# Runbook: LightRAG ingest LaunchAgent fix (MC #10286) ## Overview This runbook documents the investigation and fix applied to three LightRAG-related LaunchAgents on the ALAI Mac Studio host in MC #10286. The fix was validated by Proveo (Angie Jones) with a PARTIAL verdict: 3 PASS, 1 PARTIAL (AC3), 1 FAIL (AC4 — same-day unverifiable). CF Access root cause is tracked separately in MC #10298. --- ## 1. Symptom — How to Detect This Failure These signals indicate the `com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest` LaunchAgent is failing silently: - **Outbox file grows, doc count does not:** `wc -l ~/system/logs/mc-task-outcomes.jsonl` increases after each `mc.js done`, but `curl http://localhost:9621/documents | jq .total` stays flat over days. - **SQLite checkpoint stops advancing:** `sqlite3 ~/system/state/outbox-ingest.sqlite "SELECT MAX(ingested_at) FROM processed"` returns a timestamp from days ago. - **Watchdog calendar\_err alert:** Daemon-fleet-watchdog fires a `calendar_err_` alert for `com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest` or `com.john.lightrag-monitor`. - **HTTP 302 in error log:** `tail ~/system/logs/lightrag-outbox-ingest.err` shows 302 or redirect errors when posting to `https://lightrag.alai.no/documents/text`. - **PID column is "-" but daemon is not calendar-scheduled:** `launchctl list | grep lightrag` shows PID="-" with non-zero LastExitStatus for a timer-scheduled daemon (StartInterval) is abnormal; for calendar daemons it is normal between scheduled windows. --- ## 2. Root Cause The primary failure was in `com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest`: - The plist `LIGHTRAG_URL` environment variable was set to `https://lightrag.alai.no` (the public Cloudflare-proxied URL). - CF Access service token was returning HTTP 302 on `POST /documents/text` requests from the local host, causing all upload attempts to time out or silently fail. - LightRAG itself was healthy at `http://localhost:9621` — this is the correct direct URL for host-local callers. **Workaround applied:** Changed `LIGHTRAG_URL` to `http://localhost:9621` in the plist. The CF Access token 302 root cause (why the local host receives a redirect instead of being authorized) is tracked in **MC #10298** (priority: M). The other two daemons were not functionally broken: - `com.alai.lightrag-backup`: Calendar Sunday-only schedule. PID="-" between fires is launchd-normal. LastExitStatus=0. No defect. - `com.john.lightrag-monitor`: exit 256 = bash exit 1 = warnings-only state (Ollama route 302, SSH not configured). These are pre-existing infrastructure gaps, not failures. The script exits 1 to flag warnings; this is by design. --- ## 3. Fix Procedure **Preconditions:** You have shell access to the Mac Studio host. LightRAG is running locally on port 9621. ### Step 1: Verify current plist URL ``` grep -A1 "LIGHTRAG_URL" ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest.plist ``` If the value is `https://lightrag.alai.no`, proceed. If already `http://localhost:9621`, skip to Step 4. ### Step 2: Edit the plist ``` # Open in editor — change the LIGHTRAG_URL string value: # FROM: https://lightrag.alai.no # TO: http://localhost:9621 nano ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest.plist ``` The relevant section in the plist: ``` LIGHTRAG_URLhttp://localhost:9621 ``` ### Step 3: Unload all 3 lightrag plists ``` launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest.plist launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-backup.plist launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.john.lightrag-monitor.plist ``` ### Step 4: Reload all 3 lightrag plists ``` launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest.plist launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-backup.plist launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.john.lightrag-monitor.plist ``` ### Step 5: Drain the outbox manually (if backlog exists) ``` node ~/system/tools/lightrag-outbox-ingest.js ``` The script is idempotent — it uses `outbox-ingest.sqlite` with `correlation_id` as PRIMARY KEY dedup gate. Running it multiple times is safe. Expected output when backlog is cleared: `processed: 0, skipped: N, failed: 0`. ### Step 6: Kickstart the ingest daemon to verify immediate fire ``` launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest ``` Check the log immediately