[workflow][controller] Exclude epic and child-only container issues from process_work_queue #844

New Issue

2026-07-23T01:32:45-05:00

jcwalker3 commented

2026-07-23 01:32:45 -05:00

Problem

process_work_queue selected Issue #631 even though the issue explicitly delegates implementation to child issues and prohibits direct feature implementation in the epic.

Confirmed evidence

Issue #631 title: Epic: MCP Control Plane Web Console
Authoritative body says implementation is delivered through child issues only.
Non-goals explicitly prohibit implementing product features in the epic itself.
process_work_queue nevertheless selected it for author implementation.
Failed assignment path: asn-11f9f1ad52bb47dc / lease lease-9817e2823c14402b (allocation/recovery side effects tracked under the separate cross-role handoff defect).

Required behavior

process_work_queue excludes epics, coordination containers, and parent issues whose implementation is explicitly delegated to child issues.
Issue #631 is excluded from direct implementation selection.
Implementable child issues remain independently eligible.
The exclusion is applied before candidate ranking and allocation mutation.
The allocator reports a structured skip reason for excluded containers.
Eligibility does not rely solely on the word “Epic” appearing in a title when authoritative structured or scope evidence is available.

Acceptance criteria

Epics / child-only containers are excluded from direct implementation selection.
Issue #631-shaped child-only epic is excluded.
Implementable child issues remain eligible.
Ordinary issues containing “epic” incidentally are not excluded solely by title.
Exclusion runs before candidate ranking and allocation mutation.
Structured skip reason is reported for excluded containers.
Excluded containers cannot receive assignments or workflow leases.

Required regression coverage

Issue #631-shaped child-only epic is excluded.
An implementable child issue remains eligible.
An ordinary issue containing “epic” incidentally is not excluded solely by title.
Excluded containers cannot receive assignments or workflow leases.

Non-goals

Cross-role allocation handoff/consume path (tracked separately).
Closing or rewriting existing epic issues.
Changing child-issue implementation workflows.

Note

This issue is a durable record only for the current author run. Implementation is intentionally deferred so the handoff defect can land independently.

## Problem `process_work_queue` selected Issue #631 even though the issue explicitly delegates implementation to child issues and prohibits direct feature implementation in the epic. ## Confirmed evidence - Issue #631 title: **Epic: MCP Control Plane Web Console** - Authoritative body says implementation is delivered through child issues only. - Non-goals explicitly prohibit implementing product features in the epic itself. - `process_work_queue` nevertheless selected it for author implementation. - Failed assignment path: `asn-11f9f1ad52bb47dc` / lease `lease-9817e2823c14402b` (allocation/recovery side effects tracked under the separate cross-role handoff defect). ## Required behavior 1. `process_work_queue` excludes epics, coordination containers, and parent issues whose implementation is explicitly delegated to child issues. 2. Issue #631 is excluded from direct implementation selection. 3. Implementable child issues remain independently eligible. 4. The exclusion is applied before candidate ranking and allocation mutation. 5. The allocator reports a structured skip reason for excluded containers. 6. Eligibility does not rely solely on the word “Epic” appearing in a title when authoritative structured or scope evidence is available. ## Acceptance criteria - [ ] Epics / child-only containers are excluded from direct implementation selection. - [ ] Issue #631-shaped child-only epic is excluded. - [ ] Implementable child issues remain eligible. - [ ] Ordinary issues containing “epic” incidentally are not excluded solely by title. - [ ] Exclusion runs before candidate ranking and allocation mutation. - [ ] Structured skip reason is reported for excluded containers. - [ ] Excluded containers cannot receive assignments or workflow leases. ## Required regression coverage - Issue #631-shaped child-only epic is excluded. - An implementable child issue remains eligible. - An ordinary issue containing “epic” incidentally is not excluded solely by title. - Excluded containers cannot receive assignments or workflow leases. ## Non-goals - Cross-role allocation handoff/consume path (tracked separately). - Closing or rewriting existing epic issues. - Changing child-issue implementation workflows. ## Note This issue is a durable record only for the current author run. Implementation is intentionally deferred so the handoff defect can land independently.

jcwalker3 added the status:ready workflow-hardening type:bug labels 2026-07-23 01:32:45 -05:00

jcwalker3 referenced this issue

2026-07-23 01:39:50 -05:00

fix: make cross-role allocations consumable by independent workers (Closes #843) #845

sysadmin referenced this issue

2026-07-23 01:55:21 -05:00

fix: make cross-role allocations consumable by independent workers (Closes #843) #845

sysadmin commented

2026-07-23 03:08:17 -05:00

Scheduled allocator evidence — 2026-07-23

AUTOMATION-EVIDENCE: daily-brief 2026-07-23 container-selection-chain

This unattended controller cycle reproduced the container-selection defect on live prgs/Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools state.

