Codeman/docs/cron-discovery.md

CRON_DISCOVERY.md

Phase 1 deliverable for the "Add Scheduling to Codeman" build brief. This documents the existing Codeman architecture and the smallest integration points for a cron. No session/tmux logic will be rebuilt — the new code is purely a trigger + persistence + history layer on top of the existing primitives.

Stack: aicodeman v1.2.1 — Fastify 5 backend, node-pty + tmux sessions, vanilla-JS SPA frontend served as static assets, JSON file state store, zod validation, ports-based dependency injection.

---

0. Critical finding: an existing ScheduledRun is NOT a cron

Codeman already has a ScheduledRun concept (/api/scheduled, src/web/ports/infra-port.ts:14-26, src/web/server.ts:1480-1605). It is a run-now, duration-bounded autonomous loop: given {prompt, workingDir, durationMinutes} it immediately spawns/kills throwaway sessions in a loop until the duration elapses. It has no time-based triggering, recurrence (once/interval/daily/weekly), enable/disable, next-run calculation, run history, or persistence across restarts.

Therefore the brief's core (the calendar/cron trigger layer) does not exist and must be built. The execution primitives it sits on top of do exist and will be reused. To honor brief §16 ("do not rename existing core concepts"), the new feature is named CronJob (with CronJobRun history records), kept distinct from the existing ScheduledRun.

---

1. Where session creation happens

• Canonical create flow: POST /api/sessions, src/web/routes/session-routes.ts:262-438.
  • new Session({ workingDir, mode, ... }) (src/session.ts:421-570)
  • ctx.addSession(session) → ctx.setupSessionListeners(session) → ctx.persistSessionState(session) (all via SessionPort).
• SessionPort interface: src/web/ports/session-port.ts:8-16.
• Integration point: the cron service will mirror this exact sequence (create → addSession → setupSessionListeners → start) via SessionPort, not reimplement it.

2. Where agent/session types are defined

• type SessionMode = 'claude' | 'shell' | 'opencode' | 'codex' | 'gemini' (src/types/session.ts:43-44). shell covers the brief's "Terminal/custom".
• CLI availability resolvers in src/utils/{claude,codex,gemini,opencode}-cli-resolver.ts.
• Integration point: the job's agentType reuses SessionMode verbatim.

3. Where input is sent into a session

• Raw / paste: session.write(data) (src/session.ts:2243-2247) — direct PTY write.
• Typed (recommended): session.writeViaMux(data) (src/session.ts:2301-2311) — tmux send-keys, falls back to PTY. Submit requires trailing \r.
• Integration point: prompt delivery uses writeViaMux (typed) by default, write (paste) as the alternate input_mode.

4. Where active sessions are listed

• ctx.sessions: ReadonlyMap<string, Session> (SessionPort).
• Filters: Array.from(ctx.sessions.values()).filter(s => s.mode === X) and .isBusy() / .isIdle() (src/session-manager.ts:220-247).
• Integration point: the §8 multi-session warning queries this map.

5. Where session kill/delete is handled

• ctx.cleanupSession(sessionId, killMux?, reason?) (SessionPort; impl src/web/server.ts:997-1152). Underlying session.stop(killMux) at src/session.ts:2498-2585.
• The cron does not kill sessions it launches (the brief wants them visible in the normal session UI); cleanup stays user-driven.

6. How session state is stored / 7. Existing persistence

• JSON file store: ~/.codeman/state.json (+ state-inner.json for Ralph). StateStore class src/state-store.ts:71; AppState interface src/types/app-state.ts:99-114.
• Pattern: declare a field on AppState, add typed get/set methods on StateStore that mutate in-memory state and call the debounced save() (500ms debounce, atomic temp-file+rename, .bak backup, circuit breaker).
• Integration point: add cronJobs?: Record<string, CronJob> and cronJobRuns?: Record<string, CronJobRun> to AppState, with matching StateStore accessors. No new DB (brief §6 forbids Postgres/Redis).

8. Where backend routes live

• Route modules: src/web/routes/*.ts; barrel src/web/routes/index.ts; registered in WebServer.setupRoutes() src/web/server.ts:858-876 with a single ctx object from createRouteContext() (src/web/server.ts:553-613) that satisfies all port interfaces.
• Validation: zod schemas in src/web/schemas.ts, applied via parseBody(Schema, req.body) (src/web/route-helpers.ts:101-111).
• Errors: createErrorResponse(ApiErrorCode.X, msg) / ApiResponse (src/types/api.ts), auto-mapped to HTTP status by a preSerialization hook (src/web/server.ts:644-659).
• SSE: ctx.broadcast(SseEvent.X, data) (EventPort, src/web/sse-events.ts); frontend mirror in src/web/public/constants.js.
• Integration point: new cron-routes.ts registered alongside the others; new zod schema; new SseEvent constants for job list/run changes.

9. Where frontend pages/components live

• Vanilla-JS SPA: single src/web/public/index.html + feature mixin files (Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {...})). API via api-client.js (_apiJson/_apiPost/_apiDelete). Build = esbuild minify + content-hash, no bundler (scripts/build.mjs).
• UI is panels/modals toggled by JS classes; forms use .form-row / .modal conventions (styles.css). SSE handler map in app.js.
• Integration point: add a new cron-ui.js mixin + a panel/modal in index.html + nav entry, following the orchestrator/respawn panel pattern.

10. Background-loop pattern (for the due-checker)

• Established pattern: this.cleanup.setInterval(fn, intervalMs, {description}) in WebServer.start() (src/web/server.ts:~1942-1966), auto-disposed in WebServer.stop() via this.cleanup.dispose() (src/web/server.ts:2336). RalphLoop (src/ralph-loop.ts:268-286) shows the self-rescheduling guard idiom.
• Integration point: register a 30s cron tick via cleanup.setInterval; no manual shutdown wiring needed.

---

Smallest integration points (summary)

New piece	Reuses	Location
CronJob / CronJobRun types	— (new)	src/types/cron.ts
Persistence	StateStore / AppState	src/types/app-state.ts, src/state-store.ts
Next-run time math	— (new, pure, unit-tested)	src/cron/cron-time.ts
Launch + send prompt	SessionPort (addSession/listeners/writeViaMux)	src/cron/cron-service.ts
Background due loop	cleanup.setInterval pattern	src/cron/cron-loop.ts
Routes + schema	route/ports/zod/SSE patterns	src/web/routes/cron-routes.ts, src/web/schemas.ts, src/web/sse-events.ts
UI	panel/modal/mixin conventions	src/web/public/cron-ui.js, index.html

Nothing in the session, tmux, persistence, routing, or SSE subsystems is rewritten — the cron is additive and calls existing services.