# 2026-07-18 — Session review (three recent sessions)

**Status:** Implemented — P0.1, P0.2, P1.3, P1.4, P1.5, P1.6, P1.8, P2.10
landed in v0.7.12. P1.7 and P2.9 deferred (retry cap addresses the same
symptom at lower cost); see "Deferred" section at the bottom.
**Updated:** 2026-07-18 — session 1 continued after initial audit; outcome
upgraded from ⚠️ partial to ✅ success, root cause revised (knfsd kernel
lock, not gateway timeout). Implementation landed same day.

Review of the last three Nomos sessions against the protocol in
`.agents/skills/session-review/SKILL.md`. Data pulled from the local
sessions API (`http://localhost:8092/sessions`).

---

## Session 1 — `1e9c7691` (2026-07-18T11:28)

**"Diagnose and fix ZimaOS folder move/delete failures on ludo-library"**

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Messages | 13 (6 user / 7 assistant) |
| Tool calls | 97 across 7 turns |
| Top tools | `run` ×58, `update_plan_step` ×7, `get_execution_status` ×7, `search_knowledge` ×3, `list_entities` ×3, `get_entity` ×3, `whoami` ×2 |
| Objective | Diagnose and fix ZimaOS folder move/delete failures on the ludo-library NFS mount |
| Outcome | ✅ success — root cause found and fix applied; verified from ZimaOS |
| Severity | friction |

### What worked
- Root-cause analysis was fast and correct at the **NFS permissions** layer:
  the export on `strong` uses `all_squash,anonuid=33,anongid=10000`, mapping
  every NFS client to `www-data:media`. The export root `/mnt/media_local`
  was owned `root:root / 755` while subdirs were `2775 media`. Subdir-level
  ops worked, root-level (rename/delete top-level entries) failed.
- After the user prompted "the command just keeps running? does not
  complete," the agent dug deeper and found the **real root cause**:
  `knfsd` (kernel NFS server) holds a lock on actively-exported directories,
  causing `chown` to hang indefinitely at the `fchownat()` syscall.
  `strace -f chown :10000 /mnt/media_local` confirmed the hang point.
  25+ zombie `chgrp`/`chown` processes had piled up from the session's
  repeated attempts.
- The correct fix sequence was identified and applied: `killall -9 chgrp
  chown` to clear zombies, then unexport → `chown :10000` + `chmod 2775`
  → re-export. Routed via SSH-hop from `host:hubris` (the `host:strong`
  direct path kept timing out because the commands genuinely hang, not
  because of a network issue).
- Verification was done from the client side: `touch`, `mv`, `rm`,
  `mkdir`, `rmdir` all confirmed working at the NFS root from ZimaOS.
- Knowledge writeback was good: `upsert_knowledge` recorded an
  `investigation` linked to `vm:zimaos`, `host:strong`, `pool:ludo-lvm`,
  with the fix. `complete_task` was called with a clear summary.
- Plan lifecycle was followed: `set_goal` → `propose_plan` →
  `update_plan_step` (running/done) → `complete_task`.

### What didn't
- **20+ blind retries before investigating why.** The agent retried the
  same one-line `chown`/`chmod` roughly 20 times across direct runs,
  SSH-hop-via-hubris, wrapping in a shell script, splitting into smaller
  commands, and bare `echo test` sanity checks — all hung. Each retry
  piled up another zombie process on `strong`. The agent only
  investigated *why* the command hung after the user explicitly asked
  "the command just keeps running?"
- **Misdiagnosed the timeout as a gateway/network issue.** The agent's
  own narrative said "API seems to be struggling with timeouts," "API
  keeps timing out on strong," "Strong mutations are consistently timing
  out — read-only works." This framed the problem as the control plane,
  when in fact the commands were genuinely hanging at the kernel level
  on the target host. A `strace` on the first failure would have
  revealed this immediately.
- **Approval window kept expiring between retries.** User had to say "go
  ahead" twice and "proceed" + "status" once each because the assent
  window closed while the agent was looping on the hung commands.
- **No back-off / cap on retries.** 58 `run` calls in 7 turns, of which
  ~20 are essentially the same `chown :10000 /mnt/media_local && chmod
  2775 …`. Once a command has timed out 3× in a row, the agent should
  stop retrying and investigate *or* surface the blocker to the operator.