Runtime and transition

Namespace/profile/identity: gitea-controller / prgs-controller / sysadmin.
Server implementation and live master were in parity at 4f3a464a90e14a6595cfb7339dd3d8d6ed957c93; restart was not required.
Failed transition: process_work_queue cross-role preview selected non-implementable containers for action=implement, required_role=author.
No allocation was applied: no assignment or workflow lease was created.

Live selection chain

#631 — epic; body says implementation is delivered through child issues only and forbids product-feature implementation on the epic. Preview fingerprint: 588dbf9096ede08de20dfe95668c92630060d1a7b35761b7b7095335780422b7.
After sanctioned per-run exclusion of #631, #652 — canonical product vision; body says “Do not implement features on this issue.” Fingerprint: 0fc979c6d6a387070a2d722b9055d53a3435b35df04e573d554056b5f6d22458.
After excluding #631/#652, #653 — phased roadmap; non-goals forbid implementing features on the roadmap. Fingerprint: 5eccd6925047f0b366793004ca1956643f10b4134d37e8f205413d3b29545533.
After the maximum three sanctioned exclusions (#631/#652/#653), #655 — restart-governance umbrella; body says implementation is via linked children only. Fingerprint: 71d4ad703ce9fb97cfcf3f01f79796a0a3e31a4d67321a601f3a52a670bafca2.

The allocator therefore cannot advance to bounded work within the three-skip safety ceiling. This is materially broader evidence than the original #631 reproduction: title variants Product vision, Roadmap, and Umbrella all survive eligibility and ranking.

Recovery and impact

Recovery attempted: canonical exclude_issue_numbers preview exclusions for exactly three invalid candidates.
Result: allocator advanced, but only to another child-only umbrella (#655); no safe allocation was made.
Scheduled-run impact: a worker must spend its bounded cycle diagnosing/updating this defect instead of executing eligible child work.
Duplicate search: open #844 fully covers this root cause; closed #776 is related to pre-rank exclusions but does not replace semantic container eligibility. No new defect was created.

Regression evidence to add under existing acceptance criteria

Exclude #652-shaped vision records, #653-shaped roadmaps, and #655-shaped umbrellas before ranking.
Prove their independently implementable children remain eligible.
Preserve structured skip reasons and guarantee excluded containers receive neither assignments nor leases.

Canonical Issue State

STATE: needs-author
WHO_IS_NEXT: author
NEXT_ACTION: Implement issue #844 acceptance criteria with semantic pre-rank container exclusion and regression coverage.
NEXT_PROMPT:

In Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools, work only issue #844 as author under the canonical work-issue workflow; implement semantic pre-rank exclusion for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella child-only containers, preserve child eligibility and structured skip reasons, validate, open/update one PR, and stop.

WHAT_HAPPENED: A live scheduled controller preview selected four child-only containers in sequence; three sanctioned exclusions exhausted the run limit without reaching bounded work.
WHY: Allocator eligibility currently treats status:ready containers as implementable without honoring authoritative child-only and non-implementation scope.
RELATED_PRS: #845 documents the separate cross-role handoff defect and explicitly leaves #844 out of scope.
BLOCKERS: process_work_queue ranks semantic container issues as implementable author work.
VALIDATION: Live allocator previews and live issue reads for #631, #652, #653, #655; controller identity, exact issue-comment capability, and master parity revalidated immediately before this comment.
LAST_UPDATED_BY: sysadmin (prgs-controller)

