tractor/ai/conc-anal/ria_nursery_removal_plan.md

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# `_ria_nursery` removal plan (issue #477 follow-up)
Goal: drop the secondary "run-in-actor" spawn nursery (and
friends) from `ActorNursery`/spawn internals, now that
`tractor.to_actor.run()` delivers one-shot semantics purely on
the daemon-spawn + portal primitives.
## Verified machinery map (2026-07-02, wkt @ a34aaf98)
The entire mechanism is 4 files:
- `runtime/_supervise.py`
- `ActorNursery.__init__(.., ria_nursery, ..)` stores
`._ria_nursery` (:202, :238); sole read is
`run_in_actor()` passing `nursery=self._ria_nursery`
(:442) into `start_actor()`'s `nursery:
trio.Nursery|None` escape-hatch param (:305, :367).
- `._cancel_after_result_on_exit: set` (:244) marks ria
portals (:457).
- `_open_and_supervise_one_cancels_all_nursery()` nests
`da_nursery` (:609) around `ria_nursery` (:622); the
`finally:` at the ria->da boundary (:747-766) raises
collected `errors` (single exc or BEG).
- `runtime/_portal.py`
- `._expect_result_ctx` (:112) set by `_submit_for_result()`
(:142, sole caller `run_in_actor()`); consumed by
`wait_for_result()` (:167) + deprecated `result()` (:220).
The `None` branch (:184-196) returns the `NoResult`
sentinel (`_exceptions.py:1164`).
- `spawn/_spawn.py`
- `exhaust_portal()` (:129): awaits
`portal.wait_for_result()`, CATCHES+RETURNS any exc
(never raises).
- `cancel_on_completion()` (:177): `exhaust_portal()` ->
on exc-result stash `errors[uid] = result` (:203) ->
ALWAYS `portal.cancel_actor()` (:218).
- `spawn/_trio.py` (:195-222) + `spawn/_mp.py` (:187-213),
identical shape: after shielded
`await an._join_procs.wait()`, open a per-child local
nursery; IFF `portal in an._cancel_after_result_on_exit`
start `cancel_on_completion` alongside `soft_kill()`; when
`soft_kill` returns first, `nursery.cancel_scope.cancel()`
reaps the result-waiter.
## The load-bearing semantic (already-deferred errors)
Remote ria-child errors NEVER raise into `ria_nursery`:
1. reaper tasks only START after `_join_procs.set()` (block
exit or the inner error handler),
2. `exhaust_portal` swallows the exc into a return value,
3. `cancel_on_completion` stashes it in `errors` + cancels
that child,
4. the ria->da `finally:` re-raises collected `errors` (and
`an.cancel()`s any daemon stragglers).
So mid-block there is NO error propagation from ria children
(unless user code explicitly `await portal.wait_for_result()`s)
— the two-nursery nesting only sequences "reap ria results
BEFORE blocking on daemon join". A single-nursery impl only
needs to preserve that sequencing, not any ASAP-cancel
behavior.
## Target design
### step A: single-nursery `run_in_actor()` (mechanical)
- `run_in_actor()` spawns via the DEFAULT (`_da_nursery`)
path — drop `nursery=self._ria_nursery`.
- rename `._cancel_after_result_on_exit` ->
`._ria_portals: dict[portal, Actor]` (need the subactor ref
for `cancel_on_completion`).
- move reaper start-up OUT of the backends into
`_open_and_supervise...`: immediately after EACH
`an._join_procs.set()` call-site (happy path :642, inner
error handler :661), start one
`cancel_on_completion(portal, subactor, errors)` task per
ria portal into `da_nursery`, then (happy path only)
`await` their completion BEFORE falling out of the
`try:`/`finally:` that raises `errors` — e.g. gather in a
dedicated inner `trio.open_nursery()` block replacing
today's `ria_nursery` join point.
- delete the membership branch + local reaper nursery from
`_trio.py`/`_mp.py` (keep the `soft_kill()` call; the
per-child local nursery collapses to just `soft_kill`).
- `_trio.py:310` `_children.pop()` etc. unchanged.
### step B: delete the plumbing
- `_open_and_supervise...`: drop the inner
`ria_nursery` + merge its `except BaseException` classify
logic into ONE handler on the (now single) nursery scope;
`ActorNursery.__init__` loses the `ria_nursery` param.
- `start_actor()` loses the `nursery:` escape-hatch param
(the :302-304 TODO).