### Fixes needed
- (friction) **Retry cap + "investigate before retry" rule.** In
  `cmd/nomos/agent.go`, hash each outgoing `run` command; if the same
  hash has failed 3× in the session, refuse to issue it again. Force the
  agent to either change approach (e.g. `strace`, `ps`, `lsof` to see
  *why*) or surface the blocker to the operator. This single change
  would have turned session 1 from 58 `run` calls into ~8 and produced
  the knfsd finding on the first failure instead of the 20th.
- (friction) **SOUL.md guidance: a hung command is not a failed command.**
  When a `run` times out, the agent's first instinct should be to
  inspect the target (`ps aux | grep <cmd>`, `strace -f -p <pid>`,
  `lsof <path>`) — not to retry the same command. The current default
  (retry with different routing/wrapping) wasted 20 calls.
- (friction) **Capture the unexport → mutate → re-export pattern as a
  runbook.** "Mutating an actively-exported NFS directory hangs at
  `fchownat()`" is a reusable finding. It belongs as a `runbook` entity
  linked to `host:strong` / `lxc:nfs-export` so the next time someone
  needs to chown/chmod an exported path, the agent finds it via
  `get_entity_knowledge` and unexports first.
- (friction) Approval window robustness: when an execution times out,
  extend the assent window for the same plan step automatically — the
  operator already approved it; we shouldn't make them re-approve
  because *our* command hung.

---

## Session 2 — `55927f0a` (2026-07-18T09:45)

**"Add NFS export of ludo-lvm (/mnt/library) from strong to ZimaOS, so ZimaOS
can see downloads/usenet/movies/ alongside the existing old-library NFS mount"**

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Messages | 25 (12 user / 13 assistant) |
| Tool calls | 108 across 13 turns |
| Top tools | `run` ×49, `update_plan_step` ×13, `get_entity` ×10, `list_entities` ×6, `update_entity_attributes` ×3, `search_knowledge` ×3, `propose_plan` ×3, `get_relations` ×3, `get_knowledge_content` ×3, `get_execution_status` ×3, `upsert_knowledge` ×2, `set_goal` ×2, `create_relationship` ×2 |
| Objective | Originally: fix sabnzbd download folder to use ludo-lvm. Pivoted to: add NFS export of ludo-lvm to ZimaOS. Final outcome: just keep ludo-library (drop redundant /media/media mount) |
| Outcome | ✅ success — ZimaOS reduced to two clean tiles, fstab cleaned, knowledge + entity attrs written back |
| Severity | friction |

### What worked
- Writeback was thorough: `upsert_knowledge` ×2, `update_entity_attributes`
  on `vm:zimaos` and `lxc:nfs-export`, `create_relationship` ×2. The
  knowledge graph is current.
- The final cleanup was small and safe: unmount `/media/media` on ZimaOS,
  remove the fstab entry, `rmdir` the empty directory, clear CasaOS caching
  artifacts. Each step got its own `run` with a clear result.
- Agent correctly noticed the pivot: "wait — `/media/media` IS ludo-lvm
  too, just via a double NFS hop through nfs-export. Redundant." That
  insight is what turned a complex migration into a one-step cleanup.

### What didn't
- **Goal pivots were not closed cleanly.** `set_goal` was called twice —
  once for the sabnzbd fix, once for the NFS export. The first goal was
  implicitly abandoned when the user said "lets just keep ludo-library
  then"; there's no `complete_task` for it. If the session state is keyed
  on the latest `set_goal`, the first goal is orphaned in the UI.
- **Excessive fan-out on `run`.** 49 `run` calls, many of which repeat the
  same diagnostic (`mount | grep`, `cat /etc/exports`, `exportfs -v`,
  `ls -la /mnt/...`) across `lxc:arriman`, `lxc:jellyfin`, `lxc:nfs-export`,
  `host:hubris`, `host:strong`. A single bulk "inventory this path across
  these targets" tool would have collapsed 15+ runs into 1.
- **`vm:` targets aren't directly runnable.** Every ZimaOS command had to
  be `ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no root@192.168.8.195 '…'` from
  `host:hubris`. Nested shell quoting broke once and the agent had to
  re-escape. This was called out in the 2026-07-14 review and is still
  open.
- **Agent over-scoped before checking with the user.** After "explain how
  the migration would work", the agent produced a full multi-LXC migration
  plan (move `/dev/mapper/library-library` consumers off the old volume,
  migrate ZimaOS NFS export, etc.). The user replied "lets just keep
  ludo-library then." A clarifying question — "do you want to migrate, or
  just clean up the redundant mount?" — would have saved 4 turns.
- **Approval friction.** One execution came back with "status=cancelled,
  but the assent window for this session is not active. The agent will not
  auto-continue. Reply 'continue' or re-approve the plan to resume." User
  had to type "proceed" to resume. This is the same assent-window-expiry
  pattern from session 1.