Canonical Handoff

REPOSITORY: Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools
ISSUE: 844
PR: none
WORKFLOW_STATE: needs-author
HEAD_SHA: none
BASE_BRANCH: master
BASE_OR_MERGE_SHA: 4f3a464a90e14a6595cfb7339dd3d8d6ed957c93
ACTING_ROLE: controller
ACTING_IDENTITY: sysadmin (prgs-controller)
COMPLETED_ACTIONS: Reproduced four-container allocator selection chain; reused and updated existing defect #844.
VALIDATION_EVIDENCE: Live allocator previews plus live issue reads for #631, #652, #653, and #655; exact comment capability and master parity revalidated immediately before mutation.
MUTATION_LEDGER: One issue discussion comment on #844 (this record); no allocation, assignment, lease, branch, worktree, file, commit, push, PR, review, or merge mutation.
BLOCKERS: process_work_queue ranks semantic container issues as implementable author work.
NEXT_ACTOR: author
NEXT_ACTION: Implement #844 acceptance criteria using live allocator semantics and add regression coverage for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella containers.
PROHIBITED_ACTIONS: Do not implement container issues directly; do not bypass the allocator; do not allocate excluded containers.
NEXT_PROMPT: In Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools, work only issue #844 as author under the canonical work-issue workflow; implement semantic pre-rank exclusion for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella child-only containers, preserve child eligibility and structured skip reasons, validate, open/update one PR, and stop.
WORKFLOW_FAILURE_ISSUES: #844
LAST_UPDATED: 2026-07-23T08:06:18Z

## Scheduled allocator evidence — 2026-07-23 AUTOMATION-EVIDENCE: daily-brief 2026-07-23 container-selection-chain This unattended controller cycle reproduced the container-selection defect on live `prgs/Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools` state. ### Runtime and transition - Namespace/profile/identity: `gitea-controller` / `prgs-controller` / `sysadmin`. - Server implementation and live master were in parity at `4f3a464a90e14a6595cfb7339dd3d8d6ed957c93`; restart was not required. - Failed transition: `process_work_queue` cross-role preview selected non-implementable containers for `action=implement`, `required_role=author`. - No allocation was applied: no assignment or workflow lease was created. ### Live selection chain 1. `#631` — epic; body says implementation is delivered through child issues only and forbids product-feature implementation on the epic. Preview fingerprint: `588dbf9096ede08de20dfe95668c92630060d1a7b35761b7b7095335780422b7`. 2. After sanctioned per-run exclusion of `#631`, `#652` — canonical product vision; body says “Do not implement features on this issue.” Fingerprint: `0fc979c6d6a387070a2d722b9055d53a3435b35df04e573d554056b5f6d22458`. 3. After excluding `#631/#652`, `#653` — phased roadmap; non-goals forbid implementing features on the roadmap. Fingerprint: `5eccd6925047f0b366793004ca1956643f10b4134d37e8f205413d3b29545533`. 4. After the maximum three sanctioned exclusions (`#631/#652/#653`), `#655` — restart-governance umbrella; body says implementation is via linked children only. Fingerprint: `71d4ad703ce9fb97cfcf3f01f79796a0a3e31a4d67321a601f3a52a670bafca2`. The allocator therefore cannot advance to bounded work within the three-skip safety ceiling. This is materially broader evidence than the original `#631` reproduction: title variants `Product vision`, `Roadmap`, and `Umbrella` all survive eligibility and ranking. ### Recovery and impact - Recovery attempted: canonical `exclude_issue_numbers` preview exclusions for exactly three invalid candidates. - Result: allocator advanced, but only to another child-only umbrella (`#655`); no safe allocation was made. - Scheduled-run impact: a worker must spend its bounded cycle diagnosing/updating this defect instead of executing eligible child work. - Duplicate search: open `#844` fully covers this root cause; closed `#776` is related to pre-rank exclusions but does not replace semantic container eligibility. No new defect was created. ### Regression evidence to add under existing acceptance criteria - Exclude `#652`-shaped vision records, `#653`-shaped roadmaps, and `#655`-shaped umbrellas before ranking. - Prove their independently implementable children remain eligible. - Preserve structured skip reasons and guarantee excluded containers receive neither assignments nor leases. ## Canonical Issue State STATE: needs-author WHO_IS_NEXT: author NEXT_ACTION: Implement issue #844 acceptance criteria with semantic pre-rank container exclusion and regression coverage. NEXT_PROMPT: ```text In Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools, work only issue #844 as author under the canonical work-issue workflow; implement semantic pre-rank exclusion for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella child-only containers, preserve child eligibility and structured skip reasons, validate, open/update one PR, and stop. ``` WHAT_HAPPENED: A live scheduled controller preview selected four child-only containers in sequence; three sanctioned exclusions exhausted the run limit without reaching bounded work. WHY: Allocator eligibility currently treats status:ready containers as implementable without honoring authoritative child-only and non-implementation scope. RELATED_PRS: #845 documents the separate cross-role handoff defect and explicitly leaves #844 out of scope. BLOCKERS: process_work_queue ranks semantic container issues as implementable author work. VALIDATION: Live allocator previews and live issue reads for #631, #652, #653, #655; controller identity, exact issue-comment capability, and master parity revalidated immediately before this comment. LAST_UPDATED_BY: sysadmin (prgs-controller)  ## Canonical Handoff ```text REPOSITORY: Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools ISSUE: 844 PR: none WORKFLOW_STATE: needs-author HEAD_SHA: none BASE_BRANCH: master BASE_OR_MERGE_SHA: 4f3a464a90e14a6595cfb7339dd3d8d6ed957c93 ACTING_ROLE: controller ACTING_IDENTITY: sysadmin (prgs-controller) COMPLETED_ACTIONS: Reproduced four-container allocator selection chain; reused and updated existing defect #844. VALIDATION_EVIDENCE: Live allocator previews plus live issue reads for #631, #652, #653, and #655; exact comment capability and master parity revalidated immediately before mutation. MUTATION_LEDGER: One issue discussion comment on #844 (this record); no allocation, assignment, lease, branch, worktree, file, commit, push, PR, review, or merge mutation. BLOCKERS: process_work_queue ranks semantic container issues as implementable author work. NEXT_ACTOR: author NEXT_ACTION: Implement #844 acceptance criteria using live allocator semantics and add regression coverage for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella containers. PROHIBITED_ACTIONS: Do not implement container issues directly; do not bypass the allocator; do not allocate excluded containers. NEXT_PROMPT: In Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools, work only issue #844 as author under the canonical work-issue workflow; implement semantic pre-rank exclusion for epic, vision, roadmap, and umbrella child-only containers, preserve child eligibility and structured skip reasons, validate, open/update one PR, and stop. WORKFLOW_FAILURE_ISSUES: #844 LAST_UPDATED: 2026-07-23T08:06:18Z ```

