fix(pm): every patrol anchor states the cadence that makes a stalled Swept line decidable

.github/workflows/platform-checklist-watchdog.yml

@@ -48,11 +48,18 @@ name: Platform-Checklist Watchdog
 # directions:
 #
 #   * Their heartbeat is what tells a reader the patrol is still alive — a
-#     `Swept` timestamp that stops advancing is how a dead caller is noticed.
-#     This workflow has no such tell, so a silent death here reads exactly like
-#     a clean checklist. What stands in for it: this job goes RED (and the
-#     Actions run list shows it) whenever the gate could not run or the report
-#     could not be delivered, and the run history itself is the record.
+#     `Swept` timestamp that stops advancing past the cadence the same line
+#     states is how a dead caller is noticed (#17720: the cadence is rendered
+#     because 「stalled」 is undecidable without it, and the four patrols here
+#     differ by 4×). ON GREEN this workflow has no such tell at all, because it
+#     has no card, so a silent death on a green tree reads exactly like a clean
+#     checklist. What stands in for it: this job goes RED (and the Actions run
+#     list shows it) whenever the gate could not run or the report could not be
+#     delivered, and the run history itself is the record. A card that DOES
+#     stand carries the heartbeat and its deadline like the other three — with
+#     the one ambiguity this workflow's shape implies, stated in the card
+#     itself: a stalled `Swept` there means the caller died OR the gate went
+#     green, and nothing closes the card either way.
 #   * In exchange, a green tree has no standing issue to prune, and the card the
 #     devx seat grades is minted only when there is something to grade.
 #
@@ -96,6 +103,12 @@ on:
     # workflows queue behind everyone else's `:00` cron — and off the three
     # sibling patrols' minutes, so two patrols never contend for the same runner
     # minute.
+    #
+    # ⚠️ Two readers, one fact. This value is restated as `PATROL_SCHEDULE` in
+    # the `env:` block below, where the report step computes the deadline the
+    # card's own `Swept` line is judged against (#17720). Change the cron and
+    # change that env in the same edit, or the card publishes a deadline nobody
+    # schedules.
     - cron: '51 2 * * *'
   # The manual fire, and the smoke test this card exits on.
   workflow_dispatch: {}
@@ -154,6 +167,18 @@ env:
   # cards this watchdog mints. Never rewritten on a refresh — grading is the
   # devx seat's and a refresh must not undo it.
   ANCHOR_ROUTING_LABELS: 'pm:queue,tooling'
+  # This workflow's own `cron:`, restated here so the report step can state the
+  # cadence that makes the card's `Swept` line decidable (#17720). The three
+  # sibling patrol anchors carry the same heartbeat reading and one of them
+  # fires every six hours, so a reader who carries a cadence over from a
+  # neighbour is wrong by 4× — which is why each anchor states its own rather
+  # than leaving the reader to go and read a workflow file.
+  #
+  # ⛔ A literal, not a parse of this file: the report body is inline
+  # `github-script` that no test reaches, so the cheapest honest route is the
+  # one with the least inline logic. The cost is the restatement above, and the
+  # comment at the `cron:` is what pays it.
+  PATROL_SCHEDULE: '51 2 * * *'
 
 jobs:
   watchdog:
@@ -313,12 +338,36 @@ jobs:
               ? (closed.find((i) => i.state_reason !== 'duplicate') ?? null)
               : null;
 
