Frank
8af40c402b
Landing blocker for #61 and #63: the deployment checkout is 12 commits behind and `merge --ff-only` refuses while tracked paths are dirty. Discard is not available here (workspace policy: no `checkout`/`stash` on shared state), so the dirt is committed. - `agent/APPEND_SYSTEM.md`: the point-of-use / one-work-log / PR-link doctrine, already byte-identical to `origin/main` (`cmp` against the trunk blob: no difference). No new prose — the commit exists so the trunk merge can proceed. - `agent/config.yml` and `agent/managed-skills/**`: the machine-live tier the heartbeat owns (AGENTS.md § Live-sync tiers). `ALLOW_SECRETS=1` was used, deliberately and after auditing the staged diff by hand: the only credential-shaped strings in it are two copies of `AKIA0000000000000EXAMPLE` — the inert all-zero AWS example id — and they appear inside the two skill pages that teach that exact placeholder shape. This checkout is still running the pre-#61 hook; the merged gate (value-scoped placeholder filter, `71601f7`) exempts this value, so the refusal dies with this landing. No `--no-verify` was used: the gate ran and its verdict is recorded here. Refs #61
65 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
65 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: niri-monitor-flap-refresh-triage
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description: "Diagnose niri/amdgpu monitor failures on blankpad — panel dropping, wrong refresh rate, black/flickering output — and fix the refresh without reloading the compositor or logging Frank out."
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---
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# niri monitor triage: flaps, phantom modes, 60 Hz fallback
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Frank's reaction to a broken display is immediate and loud; the fix must never log him out.
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Box: `blankpad` (Cezanne APU, `card1`, s2idle only), compositor `niri --session` as a user unit.
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## Step 1 — separate three different diseases (do this before touching anything)
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```bash
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niri msg outputs # name, mode, position, full mode list per output
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for c in /sys/class/drm/card*-*/status; do echo "$(basename $(dirname $c)) $(cat $c)"; done
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systemctl --user show niri.service -p ExecMainStartTimestamp -p NRestarts # did niri restart?
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journalctl --user -b --no-pager | grep -iE 'disconnecting connector|new connector|Page flip commit failed|DMCUB|falling back to preferred'
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journalctl -k -b --no-pager | grep -iE 'amdgpu|PM: suspend exit|\*ERROR\*'
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```
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Reading it:
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- `disconnecting connector: "X"` then `new connector: X` → **link-level drop** (cable/dock/monitor/driver). Count them: `grep -c 'disconnecting connector'`.
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- `Page flip commit failed … EINVAL` bursts + kernel `dc_dmub_srv_log_diagnostic_data: DMCUB error` right after `PM: suspend exit` → **amdgpu display-engine state broken by s2idle resume**. Only a reboot clears it; never reboot without an explicit per-run OK.
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- `configured mode M could not be found, falling back to preferred` → **config asks for a mode the panel does not offer**; the panel silently runs at EDID-preferred (usually 60 Hz). This is the one you can fix instantly.
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- Config mtimes older than the symptom + no `niri` restart ⇒ the config did not cause it. Say so explicitly; agents get blamed for display problems they didn't cause.
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## Step 2 — the phantom-mode trap (niri fails soft, so it looks like hardware)
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`output { mode "…" }` with a refresh the EDID never advertised does **not** error. niri logs a WARN and drops to `preferred` on every connect → janky 60 Hz ultrawide, blamed on the monitor.
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Compare the requested mode against the panel's real list:
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```bash
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niri msg outputs | sed -n '/<monitor name>/,/^$/p' | grep -E '^\s+[0-9]+'
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```
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## Step 3 — apply the mode WITHOUT a config reload (the no-logout path)
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```bash
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niri msg output "<EDID output name from niri msg outputs>" mode "WxH@refresh"
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niri msg outputs | grep -A1 '<monitor>' # confirm the new mode
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pgrep -c niri # compositor still alive, same PID
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```
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`niri msg output …` is documented as temporary ("not saved into the config file") — it changes one output and cannot log the session out. Avoid `niri action reload-config` when Frank is working: it reloads his whole config.
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## Step 4 — persist, and check you edited the file that is actually live
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Live niri config is a symlink chain: `~/.config/niri/config.kdl` → `cfg/display.kdl` → `cfg/desk-<profile>.kdl`, and `cfg/desk-*.kdl` are symlinks into the repo:
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```bash
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ls -l ~/.config/niri/cfg/display.kdl # -> desk-1-home.kdl
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grep -n '239\|180' ~/.config/niri/cfg/display.kdl # prove YOUR edit is in the live chain
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niri validate # parses the live config; touches nothing
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```
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`dotfiles/` is on the `live-sync.sh` heartbeat allowlist, so an edited tracked dotfile stays dirty until the hourly heartbeat commits it — that is the designed state, do not commit it on `main` yourself.
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Desk config law (its own header): panels keyed by **EDID identity**, not connector name — but connector-keyed leftovers (`DP-1`, `DP-2`) survive in `desk-1-home.kdl`, and a reconnect that comes back without an EDID string hits those instead. Align them to the same mode, or a flap silently changes your refresh rate.
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## Escalate honestly
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Reboot clears DMCUB/EINVAL state → schedule it, don't take it. Persistent drops after a reboot → cable / dock / monitor DP-version setting, i.e. hardware, not config. Report which of the three diseases you found and which you did **not** fix.
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