github-stars-backfill-rules

GitHub Stars Backfill Rules

Purpose

Use this skill before changing persisted data shape or data-completeness behavior. Choose the lightest mechanism that preserves correctness: config normalization, Dexie schema bump, lazy hydration, feature backfill, or full sync backfill.

Source Of Truth

• Treat IndexedDB as source of truth for bulk repo data and annotations: stars, tags, tagMeta.
• Treat chrome.storage.local as lightweight config/UI state only: auth metadata, locale/theme, onboarding, sync progress, user preferences, and backfills.
• Treat GitHub as source of truth for remote repo metadata such as archived, fork, pushed_at, created_at, and starred_at.
• Do not infer remote metadata in the UI when sync/storage can persist the canonical value.

Decision Tree

1. If the change is UI-only, do not add a storage migration or backfill.
2. If only Config shape changes, add a safe default and normalize in src/auth/auth-store.ts; no Dexie bump.
3. If an IndexedDB stored field or index changes, update src/types/index.ts, bump Dexie schema in src/storage/db.ts, and treat old undefined values as missing data for legacy rows.
4. If old local rows are missing data required by a new feature, prefer a capability-keyed backfill task.
5. If missing data can be filled safely over time without blocking correctness, prefer lazy hydration.
6. Use a full-sync backfill only when the feature requires library-wide consistency and there is no safe incremental/lazy path.
7. If the package version has not already changed in the worktree, treat the feature as unreleased; revise existing unreleased migrations/backfills in place instead of adding compatibility layers for local experiments.

Backfill Contract

• Key backfills by capability, not extension version, e.g. repo_data_sync.
• Once a backfill is done, keep it done unless the task definition itself changes.
• Do not reopen a done backfill because later/incremental rows are missing optional data.
• Preserve user deferral: deferred must not surface as an active card.
• Preserve failure evidence: keep error, lastAttemptAt, and retry path.
• Keep running stable during an in-flight sync when reconciling with keepRunning.
• Add new IDs consistently:
  • BackfillId in src/types/index.ts;
  • BACKFILL_IDS in src/upgrades/backfill-state.ts;
  • backfillTasks in src/upgrades/tasks.ts;
  • execution support in src/background/index.ts if the task kind is new;
  • i18n/UI copy if the user sees a new action or message.

Task Kinds

• local: Use for deterministic local-only repairs that do not need GitHub.
• lazy_remote: Use when rows can hydrate gradually during normal sync/query paths.
• full_sync: Use only for library-wide remote metadata gaps that require authenticated GET /user/starred coverage.

Current background execution supports full_sync; adding other executable kinds requires explicit background handling and tests.

Detection Rules

• Make detectNeed narrow and cheap enough for status checks.
• Exclude tombstones unless the feature explicitly operates on historical unstarred rows.
• Detect the specific missing capability, not a vague app version.
• Treat legacy undefined and current null intentionally; tests should cover the distinction when it matters.
• Keep detection independent of UI state.

Sync Rules

• Keep full sync, incremental sync, and rescan aligned with authenticated REST GET /user/starred when required metadata exists there.
• Preserve tombstone semantics; the product normally operates on currently starred repos.
• Do not run a full sync on every extension update.
• Do not add a full-sync backfill for data that can be corrected by incremental sync, rescan, or lazy hydration without user-visible correctness gaps.

File Checklist

Inspect and update only what the change needs:

• src/types/index.ts for persisted domain/config/backfill types.
• src/storage/db.ts for Dexie schema versions and indexes.
• src/auth/auth-store.ts for config defaults and normalization.
• src/upgrades/backfill-state.ts for ID allowlist, normalization, active selection.
• src/upgrades/tasks.ts for backfill definitions and reconciliation.
• src/background/index.ts for run/defer orchestration and supported task kinds.
• src/utils/messaging.ts for status payload normalization.
• src/ui/ManagerPanel.tsx and src/i18n/index.tsx only when surfaced UI/copy changes.
• tests/regressions/storage or relevant sync/auth regression suites for compatibility behavior.

Testing

• Always run pnpm typecheck after code changes.
• For backfill changes, add or update regression tests and run:
  • pnpm test:regressions for broad storage/sync compatibility;
  • or the narrow Vitest file if the change is isolated.
• For DB schema/type changes, also run integration or query/store tests that exercise persisted rows.
• For GitHub metadata mapping changes, add sync regression coverage and run the relevant sync regression file.
• Report any verification gap explicitly.

Review Smells

Flag these before implementation is considered done:

• A backfill keyed by app/package version instead of capability.
• A full sync used as a convenient default.
• A done backfill that can become pending again due to later rows.
• Silent defaults that hide corrupted/missing persisted data without a test.
• UI code guessing metadata that belongs in storage.
• New persisted fields without legacy-row compatibility.
• A Dexie version bump for a config-only preference.
• A new stored shape without a regression test.