google / google/agents-cli

deploy: atomically claim and own pending Agent Runtime operations

Open
#76 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
Python
Stars
5.9k
Forks
660
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

## Summary

Agent Runtime deployment operation state in v1.3.1 is a non-atomic read/modify/write record without an owner token. Two CLI processes can both pass the pending-operation check, start remote mutations, and overwrite or clear each other's `deployment_metadata.json` state.

Baseline: `5a306f8956cb1eeae69f9709de0e4d61b44e11e7` (v1.3.1).

## Reproduction

1. In one agent project, start two `agents-cli deploy --no-wait` processes at the same time.
2. Both read the metadata before either writes its pending operation.
3. Observe that both may submit a remote create/update, while the last metadata write wins.
4. Also simulate:
- local SDK request-config construction failing before remote submission;
- remote create/update submission raising with an unknown outcome;
- a delayed status/cleanup process running after a newer operation replaced the record.

## Actual behavior

- More than one remote mutation can start.
- One process can overwrite or clear another process's pending operation.
- A crash between remote submission and operation-name persistence is not represented safely.
- Failure cleanup cannot distinguish known pre-mutation failure from outcome-uncertain remote submission.

## Expected behavior

- Exactly one process owns the right to start a mutation.
- Ownership spans target revalidation, remote submission, status recording, completion, and cleanup.
- Local preparation failure restores prior metadata byte-for-byte.
- Once remote submission or identity creation may have happened, retain a fail-closed `starting` claim for manual reconciliation.
- A stale owner must never clear a replacement owner's record.
- Successful completion should merge current sibling metadata and remove the owned claim in one atomic transition.

## Minimal fix

Use a cross-process lock around metadata read/modify/write, add a random claim ID, claim before remote mutation, revalidate the selected Runtime while holding ownership, and make clear/finish operations owner-aware. Split local request preparation from remote submission so only errors proven to precede mutation restore the previous bytes.

Reference implementation and regressions: [fork Batch 4 branch](https://github.com/benagentai93-dot/agents-cli/tree/codex/batch-4-runtime-identity-sdk-contract).

## Verification evidence

- Thread and subprocess races each produced exactly one owner and exactly one mutation.
- Replacement-owner, legacy-operation, atomic-finish, and sibling-metadata regressions passed.
- Local request-config failure: zero mutation, byte-identical restoration, retry claim succeeds.
- Remote submit and identity-create outcome-uncertain failures retain `state=starting`.
- Fresh targeted review: 35 tests passed; full local suite: 92 passed.
- `ruff check src tests`, `ty check src`, build, and Python 3.11/3.13 installed-wheel smoke tests passed.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start at the Agent Runtime deployment path in the baseline and compare it with the linked fork’s Batch 4 branch, focusing on deployment_metadata.json read/modify/write transitions. Run the mentioned thread/subprocess race and failure regressions, then verify exactly one owner and mutation, byte-identical restoration for pre-submit failures, fail-closed starting state for uncertain outcomes, and owner-safe completion and cleanup.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
cli, cloud
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.