Can Agents Run It? · Issue 3 · Evidence

PG16 · gpt-5.6-sol · no doc tool · repeat 1

A disputed reading: PG16, the capped slot. As graded: fail.

A disputed reading: PG16, the capped slot. The agent kept the slot and capped the WAL it may hold with max_slot_wal_keep_size; the command is in its log. The slot check fails because the slot still exists. The cap is what the prompt asks for: the cause can no longer fill the machine. As graded this is a failure; under the reading pg16_slot_capped it passes.

Job
PG16 · Cluster will not start: corrupt pg_control, bad permissions, or a full pg_wal
Model
openai/gpt-5.6-sol
Documentation tool
absent
Repeat
1
Verdict as graded
fail
How it ended
said the job was done
Disputed reading
pg16_slot_capped
Rig fault
none
Tokens
132,811
Commands
23
Agent time
2.1 min

The prompt

PostgreSQL 17 on this machine is down and will not start. The last thing the on-call channel saw was the application reporting write failures, then connection refused. Somebody may already have tried to fix it.
Bring the cluster back into service.
Every transaction the application committed before the outage must still be there afterwards: losing data is worse than staying down longer. Whatever caused this must not be able to fill the machine up again the moment the server starts writing.
You have root over SSH on this server (node1); the `postgres` operating-system account administers the cluster. The database is `app` and the application connects as `app_rw`.

What the agent did

Every command in the order sent, with the node it went to, and what the agent wrote between them. The rig did not record what each command printed, so this page cannot show it.

1.

node1
set -o pipefail; hostname; date; id; df -hT; df -ih; lsblk -f
node1
systemctl status postgresql postgresql@17-main --no-pager -l 2>&1 || true; systemctl list-units --type=service --all | grep -Ei 'postgres' || true; pg_lsclusters 2>&1 || true
node1
journalctl -u postgresql@17-main -u postgresql --since '2 days ago' --no-pager -n 300 2>&1 || true
node1
du -xhd1 / 2>/dev/null | sort -h; echo /var; du -xhd2 /var 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -30

2.

node1
hostname; date; id; df -hT; df -ih; lsblk -f; mount | grep -E ' / |postgres|/var'
node1
echo '=== postgres log ==='; cat /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log 2>&1; echo '=== rotated ==='; ls -lah /var/log/postgresql; zgrep -hE 'ERROR|FATAL|PANIC|No space|archive|checkpoint|shut|start' /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log* 2>/dev/null | tail -300
node1
namei -l /var/lib/postgresql/17/main; find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main -xdev -printf '%u:%g %m %p\n' | head -80; echo owners; find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main -xdev -printf '%u:%g\n' | sort | uniq -c; echo top; du -xhd2 /var/lib/postgresql/17/main | sort -h | tail -30
node1
echo configs; grep -RHE '^[[:space:]]*[^#[:space:]].*(archive|wal|log_|data_dir|restore|slot|max_slot)' /etc/postgresql/17/main 2>/dev/null || true; echo dirs; ls -la /var/lib/postgresql/17/main | head -50; echo wal; ls -lah /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal | head -30; echo slots; find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_replslot -maxdepth 2 -ls 2>/dev/null
node1
journalctl --since '2 days ago' --no-pager | grep -Ei 'no space|postgres|filesystem|disk|oom|I/O error' | tail -400

3.

node1
tail -250 /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log; echo lines=$(wc -l </var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log)
node1
cat /etc/fstab; ls -lh /var/lib/pgeval/pg_wal.img; du -sh /var/lib/pgeval/archive; ls -lah /var/lib/pgeval/archive | tail -30; echo archive_count=$(find /var/lib/pgeval/archive -type f | wc -l); echo statuses; ls -la /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal/archive_status
node1
ps auxww | grep '[p]ostgres' || true; /usr/lib/postgresql/17/bin/pg_controldata /var/lib/postgresql/17/main 2>&1; echo slot strings; strings /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_replslot/standby_ghost/state 2>/dev/null
node1
find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal -maxdepth 1 -type f -printf '%f %s %TY-%Tm-%Td %TH:%TM:%TS\n' | sort; echo archive minmax; find /var/lib/pgeval/archive -type f -printf '%f %s\n' | sort | head; find /var/lib/pgeval/archive -type f -printf '%f %s\n' | sort | tail

4.

