A refused key

You will learn

How the Queen sorts a provider's refusal into transient, quota, auth or a bad request.

Try it

Compare 429 with codes 1308 and 1312; then read what no answer at all is.

specs/queen/key_failover.t27

// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
; specs/queen/key_failover.t27 -- a bee whose key is refused moves to another key, then another pool (gHashTag/t27#9993).
; Measured 2026-10-17 13:00-15:18Z in the Railway logs of trios-bee-runner-2: 93 bee turns, 17 of them
; ended after 0 steps; at least 22 AI_RetryError on z.ai "429 code 1305" (temporary overload), in bursts
; at 13:53, 13:59, 14:08 (16 in one minute), 14:19, 14:47 and 14:50. trios-bee-runner-1: about 6 of 48
; turns ended after 0 steps. The bee for #9967 started at 14:50:47 on pool-2 key 9/10 and died at 14:50:54.
; The cause: a bee gets ONE key when it is dispatched (trios queen-dispatch.ts resolveWorkerProvider,
; round-robin) and keeps it. On 1305 the SDK retried the same key three times, the turn closed with no
; completion frame, and the dispatch ended "cause undetermined" while 33 other keys in two pools (24 and
; 10) stood by. The reviewer already does the right thing (trios queen-tick.ts, "a transient refusal
; tries the next lane too", after it lost 16 of 16 calls to 1302/1305 on 2026-09-23); bees did not.
; The rule here, after Envoy's retry_host_predicate previous_hosts plus outlier ejection, and the LiteLLM
; router's cooldown-then-fallback:
;   1. classify the refusal: transient, quota, auth or a bad request (error_kind);
;   2. a transient refusal rests the key for seconds (cooldown_seconds), a quota or auth refusal closes
;      it for the long break -- 1302 and 1305 never close a key and never retire work;
;   3. the next attempt goes to the next free key of the pool, never the key that just failed
;      (next_free); 1305 is an overload of the pool's MODEL, not of one key, so once POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS
;      distinct keys of one pool answered 1305 inside OVERLOAD_WINDOW_SECONDS the bee moves to the next
;      pool instead of burning the rest (pool_overloaded);
;   4. at most MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN attempts, then the turn ends as provider_overloaded (trios#1708),
;      its claim is released (trios#1886), and the end is not charged to the issue (charges_issue).
; Masks: bit i of a u32 mask is key i of the pool (or pool i of the pool list); a pool holds at most
; POOL_MAX keys. NO_KEY means "none left". The host keeps the clock and the masks; this file decides.
; Not here: the wiring into trios. It lands as generated code, not hand-written TypeScript. ASCII only (L3).
; phi^2 + 1/phi^2 = 3 | TRINITY

module QueenKeyFailover;

; --- 1. What the provider said -----------------------------------------------------------------------

/// KE_OK: the request was answered. KE_TRANSIENT: refused for now, another key or a moment later may
/// pass. KE_QUOTA: the key's quota, plan or balance is spent. KE_AUTH: the key itself is refused.
/// KE_REQUEST: the request is wrong; every key would answer the same.
pub const KE_OK : u8 = 0;
pub const KE_TRANSIENT : u8 = 1;
pub const KE_QUOTA : u8 = 2;
pub const KE_AUTH : u8 = 3;
pub const KE_REQUEST : u8 = 4;

/// The z.ai rate limit and temporary overload codes. Both arrive as HTTP 429 and both clear on their own.
pub const ZAI_RATE_LIMIT : u32 = 1302;
pub const ZAI_OVERLOAD : u32 = 1305;

/// The z.ai codes whose documented meaning is a spent quota, plan or balance: 1113 and 1308-1321
/// except 1312, the closed list ZAI_QUOTA_EXHAUSTED_CODES in trios queen-dispatch.ts (#1301).
pub fn is_quota_code(code: u32) -> bool {
    if (code == 1113) { return true; }
    if (code == 1312) { return false; }
    if (code < 1308) { return false; }
    return code <= 1321;
}

