feat(consciousness): timer/autonomic integration and stall detection (BRO-457)

[broomva]

Summary

• Add AutonomicSignal { ruling } variant to ConsciousnessEvent for receiving context-pressure rulings from the autonomic subsystem
• Implement handle_autonomic_signal() that sets needs_compaction flag on Compress/Emergency rulings, which injects [Context pressure: compact] into the next agent cycle's system prompt
• Add stall detection in run_agent_cycle: tracks events_emitted across iterations, breaks after 3 consecutive no-progress ticks, emits consciousness.stall_detected Custom event
• Add stall_counter and needs_compaction fields to ConsciousnessState
• Two new integration tests: stall_detection_breaks_stuck_loop and autonomic_signal_sets_compaction_flag

Test plan

• cargo check -p arcand passes
• cargo clippy -p arcand passes (zero warnings)
• cargo test -p arcand passes (70 tests: 51 unit + 10 canonical API + 9 consciousness)
• cargo test --workspace passes (full workspace)
• New test stall_detection_breaks_stuck_loop verifies actor completes without hanging
• New test autonomic_signal_sets_compaction_flag verifies signal processing without mode change

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • Added stall detection that automatically breaks execution loops when no progress is detected.
  • Introduced autonomic signals to trigger context optimization when needed.
  • System prompt now dynamically adapts based on context pressure.

• Tests

  • Added integration tests for stall detection and signal handling.

[linear]

BRO-457 Phase 3: Timer, Autonomic integration, and idle management

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

Pull request was closed or merged during review

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR extends the consciousness actor with two new capabilities: an AutonomicSignal event for triggering compaction behavior, and a stall detection mechanism that monitors event emission in the agent execute loop. When stalls are detected, the system emits a custom event and breaks the cycle early. The compaction flag is conditionally appended to the system prompt when triggered.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Stall Detection & Autonomic Signal Handling crates/arcand/src/consciousness.rs	Added AutonomicSignal { ruling: String } event variant. Extended ConsciousnessState with stall_counter and needs_compaction fields. Implemented stall detection in agent execute loop by tracking events_emitted changes; if no change detected for 3 consecutive iterations, cycle breaks and emits a Custom external event. When needs_compaction is set, "[Context pressure: compact]" is appended to system prompt before calling tick_on_branch.
Feature Integration Tests crates/arcand/tests/consciousness_test.rs	Added stall_detection_breaks_stuck_loop test verifying the actor returns to Idle after detecting and breaking a stall. Added autonomic_signal_sets_compaction_flag test sending AutonomicSignal events with "Compress" and "Breathe" rulings and verifying actor state remains Idle.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• feat(consciousness): core actor loop for event-driven sessions (BRO-455) #49: Introduces the consciousness actor framework that this PR directly extends with new stall detection and autonomic signal handling capabilities.

Poem

🐰 A consciousness awakens with a signal so clear,
When cycles grow sticky and nothing moves here,
Three ticks with no progress? Time to break free!
Compress the context, breathe naturally,
The rabbit detects what was once unseen. ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 3

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title directly and accurately describes the main changes: adding timer/autonomic integration and stall detection to the consciousness system, with clear reference to the tracking issue.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch feature/bro-457-timer-autonomic-stall

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}