sysadmin commented

2026-07-23 03:17:45 -05:00

Canonical Issue State

STATE: needs-author
WHO_IS_NEXT: author
NEXT_ACTION: Implement allocator semantic exclusion for epic/vision/roadmap/umbrella/child-only containers before ranking; add regression coverage; do not allocate containers for implement.
NEXT_PROMPT:

Work issue #844 on remote prgs, org Scaled-Tech-Consulting, repo Gitea-Tools.
Load gitea-workflow / llm-project-workflow work-issue mode.
Use gitea-author (prgs-author). Allocate or claim #844 only after preview eligibility.
Implement gitea_allocate_next_work / process_work_queue exclusion of epic, product-vision, roadmap, umbrella, and child-only container issues before ranking so they never receive author implement selection or leases.
Use body/structured scope signals in addition to title prefixes (Epic:, Roadmap:, Product vision:, Umbrella:).
Preserve eligibility of independently implementable children and ordinary issues that only mention epic incidentally.
Add regression tests for #631/#652/#653/#655-shaped containers excluded and a normal implementable issue remaining eligible; structured skip reason required.
Do not implement product features from excluded containers. PR against master; stop after author handoff.

WHAT_HAPPENED: Scheduled autonomous controller cycle (2026-07-23) used gitea_allocate_next_work allocation_mode=cross_role apply=false on prgs Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools. Top-ranked candidates were non-implementable containers: #631 (Epic), then after exclude #652 (Product vision), #653 (Roadmap), then #655 (Umbrella). Hit the scheduled-run 3-invalid-candidate skip limit; no assignment or lease created. Preflight OK: workflow skill ready, workflow hash 263d0a6cb8a6, master parity 4f3a464a90, mutation_safe true, identity sysadmin/prgs-controller.
WHY: Allocator still ranks status:ready container issues as author implement work. Semantic epic/vision/roadmap/umbrella/child-only exclusion from #844 AC is not yet applied in live gitea_allocate_next_work cross_role selection, so unattended runs cannot advance without manual exclude_issue_numbers and risk allocating containers if apply=true without validation.
RELATED_PRS: none for this comment cycle
BLOCKERS: Live defect remains open — containers outrank implementable work; related queue pressure includes foreign/stale leases on #637/#646 and reviewer stale_dead_process on PR #813/#818 (separate from this defect root cause).
VALIDATION: Reproduced via four consecutive dry-run previews with fingerprints 588dbf9096ede08de20dfe95668c92630060d1a7b35761b7b7095335780422b7 (#631), 0fc979c6d6a387070a2d722b9055d53a3435b35df04e573d554056b5f6d22458 (#652), 5eccd6925047f0b366793004ca1956643f10b4134d37e8f205413d3b29545533 (#653), 71d4ad703ce9fb97cfcf3f01f79796a0a3e31a4d67321a601f3a52a670bafca2 (#655). Issue bodies for #631/#652/#653 explicitly forbid implementation on the container. Duplicate search: open #844 already tracks root cause — no new issue filed.
LAST_UPDATED_BY: scheduled worker via gitea-controller / prgs-controller / sysadmin

