# Session Findings - 2026-03-28 22:23

## 1. Session Summary

**Work done**: Babysit-tp monitoring of testproject MR 2134 (shiftstack adoption full chain on titan35). Session was a RESUME (state existed, cron was missing). Checked build status, verified data accuracy when challenged, then restored full chain `.zuul.yaml` and triggered rerun.

**Zuul MCP tools used**: `mcp__zuul-sf__get_change_status` (2 calls, identical params)

**Other tools used for Zuul-adjacent work**: `glab api` (Bash) for GitLab bot notes - appropriate, not a Zuul gap.

**Overall friction level**: **Medium** - the tool returned data but was missing key fields that the babysit workflow needs, requiring manual computation and URL construction.

---

## 2. Findings

### Finding 1: `get_change_status` `not_in_pipeline` fallback lacks per-job timing fields

**Tool**: `mcp__zuul-sf__get_change_status`
**Parameters**: `change="2134", tenant="components-integration"`
**Attempt**: Get live chain progress (elapsed time, stream URLs) for a running build.

**Response received** (trimmed):
```json
{
  "status": "not_in_pipeline",
  "latest_buildset": {
    "result": "IN_PROGRESS",
    "first_build_start": "2026-03-28T18:52:52",
    "builds": [{
      "uuid": "594ec184...",
      "job": "shiftstack-rhel9-rhoso18.0-adoption-run-shiftstack-after",
      "result": "IN_PROGRESS",
      "project": "ci-framework/ci-framework-testproject",
      "change": 2134
    }]
  }
}
```

**What went wrong**: When the change is `not_in_pipeline` but the buildset is `IN_PROGRESS`, the per-build objects are sparse - they contain only `uuid`, `job`, `result`, `project`, `change`. Missing fields that ARE present when the change is in-pipeline:
- `elapsed` (ms) - had to manually compute from `first_build_start` vs current time
- `start_time` - not available per build
- `estimated` - not available
- `report_url` - had to construct manually from `zuul_base + tenant + uuid`
- `stream_url` - not available (needed for "live" link in dashboard)
- `pre_fail` - not available (critical for early failure detection)
- `duration` - not available

**Impact**: Manual elapsed computation is approximate (uses buildset `first_build_start`, not per-build start). Dashboard build links require hardcoded URL construction instead of using returned URLs.

**Severity**: **P2** - improvement. The tool works, but the `not_in_pipeline` + `IN_PROGRESS` path returns significantly less useful data than the in-pipeline path.

**Suggested fix**: When `not_in_pipeline` and the latest buildset is `IN_PROGRESS`, enrich per-build objects by fetching from the builds API (e.g., `GET /api/tenant/{tenant}/builds?buildset_uuid={uuid}`). This would populate `start_time`, `duration`, `report_url`, and `log_url`. The `elapsed`, `stream_url`, and `pre_fail` fields are pipeline-only (live Zuul state) and can legitimately be absent - but `start_time` and `report_url` should be available from the SQL backend.

---

### Finding 2: Ambiguous `not_in_pipeline` + `IN_PROGRESS` state

**Tool**: `mcp__zuul-sf__get_change_status`
**Parameters**: same as above

**What was suboptimal**: The combination `status: "not_in_pipeline"` with `result: "IN_PROGRESS"` is ambiguous. It could mean:
1. Build is executing on a node but the change was dequeued from the pipeline (normal - Zuul dequeues after dispatching)
2. Build is stuck/orphaned
3. Build just completed but SQL hasn't updated yet

There's no way to distinguish these from the response alone. The user challenged my interpretation ("are you sure about this info????"), partly because this state is confusing.

**Severity**: **P3** - polish. A `status_detail` or `build_phase` field (e.g., `"executing"`, `"post_run"`, `"completing"`) would help, but this info may not be available from Zuul's API.

**Suggested fix**: Add a `note` or `status_hint` field in the response when `not_in_pipeline` + `IN_PROGRESS`, e.g.: `"status_hint": "Build is executing but change is no longer queued in pipeline. Check bot notes for completion."`. Low effort, high clarity.

---

### Finding 3: No workarounds needed for missing tools

No Zuul operations were attempted via Bash/WebFetch that should have been MCP tools. The `glab api` calls were for GitLab bot notes (MR notes API), which is correctly outside Zuul's scope.

---

## 3. Missing Tools

No missing tools identified in this session. The workflow used:
- `get_change_status` for live/recent build status - exists
- Bot notes from GitLab API - correctly outside Zuul scope
- `.zuul.yaml` modification via GitLab API - correctly outside Zuul scope

**Potential gap noted but not hit this session**: There's no tool to check if a specific build UUID is still actively executing vs completed. `get_build` returns the final state but during `IN_PROGRESS` it may not have all fields. This wasn't needed here but would have resolved the ambiguity in Finding 2.

---

## 4. What Worked Well

### `get_change_status` - core functionality
- Correctly returned the latest buildset when change was `not_in_pipeline`
- `buildset_uuid` at the item level eliminated the need for `list_buildsets` roundtrip
- `events` array provided useful trigger context (event type, timestamp, description)
- `first_build_start` in the buildset was useful for manual elapsed computation
- Bare change number (`2134`) worked correctly as documented

### Response consistency
- Both calls (initial check + verification) returned identical results for the same state, confirming deterministic behavior
- JSON structure was clean and parseable

### `not_in_pipeline` fallback
- The automatic fallback to latest buildset when the change isn't queued is valuable - saves a `list_buildsets` call. This is the right design.
