pg forwarder: the reconnect arm retries failed connects until success or shutdown — one failed connect no longer kills the loop permanently; every loop exit path releases the fanout sender via the shared-slot drop guard (receivers-terminal-iff-loop-gone); reconnect-config test seam + failed-connect pins: six-cycle exhausted-backoff server-less unit, pre-flip abort, guard drop, and the harness end-to-end unreachable-outage → full-recovery test (bug replay-proven against the old shape) (task pg-fix-forwarder-reconnect, review 002 Finding 1)

alkstore-postgres/Cargo.toml

@@ -15,3 +15,4 @@ tokio-postgres = "0.7"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 alkstore-contract-suite = { path = "../alkstore-contract-suite" }
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["test-util"] }

alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 //! per-receiver bridging are the notify-listen task's; the skeleton
 //! broadcasts raw notification channel names.
 
+use std::future::Future;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::time::Duration;
@@ -50,6 +51,20 @@ use tokio_postgres::NoTls;
 
 use crate::seam::database_error;
 
+/// The raw fanout sender's shared slot — the forwarder handle and the
+/// loop both take it away on their exit paths, so receivers see the
+/// terminal arm from *either* side.
+pub(crate) type FanoutSlot = Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Option<broadcast::Sender<RawNotification>>>>;
+
+/// The reconnect config's shared slot — the loop's connect step reads
+/// it fresh per attempt; the `#[cfg(test)]` seam swaps it (the
+/// unreachable-endpoint injection the failed-connect tests ride).
+pub(crate) type ReconnectConfigSlot = Arc<std::sync::Mutex<tokio_postgres::Config>>;
+
+/// A fresh connection generation the reconnect produces: the poll
+/// loop's next `Connection` and the `Client` driving its queries.
+pub(crate) type GenerationPair = (tokio_postgres::Client, ListenerConnection);
+
 /// The listener connection's concrete type for the `NoTls` posture
 /// (the engine's TLS story rides the consumer's `Config` sslmode for
 /// the pooled path; the dedicated listener connects with `NoTls` —
@@ -154,11 +169,13 @@ impl ChannelSet {
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub(crate) struct Forwarder {
     /// The wake fanout — every receiver bridge holds a subscription;
-    /// its release (this handle's take at shutdown, the loop's drop at
+    /// its release (the shutdown take, or the loop's exit-path release
-    /// its exit) is the receivers' terminal `Closed`/`None` arm.
+    /// guard) is the receivers' terminal `Closed`/`None` arm. The
-    /// `Option` because shutdown empties it while receiver-held
+    /// shared [`FanoutSlot`] exactly because receiver-held
-    /// `Arc<Forwarder>`s keep the struct alive.
+    /// `Arc<Forwarder>`s keep this struct alive — the release fires
-    fanout: std::sync::Mutex<Option<broadcast::Sender<RawNotification>>>,
+    /// from both the handle's shutdown and the loop's exit
+    /// (receivers-terminal-iff-loop-gone).
+    fanout: FanoutSlot,
     /// The channel registry the reconnect re-issues from; read by the
     /// register/unregister surfaces below.
     channels: Arc<ChannelSet>,
@@ -172,6 +189,12 @@ pub(crate) struct Forwarder {
     /// gap fails with `Database`; the registry entry's recovery rides
     /// the reconnect re-issue). Read by `register` below.
     connected: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+    /// The reconnect config's shared slot — test-observation surface
+    /// for the failed-connect seam (the loop's own [`LoopCtx`] clone
+    /// is the live read path; the field itself exists for the
+    /// `#[cfg(test)]` swap accessors).
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    reconnect_config: ReconnectConfigSlot,
     shutdown: watch::Sender<bool>,
 }
 
@@ -201,9 +224,12 @@ impl Forwarder {
         reconnect_config: tokio_postgres::Config,
     ) -> Forwarder {
         let (fanout, _) = broadcast::channel(FANOUT_CAPACITY);
+        let fanout_slot: FanoutSlot = Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(Some(fanout.clone())));
         let channels = Arc::new(ChannelSet::default());
         let (commands_tx, commands_rx) = mpsc::unbounded_channel();
         let (shutdown_tx, shutdown_rx) = watch::channel(false);
+        let reconnect_config_slot: ReconnectConfigSlot =
+            Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(reconnect_config));
         // The connection handed in was just established — the liveness
         // flag starts true and the loop clears it at each generation's
         // death (the register path's honest transient state).
@@ -214,9 +240,10 @@ impl Forwarder {
         // lifetime).
         tokio::spawn(forwarder_loop(LoopCtx {
             client,
-            connection: Some(connection),
+            connection,
-            reconnect_config,
+            reconnect_config: reconnect_config_slot.clone(),
             fanout: fanout.clone(),
+            fanout_slot: fanout_slot.clone(),
             channels: channels.clone(),
             commands: commands_rx,
             connected: connected.clone(),
@@ -224,18 +251,22 @@ impl Forwarder {
         }));
 