- backends: no more `_cancel_after_result_on_exit` refs.
### step C: (separate PRs) deprecate + migrate + excise
- migrate in-repo `.run_in_actor()` usage to
`to_actor.run()`: tests 46 hits/9 files (test_cancellation
15, test_infected_asyncio 10, test_spawning 8, registrar 3,
adv_streaming 4, pubsub 2, rpc 1, runtime 1), examples 28
hits/13 files (debugging/* dominate), docs 20 hits/8 rst
files. NOTE: many sites also use deprecated
`Portal.result()`/`wait_for_result()` — these die with
`_expect_result_ctx`, so migration must land FIRST.
- add `DeprecationWarning` to `run_in_actor()` (+
`_submit_for_result`/`wait_for_result`).
- final excision: `run_in_actor()`, `_submit_for_result`,
`_expect_result_ctx`, `wait_for_result`/`result`,
`exhaust_portal`, `cancel_on_completion`, `NoResult`.
## Risk register
1. hard-killed ria child: today the backend-local
`nursery.cancel_scope.cancel()` discards a still-parked
reaper when the proc dies first; a da_nursery-hosted
reaper instead sees the transport break ->
`exhaust_portal` returns a `TransportClosed`-ish exc ->
NEW entry in `errors` that today gets discarded. Guard:
reap-gather block must cancel remaining reapers once all
ria procs are dead, or filter transport-death excs for
already-`cancel_called` children.
2. error-path ordering: inner handler today sets
`_join_procs` THEN `an.cancel()`; reapers race the
cancel-RPC. Keep that ordering when moving reaper spawn.
3. debugger interplay: `maybe_wait_for_debugger()` calls
(:654, :730) must stay BEFORE any reap/cancel issuance.
4. `errors` double-entry: local body error (:646) + child's
relayed exc (via reaper) can both land for the same
scenario -> BEG shape changes vs today? (today has the
same dual-write sites; keep behavior identical.)
5. mp backend parity: mirror every `_trio.py` edit in
`_mp.py` (identical block).
## Step-A first-probe findings (2026-07-02, WIP in tree)
Step A is IMPLEMENTED (uncommitted):
`run_in_actor()` spawns via da_nursery; new
`_supervise._reap_ria_portals()` helper; reap awaited after
happy-path `_join_procs.set()`; error-path runs reap
CONCURRENT with `an.cancel()` in the shielded block;
backends stripped of the membership branch + per-child
reaper nursery (+ dead imports).
Probe history (trio backend):
- `tests/test_to_actor.py` + `tests/test_spawning.py`:
20/20 PASS — incl. all `run_in_actor()` result
round-trips + `test_remote_error` (single erroring child,
body re-raise -> inner error path).
- FIRST attempt ran the error-path reap CONCURRENT with
`an.cancel()` (mimicking the old backend-side race):
`test_cancellation.py::test_multierror` (2 erroring ria
children, body re-raises one) DEADLOCKED. Root cause per
the sequencing fix below: reap + cancel must NOT race at
this layer (suspected `._children` pop-during-iteration
and/or double-cancel RPC wedge; not fully root-caused
since the fix removes the race wholesale).
- FIX (2nd attempt, current impl): error path SEQUENCES:
(1) snapshot ria `(portal, subactor)` pairs (backend
`finally`s pop `._children` as procs reap), (2)
`await an.cancel()`, (3) bounded reap over the snapshot.
Bound was first 3s -> blew the `fail_after` deadline in
`test_cancel_while_childs_child_in_sync_sleep` (hard-
killed grandchild never relays => reaper parks the full
bound). Tightened to 0.5s: anything collectable is
already queued in the local ctx (relayed BEFORE the
cancel); a parked reaper self-cleans (`trio.Cancelled`
results are never stashed).
- RESULT: `tests/test_cancellation.py` FULLY GREEN
(20 passed, 1 xfailed, 77s); full-suite gate run kicked
off same session (see final report/next session).
Remaining risk: on slow CI a relayed-but-undelivered error
racing the 0.5s bound could drop an `errors` entry
(BEG-shape flake); if observed, scale the bound via the
`cpu_perf_headroom()`-style approach or peek
`Portal._final_result_msg`/ctx queue state instead of
time-bounding.
## Verification gate
- `tests/test_cancellation.py test_spawning.py test_local.py
test_rpc.py` on `trio` + `mp_spawn` + `mp_forkserver`
backends, then full suite; `tests/devx/test_debugger.py`
for risk 3.