feat(columbo): retry model calls with per-attempt deadlines (#598)

docs/columbo.md

@@ -99,7 +99,11 @@ as AI-generated with the executed queries listed — so the worst case is a
 misleading note that staff are told to verify.
 
 Hard limits per investigation: tool-call budget (`COLUMBO_MAX_TOOL_CALLS`,
-16), wall clock (`COLUMBO_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`, 300), tool results truncated to
+16), wall clock (`COLUMBO_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`, 600), model calls retried on
+transport errors/timeouts/5xx with per-attempt deadlines
+(`COLUMBO_MODEL_TIMEOUT_SECONDS` 120 × `COLUMBO_MODEL_ATTEMPTS` 3 — the
+response body is buffered per attempt so a mid-body stall retries instead of
+killing the run), tool results truncated to
 `COLUMBO_TOOL_RESULT_BYTES` with the full payload kept harness-side for jq,
 bounded queue + workers, note capped to the embed limit. Model-supplied
 query parameters are clamped in the harness before the backend sees them —

packages/columbo/internal/agent/agent.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -37,14 +38,16 @@ type Investigation struct {
 }
 
 type Config struct {
-	OpenRouterURL   string
-	APIKey          string
-	Model           string
-	TriageModel     string
-	MetricsURL      string
-	LogsURL         string
-	MaxToolCalls    int
-	ToolResultBytes int
+	OpenRouterURL    string
+	APIKey           string
+	Model            string
+	TriageModel      string
+	MetricsURL        string
+	LogsURL           string
+	MaxToolCalls      int
+	ToolResultBytes   int
+	ModelCallTimeout  time.Duration
+	ModelCallAttempts int
 }
 
 type Runner struct {
@@ -280,11 +283,26 @@ func truncateNote(note string) string {
 	return note[:maxNoteChars] + "…"
 }
 
+// chatModel routes requests through the retrying transport: per-ATTEMPT
+// deadlines with a couple of retries, because OpenRouter tail latency varies
+// wildly across the providers it balances over — a 120s stall on one
+// provider took down an otherwise healthy run. The investigation context
+// remains the overall budget.
 func (r *Runner) chatModel(ctx context.Context, model string) (*openai.ChatModel, error) {
+	timeout := r.cfg.ModelCallTimeout
+	if timeout <= 0 {
+		timeout = 120 * time.Second
+	}
+	attempts := r.cfg.ModelCallAttempts
+	if attempts <= 0 {
+		attempts = 3
+	}
 	return openai.NewChatModel(ctx, &openai.ChatModelConfig{
 		BaseURL: r.cfg.OpenRouterURL,
 		APIKey:  r.cfg.APIKey,
 		Model:   model,
-		Timeout: 120 * time.Second,
+		HTTPClient: &http.Client{
+			Transport: &retryTransport{base: http.DefaultTransport, attempts: attempts, perAttempt: timeout},
+		},
 	})
 }

packages/columbo/internal/agent/transport.go

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package agent
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/rs/zerolog"
+)
+
+const maxModelResponseBytes = 16 << 20
+
+// retryTransport retries model calls on transport errors, timeouts, and
+// retryable statuses (408/429/5xx). Each attempt gets its own deadline and
+// the response body is buffered INSIDE the attempt — the failure this exists
+// for was a completion stalling mid-body, which is unreachable to a retry
+// once RoundTrip has returned a streaming body. Chat completions are small;
+// buffering trades streaming (unused) for retryability.
+type retryTransport struct {
+	base       http.RoundTripper
+	attempts   int
+	perAttempt time.Duration
+}
+
+func (t *retryTransport) RoundTrip(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+	logger := zerolog.Ctx(req.Context())
+	var lastErr error
+	var lastResp *http.Response
+	for attempt := 1; attempt <= t.attempts; attempt++ {
+		if attempt > 1 {
+			if req.Body != nil && req.GetBody == nil {
+				break
+			}
+			select {
+			case <-req.Context().Done():
+				return nil, req.Context().Err()
+			case <-time.After(time.Duration(attempt-1) * time.Second):
+			}
+		}
+
+		resp, err := t.attempt(req, attempt)
+		if err != nil {
+			if req.Context().Err() != nil {
+				return nil, req.Context().Err()
+			}
+			logger.Warn().Err(err).Int("attempt", attempt).Msg("model call attempt failed")
+			lastErr = err
+			lastResp = nil
+			continue
+		}
+		if !retryableStatus(resp.StatusCode) {
+			return resp, nil
+		}
+		logger.Warn().Int("attempt", attempt).Int("status", resp.StatusCode).Msg("model call attempt got a retryable status")
+		lastErr = nil
+		lastResp = resp
+	}
+	if lastResp != nil {
+		return lastResp, nil
+	}
+	return nil, lastErr
+}
+
+func (t *retryTransport) attempt(req *http.Request, attempt int) (*http.Response, error) {
+	ctx := req.Context()
+	cancel := context.CancelFunc(func() {})
+	if t.perAttempt > 0 {
+		ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(ctx, t.perAttempt)
+	}
+	defer cancel()
+
+	attemptReq := req.Clone(ctx)
+	if attempt > 1 && req.GetBody != nil {
+		body, err := req.GetBody()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		attemptReq.Body = body
+	}
+
+	resp, err := t.base.RoundTrip(attemptReq)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(resp.Body, maxModelResponseBytes))
+	_ = resp.Body.Close()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	resp.Body = io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(body))
+	return resp, nil
+}
+
+func retryableStatus(status int) bool {
+	return status == http.StatusRequestTimeout || status == http.StatusTooManyRequests || status >= 500
+}