node1
cat /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/postgresql.auto.conf; cat /etc/postgresql/17/main/conf.d/zz-pgeval-fixture.conf; grep -nE '^(archive|logging_collector|log_|include|max_wal|min_wal|wal_keep|max_slot)' /etc/postgresql/17/main/postgresql.conf; cat /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/postmaster.pid
node1
debugfs -R 'stat <8>' /var/lib/pgeval/pg_wal.img 2>/dev/null || true; tune2fs -l /var/lib/pgeval/pg_wal.img | grep -E 'Filesystem state|Block count|Block size|Reserved block count|Free blocks'
node1
find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main -xdev -printf '%u:%g\n' | sort | uniq -c; find /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal -xdev -printf '%u:%g\n' | sort | uniq -c; stat /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log /var/lib/pgeval/archive

5.

node1
set -eu
PGDATA=/var/lib/postgresql/17/main
COPY=/var/lib/postgresql/17/pg_wal.rescue
# Ensure no server remains before moving WAL.
if pgrep -u postgres postgres >/dev/null; then echo 'postgres process still running; aborting' >&2; exit 1; fi
rm -rf "$COPY"
mkdir "$COPY"
cp -a "$PGDATA/pg_wal/." "$COPY/"
sync
umount "$PGDATA/pg_wal"
# Preserve the obscured old mountpoint directory rather than deleting it.
mv "$PGDATA/pg_wal" "$PGDATA/pg_wal.pre-loop-mount"
mv "$COPY" "$PGDATA/pg_wal"
# Disable the undersized loop filesystem mount persistently.
cp -a /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak-pg-rescue
sed -i '\|^/var/lib/pgeval/pg_wal.img /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal |s|^|# disabled during PostgreSQL WAL recovery: |' /etc/fstab
# Repair ownership altered by the prior attempted intervention.
chown -R postgres:postgres "$PGDATA"
chmod 700 "$PGDATA" "$PGDATA/pg_wal"
# Make archiving functional so completed WAL can be recycled.
chown postgres:postgres /var/lib/pgeval/archive
chmod 700 /var/lib/pgeval/archive
# Bound WAL accumulation, including retention by abandoned replication slots.
cat >> /etc/postgresql/17/main/conf.d/zz-pgeval-fixture.conf <<'EOF'

# Incident remediation: bound WAL on disk and abandoned-slot retention.
max_wal_size = '1GB'
max_slot_wal_keep_size = '1GB'
EOF
# ALTER SYSTEM values override include files, so repair those too.
sed -i "s/^max_wal_size = .*/max_wal_size = '1GB'/" "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
printf '%s\n' "max_slot_wal_keep_size = '1GB'" >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
chown postgres:postgres "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
rm -f "$PGDATA/postmaster.pid"
sync
printf '%s\n' 'Migration complete'; df -hT "$PGDATA/pg_wal"; grep -n pg_wal /etc/fstab; ls -ld "$PGDATA" "$PGDATA/pg_wal" /var/lib/pgeval/archive; tail -8 "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"

6.

node1
systemctl reset-failed postgresql@17-main; systemctl start postgresql@17-main; sleep 3; systemctl status postgresql@17-main --no-pager -l; pg_lsclusters; tail -80 /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log; sudo -u postgres psql -X -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -d app -c "select current_database(), current_user, pg_is_in_recovery(), now();" -c "show archive_mode; show archive_command; show max_wal_size; show max_slot_wal_keep_size;" -c "select slot_name, slot_type, active, restart_lsn, wal_status, safe_wal_size from pg_replication_slots;"

7.

node1
sudo -u postgres psql -X -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -d app -Atc "select current_database(),current_user,pg_is_in_recovery(); show max_wal_size; show max_slot_wal_keep_size; select slot_name||'|'||coalesce(wal_status,'')||'|'||active from pg_replication_slots; select datname||'|'||pg_database_size(datname) from pg_database where datname='app';"; sudo -u postgres psql -X -d app -c '\dt+'
node1
sleep 3; echo ARCHIVE; ls -lah /var/lib/pgeval/archive | tail; echo STATUS; ls /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal/archive_status; echo WAL; du -sh /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal /var/lib/pgeval/archive; df -h /; grep -E 'archive command|ready to accept|recovery|PANIC|FATAL|ERROR' /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log | tail -30
node1
sudo -u postgres psql -X -d app -Atc "select rolname||'|'||rolcanlogin from pg_roles where rolname='app_rw';"; grep -vE '^\s*(#|$)' /etc/postgresql/17/main/pg_hba.conf

8.