         Forwarder {
-            fanout: std::sync::Mutex::new(Some(fanout)),
+            fanout: fanout_slot.clone(),
             channels,
             commands_tx,
             connected,
+            #[cfg(test)]
+            reconnect_config: reconnect_config_slot,
             shutdown: shutdown_tx,
         }
     }
 
     /// Subscribe to the raw fanout (the notify task bridges broadcast
-    /// receivers into `WakeReceiver`s). `None` after shutdown (the
+    /// receivers into `WakeReceiver`s). `None` after shutdown — or
-    /// senders are being released) — a subscribe racing `close()` or
+    /// after *any* forwarder-loop exit (the loop's release guard takes
-    /// arriving past it fails closed rather than panicking.
+    /// the shared sender too, the defense-in-depth arm: a subscribe
+    /// racing a dead loop fails closed rather than parking on a
+    /// forever-silent broadcast).
     pub(crate) fn subscribe(&self) -> Option<broadcast::Receiver<RawNotification>> {
         self.fanout
             .lock()
@@ -302,9 +333,10 @@ impl Forwarder {
     /// Shutdown: flip the switch — the loop exits, dropping the
     /// listener `Client` and its session (the listener connection is
     /// gone) — and release this handle's fanout sender. The broadcast
-    /// closes once every sender is dropped (the loop's clone dies with
+    /// closes once every sender is dropped (the loop's exit-path
-    /// its exit; this handle's dies here — receivers unaffected by
+    /// release guard empties the shared slot too; this handle's take
-    /// `Arc<Forwarder>` lifetimes see the terminal arm). Idempotent.
+    /// fires the terminal arm at the flip — receivers unaffected by
+    /// `Arc<Forwarder>` lifetimes see it). Idempotent.
     pub(crate) fn shutdown(&self) {
         let _ = self.shutdown.send(true);
         // Take the sender even if a receiver holds this Arc: the
@@ -312,32 +344,114 @@ impl Forwarder {
         // whatever lifetime stands on the handle.
         *self.fanout.lock().expect("fanout mutex poisoned") = None;
     }
+
+    /// Aim the reconnect arm's connect step at `config` (the failed-
+    /// connect test seam — the unreachable-endpoint injection). The
+    /// loop reads the slot fresh per attempt, so a swap lands on the
+    /// next attempt.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn swap_reconnect_config(&self, config: tokio_postgres::Config) {
+        *self
+            .reconnect_config
+            .lock()
+            .expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned") = config;
+    }
+
+    /// The reconnect config's current content (the failed-connect
+    /// test's restore point — the swap-back carries the original).
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn reconnect_config_snapshot(&self) -> tokio_postgres::Config {
+        self.reconnect_config
+            .lock()
+            .expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned")
+            .clone()
+    }
+}
+
+/// The reconnect arm's retry core (review 002 Finding 1's fix): sleep
+/// → attempt the connect — repeat until an attempt succeeds or the
+/// shutdown flip, **never returning with nothing connected** (a failed
+/// connect retries inside this arm; the skeleton's fall-back-into-the-
+/// loop-with-an-empty-slot shape — one failed connect killing the
+/// loop forever — is structurally gone).
+///
+/// `backoff_ms` carries the live exponential backoff (doubled per
+/// attempt, capped at [`RECONNECT_MAX_MS`]; the caller resets it on
+/// the next *verified-alive* generation). The shutdown flip aborts
+/// with `None` — the only exit besides `Some`'s fresh generation.
+pub(crate) async fn reconnect_with_retry<F, Fut>(
+    mut attempt: F,
+    backoff_ms: &mut u64,
+    shutdown: &mut watch::Receiver<bool>,
+) -> Option<GenerationPair>
+where
+    F: FnMut() -> Fut,
+    Fut: Future<Output = Option<GenerationPair>>,
+{
+    loop {
+        tokio::select! {
+            biased;
+
+            // Shutdown (or the sender's drop) exits mid-backoff — the
+            // subscribers' terminal arm is not held hostage by a
+            // backoff cycle.
+            _ = shutdown.changed() => return None,
+
+            _ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(*backoff_ms)) => {}
+        }
+        *backoff_ms = backoff_ms.saturating_mul(2).min(RECONNECT_MAX_MS);
+        if let Some(generation) = attempt().await {
+            return Some(generation);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Releases the forwarder handle's fanout sender at the loop's exit —
+/// *every* exit path: Drop runs on return, unwind, and task abort
+/// alike. This is the receivers-terminal-iff-loop-gone invariant's
+/// enforcement side (the shutdown take covers the flip; this guard
+/// covers every other exit the defense-in-depth posture guards
+/// against) — a dead loop can never leave subscribers parked on a
+/// forever-silent broadcast.
+pub(crate) struct FanoutRelease {
+    pub(crate) slot: FanoutSlot,
+}
+
+impl Drop for FanoutRelease {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        *self.slot.lock().expect("fanout mutex poisoned") = None;
+    }
 }
 
