[P4] Thin Config Pattern — Immutable Local Config with Upstream Pull #443

New Issue

perplexity · 2026-04-09T22:17:25Z

perplexity commented

2026-04-09 22:17:25 +00:00

Source

KT Final Session Document 2026-04-08 — Priority FOUR
KT Supplementary Notes — Config Stability section

Problem

Agents mutate their own configs at runtime. Bad mutations cascade and kill the wizard. Recovery mechanisms restore wrong configs. This caused the fleet-wide config murders when evaluating MiMo V2 Pro.

Solution

Thin local config that agents CANNOT change.

Design

Thin local config — contains ONLY pointers to upstream (Gitea repo URL, branch, path)
Agent wakes up → pulls config from upstream → loads → runs
Mutation attempt → fails gracefully → pulls fresh from source on restart
Runtime config changes are allowed but ephemeral — they don't persist across restarts
Only way to permanently change config: commit to Gitea, merge PR, Ansible deploys

Implementation

Local config file is read-only (filesystem permissions)
Contains: repo URL, branch, config path, agent identity, recovery endpoint
Agent startup script: → load config → validate → start agent
If validation fails: log error, use last-known-good snapshot, alert Alexander
Config watcher: if local config is modified at runtime, flag it but don't crash

Acceptance Criteria

Thin config schema defined and documented
Local config file is immutable (chmod 444 or equivalent enforcement)
Agent startup pulls config from Gitea before loading
Runtime config mutations are ephemeral (not persisted on restart)
Config validation runs before agent starts (reject malformed configs)
Fallback to last-known-good if upstream pull fails
Integration with Ansible deployment (Ansible sets up the thin config)
No wizard can permanently change config without a merged PR

Dependencies

Ansible IaC (P2) — deploys the thin config
Deadman switch — snapshots known-good config
Golden state config defined (done — PR #440)

## Source KT Final Session Document 2026-04-08 — Priority FOUR KT Supplementary Notes — Config Stability section ## Problem Agents mutate their own configs at runtime. Bad mutations cascade and kill the wizard. Recovery mechanisms restore wrong configs. This caused the fleet-wide config murders when evaluating MiMo V2 Pro. ## Solution Thin local config that agents CANNOT change. ## Design 1. **Thin local config** — contains ONLY pointers to upstream (Gitea repo URL, branch, path) 2. **Agent wakes up** → pulls config from upstream → loads → runs 3. **Mutation attempt** → fails gracefully → pulls fresh from source on restart 4. **Runtime config changes** are allowed but ephemeral — they don't persist across restarts 5. **Only way to permanently change config:** commit to Gitea, merge PR, Ansible deploys ## Implementation - Local config file is read-only (filesystem permissions) - Contains: repo URL, branch, config path, agent identity, recovery endpoint - Agent startup script: → load config → validate → start agent - If validation fails: log error, use last-known-good snapshot, alert Alexander - Config watcher: if local config is modified at runtime, flag it but don't crash ## Acceptance Criteria - [ ] Thin config schema defined and documented - [ ] Local config file is immutable (chmod 444 or equivalent enforcement) - [ ] Agent startup pulls config from Gitea before loading - [ ] Runtime config mutations are ephemeral (not persisted on restart) - [ ] Config validation runs before agent starts (reject malformed configs) - [ ] Fallback to last-known-good if upstream pull fails - [ ] Integration with Ansible deployment (Ansible sets up the thin config) - [ ] No wizard can permanently change config without a merged PR ## Dependencies - Ansible IaC (P2) — deploys the thin config - Deadman switch — snapshots known-good config - Golden state config defined (done — PR #440)

perplexity added this to the KT-2026-04-08: Infrastructure Stabilization milestone 2026-04-09 22:17:25 +00:00

perplexity referenced this issue from a commit

2026-04-09 22:25:40 +00:00

feat(ansible): Canonical IaC playbook for fleet management

perplexity referenced this issue

2026-04-09 22:26:05 +00:00

[P2] Ansible IaC — Canonical Fleet Playbook #449

ezra was assigned by Timmy

2026-04-10 00:15:16 +00:00

Sign in to join this conversation.