[Terminology] Clarify worker vs service vs daemon naming

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2026-03-25 03:42:16 +00:00

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Problem

Multiple components use inconsistent terminology that confuses the ephemeral worker model:

Current Confusions

1. "Daemon" terminology for workers

Files affected:

capabilities/_nerve/node_deploy/run.py:129 - "Start mesh worker daemon"
tools/mesh_node_deployer/tool.py:131,257 - "start_daemon" steps
docker/mesh_node.py:3 - "Mesh infrastructure node daemon"

Issue: Workers are ephemeral, not daemons. Daemons imply long-running background processes.

Fix: Use "worker process" or just "worker" instead of "daemon".

2. "Service" terminology mixed with workers

Files affected:

runtime/auto_scaler.py:1 - "Auto-scaler service"
runtime/worker_registry.py:5 - "Centralized service for:"
capabilities/deployment_manager.py - Multiple "service" references
substrate/tailnet_discovery.py - "run_daemon()" for discovery

Issue: "Service" implies a standing component, not ephemeral execution.

Clarification needed:

Infrastructure components (auto-scaler, discovery, registry) ARE services/daemons
Ephemeral workers are NOT services
Need clear distinction in naming

3. Worker lifecycle state confusion

Files affected:

substrate/ledger.py:195 - WorkerInstance state includes "spawned"
capabilities/_muscle/worker_factory/run.py - Multiple comments about "NO SPAWNING"

Issue: The term "spawn" is used for both:

Factory defining workers (not actually spawning OS processes)
Actual OS process creation

Proposed Resolution

Terminology Standard

Infrastructure (Long-running):

"service" - Mesh infrastructure component (registry, discovery, etc.)
"daemon" - Long-running background process (only for infrastructure)

Execution (Ephemeral):

"worker" - Ephemeral execution unit
"process" - OS-level process (when technical)
"instance" - Running occurrence of a worker
"spawn" - Create OS process (not factory definition)

Actions Needed

Rename "daemon" to "process" in node_deploy contexts
Clarify which components are services vs workers
Standardize "spawn" to mean OS process creation only
Update comments and documentation

worker_factory explicitly states: "FACTORY INVARIANT: worker_factory DOES NOT spawn workers"
Workers are ephemeral per mesh paradigm
Only infrastructure can be long-running services

## Problem Multiple components use inconsistent terminology that confuses the ephemeral worker model: ## Current Confusions ### 1. "Daemon" terminology for workers **Files affected:** - `capabilities/_nerve/node_deploy/run.py:129` - "Start mesh worker daemon" - `tools/mesh_node_deployer/tool.py:131,257` - "start_daemon" steps - `docker/mesh_node.py:3` - "Mesh infrastructure node daemon" **Issue:** Workers are ephemeral, not daemons. Daemons imply long-running background processes. **Fix:** Use "worker process" or just "worker" instead of "daemon". ### 2. "Service" terminology mixed with workers **Files affected:** - `runtime/auto_scaler.py:1` - "Auto-scaler service" - `runtime/worker_registry.py:5` - "Centralized service for:" - `capabilities/deployment_manager.py` - Multiple "service" references - `substrate/tailnet_discovery.py` - "run_daemon()" for discovery **Issue:** "Service" implies a standing component, not ephemeral execution. **Clarification needed:** - Infrastructure components (auto-scaler, discovery, registry) ARE services/daemons - Ephemeral workers are NOT services - Need clear distinction in naming ### 3. Worker lifecycle state confusion **Files affected:** - `substrate/ledger.py:195` - WorkerInstance state includes "spawned" - `capabilities/_muscle/worker_factory/run.py` - Multiple comments about "NO SPAWNING" **Issue:** The term "spawn" is used for both: - Factory defining workers (not actually spawning OS processes) - Actual OS process creation ## Proposed Resolution ### Terminology Standard **Infrastructure (Long-running):** - "service" - Mesh infrastructure component (registry, discovery, etc.) - "daemon" - Long-running background process (only for infrastructure) **Execution (Ephemeral):** - "worker" - Ephemeral execution unit - "process" - OS-level process (when technical) - "instance" - Running occurrence of a worker - "spawn" - Create OS process (not factory definition) ### Actions Needed 1. Rename "daemon" to "process" in node_deploy contexts 2. Clarify which components are services vs workers 3. Standardize "spawn" to mean OS process creation only 4. Update comments and documentation ## Related - worker_factory explicitly states: "FACTORY INVARIANT: worker_factory DOES NOT spawn workers" - Workers are ephemeral per mesh paradigm - Only infrastructure can be long-running services

Mark referenced this issue

2026-04-11 01:22:26 +00:00

META: Reopened / Improperly Implemented Issues #122

Mark referenced this issue from a commit

2026-04-19 16:33:53 +00:00

feat: Complete Issues #58, #59, #60, #70, #71, #72

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Mark commented

2026-05-15 22:24:05 +00:00

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Ops Pipeline — ❌ Failed

Issue: #60 — [Terminology] Clarify worker vs service vs daemon naming
Host: localhost
Research: See execution output below