/// `status` is the HTTP status, 0 when no response came at all (timeout, reset, abort). `zai_code` is
/// the business code in the body, 0 when there is none. The code wins over the status, because z.ai
/// sends a spent quota and a passing overload with the same 429.
pub fn error_kind(status: u32, zai_code: u32) -> u8 {
    if (is_quota_code(zai_code)) { return KE_QUOTA; }
    if (zai_code == ZAI_RATE_LIMIT) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (zai_code == ZAI_OVERLOAD) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (status == 0) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (status == 402) { return KE_QUOTA; }
    if (status == 401) { return KE_AUTH; }
    if (status == 403) { return KE_AUTH; }
    if (status == 408) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (status == 429) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (status >= 600) { return KE_REQUEST; }
    if (status >= 500) { return KE_TRANSIENT; }
    if (status >= 400) { return KE_REQUEST; }
    return KE_OK;
}

; --- 2. How long a refused key rests ------------------------------------------------------------------

/// A transient refusal rests the key COOL_BASE_SECONDS, doubled per strike in a row, never more than
/// COOL_CAP_SECONDS: long enough that the next bee does not hit the same overloaded key at once, short
/// enough that 34 keys are never all resting through a one-minute burst like 14:08.
pub const COOL_BASE_SECONDS : u32 = 15;
pub const COOL_CAP_SECONDS : u32 = 240;
/// A spent quota or a refused key closes for the long break the runtime already uses (30 minutes).
pub const KEY_BREAK_SECONDS : u32 = 1800;

/// `strikes` is the key's transient refusals in a row before this one. The cap is the base doubled
/// exactly four times (an invariant pins it), so the doubling meets the cap and never steps past it.
pub fn cooldown_seconds(kind: u8, strikes: u32) -> u32 {
    if (kind == KE_QUOTA) { return KEY_BREAK_SECONDS; }
    if (kind == KE_AUTH) { return KEY_BREAK_SECONDS; }
    if (kind != KE_TRANSIENT) { return 0; }
    var wait : u32 = COOL_BASE_SECONDS;
    var n : u32 = 0;
    while (n < strikes) {
        if (wait >= COOL_CAP_SECONDS) { return COOL_CAP_SECONDS; }
        wait = wait * 2;
        n = n + 1;
    }
    return wait;
}

/// Whether the refusal closes the key for the long break. A transient refusal never does.
pub fn key_closes(kind: u8) -> bool {
    if (kind == KE_QUOTA) { return true; }
    return kind == KE_AUTH;
}

; --- 3. The next key, the next pool ------------------------------------------------------------------

pub const POOL_MAX : u32 = 32;
pub const NO_KEY : u32 = 255;

pub fn bit(i: u32) -> u32 {
    if (i >= POOL_MAX) { return 0; }
    return 1 << i;
}

pub fn is_set(mask: u32, i: u32) -> bool {
    return (mask & bit(i)) != 0;
}

/// The next index after `last`, wrapping, that is neither tried in this turn nor blocked (resting or
/// closed), and is never `last` itself: the scan visits the size - 1 other indices only. `last` out of
/// range (NO_KEY) visits all of them from index 0. NO_KEY when none is free. A list longer than
/// POOL_MAX does not fit a mask and is refused (NO_KEY), never read as its first 32. The same rule
/// picks a key inside a pool and a pool inside the pool list.
pub fn next_free(tried: u32, blocked: u32, size: u32, last: u32) -> u32 {
    if (size > POOL_MAX) { return NO_KEY; }
    var start : u32 = 0;
    var count : u32 = size;
    if (last < size) {
        start = last + 1;
        count = size - 1;
    }
    var k : u32 = 0;
    while (k < count) {
        var i : u32 = (start + k) % size;
        if (is_set(tried | blocked, i) == false) { return i; }
        k = k + 1;
    }
    return NO_KEY;
}

/// 1305 from POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS distinct keys of one pool inside OVERLOAD_WINDOW_SECONDS is the
/// pool's model overloaded. A pool smaller than that is overloaded when every key said it.
pub const POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS : u32 = 3;
pub const OVERLOAD_WINDOW_SECONDS : u32 = 60;

pub fn pool_overloaded(distinct_keys_1305: u32, pool_size: u32) -> bool {
    if (distinct_keys_1305 >= POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS) { return true; }
    if (pool_size == 0) { return false; }
    return distinct_keys_1305 >= pool_size;
}

; --- 4. The step after a refusal ---------------------------------------------------------------------

/// FA_DONE: answered, go on. FA_NEXT_KEY: retry on next_free's key. FA_NEXT_POOL: retry on the next
/// pool. FA_GIVE_UP: no key left; the turn ends as provider_overloaded. FA_FAIL: the request is wrong.
pub const FA_DONE : u8 = 0;
pub const FA_NEXT_KEY : u8 = 1;
pub const FA_NEXT_POOL : u8 = 2;
pub const FA_GIVE_UP : u8 = 3;
pub const FA_FAIL : u8 = 4;