 /// The forwarder loop (the POC's ~90-line shape, restructured for the
-/// dynamic channel set + command issuer + shutdown).
+/// dynamic channel set + command issuer + shutdown + the reconnect
+/// retry arm).
 ///
 /// Per connection generation: spawn the poll task (it owns the
 /// `Connection` and fans out `poll_message`'s notifications) → issue
 /// LISTENs from the live channel-set snapshot → serve commands and
-/// wait for the connection's death → reconnect with exponential
+/// wait for the connection's death → reconnect via
-/// backoff (50 ms → 2 s cap). The loop consumes the handed-in
+/// [`reconnect_with_retry`] (exponential backoff 50 ms → 2 s cap;
-/// connection on its first generation and reconnects into the slot
+/// failed connects never leave the arm). The loop-carried connection
-/// afterwards.
+/// is *always present* at the generation's top by construction: the
+/// first iteration holds the handed-in connection, and only a
+/// successful connect re-binds it — there is no empty-slot arm left to
+/// fall back into.
 ///
 /// The receiver-facing close shape (ADR-021 §5's pg arm): the fanout
-/// sender clones live here (loop) and on the handle (taken at
+/// sender clones live here (loop) and on the shared slot (taken by the
-/// shutdown); a connection death and its reconnect are invisible to
+/// shutdown flip or the exit-path release guard — see
-/// subscribers (the fanout never drops on a generation boundary —
+/// [`FanoutRelease`]); a connection death and its reconnect are
-/// receivers stay open across reconnects, they receive the reserved
+/// invisible to subscribers (the fanout never drops on a generation
-/// reconnect-wake instead); the senders drop only at shutdown — the
+/// boundary — receivers stay open across reconnects, they receive the
-/// loop's clone at its exit, the handle's at the shutdown take — the
+/// reserved reconnect-wake instead); the senders drop only when the
-/// receivers' terminal arm.
+/// loop is gone — the invariant's shape.
 struct LoopCtx {
     client: tokio_postgres::Client,
-    connection: Option<ListenerConnection>,
+    connection: ListenerConnection,
-    reconnect_config: tokio_postgres::Config,
+    reconnect_config: ReconnectConfigSlot,
     fanout: broadcast::Sender<RawNotification>,
+    fanout_slot: FanoutSlot,
     channels: Arc<ChannelSet>,
     commands: mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<ListenCommand>,
     connected: Arc<AtomicBool>,
@@ -346,18 +460,22 @@ struct LoopCtx {
 
 async fn forwarder_loop(
     LoopCtx {
-        mut client,
+        client,
-        mut connection,
+        connection,
         reconnect_config,
         fanout,
+        fanout_slot,
         channels,
         mut commands,
         connected,
         mut shutdown,
     }: LoopCtx,
 ) {
+    let _fanout_release = FanoutRelease { slot: fanout_slot };
+    let mut client = client;
     let mut backoff_ms = RECONNECT_BASE_MS;
     let mut first_listen = true;
+    let mut connection = connection;
 
     loop {
         // The dedicated poll loop, spawned BEFORE any client query can
@@ -366,10 +484,7 @@ async fn forwarder_loop(
         // the poll task co-resident with client queries forever). The
         // poll task owns the Connection; the loop drives queries
         // through the Client.
-        let Some(poll_connection) = connection.take() else {
+        let mut poll_task = tokio::spawn(poll_loop(connection, fanout.clone()));
-            return;
-        };
-        let mut poll_task = tokio::spawn(poll_loop(poll_connection, fanout.clone()));
 
