epic: the gate scopes to the change, runs heavy tests as their own stage, and reads as a list of guarantees #767

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opened 2026-10-14 20:10:56 +00:00 by hexajon · 0 comments

hexajon commented

2026-10-14 20:10:56 +00:00

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Problem

The gate is one lump, and three problems follow.

It runs everything regardless of the change. A doc-only edit runs the full
suite. The one exception is a single hardcoded path that drops to two checks
when every changed file ends in .md - a one-off, because there is no
structure to scope a run to a change.
The skip flags name what they turn off, not what the check does or why it
needs its environment. --no-forge, --no-conformance, and
--skip-remote-issues say nothing about the forge integration test, the MCP
schema conformance check, or the issue-state check behind them.
The heavy forge tests run in the default local gate, which needs the Incus
VM, while CI skips them with --no-forge. That is backwards: the default run
should be fast, and heavy tests should run as their own stage. A contributor
with no VM cannot get a green default run, and CI - the side with the
infrastructure - does not run the forge tests at all, against #678.

Direction

The default run is fast and scoped to the change. The dev runs the target for
what they touched: a doc target, a code target, a lint target. CI selects the
matching stage with path filters. There is no diff-detector.
A scoped target states the file classes it covers, checks that the diff stays
inside them, and fails closed when the diff spills out, naming the target to
run instead. A scoped pass is a checked claim, not a silent subset. This
replaces the hardcoded .md shortcut.
The heavy forge tests leave the default run and run as their own stage, in CI
and on demand. They are already tagged //go:build forge; the stage owns
them, not the default. No contributor needs a VM for a green default run. This
is the forge half of #678 and #692.
The formatter and the Go linters move behind golangci-lint. One config names
every linter and its settings, so the config is the description. The
staticcheck export-data gap that #741 tracks is resolved in that work: either
the bundled staticcheck clears it, or staticcheck stays a pinned step beside
the config.
Each check states what it proves and what it needs, so the gate reads as a
list of guarantees, not a set of negative flags.

Children

To file once this is agreed.

The formatter and Go linters run behind golangci-lint, with the staticcheck
export-data gap resolved.
The gate splits into scoped targets that fail closed when the diff exceeds
their scope, replacing the .md shortcut.
Each check states what it proves and what it needs; the negative skip flags
become derived, not hand-set.
A decision record captures the structure.

The forge stage is #678 and #692, not duplicated here.

Relates to #674 (the forge apparatus), #678 (forge tests in the gate and CI),
#766 (shellcheck on every script), #741 (staticcheck in the gate).

## Problem The gate is one lump, and three problems follow. 1. It runs everything regardless of the change. A doc-only edit runs the full suite. The one exception is a single hardcoded path that drops to two checks when every changed file ends in `.md` - a one-off, because there is no structure to scope a run to a change. 2. The skip flags name what they turn off, not what the check does or why it needs its environment. `--no-forge`, `--no-conformance`, and `--skip-remote-issues` say nothing about the forge integration test, the MCP schema conformance check, or the issue-state check behind them. 3. The heavy forge tests run in the default local gate, which needs the Incus VM, while CI skips them with `--no-forge`. That is backwards: the default run should be fast, and heavy tests should run as their own stage. A contributor with no VM cannot get a green default run, and CI - the side with the infrastructure - does not run the forge tests at all, against #678. ## Direction - The default run is fast and scoped to the change. The dev runs the target for what they touched: a doc target, a code target, a lint target. CI selects the matching stage with path filters. There is no diff-detector. - A scoped target states the file classes it covers, checks that the diff stays inside them, and fails closed when the diff spills out, naming the target to run instead. A scoped pass is a checked claim, not a silent subset. This replaces the hardcoded `.md` shortcut. - The heavy forge tests leave the default run and run as their own stage, in CI and on demand. They are already tagged `//go:build forge`; the stage owns them, not the default. No contributor needs a VM for a green default run. This is the forge half of #678 and #692. - The formatter and the Go linters move behind golangci-lint. One config names every linter and its settings, so the config is the description. The staticcheck export-data gap that #741 tracks is resolved in that work: either the bundled staticcheck clears it, or staticcheck stays a pinned step beside the config. - Each check states what it proves and what it needs, so the gate reads as a list of guarantees, not a set of negative flags. ## Children To file once this is agreed. - The formatter and Go linters run behind golangci-lint, with the staticcheck export-data gap resolved. - The gate splits into scoped targets that fail closed when the diff exceeds their scope, replacing the `.md` shortcut. - Each check states what it proves and what it needs; the negative skip flags become derived, not hand-set. - A decision record captures the structure. The forge stage is #678 and #692, not duplicated here. Relates to #674 (the forge apparatus), #678 (forge tests in the gate and CI), #766 (shellcheck on every script), #741 (staticcheck in the gate).

hexajon referenced this issue

2026-10-14 20:14:10 +00:00

gate: run the formatter and Go linters behind golangci-lint #768

hexajon referenced this issue

2026-10-14 20:14:22 +00:00

gate: split into scoped targets that fail closed when the diff exceeds their scope #769

hexajon referenced this issue

2026-10-14 20:15:36 +00:00

gate: each check states what it proves and what it needs, and the skip flags become derived #770

hexajon referenced this issue

2026-10-14 20:16:01 +00:00

docs(adr): record the gate structure #771