## Canonical Issue State STATE: needs-author WHO_IS_NEXT: author NEXT_ACTION: Implement allocator semantic exclusion for epic/vision/roadmap/umbrella/child-only containers before ranking; add regression coverage; do not allocate containers for implement. NEXT_PROMPT: ```text Work issue #844 on remote prgs, org Scaled-Tech-Consulting, repo Gitea-Tools. Load gitea-workflow / llm-project-workflow work-issue mode. Use gitea-author (prgs-author). Allocate or claim #844 only after preview eligibility. Implement gitea_allocate_next_work / process_work_queue exclusion of epic, product-vision, roadmap, umbrella, and child-only container issues before ranking so they never receive author implement selection or leases. Use body/structured scope signals in addition to title prefixes (Epic:, Roadmap:, Product vision:, Umbrella:). Preserve eligibility of independently implementable children and ordinary issues that only mention epic incidentally. Add regression tests for #631/#652/#653/#655-shaped containers excluded and a normal implementable issue remaining eligible; structured skip reason required. Do not implement product features from excluded containers. PR against master; stop after author handoff. ``` WHAT_HAPPENED: Scheduled autonomous controller cycle (2026-07-23) used gitea_allocate_next_work allocation_mode=cross_role apply=false on prgs Scaled-Tech-Consulting/Gitea-Tools. Top-ranked candidates were non-implementable containers: #631 (Epic), then after exclude #652 (Product vision), #653 (Roadmap), then #655 (Umbrella). Hit the scheduled-run 3-invalid-candidate skip limit; no assignment or lease created. Preflight OK: workflow skill ready, workflow hash 263d0a6cb8a6, master parity 4f3a464a90e1, mutation_safe true, identity sysadmin/prgs-controller. WHY: Allocator still ranks status:ready container issues as author implement work. Semantic epic/vision/roadmap/umbrella/child-only exclusion from #844 AC is not yet applied in live gitea_allocate_next_work cross_role selection, so unattended runs cannot advance without manual exclude_issue_numbers and risk allocating containers if apply=true without validation. RELATED_PRS: none for this comment cycle BLOCKERS: Live defect remains open — containers outrank implementable work; related queue pressure includes foreign/stale leases on #637/#646 and reviewer stale_dead_process on PR #813/#818 (separate from this defect root cause). VALIDATION: Reproduced via four consecutive dry-run previews with fingerprints 588dbf9096ede08de20dfe95668c92630060d1a7b35761b7b7095335780422b7 (#631), 0fc979c6d6a387070a2d722b9055d53a3435b35df04e573d554056b5f6d22458 (#652), 5eccd6925047f0b366793004ca1956643f10b4134d37e8f205413d3b29545533 (#653), 71d4ad703ce9fb97cfcf3f01f79796a0a3e31a4d67321a601f3a52a670bafca2 (#655). Issue bodies for #631/#652/#653 explicitly forbid implementation on the container. Duplicate search: open #844 already tracks root cause — no new issue filed. LAST_UPDATED_BY: scheduled worker via gitea-controller / prgs-controller / sysadmin

jcwalker3 added status:in-progress and removed status:ready labels 2026-07-23 03:54:11 -05:00

jcwalker3 commented

2026-07-23 03:54:11 -05:00

Issue claim heartbeat

kind: claim
issue: [workflow][controller] Exclude epic and child-only container issues from process_work_queue (#844)
branch: fix/issue-844-exclude-epic-containers
phase: claimed
profile: prgs-author
pr: none
blocker: none
next_action: create worktree and begin implementation

**Issue claim heartbeat** - kind: claim - issue: #844 - branch: fix/issue-844-exclude-epic-containers - phase: claimed - profile: prgs-author - pr: none - blocker: none - next_action: create worktree and begin implementation

jcwalker3 referenced this issue from a commit

2026-07-23 03:57:14 -05:00

fix: exclude epic and child-only containers from allocator selection (Closes #844)

jcwalker3 referenced a pull request that will close this issue

2026-07-23 03:57:32 -05:00

fix: exclude epic and child-only containers from allocator selection (Closes #844) #848

jcwalker3 added status:pr-open and removed status:in-progress labels 2026-07-23 03:57:33 -05:00

Sign in to join this conversation.