fix: remove L1 bootstrap snapshot cache to fix workspace file staleness

[mikejuyoon]

Summary

Removes the L1 bootstrap snapshot cache (bootstrap-cache.ts), which cached workspace files per session key with no invalidation. This caused workspace files modified after initial load — by other sessions, cron/heartbeat, sub-agents, or the agent itself — to remain permanently stale.

The L2 cache in workspace.ts already validates file identity (dev, inode, size, mtime) on every read and auto-invalidates on disk changes. The L1 cache sat on top and short-circuited L2 entirely, preventing it from ever detecting changes.

+7 / -215 lines. Pure deletion — no new code paths.

Symptoms this fixes

• Cross-session memory is broken. Storing a fact via one session correctly writes to MEMORY.md, but other sessions never see it (fix: bootstrap cache never invalidates — cross-session file updates invisible to running sessions #28594).
• Heartbeats silently stop working. HEARTBEAT.md updates after initial cache load are never picked up — heartbeat tasks are skipped indefinitely (Bootstrap cache (getOrLoadBootstrapFiles) has no TTL — HEARTBEAT.md and workspace files become permanently stale for long-running sessions #26497).
• Agent operates on stale self-written data. The agent edits a workspace file, but on the next turn sees the old version injected in Project Context (Bootstrap file cache has no TTL or mtime check — workspace files go stale in long sessions #30896).
• /new on Teams often fails to clear the cache due to a guard that no-ops when previousSessionId is undefined. Moot now — there is no cache to clear.

Why this is safe

L2 already handles caching correctly with mtime/inode validation. The "uncached" path (calling loadWorkspaceBootstrapFiles directly) is already exercised in production when sessionKey is absent. Performance impact is negligible: 7-9 stat calls on sub-KB markdown files per message, sub-millisecond total vs. seconds of LLM latency.

Fixes

• Fixes fix: bootstrap cache never invalidates — cross-session file updates invisible to running sessions #28594
• Fixes Bootstrap cache (getOrLoadBootstrapFiles) has no TTL — HEARTBEAT.md and workspace files become permanently stale for long-running sessions #26497
• Fixes Bootstrap file cache has no TTL or mtime check — workspace files go stale in long sessions #30896

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR removes the Level 1 bootstrap snapshot cache (bootstrap-cache.ts) that stored workspace bootstrap files (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, etc.) per session key with no TTL or invalidation. The fix correctly delegates all caching to the Level 2 file-content cache in workspace.ts, which already validates file identity (dev:ino:size:mtimeMs) on every read and auto-invalidates when files change on disk.

Key changes:

• Deleted src/agents/bootstrap-cache.ts and its test suite — the faulty Map<sessionKey, WorkspaceBootstrapFile[]> cache is gone entirely.
• resolveBootstrapFilesForRun in bootstrap-files.ts now unconditionally calls loadWorkspaceBootstrapFiles(), while still passing sessionKey to filterBootstrapFilesForSession for correct subagent/cron file scoping.
• All clearBootstrapSnapshot / clearBootstrapSnapshotOnSessionRollover call-sites are removed from session-reset-service.ts, auto-reply/reply/session.ts, commands/agent/session.ts, and cron/isolated-agent/session.ts.
• Test files updated to remove stale mocks and assertions referencing the deleted module.

The PR is a net −215 lines and eliminates a class of bugs where workspace files edited on disk remained invisible to active sessions indefinitely.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge — it removes a defective cache with no replacement semantics lost, and all correctness is delegated to the already-correct L2 cache.
• The change is a focused deletion of a problematic caching layer. The L2 cache in workspace.ts already handles caching correctly with mtime/inode validation. All callers go through resolveBootstrapFilesForRun, which is preserved. Session-scoped filtering via filterBootstrapFilesForSession is unaffected. Tests are correctly updated and the vi.clearAllMocks() substitution in the cron session tests is safe (it clears call history but preserves module-level vi.mock() implementations). No new logic is introduced — only dead code removed.
• No files require special attention.

_{Last reviewed commit: 6e06b2d}

[openclaw-barnacle]

This pull request has been automatically marked as stale due to inactivity.
Please add updates or it will be closed.

[clawsweeper]

Closing this as duplicate or superseded after Codex automated review.

This contributor PR identifies a real bootstrap-staleness bug, but it is now superseded by the newer maintainer-tracked #72406, which explicitly carries this work forward with credit and a narrower refresh-in-place implementation. Current main still has the stale session-keyed L1 cache, so this is not implemented-on-main yet; the correct path is to review/land #72406 or an equivalent maintainer-approved fix.

Best possible solution:

Close this older deletion-style PR as superseded, preserve credit to @mikejuyoon, and focus maintainer review on #72406 because it is the current maintainer-tracked implementation for refreshing long-lived session bootstrap snapshots without removing the cache outright.

What I checked:

• Current main still has the stale L1 cache: getOrLoadBootstrapFiles keeps a module-level Map<string, WorkspaceBootstrapFile[]> and returns the cached entry on a session-key hit without reloading or validating file identity. (src/agents/bootstrap-cache.ts:3, 91e835ebe0ab)
• Session-keyed runs still use that L1 cache: resolveBootstrapFilesForRun calls getOrLoadBootstrapFiles whenever params.sessionKey is present, so the L2 workspace file cache is bypassed after the first session-keyed load. (src/agents/bootstrap-files.ts:229, 91e835ebe0ab)
• The lower workspace cache is file-identity aware: loadWorkspaceBootstrapFiles reads through readWorkspaceFileWithGuards, whose cache key includes canonical path, dev, inode, size, and mtime, matching the PR's stated root cause that the L1 cache prevents this validation from running. (src/agents/workspace.ts:40, 91e835ebe0ab)
• Current tests still encode permanent session-cache reuse: The current bootstrap-cache unit test asserts that a second call for the same session returns the original cached files and calls loadWorkspaceBootstrapFiles only once, which is the behavior this PR removes. (src/agents/bootstrap-cache.test.ts:51, 91e835ebe0ab)
• Maintainer PR fix(agents): refresh bootstrap snapshot when workspace files change #72406 is the canonical successor: The live GitHub issue API shows fix(agents): refresh bootstrap snapshot when workspace files change #72406 is open, author association MEMBER, labeled maintainer, and its body says it is based on Fix main-session workspace reload after on-disk bootstrap/context updates #64871 with related earlier cache-staleness work proposed here; it also includes explicit instructions to credit @mikejuyoon if this older PR is closed as superseded. (204386626495)
• fix(agents): refresh bootstrap snapshot when workspace files change #72406 addresses the same bug with a narrower implementation: The fix(agents): refresh bootstrap snapshot when workspace files change #72406 diff refreshes the bootstrap snapshot by calling loadWorkspaceBootstrapFiles on each access, preserves object identity when the refreshed file list is equal, and adds regression coverage for changed workspace bootstrap content. (src/agents/bootstrap-cache.ts, 204386626495)

So I’m closing this here and keeping the remaining discussion on the canonical linked item.

Codex Review notes: model gpt-5.5, reasoning high; reviewed against 91e835ebe0ab.