         // Issue LISTENs from the dynamic channel set's snapshot (on
         // first connect it carries pre-registered channels; on
@@ -461,7 +576,8 @@ async fn forwarder_loop(
                             // The command sender is gone (the store —
                             // and its forwarder handle — went away
                             // without a shutdown flip): serve no more,
-                            // exit.
+                            // exit (the release guard fires; the
+                            // receivers' terminal arm).
                             None => {
                                 poll_task.abort();
                                 return;
@@ -486,27 +602,32 @@ async fn forwarder_loop(
 
         // Reconnect: the Client is dead with the session (dropping it
         // here closes nothing server-side — pitfall 2 was satisfied
-        // for the connection's whole lifetime). Back off exponentially
+        // for the connection's whole lifetime). The retry core sleeps
-        // (50 ms → 2 s cap) and reconnect.
+        // and attempts the connect — with the *fresh* slot content per
+        // attempt (the test seam swaps it) — until a connect succeeds
+        // or the shutdown flip; a failed connect never falls back into
+        // the loop above without a connection (the loop's `None` arm
+        // is restructured away entirely).
         connected.store(false, Ordering::Release);
-        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(backoff_ms)).await;
+        let attempt = {
-        backoff_ms = backoff_ms.saturating_mul(2).min(RECONNECT_MAX_MS);
+            let slot = reconnect_config.clone();
-
+            move || {
-        if *shutdown.borrow() {
+                let guard = slot.lock().expect("reconnect config mutex poisoned");
+                let config = guard.clone();
+                drop(guard);
+                async move { config.connect(NoTls).await.ok() }
+            }
+        };
+        let Some((next_client, next_connection)) =
+            reconnect_with_retry(attempt, &mut backoff_ms, &mut shutdown).await
+        else {
+            // Shutdown mid-backoff/mid-retry: the poll task is already
+            // done (the generation's end preceded this arm); plain
+            // return — the guard and the client drop carry the rest.
             return;
-        }
+        };
-        match reconnect_config.connect(NoTls).await {
+        client = next_client;
-            Ok((new_client, new_connection)) => {
+        connection = next_connection;
-                client = new_client;
-                connection = Some(new_connection);
-            }
-            Err(_e) => {
-                // Still unreachable — back off again and retry. (The
-                // skeleton carries the loop shape; the notify-listen
-                // task owns the reconnect behavior's full contract.)
-                continue;
-            }
-        }
     }
 }
 

