live: heartbeat sync 2026-10-18T17:49:00-07:00 (Refs #11)

agent/managed-skills/noctalia-bar-layout-edit/SKILL.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: noctalia-bar-layout-edit
-description: "Edit/verify Noctalia v5 bar layout and clock widgets (multi-timezone instances, capsule groups); GUI→repo propagation chain and settings.toml symlink audit on Frank's dotfiles workstations"
+description: "Edit/verify Noctalia v5 bar layout and clock widgets (multi-timezone instances, capsule groups); GUI→repo propagation chain, settings.toml symlink audit, and clobber-recovery via dangling stashes on Frank's dotfiles workstations"
 ---
 
 # Noctalia v5 bar layout edit
@@ -17,9 +17,14 @@ Bar widget layout on Frank's noctalia v5 workstations is GUI-override state, not
 ## GUI→repo propagation (checkout-is-deployment)
 - `~/.config/noctalia/config.toml` is symlinked into the repo → GUI settings writes land in the repo working tree automatically.
 - `~/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml` can SILENTLY become a plain file (observed 2026-10-17; hardlink/symlink wiring decays) → GUI bar-layout changes then diverge from the repo with no signal. AUDIT: `readlink ~/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml` must print the repo path; if it's a plain file and repo copy is content-identical, re-arm: `ln -sfn <repo-path> <live-path>` + `noctalia config validate`.
-- Landing in the working tree ≠ propagated: other boxes only see it after commit + push to Gitea main. After GUI changes, check `git -C ~/.omp status` and commit (Noctalia's runtime churn — wallpaper path, nightlight, panel positions — rides along; normal).
+- Landing in the working tree ≠ propagated: other boxes only see it after commit + push to Gitea main. `live-sync.path` (PR #15; DirectoryNotEmpty on `dotfiles/`) commits dotfiles-tier writes within ~2 s once deployed — until it is active on a box, the hourly heartbeat leaves up to 59 min of exposure, and on 2026-10-18 exactly that window let a trunk-sync stash destroy months of GUI layout work. Until verified active (`systemctl --user status live-sync.path`), commit GUI layout edits the same session yourself. Noctalia's runtime churn (wallpaper path, nightlight, panel positions) rides along; normal.
 - niri has NO settings GUI; niri "GUI changes" don't exist, and `niri msg output ...` runtime overrides are not persisted. niri cfg mirror↔live links also decay (all inodes decoupled once) → audit by CONTENT: `diff` every `~/.config/niri/cfg/*.kdl` against its `dotfiles/zz-blankpad/niri/...` mirror, never trust links.
 
+## If the bar got wiped (recovery)
+- The working-tree file is often the ONLY copy of GUI work; a `git checkout`/stash/merge clobber is survivable because git objects outlive stash entries: `git fsck --lost-found`, inspect `git log -1 --format='%ci %s' <dangling>` (newest `WIP on` stash commits hold the last good settings.toml), dump with `git show <c>:dotfiles/noctalia/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml`.
+- Before restoring: back up the clobbered file to `.AGENTTRASH/`; validate the candidate in a sandbox (`XDG_CONFIG_HOME=… XDG_STATE_HOME=… noctalia config validate` — plugin-widget "unrecognized type" warnings there are offline-CLI blindness, not blockers); restore via `cp` onto the repo path (cp writes through the symlink; `mv` would replace it); prove visually with `noctalia msg screenshot-fullscreen`; commit immediately.
+- Cross-check the recovered layout against Frank's old screenshots in `~/Pictures/screenshot_*.png` (crop top ~7% with magick) — they are ground truth for what the bar should look like.
+
 ## Apply/verify loop (no restart, no reload IPC)
 1. Edit the repo `settings.toml`.
 2. `noctalia config validate` (checks merged layers; also `noctalia config export [full] | yq -p toml` to inspect effective values).
@@ -41,5 +46,5 @@ Bar widget layout on Frank's noctalia v5 workstations is GUI-override state, not
 
 ## Law
 - Full widget/setting tables: https://docs.noctalia.dev/noctalia/bar/ and .../bar/widgets/<name>/ . Commit bar changes atomically to the command-center repo (checkout is the deployment).
-- **Ask before applying.** Frank asks "how do I X" questions about the live bar; answer with the exact snippet + file, apply ONLY on explicit go. A settings.toml edit is a live-deployment change, not a demo.
+- **Ask before applying.** Frank asks "how do I X" questions about the live bar; answer with the exact snippet + file, apply ONLY on explicit go. A settings.toml edit is a live-deployment change, not a demo. (Exception: restoring Frank's own layout after data loss, on his ask.)
 - Git `M` on settings.toml usually carries noctalia's own runtime churn (wallpaper path, nightlight, panel positions) alongside your edit — mention it when committing.