Sign-off: fractal#5198 metadata-cache diagnostic fallback policy #5246

Source

#5198

Merge SHA: b148972. Landed through hosted copy #5204.

Status: post-merge review requested. Owner for follow-up answers: Fractal Web App (agent/dotfiles/fractal-web-app).

Question for Nathan

Is it acceptable that the metadata cache falls back to regeneration only for four English git apply.c diagnostics: 'patch failed: :', ': patch does not apply', ': does not exist in index', and ': already exists in index', run with LC_ALL=C and LANGUAGE=C? Every other git output fails the tick loudly, including a stale binary hunk or mode change, as accepted by Fractal Product Lead. Does Nathan instead want a structured signal, such as git apply --reject or patch preimage-blob comparison?

Risk

low — Only apps/fractal-web/scripts/devnet/integrator.py and its cached generated-metadata patch behavior. No product, server, client or wire change. Follow-up to #5191 / hosted #5197, used in the live P0 window on 2026-11-05 at 02:50–03:15Z.

Evidence

• fix(web): fail on corrupt integrator metadata cache entries instead of regenerating #5198
• fix(web): fail on corrupt integrator metadata cache entries instead of regenerating (hosted #5198) #5204
• fix(web): fail on corrupt integrator metadata cache entries instead of regenerating #5198 (comment) — independent GO.
• Fractal Web App reports Fractal Product Lead source GO and Janitor U04.

Completion rule

Compounding Manager records Nathan's answer or sign-off before this sub-issue closes. Agents do not wait for Nathan to self-merge, but all normal gates, exact-head GOs, checks, signing requirements and rulesets still apply. No --admin and no auto-merge. Merge alone does not close this sign-off request.