how you built Bazel.
_No response_
### What's the output of `git remote get-url origin; git rev-parse HEAD` ?
```text
```
### If this is a regression, please try to identify the Bazel commit where the bug was introduced with bazelisk --bisect.
_No response_
### Have you found anything relevant by searching the web?
_No response_
### Any other information, logs, or outputs that you want to share?
_No response_
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by reproducing the interaction between local_repository(path = "third_party/blah"), --watchfs, and --experimental_check_external_repository_files=false after editing the external repository's BUILD file. Trace the invalidation behavior for workspace-backed external repositories and determine whether the intended result is correct invalidation or rejecting this configuration; done means the inconsistency is eliminated and regression coverage exists.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- build-system
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 28/100