/// The bound on attempts in one turn, the failed one included: three keys of the first pool to see an
/// overload, three of the second, and two to spare. It keeps a turn from spinning through 34 keys.
pub const MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN : u32 = 8;

/// `attempts` counts the attempts of this turn so far, this one included. `next_key` and `next_pool`
/// are next_free's answers for the current pool and for the pool list (NO_KEY when none).
pub fn step(kind: u8, attempts: u32, next_key: u32, distinct_keys_1305: u32, pool_size: u32, next_pool: u32) -> u8 {
    if (kind == KE_OK) { return FA_DONE; }
    if (kind >= KE_REQUEST) { return FA_FAIL; }
    if (attempts >= MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN) { return FA_GIVE_UP; }
    var pool_out : bool = false;
    if (kind == KE_TRANSIENT) { pool_out = pool_overloaded(distinct_keys_1305, pool_size); }
    if (pool_out == false) {
        if (next_key != NO_KEY) { return FA_NEXT_KEY; }
    }
    if (next_pool != NO_KEY) { return FA_NEXT_POOL; }
    return FA_GIVE_UP;
}

/// Whether a turn that ended on this kind counts against the issue. A provider that is overloaded,
/// spent or refusing a key says nothing about the work, so it never retires the issue; a wrong request
/// does. Only KE_REQUEST charges. This narrows dispatch_exit.t27 counts_against_issue, which charges
/// every DX_PROVIDER_ERROR.
pub fn charges_issue(kind: u8) -> bool {
    return kind == KE_REQUEST;
}

; --- 5. Tests ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

test the_quota_list_is_the_closed_list_of_the_runtime {
    assert is_quota_code(1113) == true;
    assert is_quota_code(1308) == true;
    assert is_quota_code(1311) == true;
    assert is_quota_code(1312) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(1313) == true;
    assert is_quota_code(1321) == true;
    assert is_quota_code(1322) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(1307) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(1112) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(1114) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(ZAI_RATE_LIMIT) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(ZAI_OVERLOAD) == false;
    assert is_quota_code(0) == false;
}

test the_code_wins_over_the_status {
    assert error_kind(429, 1305) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(429, 1302) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(429, 1113) == KE_QUOTA;
    assert error_kind(429, 1316) == KE_QUOTA;
    assert error_kind(200, 1308) == KE_QUOTA;
    assert error_kind(400, 1305) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(400, 1302) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(429, 1312) == KE_TRANSIENT;
}

test a_status_without_a_code_falls_in_its_kind {
    assert error_kind(0, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(200, 0) == KE_OK;
    assert error_kind(399, 0) == KE_OK;
    assert error_kind(400, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(401, 0) == KE_AUTH;
    assert error_kind(402, 0) == KE_QUOTA;
    assert error_kind(403, 0) == KE_AUTH;
    assert error_kind(404, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(407, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(408, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(409, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(428, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(429, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(430, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(499, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
    assert error_kind(500, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(503, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(529, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(599, 0) == KE_TRANSIENT;
    assert error_kind(600, 0) == KE_REQUEST;
}

test a_transient_refusal_rests_seconds_and_a_spent_key_closes {
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 0) == 15;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 1) == 30;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 2) == 60;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 3) == 120;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 4) == COOL_CAP_SECONDS;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 5) == COOL_CAP_SECONDS;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_TRANSIENT, 4000000000) == COOL_CAP_SECONDS;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_QUOTA, 0) == KEY_BREAK_SECONDS;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_AUTH, 7) == KEY_BREAK_SECONDS;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_OK, 3) == 0;
    assert cooldown_seconds(KE_REQUEST, 3) == 0;
    assert key_closes(KE_QUOTA) == true;
    assert key_closes(KE_AUTH) == true;
    assert key_closes(KE_TRANSIENT) == false;
    assert key_closes(KE_OK) == false;
    assert key_closes(KE_REQUEST) == false;
}

test bits_name_keys {
    assert bit(0) == 1;
    assert bit(3) == 8;
    assert bit(31) == 2147483648;
    assert bit(32) == 0;
    assert is_set(8, 3) == true;
    assert is_set(8, 2) == false;
    assert is_set(4294967295, 31) == true;
    assert is_set(4294967295, 32) == false;
}