+            // The cadence that makes the `Swept` line below decidable (#17720).
+            // `PATROL_SCHEDULE` is this workflow's own `cron:`, restated in the
+            // `env:` block beside the other single-sourced card strings.
+            // ⛔ Only the daily `M H * * *` form is computed; anything else says
+            // so in the body rather than publishing a deadline derived from a
+            // schedule this did not read.
+            const sweptAt = new Date();
+            const schedule = String(process.env.PATROL_SCHEDULE ?? '').trim();
+            const cronFields = /^(\d{1,2}) (\d{1,2}) \* \* \*$/.exec(schedule);
+            let expectation = `⚠️ expected cadence UNSTATED — PATROL_SCHEDULE is \`${schedule}\`, which is not the daily \`M H * * *\` form this step computes a deadline from`;
+            if (cronFields && Number(cronFields[1]) <= 59 && Number(cronFields[2]) <= 23) {
+              const next = new Date(sweptAt);
+              next.setUTCHours(Number(cronFields[2]), Number(cronFields[1]), 0, 0);
+              if (next <= sweptAt) next.setUTCDate(next.getUTCDate() + 1);
+              expectation = `expected every 24h while this card stands (cron \`${schedule}\` UTC) · next by ${next.toISOString().slice(0, 16)}Z`;
+            }
+
             const body = [
               `${marker} — machine-findable marker for this generated view. ⛔ Do not delete this line: it is how the watchdog finds this card instead of filing a new one every day.`,
               '',
               `# \`check:platform-checklist\` is RED on \`main\``,
               '',
-              `_Swept ${new Date().toISOString()} · [run log](${runUrl}) · commit \`${process.env.GITHUB_SHA}\` · trigger \`${context.eventName}\` · gate exit ${gateExit}._`,
+              `_Swept ${sweptAt.toISOString()} · ${expectation} · [run log](${runUrl}) · commit \`${process.env.GITHUB_SHA}\` · trigger \`${context.eventName}\` · gate exit ${gateExit}._`,
+              '',
+              'The `Swept` line above is this watchdog\'s heartbeat, and it states the cadence that makes',
+              '「stalled」 decidable: while the gate stays red this card is refreshed on that schedule, so a',
+              'timestamp still sitting there past the `next by` deadline means either the standing caller',
+              'died or the gate went green — this watchdog files nothing and closes nothing on green, so',
+              'both readings end at this card. ⛔ Do not carry a cadence over from a sibling patrol anchor:',
+              'they differ by up to 4× and each states its own.',
               '',
               'The platform test checklist gate is red. It is **not** wired into per-PR CI (a standing',
               'maintainer decision — the checklist is a QA ledger, not a code gate), so this card is the',

.github/workflows/release-coverage-patrol.yml

@@ -102,6 +102,11 @@ on:
   # half-state-patrol.yml's `37 1,7,13,19` so two patrols never contend for the
   # same runner minute.
   schedule:
+    # ⚠️ Two readers, one fact. This value is also handed to the renderer as
+    # `PATROL_SCHEDULE` (the "Render the report" step below) so the anchor body
+    # can state the deadline its own heartbeat line is judged against (#17720).
+    # Change the cron and change that env in the same edit, or the anchor
+    # publishes a deadline nobody schedules.
     - cron: '19 4 * * *'
   workflow_dispatch: {}
   # Changes to the patrol itself get exercised before they merge — the same
@@ -238,6 +243,14 @@ jobs:
         env:
           ADVISORY_CODE: ${{ steps.sweep.outputs.advisory_code }}
           STRICT_CODE: ${{ steps.sweep.outputs.strict_code }}
+          # This workflow's own `cron:`, handed to the renderer so the anchor
+          # body states the cadence that makes its heartbeat line decidable
+          # (#17720). It lives HERE rather than in the script because the
+          # schedule is declared here: a second copy in the renderer would be a
+          # second place to drift from, and a drifted deadline reads exactly
+          # like a correct one. ⛔ Unset, the renderer says so in the body
+          # rather than assuming a period — it never guesses.
+          PATROL_SCHEDULE: '19 4 * * *'
           PROVENANCE: >-
             run [${{ github.run_id }}](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }})
             · commit `${{ github.sha }}` · trigger `${{ github.event_name }}`