after: ``` tail -20 ~/system/logs/lightrag-outbox-ingest.log ``` Expected: A `[ingest] DONE` line with exit success. ### Step 7: Confirm watchdog detects healthy state ``` bash ~/bin/daemon-fleet-watchdog.sh 2>&1 | grep lightrag ``` Expected: All 3 labels in `calendar_ok` or `calendar_ok` state. No `calendar_err_*` or `not_loaded` transitions. --- ## 4. Verification Commands ``` # 1. All 3 plists loaded with LastExitStatus=0 launchctl list | grep lightrag # 2. Checkpoint DB row count (should match mc-task-outcomes.jsonl line count) sqlite3 ~/system/state/outbox-ingest.sqlite "SELECT count(*) FROM processed" # 3. Most recent ingest timestamp sqlite3 ~/system/state/outbox-ingest.sqlite "SELECT MAX(ingested_at) FROM processed" # 4. LightRAG pipeline health curl http://localhost:9621/documents/pipeline_status # 5. LightRAG document total count curl http://localhost:9621/documents | jq .total # 6. Outbox log last run summary grep "DONE" ~/system/logs/lightrag-outbox-ingest.log | tail -5 # 7. Watchdog recent transitions for lightrag grep lightrag ~/system/logs/daemon-fleet-watchdog.log | tail -20 ``` --- ## 5. Known Limitations - **AC4 cannot be verified same-day:** `com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest` fires on `StartInterval=21600` (6 hours). Verifying that launchd autonomously fires the next scheduled cycle requires waiting at least 6 hours after the kickstart. Same-day verification only demonstrates manual-kickstart success. Rely on the daemon-fleet-watchdog for ongoing health monitoring. - **Log timestamps absent:** `lightrag-outbox-ingest.js` does not emit timestamps to its log file. This makes it impossible to distinguish manually-triggered runs from launchd-autonomous fires in the log tail. Consider adding `console.log(new Date().toISOString())` at script start (MC #10298 or a follow-up TD). - **CF Access 302 root cause unresolved:** The public URL `https://lightrag.alai.no` still returns HTTP 302 for host-local service token requests. The localhost bypass is a workaround. If the CF tunnel configuration changes or localhost:9621 changes port, the plist must be updated again. See MC #10298 for the proper fix. - **com.john.lightrag-monitor DRAFT comment:** The plist still contains a stale "DRAFT — pending Alem approval" comment referencing MC #8545. The daemon IS installed and running. This comment is cosmetic noise but should be cleaned up. - **AC3 drain was incremental, not single-session:** The 312-entry outbox was drained incrementally across multiple sessions starting 2026-04-17. Any future outbox drain may similarly require multiple passes if entries arrive between runs. --- ## 6. Watchdog Coverage The daemon-fleet-watchdog at `~/bin/daemon-fleet-watchdog.sh` covers all 3 LightRAG plists via its glob at line 39: ``` for plist in "$HOME"/Library/LaunchAgents/com.{alai,john}.*.plist ``` This glob automatically includes any new LightRAG LaunchAgents matching the pattern without code changes. The watchdog runs every 15 minutes via `com.alai.daemon-fleet-watchdog`. Alert states to watch for: - `calendar_err_256` — daemon exits with code 1 (warnings/errors) - `calendar_err_512` — daemon exits with code 2 (script error) - `not_loaded` — plist unloaded from launchd (critical) Healthy state: `calendar_ok` (LastExitStatus=0, plist loaded) --- ## 7. Related MCs
MCTitleStatusNotes
**\#10286**Fix LightRAG ingest LaunchAgents — drain 312 outbox + add watchdogDONE (PARTIAL verify)This fix. Delivered by Kelsey Hightower. Proveo: 3 PASS, 1 PARTIAL, 1 FAIL.
**\#10298**CF Access service token 302 root cause investigationOPEN (priority: M)Why does https://lightrag.alai.no return 302 for local host? Should resolve the need for the localhost bypass.
--- ## 8. Evidence Links - Proveo full report: `/tmp/postflight-10286/proveo-report.md` - Proveo JSON: `/tmp/proveo-10286-1777555315.json` - Watchdog glob source: `~/bin/daemon-fleet-watchdog.sh:39` - Plist (fixed): `~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.alai.lightrag-outbox-ingest.plist` — LIGHTRAG\_URL=http://localhost:9621 - Checkpoint DB: `~/system/state/outbox-ingest.sqlite` — 312 rows as of 2026-04-30 - Ingest log: `~/system/logs/lightrag-outbox-ingest.log` — 6286 lines, multi-session history since 2026-04-17 - Watchdog log transitions: `~/system/logs/daemon-fleet-watchdog.log` — 12:33:44Z calendar\_ok→not\_loaded, 12:44:21Z not\_loaded→calendar\_ok