From 70c9f7254c286568f382655fca183a7cd58ca006 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "didericis (claude)" <eric+claude@dideric.is>
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2026 10:28:16 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] docs: add PRD 0040

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+# PRD 0040: Backend-Aware Resume and Dashboard Reattach
+
+- **Status:** Draft
+- **Author:** didericis-codex
+- **Created:** 2026-06-02
+- **Issue:** #137
+
+## Summary
+
+Persist the backend name in `BottleMetadata` and thread it through `resume` and
+dashboard reattach so both flows construct the correct backend bottle without
+relying on env overrides or defaulting to Docker.
+
+## Problem
+
+`BottleMetadata` records identity, agent, cwd, started_at, and compose project,
+but not the backend name. Without it:
+
+- `cli/resume.py` cannot select the right backend from a preserved state dir
+  alone; operators must remember to set `BOT_BOTTLE_BACKEND=smolmachines`
+  separately.
+- `cli/dashboard.py` `_bottle_for_slug` constructs a `DockerBottle` for any
+  externally discovered slug, so reattaching to a live smolmachines agent
+  from the dashboard sends Docker commands to a smolvm machine.
+
+## Goals / Success Criteria
+
+- `BottleMetadata` includes the backend name, written at bottle creation time
+  for both Docker and smolmachines.
+- `cli resume` reads the persisted backend name and constructs the correct
+  bottle type without requiring an env override.
+- Dashboard reattach (`_bottle_for_slug`) reads the persisted backend name and
+  constructs the correct bottle type.
+- Existing Docker bottles without a persisted backend name fall back to Docker
+  (backward-compatible default).
+- Unit tests cover write, read, backward-compatible fallback, and both
+  resume/reattach code paths.
+
+## Non-goals
+
+- No changes to manifest or egress configuration.
+- No new CLI flags (backend selection at resume time should be automatic).
+- No smolmachines capability-apply implementation (see PRD 0039).
+
+## Scope
+
+In scope:
+
+- `bot_bottle/backend/docker/bottle_state.py` `BottleMetadata` schema and
+  write path.
+- `bot_bottle/backend/docker/bottle.py` and
+  `bot_bottle/backend/smolmachines/bottle.py` metadata write at creation.
+- `bot_bottle/cli/resume.py` backend selection from metadata.
+- `bot_bottle/cli/dashboard.py` `_bottle_for_slug` backend selection.
+- Unit tests covering the above.
+
+Out of scope:
+
+- Migration tooling for existing state dirs.
+- Integration tests that exercise full resume across process restarts.
+
+## Design
+
+Add a `backend` field to `BottleMetadata` with a default of `"docker"` for
+backward compatibility. Both `DockerBottle` and `SmolmachinesBottle` write
+their backend name into metadata at creation time.
+
+`resume` reads the metadata before constructing the bottle object and selects
+the appropriate backend class. `_bottle_for_slug` does the same. A helper
+function in the metadata module can encapsulate the backend-name-to-class
+mapping so the logic is not duplicated.
+
+## Testing Strategy
+
+- Unit tests for `BottleMetadata` serialisation with and without the backend
+  field.
+- Unit tests for the backward-compatible default.
+- Unit tests for `resume` selecting smolmachines vs Docker from metadata.
+- Unit tests for `_bottle_for_slug` selecting smolmachines vs Docker.
+
+Run:
+
+- `python3 -m unittest discover -s tests/unit`
+
+## Open Questions
+
+None.