.github/workflows/test-nightly-tiers.yml

@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@ on:
     # patrol's minute, so two of them never contend for the same runner minute;
     # 05:29 sits after `rerun-safety-nightly` (04:00) and `coverage-nightly`
     # (05:00) have started and well before `showcase-smoke` (07:00).
+    #
+    # ⚠️ Two readers, one fact. This value is restated as `PATROL_SCHEDULE` in
+    # the `env:` block below, where the report step computes the deadline the
+    # card's own `Swept` line is judged against (#17720). Change the cron and
+    # change that env in the same edit, or the card publishes a deadline nobody
+    # schedules.
     - cron: '29 5 * * *'
   workflow_dispatch: {}
   # ⛔ PATHS-FILTERED TO THIS FILE AND THE SWITCH READER IT INVOKES, and that
@@ -121,6 +127,18 @@ env:
   CARD_MARKER: os-nightly-tiers
   # Applied on CREATE only, additively; never rewritten on a refresh.
   CARD_LABELS: 'bug,domain:devx,priority:p1'
+  # This workflow's own `cron:`, restated here so the report step can state the
+  # cadence that makes the card's `Swept` line decidable (#17720). The sibling
+  # patrol anchors carry the same heartbeat reading and one of them fires every
+  # six hours, so a reader who carries a cadence over from a neighbour is wrong
+  # by 4× — which is why each card states its own rather than leaving the
+  # reader to go and read a workflow file.
+  #
+  # ⛔ A literal, not a parse of this file: the report body is inline
+  # `github-script` that no test reaches, so the cheapest honest route is the
+  # one with the least inline logic. The cost is the restatement above, and the
+  # comment at the `cron:` is what pays it.
+  PATROL_SCHEDULE: '29 5 * * *'
 
 jobs:
   tiers:
@@ -440,6 +458,23 @@ jobs:
               '',
             ]);
 
+            // The cadence that makes the `Swept` line below decidable (#17720).
+            // `PATROL_SCHEDULE` is this workflow's own `cron:`, restated in the
+            // `env:` block beside the other single-sourced card strings.
+            // ⛔ Only the daily `M H * * *` form is computed; anything else says
+            // so in the body rather than publishing a deadline derived from a
+            // schedule this did not read.
+            const sweptAt = new Date();
+            const schedule = String(process.env.PATROL_SCHEDULE ?? '').trim();
+            const cronFields = /^(\d{1,2}) (\d{1,2}) \* \* \*$/.exec(schedule);
+            let expectation = `⚠️ expected cadence UNSTATED — PATROL_SCHEDULE is \`${schedule}\`, which is not the daily \`M H * * *\` form this step computes a deadline from`;
+            if (cronFields && Number(cronFields[1]) <= 59 && Number(cronFields[2]) <= 23) {
+              const next = new Date(sweptAt);
+              next.setUTCHours(Number(cronFields[2]), Number(cronFields[1]), 0, 0);
+              if (next <= sweptAt) next.setUTCDate(next.getUTCDate() + 1);
+              expectation = `expected every 24h while this card stands (cron \`${schedule}\` UTC) · next by ${next.toISOString().slice(0, 16)}Z`;
+            }
+
             const filesSection = failing.length > 0
               ? ['## Failing files', '', ...failing.map((f) => `- \`${f}\``), '']
               : extractorExit !== '0'
@@ -451,7 +486,14 @@ jobs:
               '',
               `# ${title}`,
               '',
-              `_Swept ${new Date().toISOString()} · [run log](${runUrl}) · commit \`${process.env.GITHUB_SHA}\` · trigger \`${context.eventName}\` · tiers job result \`${result}\`._`,
+              `_Swept ${sweptAt.toISOString()} · ${expectation} · [run log](${runUrl}) · commit \`${process.env.GITHUB_SHA}\` · trigger \`${context.eventName}\` · tiers job result \`${result}\`._`,
+              '',
+              'The `Swept` line above is this nightly\'s heartbeat, and it states the cadence that makes',
+              '「stalled」 decidable: while the tiers stay red this card is refreshed on that schedule, so a',
+              'timestamp still sitting there past the `next by` deadline means either the standing caller',
+              'died or the nightly went green — nothing here files or closes anything on green, so both',
+              'readings end at this card. ⛔ Do not carry a cadence over from a sibling patrol anchor: they',
+              'differ by up to 4× and each states its own.',
               '',
               'The `e2e` and `live` test tiers — the files named `*.e2e.test.*` and `*.live.test.*` — run here',
               'nightly on `main` under `OS_TEST_TIERS=nightly` and nowhere else (the per-PR and merge-queue',