Node debugger cannot resolve upstream outputs in manual evaluations #28

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opened 2026-09-17 10:17:08 +02:00 by morten-olsen · 0 comments

morten-olsen commented

2026-09-17 10:17:08 +02:00

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Context

The node debugger's Test tab could not evaluate any node whose configuration reads an earlier step's output. Pressing Evaluate node failed before running:

invalid_switch_condition: Switch rule 'Charged and powered' failed:
Output battery/main is not available.

NodeDebugCodec.manualPorts built its NodeDebugInput with upstreamOutputs = emptyMap(), and NodeDebugger passed that straight into NodeExecutionContext.outputs, so every OutputValue(nodeId, portId, path) reference was unresolvable. Retained run inputs worked, because decodeInput restores the captured upstream map; manual inputs never did.

This affected any node with an output binding, not only Switch. #12 made output-based comparisons the norm for switch branches, which is what surfaced it.

Scope

Derive the upstream ports a node reads, from configuration values and from switch conditions, which live inside the opaque rules literal that no generic template walk can see into.
Let a manual evaluation supply those values, seeded from each referenced port's declared schema so the author edits a filled record rather than writing one blind.
Name each referenced port by its producing step, the way the route names it.

Non-goals

Do not run ancestor nodes to satisfy a reference. Executing them the way FixtureWorkflowRunner does would fire real Read effects on pressing Evaluate node, against the panel's own promise that only this step runs.
Do not change the retained-run path, which already carries its own upstream values.

Resolution

Fixed on main in abcf262.

ValueTemplateEvaluator.outputReferences answers which upstream port a value comes from, beside the existing dependencies, which answers only which nodes must run first. It lives there because the evaluator already owns the reference syntax.
WorkflowNode.upstreamReferences is the single reader of what a node reads upstream, folding in switch conditions explicitly. The compiler, authoring validation and the debugger now cannot disagree about which references exist.
The panel renders an Upstream values block per referenced port, falling back to the producing action's output schema because node-shape snapshots only carry schemas for configuration-derived ports.

Seeding logic sits in its own file rather than the composable so it can be tested — this module has no Compose test harness. Covered by NodeDebuggerUpstreamTest, UpstreamReferencesTest and UpstreamSkeletonTest, including the before/after pair pinning the original failure. Verified on a Pixel 9 emulator: the same switch node that failed now evaluates to case:healthy · 0 records, case:critical · 0 records, fallback · 1 record.

## Context The node debugger's **Test** tab could not evaluate any node whose configuration reads an earlier step's output. Pressing **Evaluate node** failed before running: ``` invalid_switch_condition: Switch rule 'Charged and powered' failed: Output battery/main is not available. ``` `NodeDebugCodec.manualPorts` built its `NodeDebugInput` with `upstreamOutputs = emptyMap()`, and `NodeDebugger` passed that straight into `NodeExecutionContext.outputs`, so every `OutputValue(nodeId, portId, path)` reference was unresolvable. Retained run inputs worked, because `decodeInput` restores the captured `upstream` map; manual inputs never did. This affected **any** node with an output binding, not only Switch. #12 made output-based comparisons the norm for switch branches, which is what surfaced it. ## Scope - Derive the upstream ports a node reads, from configuration values and from switch conditions, which live inside the opaque `rules` literal that no generic template walk can see into. - Let a manual evaluation supply those values, seeded from each referenced port's declared schema so the author edits a filled record rather than writing one blind. - Name each referenced port by its producing step, the way the route names it. ## Non-goals - Do not run ancestor nodes to satisfy a reference. Executing them the way `FixtureWorkflowRunner` does would fire real Read effects on pressing **Evaluate node**, against the panel's own promise that only this step runs. - Do not change the retained-run path, which already carries its own upstream values. ## Resolution Fixed on `main` in abcf262. - `ValueTemplateEvaluator.outputReferences` answers which upstream *port* a value comes from, beside the existing `dependencies`, which answers only which nodes must run first. It lives there because the evaluator already owns the reference syntax. - `WorkflowNode.upstreamReferences` is the single reader of what a node reads upstream, folding in switch conditions explicitly. The compiler, authoring validation and the debugger now cannot disagree about which references exist. - The panel renders an **Upstream values** block per referenced port, falling back to the producing action's output schema because node-shape snapshots only carry schemas for configuration-derived ports. Seeding logic sits in its own file rather than the composable so it can be tested — this module has no Compose test harness. Covered by `NodeDebuggerUpstreamTest`, `UpstreamReferencesTest` and `UpstreamSkeletonTest`, including the before/after pair pinning the original failure. Verified on a Pixel 9 emulator: the same switch node that failed now evaluates to `case:healthy · 0 records`, `case:critical · 0 records`, `fallback · 1 record`.

morten-olsen

2026-09-17 10:17:08 +02:00

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incubator/macros#28

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