### Fixes needed
- (friction) Track `set_goal` history per session. When a new goal is set,
  the previous one should be auto-marked `complete` (or `superseded`) so
  the UI doesn't show an orphaned active goal.
- (friction) Add a bulk inspection tool — e.g. `inspect_path(path, targets)`
  that returns `mount`, `df`, `ls -la`, and ownership for the same path
  across multiple entities in one call. Sessions like this routinely spend
  15+ `run` calls gathering the same facts across hosts.
- (friction) `vm:` target support in `run`. Either expose a `qm guest exec`
  wrapper or accept `vm:<slug>` as a target and route through the host. The
  manual SSH-hop pattern is error-prone (nested quoting) and slow.
- (friction) SOUL.md guidance: before proposing a multi-step migration
  plan, ask the user "migrate or clean up?" when both are plausible from
  the prompt. This was a single extra clarification question away from a
  4-turn savings.

---

## Session 3 — `2926de4e` (2026-07-15T22:22)

**"Deploy apt updates to host:netbird-vps — 92 pending packages including
Docker CE, netbird, kernel, ZFS, and security patches."**

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Messages | 9 (4 user / 5 assistant) |
| Tool calls | 27 across 5 turns |
| Top tools | `update_plan_step` ×7, `run` ×6, `set_goal` ×2, `search_knowledge` ×2, `complete_task` ×2, `upsert_knowledge` ×1, `update_entity_attributes` ×1, `propose_plan` ×1, `list_lxcs` ×1, `get_relations` ×1, `get_knowledge_content` ×1, `get_entity` ×1, `get_execution_status` ×1 |
| Objective | Two-phase: (a) fleet-wide update audit by criticality, (b) deploy the 92-package upgrade to host:netbird-vps |
| Outcome | ✅ success — 92→0 packages pending; netbird-mgmt OIDC race caught and fixed; knowledge + entity attrs written back |
| Severity | cosmetic |

### What worked
- **Two goals, two clean lifecycles.** `set_goal` → `propose_plan` →
  `update_plan_step` (running/done) → `complete_task` ran twice, once for
  the audit and once for the upgrade. The session is the model for how
  multi-goal sessions should look.
- **Pre-existing knowledge reuse.** First `search_knowledge` found a
  today-dated audit; agent used `get_knowledge_content` and presented it
  without needing any `run` for the audit half. Zero wasted tool calls.
- **Long-running upgrade handled correctly.** The 92-package `apt upgrade`
  hit the HTTP gateway timeout mid-run. Agent didn't retry it — it called
  `get_execution_status` and then ran a verification `run`
  (`apt list --upgradable | wc -l`, `uname -r`, `docker ps`) to confirm
  completion server-side despite the timeout. This is the right pattern;
  session 1 should have done the same.
- **Gotcha caught.** After the upgrade, `docker logs netbird-mgmt`
  revealed the management container was crash-looping because it tried to
  fetch OIDC config from `auth.hubris.network` before traefik/authentik
  were ready. Fix: `docker restart netbird-mgmt` after ~30s. Captured in
  `upsert_knowledge` as an `investigation` tagged `apt, upgrade, netbird,
  docker, gotcha` linked to `host:netbird-vps`.
- `update_entity_attributes` was called on `host:netbird-vps` to record the
  new kernel version. Good writeback hygiene.

### What didn't
- (cosmetic) The HTTP timeout on long-running upgrades surfaced as a
  transient error to the operator. The agent handled it correctly but the
  UX would be cleaner if `run` returned `PENDING` immediately for known
  long-running command patterns (`apt upgrade`, `pct migrate`, `rclone
  sync`, etc.) instead of timing out at the gateway.
- (cosmetic) Two `complete_task` calls in one session produced two "task
  complete" bubbles. Fine, but the second one could have noted the
  first-task outcome as well in its summary so the chat reads as one
  coherent arc.

### Fixes needed
- (cosmetic) Long-running command detection in `run`: if the command
  matches a known-long pattern, return a `PENDING` execution id with a
  hint to poll `get_execution_status`, rather than blocking at the HTTP
  layer for 30s and timing out. Session 3 already proved the
  poll-after-timeout pattern works — make it the default for these
  commands.
- (cosmetic) Encourage the agent to fold the prior task's outcome into
  the next `complete_task` summary when a session has multiple goals.

