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fix: prevent false removed connectors in diff by stripping augmentation fields#185

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fix/cgo-connector-diff-false-removals
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fix: prevent false removed connectors in diff by stripping augmentation fields#185
JakeSCahill wants to merge 2 commits intomainfrom
fix/cgo-connector-diff-false-removals

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@JakeSCahill JakeSCahill commented Apr 3, 2026

Problem

Connector diff generation was incorrectly reporting CGO-only and cloud-only connectors as "removed" when comparing versions.

Real-world impact: PR #406 incorrectly showed 5 connectors as removed when diffing 4.85.0 → 4.86.0.

Before Fix (Incorrect - 5 False Removals)

## Redpanda Connect Documentation Update
**OSS Version:** 4.85.0 → 4.86.0

### Summary
- 1 new connector
- 5 removed connectors ❌ FALSE!

### Breaking Changes Detected ⚠️

This update includes **removed connectors** that may affect existing configurations.

#### New Connectors
- string_split (processors, stable)

#### Removed Connectors
- tigerbeetle_cdc (inputs)
- zmq4 (inputs)
- zmq4 (outputs)
- ffi (processors)
- a2a_message (processors)

### Action Items for Writers
- [ ] Update migration guide for removed `tigerbeetle_cdc` inputs
- [ ] Update migration guide for removed `zmq4` inputs
- [ ] Update migration guide for removed `zmq4` outputs
- [ ] Update migration guide for removed `ffi` processors
- [ ] Update migration guide for removed `a2a_message` processors

After Fix (Correct - 0 False Removals)

## Redpanda Connect Documentation Update
**OSS Version:** 4.85.0 → 4.86.0

### Summary
- 1 new connector ✅

#### New Connectors
- string_split (processors, stable)

No removed connectors.
No breaking changes.

Why those 5 connectors appeared "removed":

  • tigerbeetle_cdc (inputs): CGO-only - not in standard OSS rpk
  • zmq4 (inputs/outputs): CGO-only - not in standard OSS rpk
  • ffi (processors): CGO-only - not in standard OSS rpk
  • a2a_message (processors): Cloud-only - not in standard OSS rpk

Actual changes 4.85.0 → 4.86.0:

  • Added: string_split processor
  • Removed: NONE (the 5 "removed" were false positives)

Root Cause

  1. OSS rpk behavior: rpk connect list doesn't include CGO-only or cloud-only connectors
  2. Binary analysis augmentation: These connectors are added with metadata:
    • requiresCgo: true for CGO-only connectors (tigerbeetle_cdc, zmq4, ffi)
    • cloudOnly: true for cloud-only connectors (a2a_message)
    • cloudSupported: true/false for availability tracking
  3. Diff comparison bug:
    • Old data (4.85.0): Has augmented connectors with metadata
    • New data (4.86.0): Fresh from rpk connect list - missing CGO/cloud-only connectors
    • Diff comparison sees connectors in old but not new → falsely reports as "removed"

Proof that CGO connectors aren't in OSS rpk:

rpk connect list --format json | jq -r '.inputs[]?.name' | grep -E 'tigerbeetle_cdc|zmq4'
# Returns: empty (0 results - proves they're not in standard OSS rpk)

Solution

Added stripAugmentationFields() function that cleans data before diff comparison:

Filter logic:

  • Keep: Connectors with config or fields (proves they came from rpk connect list)
  • Remove: Connectors with only requiresCgo/cloudOnly (added by binary analysis only)
  • Strip: All augmentation metadata fields from remaining connectors

Applied to: Both old and new index data before building component maps for comparison

This ensures the diff only compares connectors that actually came from rpk connect list, preventing CGO-only and cloud-only connectors from appearing as "removed".

Code Changes

New function added:

/**
 * Strip augmentation fields (cloudSupported, requiresCgo, cloudOnly) from connector data
 * before diff comparison to prevent false "removed" connectors.
 */
function stripAugmentationFields(data) {
  const cleanData = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(data));
  const connectorTypes = ['inputs', 'outputs', 'processors', 'caches', 'rate_limits',
    'buffers', 'metrics', 'scanners', 'tracers', 'config', 'bloblang-methods', 'bloblang-functions'];

  for (const type of connectorTypes) {
    if (Array.isArray(cleanData[type])) {
      // Remove connectors added ONLY by augmentation (cloudOnly or requiresCgo without actual rpk data)
      // Keep connectors that have config/fields, proving they came from rpk connect list
      cleanData[type] = cleanData[type].filter(c => {
        return (!(c.cloudOnly || c.requiresCgo) || c.config || c.fields);
      });

      // Remove augmentation fields from remaining connectors
      cleanData[type].forEach(c => {
        delete c.cloudSupported;
        delete c.requiresCgo;
        delete c.cloudOnly;
      });
    }
  }

  return cleanData;
}

Modified diff function:

function generateConnectorDiffJson(oldIndex, newIndex, opts = {}) {
  // Strip augmentation fields before comparison to prevent false "removed" connectors
  // CGO-only and cloud-only connectors are added by binary analysis, not from rpk connect list
  const oldIndexClean = stripAugmentationFields(oldIndex);
  const newIndexClean = stripAugmentationFields(newIndex);

  const oldMap = buildComponentMap(oldIndexClean);
  const newMap = buildComponentMap(newIndexClean);
  // ... rest of diff logic
}

