Native worker poll responses omit the protocol_version body field #1001

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1. rmcdaniel

   added

   kind:defectA public product behavior is incorrectA public product behavior is incorrect

   on Nov 3, 2026
2. rmcdaniel commented on Nov 3, 2026

   

   rmcdaniel

   on Nov 3, 2026

   MemberAuthor

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   Triage (Server). This is a confirmed defect against the documented contract.

   Contract

   • docs/server-reference.md:911-914: "worker-plane responses always echo the server's advertised version in the same header plus the protocol_version body field."
   • PHP enforces this centrally. app/Support/WorkerProtocol.php:760-770, WorkerProtocol::json, does $payload['protocol_version'] ??= $version; $payload['server_capabilities'] ??= … on every worker response, so no endpoint can omit it.

   Native cause (3.0.5, bc24589d)

   • The worker middleware (rust/src/runtime/http.rs:691-697) adds only the X-Durable-Workflow-Protocol-Version header to every worker-plane response. Each handler adds the body field itself.
   • Error paths (admission_error, worker_response, the guard refusals) do add it. The successful workflow-task poll responses don't:
     • rust/src/runtime/store.rs:2003, {"task", "poll_status": "leased", "server_capabilities"};
     • :2041, the empty poll.
   • Other worker-plane success bodies may have the same gap. That's why a per-endpoint patch is the wrong shape.

   Proposed fix

   • Mirror PHP's central rule in the worker middleware. For a worker-plane JSON object response, set protocol_version and server_capabilities only when absent (??= semantics), so existing endpoint values are untouched.
   • Read the body with a bound. Non-JSON and non-object bodies pass through unchanged.
   • Tests:
     • a route sweep over every worker-plane endpoint's success, empty and refusal shapes, asserting that body and header agree;
     • a regression for poll with a task and empty poll;
     • a counterfactual against 3.0.5's middleware.
   • Installed check: dw workflow-task:poll 2.3.3 against the fixed image.

   Impact

   • The published SDKs aren't affected. Installed acceptance of PHP, Python and Rust against native passed, and they don't require the body field.
   • What breaks is the published CLI's raw worker-protocol commands, such as dw workflow-task:poll 2.3.3, which check both the header and the body.

   Release: recommendation and decision are with General in chat. The fix is small. 3.1.0 is the natural home, because main now carries 3.1.0 work (#978). A 3.0.6 would need a release branch from bc24589d.
3. rmcdaniel

   closed this as completedin #1003on Nov 4, 2026