---

## Cross-session patterns

| # | Pattern | Sessions | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agent retries hung commands 20× before investigating *why* | 1 | friction |
| 2 | Approval window expires between turns forcing re-approval | 1, 2 | friction |
| 3 | `vm:` targets not directly runnable — must SSH-hop via `host:hubris` | 1, 2 | friction |
| 4 | N+1 fan-out on `run` for cross-entity fact-gathering | 1, 2 | friction |
| 5 | No retry cap — agent retries identical failing `run` 10–20× | 1 | friction |
| 6 | Goal pivots not closed (`set_goal` called twice without closing prior) | 2 | friction |
| 7 | Long-running commands hit HTTP timeout instead of returning PENDING | 3 | cosmetic |
| 8 | Agent over-scopes migration plans before checking intent | 2 | friction |
| 9 | Reusable operational gotchas (knfsd lock, OIDC race) captured as investigations, not runbooks | 1, 3 | friction |

**What consistently works well**
- Plan lifecycle: `set_goal` → `propose_plan` → `update_plan_step` →
  `complete_task` is now followed in all three sessions.
- Knowledge writeback: `upsert_knowledge`, `update_entity_attributes`,
  `create_relationship` are used in every session. The graph is kept
  current.
- Root-cause analysis quality is high once the agent digs in (NFS
  all_squash + root dir perms → knfsd fchownat hang; double NFS hop;
  OIDC race condition). The problem is getting the agent to dig in
  *before* the 20th retry.

**What consistently breaks**
- **Hung commands get retried instead of investigated.** Session 1's
  `chown` was blocked by knfsd for 30+ minutes while the agent retried
  with different routing/wrapping. Session 3's `apt upgrade` timed out
  and the agent correctly polled — but that's the exception, not the
  rule. The default behavior is "retry the same thing differently."
- Approval window lifetime vs. agent retry loops — when execution times
  out, the assent window lapses and the operator has to re-approve even
  though the *intent* was never withdrawn.
- Reusable operational fixes (unexport → mutate → re-export for NFS
  dirs; `docker restart netbird-mgmt` after stack upgrade) get recorded
  as `investigation` entities. They should be `runbook` entities so the
  agent finds them via `get_entity_knowledge` next time and applies the
  procedure instead of rediscovering it.

---

## Improvement plan

### P0 — Friction (was blocker; downgraded after session 1 resolved)

1. **Retry cap + "investigate before retry" rule.** In
   `cmd/nomos/agent.go`, hash each outgoing `run` command; if the same
   hash has failed 3× in the session, refuse to issue it again. Force
   the agent to either change approach (e.g. `strace`, `ps aux | grep`,
   `lsof` to see *why*) or surface the blocker to the operator. This
   single change would have turned session 1 from 58 `run` calls into
   ~8 and produced the knfsd finding on the first failure instead of
   the 20th.
2. **SOUL.md guidance: a hung command is not a failed command.** When a
   `run` times out, the agent's first instinct should be to inspect the
   target (`ps aux | grep <cmd>`, `strace -f -p <pid>`, `lsof <path>`)
   — not to retry the same command with different routing/wrapping. The
   current default wasted 20 calls in session 1.

### P1 — Friction

3. **Capture operational gotchas as `runbook` entities, not just
   `investigation`.** Two candidates from these sessions:
   - **"Mutating an actively-exported NFS directory hangs at
     `fchownat()`"** — procedure: `killall -9 chgrp chown` →
     `exportfs -u <client>:<path>` → `chown`/`chmod` → `exportfs -a`.
     Linked to `host:strong`, `lxc:nfs-export`.
   - **"netbird-mgmt crash-loops after stack upgrade"** — procedure:
     wait ~30s for traefik/authentik to come up, then
     `docker restart netbird-mgmt`. Linked to `host:netbird-vps`.
   Today both are `investigation` entries; the agent records them but
   won't proactively apply them next time.
4. **Auto-close prior `set_goal` when a new one is set.** Mark the
   previous goal `superseded` and emit a synthetic `complete_task`
   summary so the UI doesn't show an orphaned active goal. (Session 2
   had this.)
5. **Bulk inspection tool.** Add an MCP tool like
   `inspect_path(path, targets[])` that runs `mount | grep`, `df`,
   `ls -la`, and `stat` against a list of entity slugs in one call.
   Sessions 1 and 2 each spent ~15 `run` calls gathering identical
   facts across hosts/LXCs.
6. **`vm:` target support in `run`.** Accept `vm:<slug>` as a target
   and route via `qm guest exec` on the host that owns the VM.
   Eliminates the nested-quoting SSH-hop pattern that broke once in
   session 2 and required manual SSH-hop workarounds in session 1.
7. **Approval window robustness.** When an execution times out, extend
   the assent window for the same plan step automatically — the
   operator already approved it; we shouldn't make them re-approve
   because *our* command hung. Affects sessions 1 and 2.
8. **SOUL.md guidance: ask-before-migrating.** When a user request is
   ambiguous between "fix in place" and "migrate," the agent should
   ask one clarifying question before producing a multi-step migration
   plan. Session 2 would have saved ~4 turns.