alkstore-postgres/src/store/open_tests.rs

@@ -734,3 +734,221 @@ fn seam_mappings_preserve_the_source_chain() {
     let mapped = pool_error(deadpool_postgres::PoolError::Closed);
     assert!(matches!(mapped, alkstore::Error::Database(_)));
 }
+
+/// Unit pin (server-less, paused time) — the disconnect-fix's retry
+/// core (review 002 Finding 1): a *failing* connect is retried once
+/// per backoff cycle across multiple doublings of the 50 ms base, and
+/// the backoff reaches the 2 s cap — the loop's shutdown flip is the
+/// only way out (`None`), never a spurious success.
+#[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+async fn reconnect_retry_attempts_failed_connects_across_backoff_cycles() {
+    use tokio::sync::watch;
+
+    let (shutdown_tx, mut shutdown_rx) = watch::channel(false);
+    let attempts = std::sync::Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+    let flip_after = attempts.clone();
+    let let_flip_tx = shutdown_tx.clone();
+    let always_failing = move || {
+        let attempts = flip_after.clone();
+        let flip_tx = let_flip_tx.clone();
+        async move {
+            let n = attempts.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst) + 1;
+            if n == 6 {
+                let _ = flip_tx.send(true);
+            }
+            None::<crate::forwarder::GenerationPair>
+        }
+    };
+
+    let mut backoff_ms = crate::forwarder::RECONNECT_BASE_MS;
+    let result =
+        crate::forwarder::reconnect_with_retry(always_failing, &mut backoff_ms, &mut shutdown_rx)
+            .await;
+
+    assert!(
+        result.is_none(),
+        "with every connect failing, the retry's only exit is the shutdown flip"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        attempts.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+        6,
+        "one connect attempt per backoff cycle: 50 → 100 → 200 → 400 → 800 → 1600 ms \
+         (multiple failed connects retried, the dead-loop shape would give one and stop)"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        backoff_ms,
+        crate::forwarder::RECONNECT_MAX_MS,
+        "the doubling caps at 2 s"
+    );
+}
+
+/// Unit pin (server-less): the shutdown flip *before* the retry core
+/// starts aborts immediately — no connect attempt rides a shut-down
+/// forwarder.
+#[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+async fn reconnect_retry_aborts_before_any_attempt_on_preflipped_shutdown() {
+    use tokio::sync::watch;
+
+    let (shutdown_tx, mut shutdown_rx) = watch::channel(false);
+    shutdown_tx.send(true).expect("watch alive");
+    let attempts = std::sync::Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+    let attempts2 = attempts.clone();
+    let always_failing = move || {
+        let attempts = attempts2.clone();
+        async move {
+            attempts.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            None::<crate::forwarder::GenerationPair>
+        }
+    };
+
+    let mut backoff_ms = crate::forwarder::RECONNECT_BASE_MS;
+    let result =
+        crate::forwarder::reconnect_with_retry(always_failing, &mut backoff_ms, &mut shutdown_rx)
+            .await;
+
+    assert!(result.is_none(), "the flip aborts the retry");
+    assert_eq!(
+        attempts.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+        0,
+        "no connect attempt on a shut-down forwarder"
+    );
+}
+
+/// Unit pin (server-less) — the fanout release guard: its drop empties
+/// the shared sender slot, which is what surfaces the receiver's
+/// terminal arm on *any* loop exit (the receivers-terminal-iff-loop-
+/// gone invariant's mechanism).
+#[test]
+fn fanout_release_guard_empties_the_shared_slot_on_drop() {
+    let (sender, _) =
+        tokio::sync::broadcast::channel::<crate::forwarder::RawNotification>(FANOUT_TEST_CAPACITY);
+    let slot = std::sync::Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(Some(sender)));
+    let guard = crate::forwarder::FanoutRelease { slot: slot.clone() };
+    assert!(
+        slot.lock().unwrap().is_some(),
+        "the guard holds the release until its own drop"
+    );
+    drop(guard);
+    assert!(
+        slot.lock().unwrap().is_none(),
+        "the guard's drop released the fanout sender (any loop exit surfaces the terminal arm)"
+    );
+}
+
+const FANOUT_TEST_CAPACITY: usize = 1;
+
+/// Acceptance (review 002 Finding 1, end-to-end): a failed reconnect
+/// connect no longer kills the forwarder. The reconnect-config seam
+/// points the loop's connect attempts at an unreachable endpoint, a
+/// backend kill forces the reconnect, and the loop survives *repeated*