packages/columbo/internal/agent/transport_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+package agent
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func retryClient(attempts int, perAttempt time.Duration) *http.Client {
+	return &http.Client{Transport: &retryTransport{base: http.DefaultTransport, attempts: attempts, perAttempt: perAttempt}}
+}
+
+func postJSON(t *testing.T, client *http.Client, url string) (*http.Response, error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(context.Background(), http.MethodPost, url, strings.NewReader(`{"model":"m"}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return client.Do(req)
+}
+
+func TestRetriesOn5xxAndReplaysBody(t *testing.T) {
+	var calls atomic.Int32
+	var bodies []string
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(r.Body)
+		bodies = append(bodies, string(body))
+		if calls.Add(1) < 3 {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadGateway)
+			return
+		}
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"ok":true}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	resp, err := postJSON(t, retryClient(3, time.Second), srv.URL)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d, want 200", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if string(body) != `{"ok":true}` {
+		t.Fatalf("body = %q", body)
+	}
+	if len(bodies) != 3 || bodies[2] != `{"model":"m"}` {
+		t.Fatalf("bodies = %q", bodies)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDoesNotRetryClientErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	var calls atomic.Int32
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		calls.Add(1)
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadRequest)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	resp, err := postJSON(t, retryClient(3, time.Second), srv.URL)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusBadRequest || calls.Load() != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d calls = %d, want one 400", resp.StatusCode, calls.Load())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRetriesAStalledBody(t *testing.T) {
+	var calls atomic.Int32
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if calls.Add(1) == 1 {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+			w.(http.Flusher).Flush()
+			<-r.Context().Done()
+			return
+		}
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"ok":true}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	resp, err := postJSON(t, retryClient(2, 200*time.Millisecond), srv.URL)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if string(body) != `{"ok":true}` || calls.Load() != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("body = %q calls = %d", body, calls.Load())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExhaustedRetriesReturnTheLastResponse(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	resp, err := postJSON(t, retryClient(2, time.Second), srv.URL)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusServiceUnavailable {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d, want 503", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParentContextCancelStopsRetries(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 300*time.Millisecond)
+	defer cancel()
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodPost, srv.URL, strings.NewReader("{}"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	started := time.Now()
+	_, err = retryClient(5, time.Second).Do(req)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a context error")
+	}
+	if time.Since(started) > 2*time.Second {
+		t.Fatalf("retries kept running past parent cancellation (%s)", time.Since(started))
+	}
+}

packages/columbo/internal/config/config.go

@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ type Config struct {
 
 	MaxToolCalls         int
 	InvestigationTimeout time.Duration
+	ModelCallTimeout     time.Duration
+	ModelCallAttempts    int
 	ToolResultBytes      int
 	Workers              int
 
@@ -82,7 +84,9 @@ func LoadConfig() Config {
 		BotURL:               envOr("FUTO_BACKUPS_BOT_URL", "http://localhost:3050"),
 		GrafanaURL:           envOr("GRAFANA_URL", "https://grafana.futostatus.com"),
 		MaxToolCalls:         envIntMin("COLUMBO_MAX_TOOL_CALLS", 16, 1),
-		InvestigationTimeout: time.Duration(envIntMin("COLUMBO_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 300, 10)) * time.Second,
+		InvestigationTimeout: time.Duration(envIntMin("COLUMBO_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 600, 10)) * time.Second,
+		ModelCallTimeout:     time.Duration(envIntMin("COLUMBO_MODEL_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 120, 10)) * time.Second,
+		ModelCallAttempts:    envIntMin("COLUMBO_MODEL_ATTEMPTS", 3, 1),
 		ToolResultBytes:      envIntMin("COLUMBO_TOOL_RESULT_BYTES", 12288, 512),
 		Workers:              envIntMin("COLUMBO_WORKERS", 2, 1),
 		OTLPMetricsEndpoint:  os.Getenv("OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT"),

packages/columbo/main.go

@@ -49,14 +49,16 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	runner := agent.NewRunner(agent.Config{
-		OpenRouterURL:   cfg.OpenRouterURL,
-		APIKey:          cfg.OpenRouterAPIKey,
-		Model:           cfg.Model,
-		TriageModel:     cfg.TriageModel,
-		MetricsURL:      cfg.MetricsURL,
-		LogsURL:         cfg.LogsURL,
-		MaxToolCalls:    cfg.MaxToolCalls,
-		ToolResultBytes: cfg.ToolResultBytes,
+		OpenRouterURL:    cfg.OpenRouterURL,
+		APIKey:           cfg.OpenRouterAPIKey,
+		Model:            cfg.Model,
+		TriageModel:      cfg.TriageModel,
+		MetricsURL:       cfg.MetricsURL,
+		LogsURL:          cfg.LogsURL,
+		MaxToolCalls:      cfg.MaxToolCalls,
+		ToolResultBytes:   cfg.ToolResultBytes,
+		ModelCallTimeout:  cfg.ModelCallTimeout,
+		ModelCallAttempts: cfg.ModelCallAttempts,
 	})
 	recorder, err := metrics.Setup(cfg.OTLPMetricsEndpoint, cfg.OTLPMetricsURLPath, cfg.OTLPMetricsInterval)
 	if err != nil {