test the_next_key_is_never_the_one_that_failed {
    // the #9967 case: pool 2 has 10 keys, key 9 answered 1305; the next try wraps to key 0
    assert next_free(bit(9), 0, 10, 9) == 0;
    // even when the failed key is not marked tried, it is skipped
    assert next_free(0, 0, 10, 9) == 0;
    assert next_free(0, 0, 10, 4) == 5;
    // a pool of one key has no other key
    assert next_free(0, 0, 1, 0) == NO_KEY;
    // tried and resting keys are both skipped
    assert next_free(bit(5), bit(6), 10, 4) == 7;
    assert next_free(bit(0) | bit(1), 0, 3, 2) == NO_KEY;
    // a fresh turn starts at key 0
    assert next_free(0, 0, 24, NO_KEY) == 0;
    assert next_free(bit(0), 0, 24, NO_KEY) == 1;
    // every key but the failed one is taken
    assert next_free(4294967295 - bit(9), 0, 10, 9) == NO_KEY;
    // an empty pool has nothing
    assert next_free(0, 0, 0, NO_KEY) == NO_KEY;
    // `last` just past the end is out of range: the scan starts at 0
    assert next_free(0, 0, 10, 10) == 0;
    // a full mask of POOL_MAX keys wraps from the top index
    assert next_free(0, 0, 32, 31) == 0;
    assert next_free(0, 0, 32, NO_KEY) == 0;
    assert next_free(0, 4294967295 - bit(31), 32, 30) == 31;
    // a list longer than POOL_MAX does not fit a mask and is refused
    assert next_free(0, 0, 33, NO_KEY) == NO_KEY;
    assert next_free(0, 0, 40, 31) == NO_KEY;
}

test an_overload_seen_on_three_keys_is_the_pools_model {
    assert pool_overloaded(0, 24) == false;
    assert pool_overloaded(2, 24) == false;
    assert pool_overloaded(3, 24) == true;
    assert pool_overloaded(16, 24) == true;
    assert pool_overloaded(2, 2) == true;
    assert pool_overloaded(1, 2) == false;
    assert pool_overloaded(1, 1) == true;
    assert pool_overloaded(0, 0) == false;
}

/// The conformance table: one assert per row. Columns: kind, attempts, next key, distinct keys that
/// answered 1305 in the window, pool size, next pool.
test conformance_rows {
    // r01 answered: go on
    assert step(KE_OK, 1, 5, 0, 24, 1) == FA_DONE;
    // r02 a wrong request fails, whatever keys are left
    assert step(KE_REQUEST, 1, 5, 0, 24, 1) == FA_FAIL;
    // r03 an unknown kind is read as a wrong request
    assert step(9, 1, 5, 0, 24, 1) == FA_FAIL;
    // r04 the #9967 case: first 1305 on pool 2, keys left: next key, not the same key
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 1, 0, 1, 10, 0) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r05 a rate limit (1302) on a fresh pool: next key
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 1, 3, 0, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r06 the third distinct key said 1305: the model is overloaded, next pool
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 3, 4, 3, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_POOL;
    // r07 the 14:08 burst: overloaded and no other pool: give up, do not burn the rest
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 3, 4, 3, 24, NO_KEY) == FA_GIVE_UP;
    // r08 a spent quota on one key does not mean an overloaded pool: next key
    assert step(KE_QUOTA, 1, 2, 5, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r09 a refused key: next key
    assert step(KE_AUTH, 1, 2, 0, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r10 no key left in the pool: next pool
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 2, NO_KEY, 1, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_POOL;
    // r11 no key and no pool left: give up
    assert step(KE_QUOTA, 2, NO_KEY, 0, 24, NO_KEY) == FA_GIVE_UP;
    // r12 the attempt bound stops a turn with keys still left
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN, 4, 0, 24, 1) == FA_GIVE_UP;
    // r13 one attempt below the bound still moves on
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN - 1, 4, 0, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r14 a two-key pool where both said 1305 is overloaded
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 2, NO_KEY, 2, 2, 0) == FA_NEXT_POOL;
    // r15 a 503 with no 1305 seen keeps to the pool
    assert step(KE_TRANSIENT, 2, 7, 0, 24, 1) == FA_NEXT_KEY;
    // r16 the bound beats a wrong request? no: a wrong request fails first
    assert step(KE_REQUEST, MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN, 4, 0, 24, 1) == FA_FAIL;
    // r17 an answer after many attempts is still an answer
    assert step(KE_OK, MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN, NO_KEY, 9, 24, NO_KEY) == FA_DONE;
}

test an_overloaded_provider_never_retires_the_issue {
    assert charges_issue(KE_TRANSIENT) == false;
    assert charges_issue(KE_QUOTA) == false;
    assert charges_issue(KE_AUTH) == false;
    assert charges_issue(KE_REQUEST) == true;
    assert charges_issue(KE_OK) == false;
    assert charges_issue(9) == false;
}