Execution

[cmd] -# Start tailnet discovery service\npython substrate/tailnet_discovery.py --service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: -#: invalid option
Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ...
bash [GNU long option] [option]
[cmd] +# Start tailnet discovery service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: +#: invalid option
Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ...
bash [GNU long option] [option]
[cmd] +python substrate/tailnet_discovery.py --service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: +y: invalid option
Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ...
bash [GNU long option] [option]
[cmd] ┊ review diff: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: ┊: command not found
[cmd] a//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/docs/reference/DEPLOYMENT_RUNBOOK.md → b//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/doc: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: a//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/docs/reference/DEPLOYMENT_RUNBOOK.md: No such file or dir
[cmd] @@ -113,13 +113,15 @@: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: @@: command not found
[cmd] python evolution/model_analysis.py --weekly: exit=2: | stderr: python: can't open file '/home/b/evolution/model_analysis.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory
[cmd] cd ~/Projects/mesh-seed: exit=0:
[cmd] git diff --stat # Should show 5 files changed, ~28 insertions, ~26 deletions: exit=129: | stderr: warning: Not a git repository. Use --no-index to compare two paths outside a working tree
usage: git
[cmd] pytest tests/ -x -q --timeout=60 2>/dev/null | tail -5: exit=0:

Verification

All 2 execution blocks had failures

Verification failed. Marked for retry.

## Ops Pipeline — ❌ Failed **Issue:** #60 — [Terminology] Clarify worker vs service vs daemon naming **Host:** localhost **Research:** See execution output below ### Execution - [cmd] -# Start tailnet discovery service\npython substrate/tailnet_discovery.py --service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: -#: invalid option Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ... bash [GNU long option] [option] - [cmd] +# Start tailnet discovery service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: +#: invalid option Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ... bash [GNU long option] [option] - [cmd] +python substrate/tailnet_discovery.py --service: exit=2: | stderr: bash: +y: invalid option Usage: bash [GNU long option] [option] ... bash [GNU long option] [option] - [cmd] ┊ review diff: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: ┊: command not found - [cmd] a//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/docs/reference/DEPLOYMENT_RUNBOOK.md → b//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/doc: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: a//home/b/Projects/mesh-seed/docs/reference/DEPLOYMENT_RUNBOOK.md: No such file or dir - [cmd] @@ -113,13 +113,15 @@: exit=127: | stderr: bash: line 1: @@: command not found - [cmd] python evolution/model_analysis.py --weekly: exit=2: | stderr: python: can't open file '/home/b/evolution/model_analysis.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory - [cmd] cd ~/Projects/mesh-seed: exit=0: - [cmd] git diff --stat # Should show 5 files changed, ~28 insertions, ~26 deletions: exit=129: | stderr: warning: Not a git repository. Use --no-index to compare two paths outside a working tree usage: git - [cmd] pytest tests/ -x -q --timeout=60 2>/dev/null | tail -5: exit=0: ### Verification ``` All 2 execution blocks had failures ``` **Verification failed.** Marked for retry.

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Mark commented

2026-05-20 18:45:25 +00:00

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Ops Pipeline — Not an Ops Task

This issue was labeled ops-task but doesn't appear to be an operations task. It has been returned to feature triage for proper routing.

Research analysis:
IS_OPS: NO
HOST: localhost
STATUS: NOT_OPS
EVIDENCE: This issue is about text replacements across documentation, CLI help strings, and code comments — renaming "daemon" to "process", clarifying "service" vs "worker" terminology, and fixing "spawn" usage. There's not a single installation, config change, deployment, API call, service restart, SSH command, or infrastructure action required. It's a pure naming/documentation refactor.

PROCEDURE: N/A — not an ops task. This would belong in feature triage as a codebase-wide find-and-replace/refactor issue. The operations to be done are sed/patch calls against source files for string replacements, plus reviewing each site for semantic correctness. No operational commands.

VERIFY: N/A

RISKS: N/A

## Ops Pipeline — Not an Ops Task This issue was labeled `ops-task` but doesn't appear to be an operations task. It has been returned to feature triage for proper routing. **Research analysis:** IS_OPS: NO HOST: localhost STATUS: NOT_OPS EVIDENCE: This issue is about text replacements across documentation, CLI help strings, and code comments — renaming "daemon" to "process", clarifying "service" vs "worker" terminology, and fixing "spawn" usage. There's not a single installation, config change, deployment, API call, service restart, SSH command, or infrastructure action required. It's a pure naming/documentation refactor. PROCEDURE: N/A — not an ops task. This would belong in feature triage as a codebase-wide find-and-replace/refactor issue. The operations to be done are `sed`/`patch` calls against source files for string replacements, plus reviewing each site for semantic correctness. No operational commands. VERIFY: N/A RISKS: N/A

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