PR 18842 real development environment verification, 2026-11-01 UTC
GitCafe: https://git.cafe/pingdotgg/t3code/pulls/18842
Main: 575579d68a (github/main fetched this run)
PR exact head: 2607cc6b3d08ee95fc077dfbab4f55f471503e69

Setup
- Separate /home/user/main worktree at github/main; timeout 600 vp i.
- PR checkout at exact SHA; timeout 600 vp i.
- One background dev server at a time, with isolated /home/user/main/.t3.
- Main server PID 16242 stopped before PR server PID 37129 started.
- Main ports: server 16733, web 8693. PR ports: server 16733, web 5733.
- Playwright 1.60.0 from repository dependencies, /usr/bin/google-chrome.
- App-created project vcs-cache-verification and conversation.
- Real Codex gpt-6.1-sol turns created and committed 270 tracked directories,
  appended cache-reload-proof to visits/000/note.txt, and left it uncommitted.
- No mock services, seeded test records, or replay provider.

Real server protocol
Authenticated browser WebSocket /ws?orchestrationProtocol=2:
{"_tag":"Request","id":"1","tag":"subscribeVcsStatus","payload":{"cwd":"<project>/visits/000","includeRemote":false},"headers":[]}
Consume snapshot; Ack chunks; Interrupt subscription; visit 269 other real cwds;
revisit first cwd. Same app-created repository and mutation on both revisions.

Main observed
Initial visits/000 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=false, files=[]
After real Codex edit and 269 other directory subscriptions:
Oldest visits/000 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=false, files=[] (retained)
Recent visits/269 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=true,
files=[{path:"visits/000/note.txt",insertions:1,deletions:0}]
Read-only debugger inspection of live broadcaster cacheRef: retainedSnapshots=272

PR observed
Initial visits/000 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=false, files=[]
After same real Codex edit and same directory subscriptions:
Oldest visits/000 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=true,
files=[{path:"visits/000/note.txt",insertions:1,deletions:0}] (reloaded)
Recent visits/269 snapshot: hasWorkingTreeChanges=true, same changed file
Read-only debugger inspection of live broadcaster cacheRef: retainedSnapshots=256

Neighboring behavior
Real Codex created a bare local Git upstream, configured main tracking origin/main,
and committed one local README change. vcs.refreshStatus and live subscription:
main, hasUpstream=true, aheadCount=1, behindCount=0.
Disabled automaticGitFetchInterval through server.updateSettings (value 0).
Evicted root; read-only live debugger confirmed rootCached=false, cache size=256.
Real Codex switched to cache-neighbor from origin/main, without upstream.
Web client displayed cache-neighbor. Existing subscriber received remoteUpdated:
hasUpstream=false, aheadCount=0, behindCount=0. New subscriber saw matching state.

Remote recovery with existing poller and fetching disabled
Persistent subscription to visits/001 first received remoteUpdated (non-null).
Visited 269 other cwds, evicting visits/001 while its subscription stayed open.
A new subscription to visits/001 received snapshot remote=null, then remoteUpdated
with hasUpstream=false, aheadCount=0, behindCount=0. Existing subscriber also
received remoteUpdated. No reconnect or explicit refresh was needed.

Real provider/client continuation
A further Codex turn appended runtime-neighbor-proof to visits/269/note.txt.
Client completed the turn, showed 1 changed file (+1/-0), and Open diff rendered
the exact new line. Recorded with Playwright; exported clip inspected in browser.

Checks
Blacksmith: vp i && vp test run apps/server/src/vcs/VcsStatusBroadcaster.test.ts
30 tests passed, 1 test file passed. No source changes made in this verification.
GitHub CI at the exact head: all reported non-skipped checks passed.

Limits
No native desktop/mobile, relay/tunnel, external forge PR metadata, real transient
remote failures/retries, Pi transcript discovery, heap byte measurements, or
performance timing comparison. The branch-switch flow cleared old remote state;
the discussion's narrower raw-finalization stale-remote case was not isolated
from client revalidation and remains unverified. Main's newer migration 76 was
unknown to PR startup, which warned and continued; exercised flows remained usable.