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automaton/tasks/fix-stale-task-mtime-proxy/SPEC.md
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Lap Tran 81ccf548e5
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Fix 10 audit bugs: path prefix matching, verdict parsing, CORS, stale-task detection, phase mapping
Batch 1 (High severity):
- Bug 1: --audit cat3 now checks .automaton/tasks/ paths
- Bug 4: Verdict PASS/FAIL uses structured ## Status: line parsing
- Bug 5: register-guards.sh checks .json/.jsonc, writes plugin key, strips comments
- Bug 7: --can-edit/--scope-check path prefix uses os.sep boundary

Batch 2 (Medium/Low severity):
- Bug 2: migrate-project.sh find command parentheses for -prune binding
- Bug 3: vram_detect model prefix matching with known-suffix whitelist
- Bug 6: dashboard reads .state file before artifact heuristic fallback
- Bug 8: removed wildcard CORS, added security headers (nosniff, DENY)
- Bug 9: stale-task detection uses .state.lastedit instead of .state mtime
- Bug 10: TEST_PLAN.md maps to test_design (was implement)

249 tests pass (up from 235). All 10 tasks driven through full workflow to completion.
2026-06-22 10:40:58 -04:00

992 B

Spec: fix-stale-task-mtime-proxy

Problem

scripts/status.py:965,1072 uses the .state file's mtime as a proxy for "last edit activity." But every --transition rewrites .state, resetting its mtime. A task that was transitioned 29 minutes ago appears "fresh" even though no editing happened. The --same-session check also gives false positives after any transition.

Fix

Use a separate .state.lastedit timestamp file that is updated only when --can-edit returns ALLOWED (actual edit activity). Check .state.lastedit mtime instead of .state mtime for stale-task detection. If .state.lastedit doesn't exist, fall back to .state mtime (backward compat).

Acceptance Criteria

  • Transitioning a task does NOT reset the stale-task timer
  • Running --can-edit (and getting ALLOWED) DOES reset the timer
  • If .state.lastedit doesn't exist, falls back to .state mtime
  • Existing tests still pass
  • Add test verifying transition doesn't reset timer but can-edit does