huskies: merge 893

server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs

@@ -334,7 +334,9 @@ fn map_stage_move_to_event(
         }),
         (Stage::Coding | Stage::Qa | Stage::Backlog, "done") => Ok(PipelineEvent::Close),
         (Stage::Blocked { .. }, "current") => Ok(PipelineEvent::Unblock),
-        (Stage::MergeFailure { .. }, "backlog") => Ok(PipelineEvent::Unblock),
+        // Story 893: MergeFailure + Unblock now goes to Coding (retry), so
+        // manual demotion to backlog uses Demote instead.
+        (Stage::MergeFailure { .. }, "backlog") => Ok(PipelineEvent::Demote),
         (
             Stage::Archived {
                 reason: ArchiveReason::Blocked { .. },
@@ -592,6 +594,60 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    // ── Story 893: MergeFailure unblock → Coding regression ─────────────────
+
+    /// Regression test (story 893): unblocking a story in `MergeFailure` via
+    /// `transition_to_unblocked` transitions it to `Stage::Coding`, not `Backlog`.
+    /// After the unblock, the auto-assigner can pick it up normally (it looks for
+    /// stories in `Coding` / active stages).
+    #[test]
+    fn unblock_merge_failure_story_lands_in_coding() {
+        crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+        crate::db::write_item_with_content(
+            "99893_story_merge_failure_unblock",
+            "merge_failure",
+            "---\nname: MergeFailure Unblock Test\n---\n# Story\n",
+            crate::db::ItemMeta::named("MergeFailure Unblock Test"),
+        );
+
+        // Verify starting state is MergeFailure.
+        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed("99893_story_merge_failure_unblock")
+            .expect("CRDT read should succeed")
+            .expect("item should exist");
+        assert!(
+            matches!(item.stage, Stage::MergeFailure { .. }),
+            "should start in MergeFailure: {:?}",
+            item.stage
+        );
+
+        // Unblock routes through transition_to_unblocked (same path as unblock_story MCP).
+        transition_to_unblocked("99893_story_merge_failure_unblock")
+            .expect("transition_to_unblocked should succeed for MergeFailure story");
+
+        // Story must land in Coding, not Backlog — the auto-assigner picks up
+        // Coding-stage stories without an extra DepsMet promotion step.
+        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed("99893_story_merge_failure_unblock")
+            .expect("CRDT read should succeed")
+            .expect("item should exist after unblock");
+        assert_eq!(
+            item.stage.dir_name(),
+            "coding",
+            "MergeFailure story should land in Coding after unblock for immediate retry: {:?}",
+            item.stage
+        );
+        assert!(
+            matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding),
+            "stage should be Stage::Coding after unblock, got: {:?}",
+            item.stage
+        );
+        // auto_assign checks is_active() — Coding satisfies it.
+        assert!(
+            item.stage.is_active(),
+            "Coding satisfies is_active() so auto_assign can pick it up: {:?}",
+            item.stage
+        );
+    }
+
     // ── feature_branch_has_unmerged_changes tests ────────────────────────────
 
     fn init_git_repo(repo: &std::path::Path) {

server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs

@@ -750,6 +750,34 @@ fn repeated_merge_failure_apply_transition_no_error_no_duplicate_notification()
     );
 }
 
+// ── Story 893: MergeFailure + Unblock → Coding (retry) ─────────────
+
+/// AC1: `MergeFailure + Unblock` transitions to `Coding` (retry), not `Backlog`.
+#[test]
+fn merge_failure_unblock_returns_to_coding() {
+    let s = Stage::MergeFailure {
+        reason: "conflicts in server/src/main.rs".into(),
+    };
+    let result = transition(s, PipelineEvent::Unblock).unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        matches!(result, Stage::Coding),
+        "MergeFailure + Unblock should return to Coding for immediate retry, got: {result:?}"
+    );
+}
+
+/// AC1 (complement): `MergeFailure + Demote` still goes to `Backlog` for manual parking.
+#[test]
+fn merge_failure_demote_returns_to_backlog() {
+    let s = Stage::MergeFailure {
+        reason: "conflicts".into(),
+    };
+    let result = transition(s, PipelineEvent::Demote).unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        matches!(result, Stage::Backlog),
+        "MergeFailure + Demote should park the story in Backlog, got: {result:?}"
+    );
+}
+
 // ── Story 892: MergeFailure → Done (manual recovery) ───────────────
 
 /// Regression test (story 892): `accept_story` on a story in `MergeFailure`

server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs

@@ -242,8 +242,17 @@ pub fn transition(state: Stage, event: PipelineEvent) -> Result<Stage, Transitio
         // ── Unblock: Blocked → Coding ─────────────────────────────────
         (Blocked { .. }, Unblock) => Ok(Coding),
 
-        // ── Unblock MergeFailure → Backlog ───────────────────────────────
-        (MergeFailure { .. }, Unblock) => Ok(Backlog),
+        // ── Unblock MergeFailure → Coding (retry) ────────────────────────
+        // `unblock_story` on a failed merge re-enters the coding stage so a
+        // coder agent can rework the branch, rather than routing back through
+        // the backlog (which would require an extra DepsMet promotion step).
+        (MergeFailure { .. }, Unblock) => Ok(Coding),
+
+        // ── Demote MergeFailure → Backlog (manual parking) ───────────────
+        // Lets operators park a failed-merge story in the backlog without an
+        // agent retry. Complements `Unblock` (→ Coding) which triggers an
+        // immediate retry by a coder agent.
+        (MergeFailure { .. }, Demote) => Ok(Backlog),
 
         // ── Legacy unblock: Archived(Blocked|MergeFailed) → Backlog ──
         (

server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs

@@ -108,7 +108,8 @@ pub enum Stage {
 
     /// Merge pipeline failed (conflicts or gate failures). Story is held here
     /// awaiting human intervention or retry.  Unlike `Archived(MergeFailed)`,
-    /// this is a recoverable intermediate state — `Unblock` returns to `Backlog`.
+    /// this is a recoverable intermediate state — `Unblock` returns to `Coding`
+    /// (immediate agent retry) and `Demote` returns to `Backlog` (manual park).
     MergeFailure { reason: String },
 }