Files
command-center/agent/managed-skills/niri-monitor-flap-refresh-triage/SKILL.md
T
Frank 8af40c402b chore(agent): commit the machine tier and the doctrine text the checkout was already running
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
2026-10-21 01:44:51 -07:00

4.1 KiB

name, description
name description
niri-monitor-flap-refresh-triage 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.

niri monitor triage: flaps, phantom modes, 60 Hz fallback

Frank's reaction to a broken display is immediate and loud; the fix must never log him out. Box: blankpad (Cezanne APU, card1, s2idle only), compositor niri --session as a user unit.

Step 1 — separate three different diseases (do this before touching anything)

niri msg outputs                          # name, mode, position, full mode list per output
for c in /sys/class/drm/card*-*/status; do echo "$(basename $(dirname $c)) $(cat $c)"; done
systemctl --user show niri.service -p ExecMainStartTimestamp -p NRestarts   # did niri restart?
journalctl --user -b --no-pager | grep -iE 'disconnecting connector|new connector|Page flip commit failed|DMCUB|falling back to preferred'
journalctl -k -b --no-pager  | grep -iE 'amdgpu|PM: suspend exit|\*ERROR\*'

Reading it:

  • disconnecting connector: "X" then new connector: X → link-level drop (cable/dock/monitor/driver). Count them: grep -c 'disconnecting connector'.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Step 2 — the phantom-mode trap (niri fails soft, so it looks like hardware)

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.

Compare the requested mode against the panel's real list:

niri msg outputs | sed -n '/<monitor name>/,/^$/p' | grep -E '^\s+[0-9]+'

Step 3 — apply the mode WITHOUT a config reload (the no-logout path)

niri msg output "<EDID output name from niri msg outputs>" mode "WxH@refresh"
niri msg outputs | grep -A1 '<monitor>'      # confirm the new mode
pgrep -c niri                                # compositor still alive, same PID

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.

Step 4 — persist, and check you edited the file that is actually live

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:

ls -l ~/.config/niri/cfg/display.kdl          # -> desk-1-home.kdl
grep -n '239\|180' ~/.config/niri/cfg/display.kdl   # prove YOUR edit is in the live chain
niri validate                                  # parses the live config; touches nothing

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.

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.

Escalate honestly

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.