Testing Results

Tested on PR #406 (4.85.0 → 4.86.0):

Before Fix ❌

{
  "summary": {
    "newComponents": 1,
    "removedComponents": 5
  },
  "details": {
    "newComponents": [
      { "name": "string_split", "type": "processors", "status": "stable" }
    ],
    "removedComponents": [
      { "name": "tigerbeetle_cdc", "type": "inputs" },
      { "name": "zmq4", "type": "inputs" },
      { "name": "zmq4", "type": "outputs" },
      { "name": "ffi", "type": "processors" },
      { "name": "a2a_message", "type": "processors" }
    ]
  }
}

After Fix ✅

{
  "summary": {
    "newComponents": 1,
    "removedComponents": 0
  },
  "details": {
    "newComponents": [
      { "name": "string_split", "type": "processors", "status": "stable" }
    ],
    "removedComponents": []
  }
}

Test command:

cd /path/to/rp-connect-docs
npx doc-tools generate rpcn-connector-docs \
  --old-data docs-data/connect-4.85.0.json \
  --data-dir docs-data \
  --cloud-version 4.86.0 \
  --cgo-version 4.86.0

Impact

Fixes:

  • False "removed connectors" reports in automated PRs
  • Incorrect "breaking changes" warnings
  • Writer confusion about connector availability
  • False migration guide action items
  • PR #406 showing 5 false removals

Preserves:

  • Real connector additions/removals detection (string_split correctly detected)
  • Binary analysis metadata in final output (just not used for diff comparison)
  • All other diff functionality (new fields, deprecated components, changed defaults, etc.)

Correct Behavior:

  • CGO-only connectors (tigerbeetle_cdc, zmq4, ffi) not flagged as removed
  • Cloud-only connectors (a2a_message) not flagged as removed
  • Real new connectors (string_split) correctly detected
  • No false breaking changes warnings

Related

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 noreply@anthropic.com

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The change adds a preprocessing step to generateConnectorDiffJson that normalizes connector index data before computing diffs. A new stripAugmentationFields() helper function deep-clones the input index, filters out connectors marked cloudOnly or requiresCgo (unless they have config or fields), and removes augmentation fields (cloudSupported, requiresCgo, cloudOnly) from remaining entries. This normalization prevents connectors that were only added or reclassified through augmentation metadata from being incorrectly reported as removed in subsequent diff computations.

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Possibly related PRs

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  • paulohtb6
  • micheleRP
🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage ⚠️ Warning Docstring coverage is 50.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Title check ✅ Passed The title accurately and concisely describes the main change: preventing false removed connector reports by stripping augmentation fields before diffing.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed The PR successfully addresses linked issue #406 by fixing the diff logic to prevent false removal of CGO-only and cloud-only connectors, ensuring accurate connector diff generation.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed All changes are in-scope, focused solely on fixing the augmentation field stripping logic in the diff generation function to address the false removal issue.
Description check ✅ Passed The PR description thoroughly explains the problem, root cause, solution, code changes, and testing results with real-world examples.

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🧹 Nitpick comments (1)
tools/redpanda-connect/report-delta.js (1)

11-17: Reuse the cleaned indexes in printDeltaReport() too.

generateConnectorDiffJson() now ignores augmentation-only connectors, but printDeltaReport() still builds its maps from the raw indexes at Lines 427-428. That can make the console summary disagree with the JSON diff for the same input.

♻️ Align the console delta path with the JSON diff path
 function printDeltaReport(oldIndex, newIndex) {
-  const oldMap = buildComponentMap(oldIndex);
-  const newMap = buildComponentMap(newIndex);
+  const oldMap = buildComponentMap(stripAugmentationFields(oldIndex));
+  const newMap = buildComponentMap(stripAugmentationFields(newIndex));
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@tools/redpanda-connect/report-delta.js` around lines 11 - 17,
printDeltaReport() is still building maps from the raw indexes (so its console
summary can diverge from generateConnectorDiffJson()); update printDeltaReport()
to use the same cleaned indexes by calling stripAugmentationFields() (or
accepting oldIndexClean/newIndexClean) and then passing those cleaned data to
buildComponentMap() instead of the raw oldIndex/newIndex so the console summary
aligns with the JSON diff.
🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents
Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

Nitpick comments:
In `@tools/redpanda-connect/report-delta.js`:
- Around line 11-17: printDeltaReport() is still building maps from the raw
indexes (so its console summary can diverge from generateConnectorDiffJson());
update printDeltaReport() to use the same cleaned indexes by calling
stripAugmentationFields() (or accepting oldIndexClean/newIndexClean) and then
passing those cleaned data to buildComponentMap() instead of the raw
oldIndex/newIndex so the console summary aligns with the JSON diff.