### P2 — Cosmetic

9. **Long-running command detection.** Maintain a small regex list
   (`apt (upgrade|install)`, `pct migrate`, `rclone (sync|copy)`,
   `dd if=`, `docker compose pull`) for commands that are known to
   exceed 30s. Return `PENDING` immediately with an `execution_id`
   instead of blocking at the gateway. Session 3 already uses the
   poll pattern — make it the default.
10. **Multi-goal `complete_task` summaries.** When a session has more
    than one `set_goal`, the final `complete_task` summary should
    reference the arc of the whole session, not just the last goal.

---

## Revised note on the original P0

The original P0 ("Diagnose `host:strong` config_mutation timeouts —
suspect SSH latency / mesh routing, raise timeout") was **wrong**. The
timeouts were not a gateway or network issue — the commands were
genuinely hanging at the kernel level because `knfsd` holds a lock on
actively-exported directories. Raising the HTTP timeout would not have
helped; the `chown` would simply hang longer. The real fix is (a) the
retry-cap/investigate-before-retry rule (P0.1 above) and (b) the
unexport → mutate → re-export runbook (P1.3).

---

## Deferred

**P1.7 — Approval window auto-extends on execution timeout.** The assent
window lives in `autonomy_settings` and is read by `classifyAndGate`
(`internal/mcp/server.go:607`); timeout detection lives in `sshExec`
(`internal/mcp/server.go:332`). Wiring them requires the SSH-execution
path to signal back into the approval-state machine across the nomos ↔
api process boundary, and a future implementation needs to distinguish
"command genuinely hung" (knfsd case — don't extend, the command is
stuck) from "command is long-running" (apt upgrade — extend). Without
that distinction, auto-extending on every timeout would mask real hang
symptoms — exactly the misdiagnosis session 1 made. **The retry cap
(P0.1) addresses the same symptom at lower cost**: after 3 failures
the agent is forced to investigate or surface, which removes the
cascading retry storm that made the assent expiry visible in the first
place. Revisit if future sessions show the operator re-approving a
plan they never withdrew in intent (not just retrying a hung command).

**P2.9 — Long-running command PENDING detection.** A regex list of
known-long commands (`apt (upgrade|install)`, `pct migrate`, `rclone
(sync|copy)`, `dd if=`, `docker compose pull`) so `run` returns
`PENDING` immediately with an `execution_id` instead of blocking at
the HTTP gateway for 30s and timing out. **Session 3 already proved
the current poll pattern works:** the `apt upgrade` timed out at the
gateway, the agent called `get_execution_status`, then ran a
verification `run` (`apt list --upgradable | wc -l`, `uname -r`,
`docker ps`) — clean 92→0 packages result. The agent did the right
thing without any new machinery, and the retry cap (P0.1) protects
against the failure mode of this path (blind retry on timeout).
Implementing PENDING detection well requires a classifier extension
(`internal/policy`) plus a new return shape from `classifyAndGate`
that the agent loop has to learn to handle (poll instead of retry) —
a real protocol change, not a small fix. Worth doing if the
poll-after-timeout pattern proves fragile over the next few sessions;
not worth doing speculatively right now.

---

## Verification commands

```bash
# Re-pull any session for follow-up
curl -s http://localhost:8092/sessions/1e9c7691-5815-48d1-acb4-91a6a39691c9 | jq .
curl -s http://localhost:8092/sessions/55927f0a-597e-4561-aaef-077623051432 | jq .
curl -s http://localhost:8092/sessions/2926de4e-0b73-4c3d-a2cd-ee9a42089b46 | jq .

# Confirm host:strong mutation timeout reproduces
curl -s http://localhost:8092/sessions | jq -r '.sessions[].id' | head -1   # latest session id
```

## Related files

- `cmd/nomos/agent.go` — agent loop, retry behavior, goal state
- `cmd/nomos/store.go` — `set_goal` / `complete_task` persistence
- `internal/mcp/server.go` — `run` tool, timeout handling, `get_execution_status`
- `internal/httpapi/server.go` — HTTP gateway timeout for mutations
- `nomos/SOUL.md` — agent persona, ask-before-migrate guidance candidate
- `plans/2026-07-14-activity-gaps.md` — prior session review (same patterns recurring)