; --- 6. Invariants -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

invariant the_kinds_and_steps_are_distinct {
    assert KE_OK == 0 and KE_TRANSIENT == 1 and KE_QUOTA == 2 and KE_AUTH == 3 and KE_REQUEST == 4;
    assert FA_DONE == 0 and FA_NEXT_KEY == 1 and FA_NEXT_POOL == 2 and FA_GIVE_UP == 3 and FA_FAIL == 4;
}

/// A transient rest is always shorter than the long break, so a 1305 can never close a key.
invariant a_rest_is_shorter_than_a_break {
    assert COOL_BASE_SECONDS > 0 and COOL_CAP_SECONDS == COOL_BASE_SECONDS * 16;
    assert COOL_CAP_SECONDS < KEY_BREAK_SECONDS and KEY_BREAK_SECONDS == 1800;
}

/// The bound leaves room to see an overload in one pool and still try the next: the overload is
/// detected before the bound stops the turn.
invariant the_bound_leaves_room_for_a_second_pool {
    assert MAX_ATTEMPTS_PER_TURN > POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS * 2;
    assert POOL_OVERLOAD_KEYS >= 2 and OVERLOAD_WINDOW_SECONDS > 0;
}

/// NO_KEY is no index a mask can hold.
invariant no_key_is_out_of_range {
    assert POOL_MAX == 32 and NO_KEY >= POOL_MAX;
    assert ZAI_RATE_LIMIT == 1302 and ZAI_OVERLOAD == 1305;
}

Open the lesson's spec in the player ↗

All lessons

• Module 1 · The task

  An issue becomes work only once it is shaped: the sections it lacks are written or asked for, its boundary names real files, and one filter reads every kind of task.

  1. 01 Shaping an issue
  2. 02 A boundary of real files
  3. 03 One task, three kinds

• Module 2 · Who goes next

  The order the Queen takes issues in: a label ages one step, at most 3 criticals run as critical, and nothing new starts while finished work waits for review.

  1. 04 Aging a label
  2. 05 The queue
  3. 06 Review first

• Module 3 · A bee's life

  From candidate to done: twelve states and sixteen events, a ship in the game that flies home, and a deploy that does not cut a bee short.

  1. 07 A task's life
  2. 08 The ship flies home
  3. 09 A deploy mid-flight

• Module 4 · The reviewer bee

  Finished work is judged on its own clock: enough reviews at once to keep up, a pause that doubles for a row that waits, and a merge gate that zero checks cannot open.

  1. 10 Enough reviewers
  2. 11 Back off
  3. 12 The merge gate

• Module 5 · The review jam

  A pull request that will not move is in exactly one of ten cases, each with the Queen's move, and a red check is inherited only when master says so.

  1. 13 The review jam
  2. 14 The Queen's move
  3. 15 Inherited red

• Module 6 · Keys

  A bee's model key can be refused: the code in the body sorts the refusal, a transient one rests the key for seconds, and the bee moves on to the next free key.

  1. 16 A refused key
  2. 17 A key rests
  3. 18 The next key

• Module 7 · Credit and money

  Lending a key earns no credit, an operation is sold at twice its cost in half-cent tokens, and tokens burn 30 days after they land.

  1. 19 No credit for keys
  2. 20 Twice the cost
  3. 21 Tokens that burn

• Module 8 · Agents among themselves

  One bot per agent in one group: who is called, a chain three bot messages deep, and the clocks that keep agents from flooding a chat.

  1. 22 Who is called
  2. 23 Three bots deep
  3. 24 Stop and mute

• Module 9 · Night and the board

  What the hive shows: a night watch that opens, comments on and closes issues, the columns of the public board, and the comb that flashes for each event.

  1. 25 The night watch
  2. 26 The public board
  3. 27 The comb answers