node1
set -eu
PGDATA=/var/lib/postgresql/17/main
# Archiving to a local, unbounded directory can fill the root filesystem too;
# disable it unless/until a managed archive destination with retention exists.
if grep -q '^archive_mode' "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"; then
  sed -i "s/^archive_mode = .*/archive_mode = off/" "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
else
  printf "%s\n" "archive_mode = off" >> "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
fi
chown postgres:postgres "$PGDATA/postgresql.auto.conf"
systemctl restart postgresql@17-main
sleep 2
sudo -u postgres psql -X -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -d app <<'SQL'
SELECT current_database(), pg_is_in_recovery();
SHOW archive_mode;
SHOW max_wal_size;
SHOW max_slot_wal_keep_size;
SELECT n.nspname, c.relname, c.relkind, pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size(c.oid)) AS size
FROM pg_class c JOIN pg_namespace n ON n.oid=c.relnamespace
WHERE n.nspname NOT IN ('pg_catalog','information_schema','pg_toast')
  AND c.relkind IN ('r','p') ORDER BY pg_total_relation_size(c.oid) DESC LIMIT 20;
SET ROLE app_rw;
SELECT current_user;
BEGIN;
CREATE TEMP TABLE service_write_test (v integer);
INSERT INTO service_write_test VALUES (1);
ROLLBACK;
RESET ROLE;
SELECT slot_name, active, wal_status, safe_wal_size FROM pg_replication_slots;
SELECT archived_count, failed_count, last_archived_wal, last_failed_wal FROM pg_stat_archiver;
SQL
systemctl is-active postgresql@17-main
pg_isready -h 127.0.0.1 -p 5432 -d app
pg_lsclusters
df -h / /var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal

9.

node1
sudo -u postgres psql -X -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -d app <<'SQL'
SELECT 'payments' AS table_name, count(*) AS rows FROM app.payments
UNION ALL SELECT 'orders', count(*) FROM app.orders
UNION ALL SELECT 'incident_log', count(*) FROM app.incident_log;
TABLE app.incident_log;
CHECKPOINT;
SQL
sleep 2
systemctl is-active postgresql@17-main; pg_isready -h 127.0.0.1 -d app; tail -25 /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-17-main.log

10. PostgreSQL 17 cluster `main` is back online and accepting connections on port 5432. Remediation completed: - Preserved and migrated all WAL from the undersized 256 MB loop filesystem to the 75 GB root filesystem. - Repaired cluster ownership from `root` to `postgres`. - Allowed crash recovery to complete successfully, replaying WAL through `0/CFFFE68`. - Fixed the broken archive destination, then disabled unbounded local archiving to prevent root-disk exhaustion. - Set `max_wal_size = 1GB` and `max_slot_wal_keep_size = 1GB` to bound WAL retained by the inactive `standby_ghost` slot. - Disabled the obsolete loop mount persistently in `/etc/fstab`. - Verified database `app`, existing application tables/data, and write capability under role `app_rw`. - Forced a checkpoint and confirmed the cluster remains healthy after a clean restart. Current status: **online, not in recovery, accepting connections, with approximately 70 GB free disk space.**

Its last message

PostgreSQL 17 cluster `main` is back online and accepting connections on port 5432.

Remediation completed:

- Preserved and migrated all WAL from the undersized 256 MB loop filesystem to the 75 GB root filesystem.
- Repaired cluster ownership from `root` to `postgres`.
- Allowed crash recovery to complete successfully, replaying WAL through `0/CFFFE68`.
- Fixed the broken archive destination, then disabled unbounded local archiving to prevent root-disk exhaustion.
- Set `max_wal_size = 1GB` and `max_slot_wal_keep_size = 1GB` to bound WAL retained by the inactive `standby_ghost` slot.
- Disabled the obsolete loop mount persistently in `/etc/fstab`.
- Verified database `app`, existing application tables/data, and write capability under role `app_rw`.
- Forced a checkpoint and confirmed the cluster remains healthy after a clean restart.

Current status: **online, not in recovery, accepting connections, with approximately 70 GB free disk space.**

The checks

CheckNodeResultWhat it printed
the cluster is running, in production, and starts at bootnode1pass[node1] answer=1 cluster_state=in production
it accepts writes againnode1pass[node1] in_recovery=f write_probe=1
every committed row is still therenode1pass[node1] payments_checksum=243fb6bf783168e341e128a6365579f4 expected=243fb6bf783168e341e128a6365579f4 rows=100081 expected_rows=100081
the slot that held the WAL is gonenode1fail[node1] ghost_slot=1 inactive_slots_holding_wal=1 slots=standby_ghost:false
pg_wal has room to keep workingnode1pass[node1] pg_wal=/var/lib/postgresql/17/main/pg_wal size=75G used_pct=4
archiving works again, or is off on purposenode1pass[node1] archive_mode=off failed_before=0 failed_after=0 ready_segments=0
the data directory belongs to postgres againnode1pass[node1] owner=postgres:postgres mode=700 files_not_owned_by_postgres=0