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Added guard against useless state caching anti-pattern AI agents keep insisting on.

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Multiple LLMs keep trying to revert issue #11 unless specifically argued against, and keep sneaking it into code. Other, similar examples of this pathological insistence on storing/caching state that offers no tangible benefit warranting the complexity and edge cases have been tried, but headed off by me earlier.
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John Morris 2026-05-21 09:15:27 +00:00 • committed by vybe
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AGENTS.md
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@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ You **MUST** read each of these documents before contributing to this repository
- Repo interaction rules: `docs/agents/repo-instructions.md` - Repo interaction rules: `docs/agents/repo-instructions.md`
- Domain model & context rules: `docs/agents/domain.md` - Domain model & context rules: `docs/agents/domain.md`
---
## Critical Coding & Version Control Conduct ## Critical Coding & Version Control Conduct
- **NEVER** commit directly to `master` or `testing without explicit human instruction. - **NEVER** commit directly to `master` or `testing without explicit human instruction.
@ -12,5 +14,29 @@ You **MUST** read each of these documents before contributing to this repository
- **ALWAYS** create new branches when working on non-trivial coding tasks. - **ALWAYS** create new branches when working on non-trivial coding tasks.
- **ALWAYS** commit self-contained logical unit of work. - **ALWAYS** commit self-contained logical unit of work.
---
## Issues, PRs, and Comments Conduct ## Issues, PRs, and Comments Conduct
- **ALWAYS** end your written contributions with `Written by AI agent working for @jtmorris. Model: <MODEL NAME>.`. Replace `<MODEL NAME>` with the LLM model, version, and, if relevant, number of parameters. For example: `Claude Sonnet 4.7`, `Grok 4.3`, `Qwen 3.6 27B`. - **ALWAYS** end your written contributions with `Written by AI agent working for @jtmorris. Model: <MODEL NAME>.`. Replace `<MODEL NAME>` with the LLM model, version, and, if relevant, number of parameters. For example: `Claude Sonnet 4.7`, `Grok 4.3`, `Qwen 3.6 27B`.
---
## Critical Design Rules
### 1. Only Store or Cache State When It Serves a Purpose
**Never store or cache state unless doing so meets at least one of:**
1. It is the authoritative source of truth owned by this component.
2. It delivers actionable feedback that meaningfully improves the user experience or a decision.
3. It provides a demonstrable and reasonably argued security or performance improvement (the burden of proof is on the proposer).
4. The information cannot be obtained at the moment it is needed and keeping it produces a clear net benefit.
Storing state creates a potential disconnect with reality. Managing that disconnect requires extra tests, defensive checks, and cognitive overhead. State should be added only when the benefit is obvious and defensible.
**Textbook Example (this repository – issue #11)**
Proposal: run `which tailscale` at startup, set a `binaryAvailable` boolean, and guard every `tailscale` invocation behind it.
**Why this was harmful**
1. Wrong solution to the actual problem. This project is a GUI wrapper around the `tailscale` binary. If the binary doesn’t exist, there is nothing to do except surface an error. Storing a flag and guarding UI actions adds state for no gain.
2. Creates a new class of edge cases that must be tested: the binary existed when the flag was set but later disappears. The code must now defend against both “flag is false” and “flag is wrong.”
3. Unreliable guard for a failure the code must handle anyway. A missing binary produces a clear exit-code failure on the real command. Checking the flag *and* handling the failure duplicates work.
Reference: #11.