+/// failed connects across several backoff cycles (outage wider than
+/// four doubling steps) — the skeleton's shape had the loop dead
+/// after the first one, every later `listen()` failing with the
+/// spurious "mid-reconnect" `Database` forever. Then the real config
+/// comes back and full recovery is pinned: the synthetic
+/// reconnect-wake broadcasts, a registered channel's post-reconnect
+/// NOTIFY delivers, and `listen()` succeeds.
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread")]
+async fn forwarder_survives_failed_reconnects_and_recovers_fully() {
+    let Some(dsn) = harness_dsn() else {
+        eprintln!("skip: no harness server");
+        return;
+    };
+    let schema = instance_namer("failed-conn")();
+    let store = open_store(&dsn, test_opts(&schema)).await.unwrap();
+    let forwarder = store.forwarder().clone();
+    let admin = harness_client().await.unwrap();
+
+    let channel = format!("fconn_probe_{}", instance_namer("ch")());
+    let mut rx = forwarder.subscribe().unwrap();
+    forwarder.register(&channel).await.unwrap();
+
+    // Pre-outage delivery verified (the normal path is not what broke).
+    let notify_sql = |payload: &str| {
+        format!(
+            "NOTIFY {}, '{payload}'",
+            crate::schema::quote_identifier(&channel)
+        )
+    };
+    admin
+        .batch_execute(&notify_sql("pre-outage"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        wait_for_channel(&mut rx, &channel, Duration::from_secs(3)).await,
+        "pre-outage delivery must work first"
+    );
+
+    // The seam: reconnects now point at an unreachable endpoint (the
+    // open-time config was fine — the outage is post-open). Then the
+    // backend kill forces the reconnect the skeleton never survived.
+    let real_config = forwarder.reconnect_config_snapshot();
+    let outage_config: tokio_postgres::Config = unreachable_dsn().parse().unwrap();
+    forwarder.swap_reconnect_config(outage_config);
+    let killed = admin
+        .query_one(
+            "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) FROM pg_stat_activity
+             WHERE application_name = $1 AND pid <> pg_backend_pid()",
+            &[&store.listener_application_name()],
+        )
+        .await
+        .unwrap()
+        .get::<_, bool>(0);
+    assert!(killed, "the listener backend was found and killed");
+
+    // Mid-outage: the loop is alive but disconnected — `register`
+    // fails with the honest transient `Database` (the mid-reconnect
+    // posture, registry entry kept for the reconnect re-issue).
+    tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(250)).await;
+    let outage_channel = instance_namer("outage-ch")();
+    let err = forwarder.register(&outage_channel).await.unwrap_err();
+    assert!(
+        matches!(err, alkstore::Error::Database(_)),
+        "mid-outage registration fails with the honest transient, got: {err:?}"
+    );
+
+    // The outage window: wider than four backoff doubling steps
+    // (attempts at 50/150/350/750 ms with the 50 ms base) — failed
+    // connects repeated across several cycles; the dead-loop shape
+    // would have stopped after the first attempt.
+    tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(1450)).await;
+
+    // Restore: the next backoff attempt connects, and recovery is
+    // observable end-to-end.
+    forwarder.swap_reconnect_config(real_config);
+    let got_wake = wait_for_channel(
+        &mut rx,
+        alkstore::RESERVED_LISTENER_RECONNECTED,
+        Duration::from_secs(10),
+    )
+    .await;
+    let mut delivered = false;
+    for _ in 0..20 {
+        let _ = admin.batch_execute(&notify_sql("post-recovery")).await;
+        if wait_for_channel(&mut rx, &channel, Duration::from_millis(150)).await {
+            delivered = true;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    assert!(
+        got_wake && delivered,
+        "the forwarder must survive repeated failed connects and recover \
+         (reconnect-wake {got_wake}, post-recovery delivery {delivered})"
+    );
+
+    // The trait surface is back: listen() succeeds post-recovery
+    // (never the spurious forever-"mid-reconnect" `Database`).
+    let recovery_channel = instance_namer("recovery-ch")();
+    let mut receiver = store.listen(&recovery_channel).await.unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        receiver
+            .recv_timeout(Duration::from_millis(100))
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .is_none(),
+        "the recovered listener idles healthily"
+    );
+
+    store.close();
+    drop_schema(&admin, &schema).await;
+}

