music_library/backlog/tasks/ml-188 - Fix-form-edit-background-update-race-in-Show-LiveViews.md

id, title, status, assignee, created_date, updated_date, labels, dependencies, documentation, modified_files, priority, ordinal

id	title	status	assignee	created_date	updated_date	labels	dependencies	documentation	modified_files	priority	ordinal
ML-188	Fix form edit + background update race in Show LiveViews	To Do		2026-05-19 08:42	2026-05-19 09:00	audit bug race-condition liveview pubsub		audits/phase3-concurrent-state-safety/doc-26 - Audit-Report-Concurrent-State-Change-Safety-Phase-3.md	lib/music_library_web/live/collection_live/show.ex lib/music_library_web/live/wishlist_live/show.ex	medium	23000

Description

When a user is editing a record in a modal (live_action == :edit) and a background worker (e.g., PopulateGenres, RefreshCover) broadcasts {:update, record}, the Show LiveView's handle_info overwrites @record on the socket. The next save by the user can silently revert the worker's changes because the form data was based on the stale @record.

Race flow:

1. User opens edit modal with record v1
2. Background worker updates DB to v2, broadcasts {:update, v2}
3. handle_info assigns v2 → RecordForm gets v2 via update/2
4. User saves → stale form params overwrite worker's v2 changes in DB

Fix: Add a live_action guard to handle_info({:update, record}) in both CollectionLive.Show and WishlistLive.Show. When live_action == :edit, skip assigning the updated record and show a warning toast that the record was updated in the background. The fresh record will be loaded on the next handle_params when the user navigates away from edit mode.

Why the guard works (Ecto changeset behavior): When live_action == :edit and we keep @record = v1 on the socket, RecordForm's form params still carry v1's field values. On save, Records.update_record(v1, params) builds a changeset from v1. Fields that the worker modified (e.g., genres) will NOT appear in params because the form was rendered before the worker's update — and Ecto's cast/3 only includes fields in changes when they differ from the original struct. So the worker's changes survive the save because they aren't in the changeset. Fields the user explicitly edited will still be updated correctly.

Known limitation (edge case): If the user manually edits the exact same field the worker modified (e.g., user adds "jazz" to genres while worker adds "rock"), the user's save will overwrite the worker's change. This is inherent to any unversioned form-edit model and is proportionate to the low-probability, medium-severity nature of this bug in a single-user app.

Acceptance Criteria

• #1 handle_info({:update, record}) skips assign(:record, ...) when live_action == :edit in CollectionLive.Show
• #2 handle_info({:update, record}) skips assign(:record, ...) when live_action == :edit in WishlistLive.Show
• #3 Warning toast shown to user when background update occurs during edit (different wording from normal info toast)
• #4 handle_info({:update, record}) still works normally when live_action == :show
• #5 When user navigates away from edit, handle_params re-fetches fresh record with worker changes
• #6 Mismatched record.id still handled as no-op (socket unchanged)
• #7 Tests added for all three cases: :edit guard, :show normal path, mismatched-id no-op
• #8 docs/architecture.md updated to mention live_action guard
• #9 Comment added in RecordActions.handle_record_updated/2 noting intentional bypass during :edit

Implementation Notes

Implementation plan

1. Guard handle_info({:update, record}) in CollectionLive.Show (line ~474)

Add live_action check inside the existing handle_info({:update, record}, socket):

• When live_action == :show: existing behavior — call RecordActions.handle_record_updated(record) + assign_similar_records()
• When live_action == :edit: show warning toast, skip all assigns
• When record.id != socket.assigns.record.id: no-op (unchanged)

The toast wording should differ from the existing "Record updated in the background" toast (from RecordActions.handle_record_updated) to signal that the user's edits may be stale:

put_toast(socket, :warning, gettext("Record was updated in the background. Your edits may be stale — save and re-open to see the latest data."))

Note: put_toast and gettext are already available in both LiveViews via use MusicLibraryWeb, :live_view — no new imports needed.

2. Same guard in WishlistLive.Show (line ~367)

Identical pattern, but WishlistLive.Show's handler does NOT call assign_similar_records() — only RecordActions.handle_record_updated(socket, record). Apply the same live_action guard.

3. Comment in RecordActions.handle_record_updated/2

Add a comment noting that handle_record_updated/2 is intentionally bypassed during :edit live_action by the callers. This prevents future refactors from assuming it's always called in handle_info({:update, record}).

4. Tests

Add tests in:

• test/music_library_web/live/collection_live/show_test.exs
• test/music_library_web/live/wishlist_live/show_test.exs

Test cases:

• handle_info({:update, record}) with live_action == :edit → @record unchanged, warning toast present
• handle_info({:update, record}) with live_action == :show → @record updated, info toast present ("Record updated in the background")
• handle_info({:update, other_record}) with mismatched ID → no-op (socket unchanged)

Run: mix test test/music_library_web/live/collection_live/show_test.exs test/music_library_web/live/wishlist_live/show_test.exs

5. Manual verification

• Open a record show page → from IEx: Records.notify_update(record) → confirm "Record updated in the background" toast + UI refreshes
• Open edit modal → from IEx: Records.notify_update(record) → confirm warning toast, record on page stays as-is
• Click Save in the modal → confirm no data loss (worker's changes survive)
• Navigate away from edit → confirm handle_params loads fresh record with worker changes
• Test with a mismatched-ID record: send {:update, different_record} → confirm socket unchanged

6. Documentation

• Update docs/architecture.md: the existing line about handle_info/2 validating inbound record updates against socket.assigns.record.id should also mention the live_action guard for form-edit safety
• Update the task's final summary with a brief note about the design decision