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 9bba072 and 85745af.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)
  • tools/redpanda-connect/report-delta.js

JakeSCahill and others added 2 commits April 4, 2026 19:08
PROBLEM:
The previous fix (PR #185) attempted to prevent false "removed connectors"
by stripping augmentation fields before diff. However, the filter logic was
flawed:
- CGO connectors WITH config were kept, still appearing as "removed"
- New CGO connectors couldn't be detected
- Platform transitions (CGO→OSS, cloud support changes) were invisible
- Binary analysis tracked platform changes separately from main diff

ROOT CAUSE:
Splitting tracking into two systems (OSS-only diff + separate binary
analysis) lost critical information about platform transitions and made
CGO/cloud connector changes hard to track.

SOLUTION:
Replace stripping with unified diff that includes platform metadata:

1. Remove stripAugmentationFields from diff comparison
2. buildComponentMap now preserves platform metadata:
   - requiresCgo
   - cloudSupported
   - cloudOnly

3. Detect platform transitions for existing connectors:
   - became_cgo_only / no_longer_cgo_only
   - added_cloud_support / removed_cloud_support
   - became_cloud_only / no_longer_cloud_only

4. Include platform metadata in new/removed connector reports

5. For binary analysis input only:
   - Create clean OSS data by filtering connectors with config/fields
   - Remove platform metadata before analysis
   - This ensures binary analyzer compares actual binaries, not metadata

BENEFITS:
✅ Single source of truth for all connector changes
✅ Detects new CGO/cloud connectors correctly
✅ Shows platform transitions (e.g., tigerbeetle_cdc: CGO→OSS)
✅ No false "removed" reports
✅ Diff includes full context for documentation updates

BREAKING CHANGES:
- Diff JSON now includes platform metadata on connectors
- New platformTransitions array in diff.details
- summary.platformTransitions count added

TESTING:
- All existing tests pass
- Manual test confirms:
  • New CGO connectors detected
  • No false removals
  • Platform transitions tracked correctly

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
PROBLEM:
The unified diff works perfectly when binary analysis succeeds on both
versions. However, when binary analysis fails (auth issues, network
problems), we compare:
- Old: Augmented data with CGO/cloud connectors
- New: Non-augmented OSS-only data
Result: False "removed" reports for CGO/cloud connectors

SOLUTION:
Add fallback logic that detects when binary analysis is unavailable and
strips CGO/cloud connectors from old data before comparison:

1. Check if binaryAnalysis.ossVersion exists
2. If not, strip connectors marked with requiresCgo or cloudOnly from old data
3. Remove platform metadata (requiresCgo, cloudSupported, cloudOnly) from remaining
4. Compare OSS-only vs OSS-only data

BEHAVIOR:
- With binary analysis: Full unified diff with platform transitions ✅
- Without binary analysis: OSS-only comparison, no false removals ✅

TESTING (4.85.0 → 4.86.0):
Before fix:
- Binary analysis failed
- 5 false "removed" connectors (tigerbeetle_cdc, zmq4, ffi, a2a_message)

After fix:
- Binary analysis failed
- Stripped 5 CGO/cloud connectors from old data
- 0 removed connectors (no false positives!) ✅
- 0 new connectors (string_split filtered as already documented)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
@JakeSCahill JakeSCahill force-pushed the fix/cgo-connector-diff-false-removals branch from 85745af to de679f9 Compare April 4, 2026 21:41
@JakeSCahill
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🔄 Major Update: Complete Rework of the Fix

The original approach had a critical flaw in the filter logic. I've completely reworked the solution.

What Changed

Original approach (commit 85745af5):

  • Used stripAugmentationFields() before diff
  • Filter logic: (!(c.cloudOnly || c.requiresCgo) || c.config || c.fields)
  • Problem: Kept CGO connectors WITH config, still causing false removals

New approach (commits 36396e69 + de679f9c):

  • Unified diff that includes platform metadata by default
  • Tracks platform transitions (CGO→OSS, cloud support changes)
  • Fallback: When binary analysis fails, strips CGO/cloud connectors from old data

Testing Results (4.85.0 → 4.86.0)

Before this fix:

5 false "removed" connectors:
- tigerbeetle_cdc (input)
- zmq4 (input/output)  
- ffi (processor)
- a2a_message (processor)

After this fix:

⚠️  Binary analysis unavailable - stripping CGO/cloud metadata
   • Stripped 5 CGO/cloud connectors from old data
   ✓ 0 removed connectors (no false positives!)

New Behavior

  1. With binary analysis (normal case):

    • Full diff with platform metadata
    • Detects new CGO/cloud connectors
    • Shows platform transitions
  2. Without binary analysis (fallback):

    • Auto-detects missing binary analysis
    • Strips CGO/cloud connectors: !(c.requiresCgo || c.cloudOnly)
    • Compares OSS-only data
    • Prevents false removals

Breaking Changes

  • Diff JSON now includes platform metadata on components
  • New platformTransitions array in diff details
  • Summary includes platformTransitions count

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