tasks/pg-fix-forwarder-reconnect.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 id: pg-fix-forwarder-reconnect
 name: Fix forwarder permanent death after one failed reconnect (review 002 Finding 1)
-status: pending
+status: completed
 depends_on: []
 scope: moderate
 risk: medium
@@ -103,8 +103,92 @@ test-exercised, not reasoned-about.
 
 ## Notes
 
-> To be filled by implementation agent
+> Decisions of record the implementation made that the description
+> didn't pin:
+
+- **The retry core is an extracted helper (`reconnect_with_retry`)**
+  rather than an inline restructure: sleep → shutdown-select → attempt
+  → repeat, generic over an `FnMut() -> Future<Output =
+  Option<GenerationPair>>` attempt closure. It is only ever exited
+  with a fresh generation pair (`Some`) or at the shutdown flip
+  (`None`) — the loop top's empty-slot arm is restructured away
+  entirely: `LoopCtx.connection` is no longer `Option`; the loop
+  re-binds a plain loop-carried connection from the successful connect
+  at the arm's bottom, so there is no fall-through path left to die
+  on.
+- **The attempt closure is the connector injection** (the
+  implementer's-choice seam, one mechanism for both shapes): the real
+  closure clones `tokio_postgres::Config` out of a shared
+  `ReconnectConfigSlot` (`Arc<Mutex<Config>>`) and calls
+  `Config::connect(NoTls)`, mapping errors to `None`; the server-less
+  unit tests substitute their own always-failing closures. The slot is
+  also the config-swap seam: `Forwarder::swap_reconnect_config` /
+  `reconnect_config_snapshot`(`#[cfg(test)]`) let a test point
+  reconnects at an unreachable endpoint post-open and restore the
+  real one. The field is `#[cfg(test)]` on `Forwarder` (dead in prod
+  otherwise — the loop reads its own slot clone); the shutdown
+  watch's `changed()` is selected *with* the backoff sleep so a close
+  surfaces the terminal arm mid-outage instead of waiting out a cycle.
+- **The fanout hardening rides a shared slot + drop guard**: the
+  handle's sender became the shared `FanoutSlot` (`Arc<Mutex<Option<
+  Sender>>>`) the loop also receives, and the loop holds a
+  `FanoutRelease` guard whose `Drop` empties the slot — Drop runs on
+  return, unwind, and task abort alike, so *any* loop exit (plus
+  `Forwarder::shutdown`'s take, unchanged) releases the fanout.
+  `subscribe` reads the shared slot — a subscribe arriving past any
+  loop exit fails closed (`None`) rather than parking on a
+  forever-silent broadcast. receivers-terminal-iff-loop-gone is now
+  enforced by construction, not just the shutdown path.
+- **Backoff reset semantics unchanged**: the cap/growth live in the
+  helper (doubled per attempt, `saturating_mul(2)` → `min(2000)`);
+  the reset to the 50 ms base still fires on the *verified-alive*
+  generation (successful LISTEN/probe), so a connect that succeeds
+  but dies before its LISTEN reconnects at the carried backoff.
+- **The success path of the retry helper has no server-less unit pin**
+  (a real `(Client, Connection)` pair cannot be fabricated); it is
+  pinned end-to-end by the harness recovery test. The unit pins carry:
+  repeated failed connects across six backoff cycles with the cap,
+  pre-flipped shutdown aborts with zero attempts, and the guard's
+  drop-releases-slot mechanism.
+- `tokio` gained a `test-util` feature on the crate's
+  `[dev-dependencies]` (feature-unified into test builds only) for the
+  paused-time retry unit test — the gate battery runs deterministic
+  and instant.
+- The bug was replay-proofed: with the old one-shot `Err → return`
+  shape temporarily reintroduced, the new harness test
+  (`forwarder_survives_failed_reconnects_and_recovers_fully`) fails as
+  expected; with the fix it passes (verified both ways live).
 
 ## Summary
 
-> To be filled on completion
+> What landed, verified how:
+
+- **`alkstore-postgres/src/forwarder.rs`**: the forwarder loop
+  restructured — the reconnect arm now carries
+  `reconnect_with_retry` (sleep with live backoff → shutdown-arms →
+  connect attempt, repeating until success or shutdown; failed
+  connects never leave the arm), the loop-carried connection is a
+  plain non-`Option` rebinding (the empty-slot `take() else return`
+  that killed the loop permanently after one failed connect is gone by
+  construction), and the shared `FanoutSlot` + `FanoutRelease` guard
+  make every loop exit path release the fanout sender
+  (receivers-terminal-iff-loop-gone). `LoopCtx`/`Forwarder::spawn`
+  adjusted; the `cfg(test)` reconnect-config seam (swap/snapshot)
+  added; subscribe/shutdown doc comments updated for the invariant.
+- **`alkstore-postgres/src/store/open_tests.rs`** (4 new tests):
+  `forwarder_survives_failed_reconnects_and_recovers_fully` (harness:
+  config swapped to unreachable → backend kill → repeated failed
+  connects across ~4 backoff cycles mid-outage with the honest
+  transient `register` error pinned → config restored → reconnect-wake
+  + post-recovery NOTIFY delivery + working `listen()`), two
+  server-less paused-time unit pins of the retry core (six failed
+  attempts across six backoff cycles capped at 2 s, shutdown-abort
+  before any attempt), and the fanout release guard's drop mechanism.
+- **`alkstore-postgres/Cargo.toml`**: `tokio` `test-util` added to
+  `[dev-dependencies]` only.
+- **Gates**: `cargo test -p alkstore-postgres` with the harness server
+  green (115 lib + 10 contract-suite + 9 schema, run twice full);
+  every pre-existing forwarder/reconnect/no-replay/shutdown pin green
+  unchanged; workspace `cargo build`, `cargo test` (server-less — new
+  tests skip or run server-less cleanly), `cargo clippy --all-targets
+  -- -D warnings`, `cargo fmt --check` all green.